FelixGirl

Hi Katymac Not sure whether she's done this, but what about trying some of the relevant classes at Pineapple and Danceworks over the summer to give your DD a taste? It is quite intimidating, but if she got used to it she might be more open to trying the same sort of thing in New York! (and they do offer American Tap....so she could try that out too!!)...

DD has to carry vast amounts of kit around all day for college but refuses to use anything with any dance branding on at all. College like them to have backpacks...so having exhausted the high street (too small, not strong enough, too expensive, no way...etc...!!), I chanced upon a huge, canvas, khaki green rucksack on ebay, which was deemed to be completely acceptable (!!), was cheap, is incredibly strong and arrived very quickly from a lovely Korean supplier...(complete with complimentary socks and a charming note!!)..... Not sure I can post an ebay link here...but if anyone is interested, PM me and I will send you the details...

Thank you David....and likewise!! We will be watching with interest...

I rang originally and then sent an application....and we did receive a thank you message, but nothing since!! Have also emailed and left voicemail message...... This is the only Summer School that DD has wanted to do (and since she has had a particularly difficult year, we were really excited that something had sparked her interest!), so I will be really upset if it doesn't happen!

Congratulations to your DD!! Fabulous news.....and exciting times ahead!! xx

A solid ballet technique certainly does help in the college funding auditions.....and I think maybe even more so for the younger applicants (DD has noticed that quite a large percentage of the 16 year old girls on her course are in the top ballet set). But they strip them all back to basics again in the first term anyway, whichever set they're in...so the actual grade may not matter so much! Having said that, I would look at increasing the number of ballet lessons your DD does if you possibly can......even if it is at the expense of something else (money and time not being unlimited sadly!!). She's doing amazingly well, and is obviously very talented...but her technique needs to be as strong as it possibly can be!! I could well be wrong but I'm assuming that the Saturday classes are at her CAT?? If so, I'm sure the work she's doing there will be making a difference to her overall strength and technique, and will be helping her ballet......but she could probably do with at least two classes a week at Intermediate Foundation level as well (non-syllabus classes would be great...they just need to be set at that level)!

Yes, it's me again too! I agree with 2dancersmum that you really want to look at what she'll need for the auditions. I don't think that auditions for the colleges you've mentioned will include contemporary or tap...it will be ballet, jazz and potentially her own choice of a modern/jazz/contemporary solo. On top of that she will have to prepare a solo song and a monologue and there could be an acting workshop. On that basis I would think your DD needs to be at a solid Intermediate level in ballet by the time she auditions, she needs to keep up her Jazz (if her teacher can offer some fast, free work so she's not fazed by the audition that would be great) and she needs to be able to perform her song and monologue competently - I think they are just looking for potential and performance ability here...as they seem to start from the beginning again with vocal work. Anything else that she has done will be a benefit on her application (and make her a more versatile dancer, obviously) but not absolutely essential for the course!

Are there any other dance companies based near you? My DD did her work experience with a small contemporary dance company.........she had a really varied time, and absolutely loved it!!

DD did ask for ballet type shoes one year, wore them about twice and then declared that she had no idea how anyone could wear them everyday and refused to wear them again!! We then had a bit of a result when we discovered a pair of white with pink flock DM shoes in her size (mary jane style with a buckle) in TK Maxx!! We dyed them black and she has worn those for the past two years!!

Orthotic insoles are fine in Converse - my DD does exactly that!!...(she also wears her beloved lace up DM boots throughout the year - with shorts, dresses, anything really - and these also work well with the insoles in!!)

Fantastic news.....congratulations!! xx

Urgently need the ISTD Imperial Classical Ballet Advanced 1 Syllabus, if anyone has one for sale, please??

My daughter too!! She has always had brilliant exam marks, and is a fantastic dancer, but is just not the right shape to get into a vocational ballet school!

Just an update.......I rang HMRC last week about Child Benefit for my DD (having received a letter from them asking for information about what she would be doing from September) and they told me that the National Diploma does qualify, so our payments will not stop for the time being - like you, Glowlight, I'm not going to argue!!

The teacher's response about the exam syllabus being inappropriate does seem a bit odd! My DD was studying ISTD Grade 5 modern at 11 but didn't take the exam because her school changed hands a couple of times and it was a bit of a mess for a while. When things settled at 13 she moved on to Inter Foundation and there really wasn't anything that was "inappropriate" but it is quite a stylistic syllabus and I can see that you would need a certain level of strength and maturity to cope with that. She took Intermediate last year (at 14) and she achieved distinction in both exams. DD goes to a non-syllabus mixed ability jazz class now, (no Adv 1 modern class available), where her teacher tailors the moves to make them much harder for the more able students, and this class does really stretch her! (she has also taken Gold Jazz in the meantime - which she absolutely loved!).

Saw this this morning....could be really interesting!! http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-17846564

That's really interesting KathyG, I had the same question CoulddoBetter, and was inclined to think that we wouldn't get payments after September because apparently a National Diploma in either Professional Dance or Musical Theatre is ranked as an NQF level 6 qualification (equivalent level H - BA honours degree). Very good news if we will still get benefit!!

Hi Suzyq There is a chance that your DD could be offered funding from the reserve list. The colleges have a fixed number of awards, so if some students are offered funding at more than one college and then decide to accept elsewhere, their funding offer at Performers will be offered to the next on the list! Very best of luck....I hope you have good news soon. FG X

Sorry....meant to say.. because DD isn't purely classical, I post on notapushymum.com as well!! Lots of very useful advice about musical theatre there!! xx

Hi Robin64 My DD (15 years old) is in a similar situation....she excels at ballet, but is just not physically suitable for classical training (long body, short legs and dreadful feet!!)!! Luckily her lovely teacher told us many years ago that DD would never be a ballet dancer so we have always looked at other routes for her! She continued her ballet training (along with modern, tap, jazz and contemporary) is due to take Advanced 1 RAD and ISTD ballet in the summer, and has just got into Bird College to start in September! So not having the right physical attributes for ballet doesn't mean that your DD can't be a dancer, if that's what she wants!! Best of luck with whatever you decide to do......I'm sure your DD will be successful!! xx

This is from the RAD teachers exam guidelines document... "3.3.14 Where applicable, candidates must have reached the stated minimum age by 31 December in the year in which they take the examination." I would have agreed with you JulieW and I know that DD's teacher certainly felt that 11 was the very earliest that she would start children on pointe, and then only if they had really secure technique. But recently we have got to know one particular young lady who was more than ready (both physically and technically) to take the exam at that age!

Brilliant news! That's a fantastic result (and at such a young age!!)...congratulations to her!!

Very best of luck to your son, JulieW. What an exciting, stressful, emotional journey! And good luck to your daughter too Lisadebs! We'll be looking forward to hearing all the news!

Thank you so much!! She is a little bit older than most of your incredibly talented DDs and has had some set-backs over the past couple of years, so she is really pleased to be getting back on track again!

We've been reading this thread whilst anxiously waiting for results here too. DD absolutely thrilled to get distinctions for both Advanced Foundation RAD and Intermediate ISTD (both taken in the same week - she was really worried she was going to get them mixed up in the exams!)....very proud of her!! Well done to everyone else for a fantastic set of results too!!