Dancers Dad

21 minutes ago, Mjdb said:

Yes eleventh hr would be us !!! Lol once we had the offer everything was sorted very quickly & in time for the 1st rent installment. 

We give dd £40 per week ...more than covers her weekly shop & washing/ drying, she also shops at Aldi near to the arndale centre. Every now & again she will pop to the Tesco express if she needs a top up on bread fruit etc. Train tickets have also come out if this money as any left over stays in the account each month so accumulates over time.

What we also do is when taking her back after half terms/ holidays we stock up on toiletries, cleaning products etc so a little more is spent by us also saves her having to carry extra shopping . 

We actually had the conversation about budgets etc some of the other students get anything from £25 - £50 per week it just depends on foods bought & if they do their own washing ...or take home at the weekends .

Mj

 

 

 

Glad to read this. Was worried we were being a bit tight!

She actually enjoys the responsibility of budgeting, shopping well and seeing if there's a bit left over at the end of the month which is hers to spend.

12 minutes ago, Hairpinseverywhere said:

We are just waiting for funding info and will be calling to book as soon as / if DD gets a provisional offer.

 

Out of curiosity what are experiences with funding? I know one forum members DD received theirs at the eleventh hour last year!

 

Also what are people thoughts on average weekly costs for food etc? Do most get the same from their parents or have you noticed a large variation?

IIR, funding took a painfully long time but there were stages - ie you were told what the calculation was likely to be but then it had to be verified. I can try and find the paperwork later...  Not quite eleventh hour though.

Definitely a large variation! Some seem to dine on several takeaways a week and shop just at the convenience stores, while my poor old daughter does her weekly trip to Aldi! We give her £200/month for food, washing and everything else (not ballet kit) - living, basically. She's done very well with her budgeting and is always chuffed if she saves a bit for a pizza every now and again.

1 hour ago, mum5678 said:

Apparently the first flat is now full at New Medlock and they’ve just started another one for my DS!

Not sure if you saw earlier in the thread but my daughter will be in a flat of 7 next year for her second year, with two other second years. They're pretty quiet and lovely and on the lookout for any first years to join them who might appreciate being shown the ropes.

23 hours ago, Legseleven said:

Another vote for chocolate milk here - from DD’s dance teachers and sports coaches. Very good for muscle recovery we were told. And it’s quick and easy (and tastes good 😉). 

Thank you.

On 16/02/2022 at 22:41, glowlight said:

Does she like eggs?  As someone who has snacked through the last 40 years, I have discovered that if I eat eggs for breakfast I don't feel the need to snack midmorning.  Obviously your dd will be burning much more energy than I do, but it might be something to consider.  I usually have two eggs, scrambled, with half a tomato chopped in  - cooked with a little butter.  

 

Having said all that...my dd pretty much lived of instant noodles when she was at NBS.

She doesn't - which she's very annoyed about because she knows how good for her they are - and how useful! 🙄

10 minutes ago, NotadanceMa said:

We do cheese, full fat yogurts, hummus, peanut butter and apple, (I know nuts can be tricky), flapjacks, bananas and of course lots of cake 😁

Cheese was recommended by dietician as my child has a hard time gaining any weight. And they said calorie dense protein choices.

If u make ur own hummus u can add lots of oil to top up the calories.

Thanks very much. 

2 hours ago, Jane said:

Dance physio recommended chocolate milk as a healthy snack and good for muscle recovery. 
Overnight oats or Bircher make a good snack and a fee days batch can be made and decanted into suitable container. 

Thank you.

10 hours ago, alison said:

See also this now rather elderly thread, on vegetarian snacks:

 

https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/7293-snacks-for-summer-school/#comment-98385

Thanks for this.

7 hours ago, FlexyNexy said:

My DD never liked to snack or followed dancers’ diets or trends to this date. She would have normal breakfast from cereals, pancakes, full English - whatever the appetite was that morning. School lunch at school including her favorite custard and sausage roll after school on the bus to pick up her dance gear. When it came to dance lessons she would put soup in thermos that I have left in the fridge, warmed it up and ate (drunk more likely) about 1hr before class. She did not have feeling of being peckish or hungry in between the classes and when came home at night she had family meal we have cooked for the whole family.

