Dragonlady

And my DD. It helps to get to the pick-up early as the theatre is full to the rafters for the dance demonstrations. It is one of the better SS (in y DD's opinion). She loves it. T

I must admit that when I started this post I was hoping for a dancer from a company or at least 18 to reply. I know schools look for different things apart from this and height is always on our minds but companies also like to have a 'corpse de ballet' that is approx the same for aesthetic reasons rather than anything else! They would (I assume) already know the skill level and body proportions are there. DD has been told that at nearly 16 she is 'small' as in not tall but also very slight build. It could be that she would be percieved as 'frail' which is completely untrue but on visuals alone could be a problem for her. I can testify she eats me out of house and home but remains a very slight build. I am trying very hard to 'put meat on her bones' but a high metabolism rate it working against me!!! Time will tell from the autumn onwards to see if her 6th form auditions bear fruit or not...... T

I make tutus too !!! Based on the south coast in Dorset. Some people on the forum already have one of my tutus or are about to recieve theirs very shortly! Trudi

Have sent you a p.m.

My DD started at Hammond in year 8 and was already on pointe but only because of doing the RAD Inter foundation syllabus at home. That pointe work consisted of 30 minutes excersise and barre work (combined) every week....so she was not experience in any way on entering year 8! None of her classmates were more advanced than her when she got there except for the few who were already on their RAD intermediate exam! They have all been taught together and pointe experience is not a requirement in year 7 entry...in fact I think that the few in year 7 who were more used to it were frustrated because they were not allowed to continue until all the class were ready Hope this helps. T Edited to add: Not all the class were strong in pointe as this is a performing arts school and they all developed at different rates, but by the end of year 8 all the girls were doing pointe work to their teachers satisfaction.

Hammond: Pointwork is started late in year 7 (according to DD), the rest of the preceding year is getting feet etc ready. Excersises are done only at the barre. After that in later years it depends on the teacher so there is no 'set' number of hours as pointe is incorporated into their regular dance classes and not held as separate classes. T

Hi there. Have sent you a p.m.

Hi there, I don't know about other schools but at Hammond the lower school still have to audition with everyone else to get a place at the upper school. Any MDS funding/burseries are also closed and the student has to re-apply and re-audition with everyone else for these....a level playing field again. I believe that Hammond have a leaning more towards the stage/performance style of dance and those that want a pure classical career would either have to apply at 18 to companies/schools etc or change their option focus slightly. However it is still possible to get into a classical ballet career from Hammond post 18 and their ballet teachers for senior school are very good indeed. Hope this helps. T. Edited to add that most of the students audition in year 11 for other schools giving them their major dance/musical theatre choice which includes Hammond 6th form. Hammond have their own touring company in the third year of 6th form (like Central etc) and you have to re-audition to get into that....the auditions never seem to end...

Hi there, I think most of the Hammond questions have been answered. Trips into town (walking distance), the years 7&8 are accompanied by a House Mum, Year 9 they are allowed in groups with a time limit. Years 10 and 11 have more freedom but still have to go in pairs and say what time they will be back. There are organised swimming and cinema trips for the boarders and older years can go in their groups. They have a definite 'home' atmosphere at the boarding house and I have always found the House Mums to be very approachable. Music lessons are organised through the school DD does the flute but a lot of other instruments are taught on a weekly basis (payment for these is extra usually) and yes, you can get extra singing lesson if you want them. Children ares sometimes asked to do 'extra' stage work accross the disciplines but the school staff make those desisions. I know of several young boys who do the 'Billy Elliot' auditions and am sure they must come to some arrangement with the school if successful but auditioning for other outside productions would have to be sanctioned with the school....They liked to be asked about any potential summer school you may want your dancer to attend. I hope this has filled in the blanks... T

Hammond: Hammond is in Chester and is a Performing Arts School (A bit like Tring). Thery have an associates ballet/dance programme for local dancers and take vocational students from year 7. Intake is dependant on what the school sees. There are also students who go there purely to Act - the Drama students so year group size is bigger but dance and Drama students only do academic stuff together and these classes are split up into groups A & B when younger and then streaming/sets as they get older.so there are never too many academic students in the class. Acceptance for any of the above is by audition when the students are asked to perform a dance, recite a drama piece (if appropriate) and sing. There are MDS places and also fairly generous burseries on offer at all ages if deemed talented enough. There are usually more girls than boys but they do like parity. Boarding is wonderful! A big old house for the girls in the centre of Chester and they take good care of their children. Not having a boy, cannot say about the boys boarding house but that is in Chester too. There is no 'assessing out' as they reason that if you are not suitable for ballet dance then acting or other dance forms can still be used. Everyone who wants to stay on at 6th form has to re-audition. Exam results are good and ballet classes are taught every day with other dance styles, tap/jazz etc taught on a weekly basis. Also singing is a requirement (but not solo work unless the child wants to do it). There are RAD classes on a Saturday. MDS places are less than Elmhurst or WL but the burseries make up for that. Ballet students have a very high calibre of teaching and usually hold their own against Elmhurst and several successfully audition for 6th fprm places at top ballet schools. End of year shows include all the children although years 10 and 11 get more stage time. There is also a 'showing of work' at feb half term or a musical which involves quite a few of the school children. Also children perform a set ballet/tap/jazz class at their year group parents open evening. hope I haven't missed anything out.... T

My dd just got an e-mail offering her a place today. Her last chance to impress the 'powers that be' before her general auditions for 6th form next September. Poppy, my dd was 13 and 11 months when she went to their first summer school but I had already had a word with the school to make sure it was ok before she applied. We didint think she would be offered a place but she got in off the waiting list. Good luck. T

Sorry to hear your news Lildancer, we had everything crossed for you but well done for getting to the finals which shows how good she is.... LB, will be interested to hear which school you choose to go to. T

