DancingDays

Ahhh....OK I'll try to repost it. Yep, it's accepted it now

That really is appalling Janet - I've posted my own comment but it's not showing yet. Apart from the lack of respect, it shows a remarkable lack of care from the Oxford Times in ensuring accuracy of information.

Thanks BankruptMum - something tells me I will be relying on pearls of wisdom and the support of the forum members over the coming months...I just spent last night re-reading the RBS Lower School Auditions thread from this year's intake - all 16 pages of it!

Hi, my DD is also auditioning for year 7 this year but I'm already worrying myself silly over it....."is DD good enough?", "so few places...so many talented dancers", "how will she cope if she gets those dreaded no letters", "how will she cope if she gets a coveted yes letter", "how will I cope if she actually does go away to school".... Do you think there is much of an advantage in leaving it till January to benefit from a couple more months of dancing...or alternatively are you better being seen first? So many questions, so many unknowns, but the only thing I'm certain of is that DD wants to dance and so we'll be auditioning for all 4 vocational schools and will just roll with it as it comes...

Sending positive thoughts and best wishes too JulieW x

Dance*is*life - I love this post! What you have described is what I hope my daughter can have....a lifelong love of dance....it has meant so much to her already that for her to carry that passion through her life would be fantastic! She's just at the start of her journey but I will pray that she continues to love it!

Yes, I'd like to add my Best Wishes and Loads of Luck to all the children embarking on their new adventures - I fervently hope my DD will be one of those children in September 2014 although I'm kind of scared even thinking about it for her! Hope you all have an amazing time and that all you parents don't find it too difficult x

Is it very wrong of me to say I've used the stick on patches that look like darning on my DD's pointe shoes???? Seriously question though...is there a specific benefit in darning them rather than using patches or is it more of a tradition thing? I'm just waiting for a new pair to be delivered and I did buy darning cotton when DD got her first pair and have never used it....so depending on what you all think, this could be the perfect time to try it?

Hope your DD heals quickly kiwimum6

I just voted for you Swanprincess - have you thought about sharing the page to the MTB page and getting all your MTB friends to vote for you too Good luck!

My DD experienced YBSS for the first time this year and is 10 so it was her first Summer School. She followed it with a week at the Yorkshire Assembly and had 2 different experiences. YBSS day for the younger students (group consisted of: 8.00 to 9.00 - Breakfast 9.30 to 11.15 (ish) - Classical 11.15 to 2.00 - Free Time (lunch between 12.00 and 1.00) 2.15 to 3.15 - Character 3.30 to 4.30 - Classical 5.00 to 6.00 - Tea Evening activities or free time until lights out at 10.00 (I think they had to be in their rooms by 9.30). DD absolutely love the teaching but got homesick, to begin with, in the periods of downtime. The housemothers were brilliant and looked after the younger children very well - taking them into town one day in the lunch period to alleviate the homesickness, etc. It was a big stepping stone for DD in learning how to be a little more independent and responsible - they had to do their own hair buns, look after a room key and make sure they were in the right place at the right time (without us Mums pointing them in the right direction and helping them along!) The negatives from my DD's perspective were the basic standards of room (squeaky uncomfortable bed and it looked like a second bed had been put into a single room so the young ones could share), basic food (DD lived on Bacon and hash brown for breakfast and pasta for both lunch and dinner each day), and too much free time. Also, the noise of the police and ambulance sirens, nightlife, etc. can be a little disconcerting (the university is in the City Centre) when you're trying to sleep in a little room with just another 10 year old for company. The final presentation was great to see - the standard of the dancers was amazing, however, there weren't enough seats for everyone and depending on which side of the hall around the perimeter you were sitting you ended up watching the backs of the dancers rather than the front. It was very inspiring to see the older dancers, however, and some of them looked like they could be professionals now. Yorkshire Assembly: This was a four day residential and had children from 8 years of age. The children were grouped again using age and ability and DD was in Inter B group here. There were 5 groups, Junior, Inter B, Inter A, Senior B and Senior A. The day consisted of: Breakfast - 8.00 to 9.00 Class 1 - 9.15 to 10.45 Class 2 - 11.00 to 12.30 Lunch - 12.30 to 1.30 Class 3 - 1.30 to 3.00 Class 4 - 3.15 to 4.45 Tea then evening activities. DD loved the facilities, the food (lots of yummy stuff!!) and the structure of the day however she didn't find the classes as challenging. The classes varied in the timetable but each day she had Jazz, Contemporary, Rep and Ballet - she really enjoyed the contemporary as she hadn't done much of that before and the houseparents were a little stricter, i.e. all Juniors and Inter Bs ate together and couldn't leave the dining room until they were all finished whereas at YBSS you did your own thing. The presentation was much slicker - there was afternoon tea waiting for parents on arrival and the children came through to join us before rushing off again to prepare for the presentation. The actual presentation was held in a lovely little theatre and the groups danced in such a way that little groupings of children came on and off stage enabling parents to see their children at the front of the stage at least a couple of times. The groups each did the 3 disciplines - jazz, contemporary and ballet so there were 15 numbers in all, followed by a raffle and a couple of awards were given. The standard of dancing was a little more mixed - there were some gorgeous dancers and some who I would suggest were a little more recreational. Given that my DD said she she preferred the teachers and classes of YBSS and the facilities and timetable structure of Yorkshire Assembly, I asked her which one she would choose to do again if she could only choose one next year. She emphatically and without hesitation said YBSS - she would much rather have the teaching and put up with the facilities (although YBSS appear to be moving 10 minutes down the road next year so that may not be a problem). I was heartened and a little surprised that even though DD was more homesick and worked harder, she would take the teaching over the fluffy stuff All in all, as a parent, I think both Summer Schools were definitely beneficial and worth the money and I would happily send DD to both again. Although, at the moment we're thinking 2 weeks at YBSS rather than 1 week at one and one week at the other. I hope this helps