During performances when out all day, she would start by normal breakfast, I would pack her Aladdin bento box/ pot with normal food that I have cooked for us as it kept the food warm for 4 hours. Banana, some chopped fruits into another small pot and that’s all. She would make sure that during her main break she would eat her warm meal.
When she did not want warm food, she would prepare bagel, or wraps, avocado, smoothie, she liked to prepare granola mix cereals as a base, then white yoghurt and fruits on top. Oh and boiled egg with salt. 
She used my card when about in London in case she wanted to buy something and one small coffee shop kept appearing on my statement. Once i went around and discovered she is buying their mega large doughnuts on the way home. I guess her body craved suggar 😄 

Her colleagues always wait for lunch break and try to guess what her meal is when she opens the sealed bento box and release the fragrance. Yesterday I believe it was paella and today she mentioned something about chickpea stew.  No snacks for her, she never needed them as she has meals during the day that they fill her up and her Aladdin pot is traveling with her everywhere even now when young adult.
Maybe to look at the meals during the day rather small snacks that they tend to eat running around?

Thank you - soup in a thermos is a great idea - and thanks for all the other thoughts.

She already eats pretty hugely at main meal times, although lunchtime is tricky as they don't have long and then they're straight back into the full-on dancing so she can't eat too much at once. Pasta salad at lunch is the most effective I think.

35 minutes ago, Mamaderuby said:

Natural peanut butter with apple slices. Mmm...

Thanks - but no nuts I'm afraid.

1 hour ago, Kate_N said:

A Greek friend of mine says that the Fage yoghurt is the nearest he’s found in England to the standard home-made yoghurt he grew up with in Greece.  I mix Greek yoghurt with the frozen strawberry and banana smoothie mix I buy in Iceland, and it’s like very creamy ice cream! No added sugar apart from the natural sugars in the fruit.  And plain Greek yoghurt is high in protein while not high in junk calories, and is filling.  As @Pas de Quatresays, most commercial yoghurt -especially the “low fat” ones - are full of junk calories.

 

Also, does she like avocados? Half an avocado in slices might make her feel satiated without bulk or additives.

Thank you. Not sure re: avocado - I'll ask her. Worth a try.

2 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Expanding on the pouches idea, there are lots based on lentils, quinoa and other healthy grains. Lentils are really good for protein  and iron, both of which are often lacking in teenage diets. Pupsmum is right, high protein yoghurt too, if you can't find Skyr any proper Greek yoghurt is good. Always avoid low fat and commercial fruit yoghurt they are bulked out with cornflour and masses of sugar which make them very unhealthy. You can just add chopped fresh or dried fruit of your own. Likewise with cottage cheese.

Thank you.

9 hours ago, valentina said:

Banana on whole grain toast with a drizzle of honey.... if she has time and if she likes bananas, which many people don't.

Nice. She tends to have a banana a day but this definitely adds to it.

8 minutes ago, Pups_mum said:

My son doesn't dance but he does do a couple of sports fairly intensively and has a restricted diet due to allergies which mean he can't have a lot of the more typical snacks that his peers use.

Things he likes include dry cereal (typically granola or cheerios), malt loaf or similar - soreen make quite a lot of different flavours in lunchbox sized bars - rice cakes and fruit puree pouches. He also has a protein recovery shake after intense workouts. Another idea is high protein yoghurts such as Skyr. You can get quite a few varieties in pouches now so you're not left with sticky spoons in the bottom of kit bags!

These are nice ideas, thank you. I can see some of these working.

1 hour ago, Kate_N said:

 

What about cubes of cheddar cheese? Protein, and very satiating - no need to eat more than 50grammes or so at a time. And go well with a handful of sultanas. I found this a really good snack as I mostly try to remove out processed carbs from my diet and increase my protein intake.

Thank you. She does the sultanas but doesn't like cheese on its own! She knows it's useful and sticks it on jacket spuds, pizza, and other things occasionally to try and ensure she has a bit.

