Balletbuds80

There is this thread from last year with loads of info on

My son had this. We saw a doctor and a physio and were given conflicting advice. I then booked to see a podiatrist who advised on insoles to align the feet and physio exercises to strengthen. I would see a podiatrist as they are the experts in that field and they will advise you of what is the right course of action for your son. 

On 06/11/2022 at 20:48, sunrise81 said:

Did anyone find out today in Leeds how long til they email result of scholarship audition? Trying to plan finances for summer ☀️ 🤣

They said December as they have 2 other dates of scholarships auditions following the one in Leeds on Sunday

On 30/09/2022 at 11:00, Adagio123 said:

Claudia Dean Leo & Skirt - signature collection in Frost (turquoise)

Aurora Leotard - Large child excellent condition

£25 

Sylvie Skirt - Large/extra large child excellent condition

£10

 

 

 

SOLD

On 12/09/2022 at 22:34, Ballerina_girl said:

Wondering if anyone can help, on the Elmhurst picture requirements it has two categories for photo requirements one says all students and summer school and one says Year 9 onwards. If auditioning as a current year 8 to try for year 9 entry do you fall under the first category or year 9 onwards? Not sure if it’s classed as current year or year your auditioning for. Thanks 

I would say it would be the year group you are auditioning for. The current year 6’s are auditioning for a year 7 place so would follow those guidelines

8 hours ago, RachH said:

We had a very detailed email from the teacher a few weeks ago, listing what equipment they needed - including a very specific ball and theraband (links to purchase were included). I think it must be variable based on the teacher.

Yes we had an email last year from our JA teacher which mentioned equipment they want you to have with a link on where to purchase it. We received it once classes had started though. 

I think i know deep down that i am just not ready for this to happen right now and we will probably wait a few years. She is part of a great dance school and also does a weekly associate course. 
Apologies if i offended anyone with my original post asking is 11 too young? It is a question i have asked myself for my DD and us as a family. I totally appreciate it will be exactly the right time for some DC.
Yes there is the cost element. We would make changes to make it work as i am sure many do. We may still go down the route of auditioning to see what happens and make our final decision on the results. Good luck to you all. 

2 hours ago, sunrise81 said:

You may be eligible for MDS funding. I was always driven by my DD.......she wanted to go, and with the funding we are able to afford it. It's amazing how much petrol and parking added up to when transporting her to various lessons, so was not much more to send her to vocational school. 

Thank you. I guess i need to work it all out. Petrol is where most of my money is going at the moment. Plus gas and and electric so i guess one less child to feed, keep warm, entertain and ferry about! 

Hi. Her dance school hasn't put me under pressure. When i mentioned my DD wanting to go, i said i didn't want her to due to cost and felt she was too young which is when it was said i would be selfish not to let her go if that is what she wants. Its my daughter who is pushing for this. As much as i would love her to be accepted, i just know it is a lot of money. Hats off to anyone who can afford to pay out £2-3k a month in school fees. 

Hi. We are in the position in that my DD wants to go at 11 and us parents are reluctant to send her. So i am in a quandary about what to do. Will she resent us if we hold her back? Her dance school principal has said it would be selfish of us to hold her back. Talk about Mum guilt. We cant afford it for one. Is 11 too young? Only at the weekend we heard about a bad experience but know there are good experiences too. 

Hi

If anyone has one for sale, i am still looking 🤞🏻
looking for a white Claudia Dean leotard in Large Child with preferably thin straps

1 minute ago, Jan McNulty said:

No sooner mentioned than shared!  Thanks for reminding us about this thread.

Thank you! I had no idea how to

If any of you ‘Newbies’ have any questions, there is a great thread started in 2019 called ‘RBS Junior Associate Newbies’ (not sure how to share it in here) which has questions about uniform sizing, hair etc. 

Congratulations to all who received a yes and sorry to those not receiving the news they wanted today. 

@Elzmy DD got a straight no year 4 and a yes year 5 and like @MissEmilysaid, there were 6 months between them so you just never know. 

