Neverdancedjustamum

That makes sense @FlexyNexy, especially as I believe there was a ‘pre-application’ sifting via video. Thankfully my DD is averse to anything that involves videos otherwise it would basically have been a £35 or so application fee with no guarantee you’d be able to audition or be seen in person. I’m not sure how many applied and how many they invited to audition in person. However, I did see from a number of social media posts that some of those offered places were already in full time vocational school anyway. I know there are mixed opinions on full time students attending associates schemes but this is another example of that.

To complicate matters, I think the fit of the leotards also depend on the style. Camisole ones (Daniella/Zoe/Marisa/Kiki) I find tend to be smaller fitting, unless they’re the almost backless ones like the Tamara and Nadja . Those with low backs (Gina/Alicia) tend to fit a bit looser and if you don’t get the right size, the sleeves have a tendency to slip off the shoulders. Unfortunately I found their size guide quite unhelpful. From what I remember it was based on height etc. My daughter can fit both XS and Small in most other brands but is firmly a minimum Small in Yumiko.

If you have Instagram, do have a look at theleolounge_ I’ve seen lots of Yumiko and Degas posted on there.

Just the jacket for sale now. Almost brand new condition and price (£30) already includes first class tracked postage already. Comes from a pet-free/smoke-free home.

I was going to say CD uses her own-branded resistance band but if you were looking for a more ‘loop type’ band then one option is the numbered one which in a way is more versatile/adjustable. They aren’t that expensive and can be bought from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acupoint-Stretching-Exercise-Flexibility-Gymnastics/dp/B09W2F3TKC Not sure if that’s similar to what you’re looking but hopefully it provides an option.

My DD hated the usual ballet socks and would only wear these tights-material ballet socks. She always preferred tights but if she HAD to wear socks, she’d wear these ones. They never sag, stayed up and didn’t look like football-socks length like some normal ballet socks are. Quite a few brands do them now and I’m sure one of these smelled really nice and fresh and were anti-odour (and this claim actually worked most of the time): Katz Dancewear Girls Ladies Thin Smooth 60 Denier Pink Ballet Dance Tights Socks£1.95Amazon.co.uk https://www.dancewear.co.uk/product/seamless-no-bag-ballet-socks/?attribute_pa_colour=white&attribute_pa_size=uk-shoe-size-4-7&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpPKiBhDvARIsACn-gzDyMqo6qOMB4v5NJLjiMu91HzZyKoXxRgrtLYmcRcCRMjcoMecpS0oaAiyqEALw_wcB https://www.dancewearcentral.co.uk/accessories-c1/exam-regulation-accessories-c10/lightweight-50-denier-ballet-socks-p3659

That’s true. Loving the idea of it, to be honest. Just not sure my bank account will agree with me, not this summer…

I think it is! I sometimes get confused by this one and the Nervi one. It does look good, classes seem big but the teacher line up is pretty great. I’ve seen some videos and photos and I do think the standard will be quite high.

I would be grateful to hear about personal experiences of DCs who have attended this summer intensive in the past (especially the junior, age 13-15 group). The information says classes are from 9am-6pm with a gala on the last day. How did your DCs find the standard of the class? Are class sizes big? Was it easy to find accommodation? What is the venue like? Is the area (Volta Mantovana) easy to get to? Are classes conducted in English? Any information and feedback would be appreciated Just trying to gauge if it would be worth my DD doing this intensive this summer too. It’s the first time she’s doing intensives in a few years and is already also going to do a week each of Masterclasses in Prague and White Lodge SI. Worried it might be too much for one summer or that she might be out of her depth especially since she only dances in the weekends and does no classes during the week at all.

It sounds very promising and exciting! I’m sure she will have a wonderful time. It looks like an amazing school. I know someone who graduated from there a few years ago (although not British), and from their year a very good number progressed on to the company which is not always the case with vocational schools. Hopefully other forum members can respond to your query with more personal and useful information but for now I would like to wish your daughter all the best.

Did you mean attend full time or for the summer intensive? As far as I know, there’s only one British girl there at the moment but I could be wrong. Majority of POBS students are French especially in the younger years which is why I’m always very impressed by students from overseas who get offered a full time place there.

I’m not sure what your family situation is but another important thing to consider is how this will/might affect the DC’s relationship with their sibling/siblings (not just with you, as parents). I think this is such a crucial aspect to consider depending on your family dynamics. My grandmother and mother went to boarding school, as well as close family friends, and I also have close friends who work for boarding schools (not vocational) and whilst it would suit certain kids and families, it is a very personal decision. You would know best what would work for your family and it is for this very reason that I never considered boarding at 11 for either of my DCs. It would suit some, but not others, and the effects (if any) won’t just be felt in the present but also in the future. I cannot elaborate further as they’re not my personal experience but just to say there are a lot of factors to consider.

There are vocational schools that allow their students to attend MA, I know of at least two. It’s quite interesting because in the same class you will have students who are full time vocational students, non-vocational students who do probably the same or more hours of training than vocational students within the week and there are also the odd ones who only attend 1-2 classes in a local dance school within the week in addition to their weekly MA class (though I reckon those who fall within this last category is quite rare these days).