2 hours ago, cotes du rhone ! said:

In year 9 of vocational training Dd decided to cut out snacks. No one knew. Within a very short period of time, with increased ballet and appraisal stress she went from a healthy young lady to a skeleton. She never stopped eating meals but just made ‘healthier’ choices. This was the start of a journey with disordered eating. She controlled everything. She sadly wasn’t the only one. Others followed this path, substituting snacks for so called healthier options, some becoming vegetarian and then vegan. Due to our past experience these behaviours ring alarm bells with us. Green tea, Apple Cider vinegar and laxatives thrown in. Nutritional education and advice was none existent, until there was a problem ….. then it was panic stations and constant monitoring and threats. Sadly for her being skinny was the road to success 😢 and she wasn’t getting off it.

 I personally now feel physically sick when I see unhealthily underweight professional ballet dancers. We personally know that it takes a lot to achieve that and sets a very bad and dangerous example to the next generation. 
I am not in anyway insinuating that vegetarian/vegan and healthy snacking dancers all have issues, but if someone had have shared their experiences that changes in dietary choices could be a concern then we wouldn’t have been so naive. I remember feeling lost and lonely. No one wants to talk to you about it or support you. Dd lost a lot of friendships 😢 Some were just plain horrible too. Kids and parents can be unkind. 
Snacks are so so important in dance. I truly don’t mean to put a downer on this thread but just wanted to share so hopefully no one’s journey is like ours x 

 

Absolutely hear you and thanks for sharing your experience, and I'm very sorry it was such a terrible one. This is something we've always been very aware of, and have made supreme efforts to create a healthy approach to food. I am constantly on the alert. All seems good so far but I'll never be complacent. We often talk about food as fuel and she is enjoying becoming stronger, rather than thinner, so fingers crossed. 

3 hours ago, balletbean said:

My DD found her energy levels improved when we started following a vegetarian diet. Swapping bread for wraps and sipping  the odd protein shake made with oat milk. Hummus and veg dips and radically reducing processed sugars and starches from her diet. Even the humble biscuit was kicked out.   All of which also avoided the bloated feeling than can occur whilst keeping the sugar levels on an even keel. By making those changes she also found that she wasn’t needing to snack as often as she had when following her old diet. Not sure it will suit everyone but for someone who started at NBS where vegetables were firmly off the menu I was very impressed with her sudden about change. Even if it messed up my cooking upon her return home! 

Interesting - thanks. TBH. I don't see her going this route as she's shown no inclination to cut out meat and actually doesn't have that much anyway, so it feels important for protein, especially in the absence of nuts. She's always eaten veg by the kilo.  She also doesn't tend to feel bloated - it's the emptiness that's the problem! But fair play to your daughter for having the gumption to go for it and benefit from it. (Very interesting to note the not needing to snack as much though.)

As an aside, I watched an interesting little piece on the BBC website about a set of sporty twins who trialled meat v vegan diet for 12 weeks. Interesting, if slightly inconclusive.

3 hours ago, cotes du rhone ! said:

Have a look at My Protein. They do a very good selection of snacks, lean, vegan, baked, bars, cookies, brownies etc. Discount codes available regularly too. We order a variety of items for Ds to eat between rehearsals and performances. Ex Dd still has them now 🤣

Thanks - not heard of that so will look. Useful too as she does a lot of strength work in the holidays (and a bit in term time) so needs protein.

Slightly odd one, this but now my daughter is dancing all day everyday, she needs to keep fuelled up and is running out of vaguely healthy snack ideas!

She does eat well already and doesn't want to add just more processed/sugary/bready snacks. Already eats plenty of fruit, veg, dried fruit. Makes her own seedy flapjacks. Doesn't like nuts or eggs unfortunately.

Any ideas please?