The Leeds results came out on this day in 2021 and 2019 but maybe there are other factors in the mix this year if they have said beginning of July.

Good luck to you all 🍀 

15 minutes ago, Theatrefan said:

Thanks be interesting to see when they start to hear she was told end of june/beginning of July but guessing they say longer than they may need. Do you know how many places are offered? Good luck to everyone I'm in awe of them all I'd be a bag of nervous! 

It is very likely that i could be wrong but last year we were told on the same day that a friends DC was told in 2019 before the pandemic. 

8 hours ago, Theatrefan said:

Hi Everyone,

 

New here my daughter auditioned for JA in April she's currently year 3 school year. I'm not entirely sure how JA are split if it's all ages together or separated into year groups or a combination. My daughter has a great attitude to the whole process gave it 100% thoroughly enjoyed the audition and when I said the percentages of children accepted compared to those who audition is very small I don't know exact numbers/percentages but I didn't want her to be disappointed or see it as reflection on her as a dancer if she didn't get a spot her response was to say well I can only do my best and then asked if she could audition next year if she didn't get a place this year.  Honestly think I was more nervous than she was no way I could of done this at the same age and I learning to dance. Sorry I'm rambling my question is does anyone know how many places are available? Is it dependent on how many children move up, if it's split by age/year group for example how many moving from year 4 to year 5 if that makes sense. She auditioned at Totnes and that's the centre we put down as a first choice. I don't expect to hear until end of the month/beginning of July and my daughter is focused on next RAD exam so has pushed it the back of her mind. Think I'm just curious how it all work's if it's the same for all centres, if it's the same each year or changes. 

 

Thank you to anyone who got through this rambling message which I hope made some sort of sense!!

Going off previous years, i think you’ll start hearing this/next week. We found out Weds 16th June for Leeds so i reckon it’ll be next Weds for Leeds 🤞🏻

14 hours ago, Waverley said:

I honestly think it’s going to be so different for every child. For a start, I would say to be led by your DD/DS – if they want to try then let them try and see how it pans out, but stress the fact that auditions are fun and all good experience and treat it all as an adventure/a lovely night in a hotel/a change to go out for dinner or get an ice cream after etc.

 

It’s a long year and their opinion on what they want to do may well change over the course of that year. We know so many people who thought they wanted a particular school or to go down a particular route this time last year and their experiences at the auditions (or their reactions to the results) have really changed things.

 

If you don’t try, then you’ll never know if vocational school was an option or not. Having said that, I personally didn’t want to let DD try for any schools that she didn’t particularly want to go to, not least because I didn’t want to incur any unnecessary audition fees or travel costs.  Maybe she would have got offers elsewhere – I don’t know – but it doesn’t really matter as it was her decision not to apply.

 

In terms of the bigger question of whether vocational school at 11 is the ‘best’ route or not, I think it depends on a multitude of things, including:

• The personality of your child
• Your financial position – if you get a large MDS grant then vocational school may cost less than current dance fees (and on the contrary, if you would be liable to pay a hefty parental contribution then is it financially viable?)
• Where you live and what access you have to vocational level teaching (if that’s what they want) and if you can afford regular private lessons etc
• Whether you want to (or are able to) drive around to various classes/associates schemes/performance opportunities through the week and at weekends
• Whether you have other children, how old they are, how much time or attention they need (and potentially how much time is spent away from them if you’re doing the dance runs all the time)
• Whether they would need to board (and if so, if you and they are ok with that) or whether they could be a day pupil
• What ‘normal’ schools you have nearby and what the academic provision is like there
• Whether your child has been generally happy at school or whether being with like-minded kids in a different environment could be a positive thing
• Whether both you and your child are comfortable that even if they get an offer, they may well not get back in after the initial 3 year programme (in the case of WL) or that they may be assessed out etc at various points at the other schools
• Whether you and your child feel like you’d be able to enjoy the journey without being crushed if it doesn’t work out the way they might want it to. For most children who go to vocational school even, the chances of ending up with a career in dance are miniscule, whether that’s by their own choice or not, and that’s ok if you go into it all with your eyes open and try and enjoy the experience for what it is.