The same for us....I am 'lurking' for all I am worth to find out information (I have none to give on the next level of training) but know a few other dancers going through it this year and our thoughts are with them and their families. It is truly a stressful time and it seems to me that no matter how well you and your dancer prepare, or where they have been trained Voc school/home everything is thrown up in the air and all playing fields are (mostly) level again... T

My DD has applied for this again this year. She was on a waiting list a couple of years ago and was offered a place. She says they are worked hard but says it is well worth it and she loves the Pas De Deux classes with the BRB males! They do start at 14 but dd was only a month away from her birthday so they let her in (from waiting list) that first year. It is not expected that she will get in every year as she knows of some people who do get No's. As the closing date for applications has just passed I hope we will hear soon. T

Yes, you are correct. The drama side of the school do productions and musicals that are completley separate to the dancers, held at different times of the year so that parents can attend all the dhows no matter what the discipline. The senior school is the same I think. The Les Mis was a brilliant production of all of the groups (dance and drama - mostly yr 9 and above but some lower year children also) and it worked very well. however there were/are still dance displays for the younger year groups and the usual end of year dance production. I asked my DD and the drama students do not usually do dance classes unless there is a special arrangement but they can take GCSE dance (as my DD is doing GCSE drama!). They all mix well together in the year groups and i have never heard of a 'them/us' situation arising. hope this helps.

My DD attends Hammond and I can say that the dance is central to a lot of the cirriculum. However, it is not all ballet (although they do have a ballet class every day). Not all on the dance course want to be a professional ballerina! There is a good spread of other forms of dance and singing and also musical theatre work. I believe that the drama students do some dancing as well but not the pure academic students. There is a strong emphasis on singing and musical theatre and their last years production of Les Miz was incredible! (Ballet/dance/drama students as well as others took part - no dancing there) Hammond is a brilliant all rounder school and a very caring one for the boarders.

I too will be happy to help....not in London though (Dorset) but am ok around computers and if a bit of teaching me what to do goes with it, I would be happy to help in any way possible, This forum is absolutely invaluable to so many I am happy to do anything (almost!) to keep it up and running. T

Thank you for everyones replies. On reflection it was an odd thing for her dance teacher to hint at but may get more of an idea when her assessments come out in case there were other concerns. At DD's school they do not 'assess out' and so trying to get a clear answer as to a possible classical dance career is very difficult as there are other paths she could choose (which she has rejected in favour of her beloved ballet). I think we will take everyones good advice and keep on going with the usual goals and audition preparations for the autumn and just deal with whatever happens when it does happen. Both lildancer and little ballerina are inspirations and fingers are firmly crossed for both of you in the finals. Tx

Hi all, I am hoping that a few dancers already in a company may see/respond to this one. My DD is in year 10 and looking to audition for a classical ballet course/school next year and it has been hinted at that she may not be quite tall enough and to "widen her horizons". She is a strong, flexible, petite dancer with all the usual 'correct' proportions to do classical but is only 5'2" tall. does anyone know if this will be a huge impediment to getting a 6th form place or an offer at sowehere like (say) Central? I am not sure that she will have a sudden growth spurt as I myself am only 5' tall As a parent I want to guide her as best I can. She is already at vocational school but the 6th form/dance college step is a big one and we want to make sure she doesnt audition at a place that has a preference for taller girls!! It is hard enough getting rejections anyway. all advice/information gratefully recieved. Tx

Places for summer schools are just like audition places in that there is no automatic entry for vocational students! You can still be rejected for a place at any summer school if the dancer in the photos (summer schools are usually based on these) are not what the school is looking for. I don't want to weigh in about vocational students taking places other might have but as in all things...the people running the summer schools know what they are looking for and I am sure that if a non vocational dancer looked better than the vocational dancer then the summer school would choose accordingly...they want to see as many potential future candidates for their own schools/programmes as possible, why limit their potential to just the vocational students?

Congratulations from our house too!! Well done..you must be very proud.

My DD and I would like to wish everyone who is auditioning for the big ballet schools the best of luck. you know who you are! fingers firmly crossed for everyone....it will be us again for 6th form next year T

There is a forum run by our local ballet school (for the dancers and parents) and some parents/dancers are encouraged to be moderators for the site....we all work different hours and therefore can cover most hours of the day. As I understand it, a moderator keeps a very close watch on the posts and either takes any offensive material or spam off immediately or reports it to a 'tech' person. There is, of course, a different level of loggon involved. Is this what you are after Bruce? A group of people to agree to be morderators? or is it the money thing? Trudi Edited to add that the hours involved are very small and in in very small chuncks of hours i.e. 2 hours 3 times a week.

My DD did Central summer school for three years in a row and really liked it. The teachers are all excellent and they work hard. The groups are mixed up in ages and abilities so you may get a 13 year old doing Advance level dance in the top group and 13 year olds in the bottom group with inter foundation grades. There is also a lot of random placings. There were four groups in all. The youngest group do very little point work (one lesson for the week if I recall) but the older ones do more. They all learn a reportoir piece and a modern piece to perform in front of parents at the end, it was amazing what they managed to learn in a week! My DD and I really enjoyed our week in London and managed to stay and eat quite cheaply considering.

My dd is currently doing this and really enjoys it. It makes the dancer think about every aspect of dance; the rythm, the mood, the choreography, the body movements and the use of different instruments to evoke different reponses in the audience. They are also learning about nutrition for and strength in the dancer (not just ballet dancers!) Talking to her about it, she says some people see this as an 'easy' option but in fact there is a lot to think about and get right....she is currently doing partner work and this makes them both aware of how each other moves, thinks etc. She will take this a year early in year 10 but is really enjoying it.