For sale: (Prices include first class, signed for/tracked postage. Both come from pet and smoke-free home) BBA jacket - size adult Small (pristine condition, worn only twice, bought for £53.50) - selling for £30 BBA Senior leotard with logo on the back - size adult Small (old style but I think it can still be used, pristine condition, only worn twice, bought for £28.50) - selling £15 (including black belt already)

We didn’t apply this year but based on what I’ve seen and heard personally, the ones I know have been given a place in week 1. These are young dancers who are not in vocational school and are also not headed to vocational school from September. Weeks 1 and 2 are still very much term time in our area so we would have had to apply for week 3. I’m quite glad we didn’t now as it sounds like, from previous posts, that this week might be oversubscribed.

There will also be current MAs who might/already have given up their places. I expect there might be quite some movement this year.

The summer intensive will be in Italian so I reckon the full time programme will most likely be. DD doesn’t speak a word of Italian but the school assured me she would be fine - not sure if she feels the same way!

This is a very good point. Associates centres decrease as they go up within the groups (junior/mids/senior). To the OP, I’d say let your DC audition for both. My DC did and just from the audition class, and despite being very young at the time, DC already noticed the difference. DC claimed one involved more dancing and the other involved more skipping and the panel looking at feet and physique. If the auditions were reflective of the subsequent classes, DC already knew which one was not for them. Although to say being an associate influences getting a full time place might not be entirely accurate, you only have to look at the percentage of former associates that make up the year 7 class of these schools, though it’s probably more obvious with one. It is very significant and seems beyond coincidence. My DC was at the finals of one of these schools for entry into Year 7 a few years ago and the number of non-associates was very much in the minority. If I were to believe one of their observations at the time, they noticed that the physios spent more time looking at current associates. Perhaps the significance of being an associate of the school diminishes as they go up years. Look at the numbers of MA/SA/Extended who eventually get full time places in the schools. I’m willing to guess the numbers are extremely small.

I would be interested to learn about this too. I was informed by the school that the classes will be conducted in Italian (and French for the technical terms) but I wonder how students who only speak English can cope or whether this won’t be much of an issue.

I think it’s a perfectly legitimate question to ponder. The same way some parents check a secondary school/sixth form’s graduate university destinations. It doesn’t need to be the focus but surely it should be a factor. Vocational schools do not have ranking tables as such so it’s normal for prospective parents to exhaust every avenue they can to see if it’s worth investing at a particular institution for the next 3-5 years of their child’s life. Things do change and this can be either within or outside their control but it’s always good to get into something with as much research and knowledge as you can especially when it involves your children’s next few formative years. Some schools are more transparent and this is just the way it is.

I think the OP is interested in the upper school destinations of the lower school ‘graduates’ of the schools she mentioned, rather than where the upper school students gain employment/end up. YDA often announces via social media the list of schools their students get offers from but there is no breakdown as such. As far as I am aware the other schools do not make public where their lower students go (and certainly no breakdown of how many students end up staying in their upper school/sixth form and other schools). Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall seeing such info publicised. Maybe they do it internally, I don’t know.

Not if you don’t qualify for it. I think there is a maximum household income and then you don’t qualify for MDS.

My personal favourite is “Oh, we think s/he is too young to go away for school. We’re just going for an associates place”. Fast forward to March, big public announcement….

Now that we are a few years away from that time, I can understand how it’s easy to say to people not to let things affect them. However, I also remember how, during that time, it’s such a stressful, manic time - emotions are running high, stress levels are probably off the scale, parents are worried about how their DCs are feeling both physically and emotionally, it’s such a surreal moment. Even the little things can affect parents and their DCs and whilst it’s easy to remind yourself to do just your thing and not worry about anything or anyone else, in practice this is extremely hard. For example, I remember there were years when DCs already offered their first choice school (and accepted!) would still attend finals for other schools. This is fine if these other schools have a waitlist, not so much if they don’t, especially since there’s always the handful of kids who are going for a full sweep of the vocational schools regardless of whether they’ve already received an offer from their top choice. I can just imagine how other parents feel at that very moment, how it seems very unfair. I can therefore sympathise with what the poster said about feeling put off by parents who are vocal about their dislike for a certain school and yet they’re at the audition. It does not make sense.

I think that after investing so much time and money into preparing for auditions, parents let their DCs audition to at least the most ‘well known’ schools often with one school as the goal and 1-2 as back up. Perhaps this is cynical of me, but like you and having experienced this numerous times, sadly I do think part of it all is being able to announce on social media how many finals/offers one received. I am guilty of this - letting my DC audition to schools they had no intention of attending. At the time, I told myself (and DC) to just go to the finals for the experience of it. Yet even then, as I sat in the car when we dropped them off, I felt a sense of guilt watching them walk up to the school knowing full well they might be the only one going in there not really interested in a place so it was quite pointless. I think when you’re in year 6 and go to associates or local dance schools that specially prepare pre-vocationally, it’s so easy to get carried away with it all.