On 30/01/2022 at 08:20, Ballet-taxi said:

@Jo Jo, my DD will also start in Sept and would be keen to be in accommodation with other dancers starting, especially as only 16. 
It might be a good idea to coordinate together or even get the ‘new starts’ a group chat together. 
I haven’t properly checked out the accommodation yet. I think there are at least 3 of them on here now. Well done to your DD.👏

To those with daughters starting this autumn and thinking about accommodation, just to let you know that my daughter and two NBS friends in the current year one have taken a 7-berth flat in New Medlock for next year and would be happy to have first years along to join them if they would like to. The three of them (all just turned 17) are lovely and pretty quiet - my daughter still goes to bed earlier than anyone we know! - and would be welcoming and helpful to any first years. I'm happy to have a chat with anyone who's interested. 

8 hours ago, Lena said:

Hi, I have a dance obsessed 11 year old, but we are not ready to send her boarding for lower school (nor could we afford to!). But, I am wondering whether by not doing Lower School we jeopardise her chances of doing Vocational Training later on. How many students manage to get into decent full-time vocational training after GCSE who have not been to full-time training before? If we keep doing intermediate foundation onwards at our local studio, and also an Associate Programme (e.g. Ballet Boost or CSB), will that be enough? At the moment she dances 6 times a week but clearly it is not as intense as proper full-time training at RBS, Elmhurst or Tring ! Could it be enough to get more serious later? Interested to hear about any experiences you have with this! Thank you so much.   

Our daughter started at NBS (not sure if this is one you'd consider or whether it would be just the holy trinity?) at 16 - she would not have been ready to be away before that. At around age 13, her ballet teacher said that if she really wants to apply for vocational school, the hard work starts now - and it did. All the classes she could take at her school (ballet, tap, modern, contemporary, intermediate/advanced) plus a weekly private lesson and practising wherever we could find her some space most other days. Also working with a strength & conditioning coach to built strength for a couple of years - and a number of summer schools to see what it was all about.

On 17/01/2022 at 11:49, Hairpinseverywhere said:

DD asked, around how much do the laundry facilities cost per wash as she’s working out her budget, if anyone could advise that would be perfect either NM or MSV 🙂 

 

Thank you

Remembered to check with my daughter - at NM, wash is £3.10, dry £1.70. Big machines though, so they save a lot up for a wash. Also tend to dry most clothes around the flat to save money.

5 hours ago, Mjdb said:

Hi mum5678,

Funny you should ask about singing....my daughter is a first year & just this week they had to sing solo ( approx a minute verse & chorus ) for the first time in front of fellow students & they are just into the 2nd term. I think they were all dreading it ( I know my daughter was it's probably her least favourite thing to do !! ), but I suppose it had to be done . So please don't let him worry it's not like it's a lesson everyday. I wish him luck in his audition !

Mj

Ditto to all this. My daughter, also (so far) a non-singer, said the teacher and the other students were kind and supportive.

20 hours ago, Ballet-taxi said:

@Hairpinseverywhere my DD has also been offered a place and would be keen to be in accommodation with others. 
 

It would be good to get feedback from other dance  parents who have had their children at NBS and in the accommodation. 
 

Well done to your DD. 👏

I have a daughter at NBS, staying in New Medlock. Happy to answer any questions. Had a rough start at NM with a spate of nightly fire alarms but that problem seems to have been solved. The Unite people are nice and helpful but stretched. The building's a bit tired but there's talk of a bit of room refurb this summer.

In terms of booking, they do try and get NBS students all together, especially the youngsters. My daughter's flat is four 16-17 year olds, all first year.  It's worth keeping an eye on the process though, as they did try and put a 20 year old university student in their flat at one point and it took quite a lot of calls and emails to persuade them to stick to their word. (We later discovered that the 20 year old had been moved in with three other NBS students next door! They obviously didn't object as loudly...)

6 minutes ago, Hairpinseverywhere said:

Further to this, do people generally book the ‘full year’ 51 weeks or the academic year options? I can see they are priced differently on Dwell but US don’t seem to be offering that at this point for NewMedlock.

When I was booking with Unite, the 51 week option was, bizarrely, cheaper than the academic year option, so we booked that. Probably would have done academic year otherwise (after very carefully checking dates covered full NBS term times).