Just some thoughts – there is never going to be one right answer for everyone. Good luck with it all, whatever you decide to do, and enjoy the ride.

Thank you for this. It is very thorough. I guess if she does end up going somewhere, not to have any expectations and look at it as a private education rather than her route into a dance career which might very likely not happen 

You have all given great valid points for consideration. I hadn't even considered academics which is silly considering thats why they go to school! 
i will speak to my DD nearer the time and see if she still feels the same about auditioning but will go through with her what the ‘Nos’ or ‘Yes’ could mean.
I suppose it all depends on if she is offered anywhere as it could all be a no anyway. If it is, i know she has great options to stay local and if its a yes, i’ll have to deal witb it when the time comes. 
I hope you have all enjoyed your experiences and the decisions that you have come to or have been made for you and wish your Dc’s the best of luck. 

4 hours ago, Betty’s mum said:

One thing to consider(and I feel it puts extra pressure on those who may not be emotionally ready to go away at 11) is that yr7 is when the highest number of funded places are available across all vocational schools. Admittedly since the recent changes for schools to guarantee 3 years, there may be more scope for yr10, although potentially there will be a cohort of “assessed out pupils from other schools looking to fill those spaces”. 

Definitely something to consider

5 hours ago, Sooty said:

Hi, we decided in the process it wasn’t for us. DS more and more realised the impact it would have in everything else in his life, studying what he wanted, friendships, other activities such as scouts and he also realised his other dreams overtook ballet. 
He still lives ballet and does weekend classes, he just isn’t up for the sacrifice of a career.

So I wouldn’t worry about changing minds, I think you can decide either way. It’ll make your mind up resolutely, but there’s certainly no harm in trying it.

Thank you. Maybe nearer the time we know what is right for us as a family and our DD

22 minutes ago, BalletBoysDad said:

I've settled on the personal opinion that the vocational schools are accompanied by very high quality academics, so the highly focused dance path is 'in addition to' a regular academic education, rather than 'instead of'. My DS will be starting vocational school in September,  he is extremely excited to be going.  But I am very open to the fact that even within the focused dance environment, there is still plenty of scope to develop a passion for art, science, history, anything, within the academic curriculum.  So even if the dance 'doesn't turn out' it will have been accompanied with a solid education for GCSE.  Yes, there is always various elements of 'risk', but I know my child is creative, so there are many other career paths that could be followed within the arts and creative industries if the dance doesn't go as anticipated.

A great point. Do you know if academics are taken into consideration when places are allocated? My DD is not below expectations on anything but wondered if this information is a requirement to the application process at any schools (in your experience). 

She originally said she wants to go to ballet school when she is older and then recently said she wants to go in year 7. I am not convinced though. It is purely selfish why i dont want her to and i know those with children about to leave home will be going through a range of emotions. 
I worry we’ll get swept along with it but at the same time will regret seeing what if. 
My head is all over the place and theres 6 months until it all starts! 

Been reading this thread as my current Year 5 DD may be embarking on this journey in the Autumn. We/I cannot decide on what to do. Did you and your DC’s know that the vocational route was what they definitely wanted to do or were any of you undecided? Have you go e with what your child wants? I think some might like the idea of it and then the reality of going away might be a different story. Were any of you dead set against vocational at year 7 and went along with the ride anyway and have now changed your mind at the offer of a place? I know i have a few months before this all starts but i have been back and forth and am worried that once things are in motion, it will be hard to go back. Do we go with it and just see what happens? I know there will be a lot of mixed opinions on this. 

11 minutes ago, Ballerinamama said:

Does anyone have any last minute tips for the audition? My daughter is up next week. She’s confident, but I am less so. 

If she is confident, that is great. Just to enjoy it and show them her passion