Yippee! Fantastic that they're doing Nottingham again - my DD loved it last time and was really hoping they'd bring Nutcracker there this time. Fingers crossed she gets through - audition date going in the diary now

Loved the performances this afternoon at Yorkshire Assembly - what a fantastic show they all put on in such a short space of time - DD and her friend had a great time there this week Edited to say what lovely facilities they had at Queen Margaret's too including a great little theatre.

My DD goes to MTB's normal classes and we were disappointed that we couldn't make the SS because we knew it would be a great one but DD is up at Yorkshire Assembly this week after YBSS last week. We'll definitely try to go next year though. Glad it was a great experience.

It was lovely to see the older dancers yesterday - and it was obvious that there was real affection and warmth in the room from all the teachers, pianists and staff. The house parents were a hoot and I was just so happy to be watching some very talented dancers of all ages. It was a little bit stressful dealing with the homesickness that my little DD suffered but she's right at the start of her dancing journey and emphatically wants to go back again next year which is testament in itself to the team in York! All in all, definitely a valuable and worthwhile week for her!

WOW! Well done Billyelliott - you're in for a wonderful weekend - hope you all have a fantastic time x

Did he say he'd taken any of B class do you know audsjcanuck? When I asked my DD tonight, she wasn't aware of any photos being taken while she was in class but I suppose there's always tomorrow. I'll have to check my camera settings Lottie - thanks for the tip

That's a real shame if they haven't... I've just left a message on the photographers ansaphone to see if they've taken them of all groups this week so I'll let you all know if I hear back. If not, I wonder if they'll let us take photos ourselves in the presentation class tomorrow...

Woo Hoo! Well done to your DS - bet you're one proud Mum

OK - so I promise I'm not going to keep bombarding you with updates but I had to share this one..... a text from DD just arrived and all it says is "Hey. Character was really fun" soooooo I'll stop worrying about her now

Aww, audsjcanuck, that so resonates with me....I knew all you lovely forum members would be able to empathise and sympathise with me And I agree wholeheartedly with the simple last word of "kids!"

Ahh thanks LinMM....I think I did the right thing in just giving her a quick hug and handing her over and luckily they were silent tears from her - no sobbing so I doubt any of the other girls would have been aware You're right, she is only 10 and although she has been excited and we did discuss the possibility of her missing home beforehand ....she couldn't really know how she'd feel until she was actually there and I don't think it helped that I picked her up yesterday and interrupted the week. She's a strong little character though and I'm sure I'll probably end up missing her more than she misses me xx

Yes, a friend's DD was a Mariinsky dancer in Nottingham last year and they were en pointe

Well...DD had a bit of a wobble this morning when I took her back over to St John's - she actually cried which is something she rarely does.....she said she felt homesick and didn't want me to go I had to leave her with her Housemother who was really lovely but it just tugged at my heartstrings to leave her when she was upset! I confess to having a few tears myself in the cab back over to the hotel! I'm now back home having worried all the way down the M1 back to Rugby but have since had a few text messages from her to say that she'd been into town with a few of the other young girls plus Housemother, got soaking wet in the rain, had lunch, was told by Paul Lewis this morning that "she has good pirouettes", and the last one to say she's about to go for Baroque class now .....................so I'm kind of hoping that she's now over the homesickness Phew - I think I sprouted a couple more grey hairs this morning!

Hope you make it in time Billyelliott and good luck to your DS