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Dancers Dad

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  1. Dancers Dad
    See? This is the sort of thing you'd never think of (well, I wouldn't)! We'd already started talking about doing two trips in the summer!
  2. Dancers Dad
    I'd echo much of the above, particularly: Medlock is still pretty popular with the students, especially first years. Quite a few first years are moving out at the end of this year. It is definitely one of the cheaper options. It's not perfect but it's fine. The staff seem to be very busy but they do try their best for the NBS students. Only when you see all the accommodation do you realise just how close to NBS they all are! This is quite important, I think - they have a long day and walk back in the dark for quite a few months. I know a number of NBS students have booked Parkway for next year but having seen it again yesterday (when taking my daughter back to Medlock), I wouldn't be booking it. I know there are eight months to go but there is A LOT still to do and there is a serious materials (and to some extent labour) shortage in construction atm. It could well be brilliant but if you want certainty, think very carefully! I learnt nearly all of what I needed to know about NBS/accommodation etc from very helpful people on here - including people in this thread - so do make good use of people's experience. I'm happy to add my 4 months' experience as an NBS parent too! And definitely go up and have a look round the accommodation too, get a feel for the location etc.
  3. Dancers Dad
    Congratulations! - my daughter is one term in at NBS and loves it. I still remember the day she got her offer letter like it was yesterday!
  4. Dancers Dad
    Extremely helpful everyone, thanks very much! @Dancing unicorn - no, they haven't been very specific @balletbean and @FlexyNexy- excellent advice thank you. Liking the sound of Superdrug! @Jan McNultyThank you. I did try a search but didn't get anywhere - probably lacking in search skills. @Medora - thank you. She's not but others are and her Mum is, so we can have a look.
  5. Dancers Dad

    Make up

    Dancers Dad posted a topic in Doing Dance

    Hello. My daughter has never really been a make-up person but now at vocational school has to have some stage make-up that she can use for shows. Neither my wife nor I, nor my daughter, know where to start - any clues please? Is there some kind of ideal starter pack somewhere? Thanks very much.
  6. Dancers Dad
    What an interesting thread - great question and responses.
  7. Dancers Dad
    Not sure if this was a London-specific question, but if not - when we researched accommodation for our daughter in Manchester, there were options to rent for 51 weeks or 38 (? or thereabouts) weeks but it was a considerably higher price for the lower number of weeks, which meant that you were paying pretty much the same anyway (in fact, a touch more I think) over the year! So always worth checking the two costs.
  8. Dancers Dad
    Basically, you pay the fees and you pay the accommodation. So obviously quite a big difference in rent between NBS and Central. Neither have their own accommodation so you'll need to go into general student accommodation. But you can apply for a Dada grant, which can get you money off the fees - and off accommodation if you're on a very low income. See more here - https://www.gov.uk/dance-drama-awards
  9. Dancers Dad
    Ditto for my daughter - loved her Capezios for ages but with heavy use at vocational school has found them slipping off a bit; has just bought some So Danca to try. Her Capezios were 1.5 sizes up from regular shoe.
  10. Dancers Dad
    Some more encouraging research just out... https://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Abstract/2021/11000/Joint_Hypermobility_Does_Not_Increase_the_Risk_of.17.aspx
  11. Dancers Dad
    🙂 Indeed it is. There is probably no more controversial or disputed book in the world than DSM 5. But anyway, that's a different discussion.
  12. Dancers Dad
    👍 Thanks very much - just pinned those to my browser for reading when I have a mo.
  13. Dancers Dad
    Thanks Anna C - very interesting. I certainly would like to read more on this. Farawaydancer - The diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders are spectacularly open to interpretation. (I don't know enough about hypermobility syndromes to comment really, although it does strike me as something that would very much be dimensional rather than easily segregated, discrete conditions).
  14. Dancers Dad
    Interesting. Quite early stage research and simply stating a correlation - but I'm still curious. I'd be interested in the social factors that play a role - eg Do hypermobile people go into training/careers that have a higher likelihood of stress? Also, the definitions of both hypermobility and anxiety are wide open for interpretation. So while I'm interested in this, I wouldn't draw any conclusions.
  15. Dancers Dad
    Great articles, thanks. And completely chimes with what the two S&C specialists my daughter has seen say. All about the strength. Cold, pre-class stretching of little or no value and actually can damage - yet nearly everyone in class still does it.
  16. Dancers Dad
    Bravo!
  17. Dancers Dad
    I remain very glad that I kept my daughter off social media for as long as humanly possible! I'm interested to read the above because my daughter's hypermobility has been as much a hindrance as a help - for example, when dancers have to put their arms out straight, her 'straight' is actually beyond 180 degrees because of her elbow hyperextension and she has had to work really hard to recognise where 'straight' actually is and hold her arms there instead.
  18. Dancers Dad
    I'd say to make sure your daughter has a good perspective on the day. Most auditions for most dancers end in a no thanks, so treat the day as an experience in itself to enjoy and learn from. The result isn't everything. Most dancers love to perform, so let her enjoy performing for the people running the audition. And remember that each school is looking for slightly different things so a 'No' may not be because the dancer is not good but instead may be because, for whatever reason, they're not the right fit for the school.
  19. Dancers Dad
    This is very sad. You've been very honest about your experiences - and you certainly won't have been the only person caught in this impossible bind. I have every sympathy.
  20. Dancers Dad
    I think everyone on the thread has agreed that some children will thrive at dance school and it's great that yours is/was thriving. It's helpful for parents considering dance schools to be able to see the whole range of views, including yours.
  21. Dancers Dad
    This is a good counterpoint (and your following post) to some of the posts, like mine, that are perhaps more worried about the lower school experience. It really does depend on the child - and the parents. That the child always knows there is a way out, no matter how prestigious the school or how much money spent, is critical. One other separate point: I don't know about the really big name schools but there are several schools who take not only 16 year olds but 17, 18 and even 19, 20 year olds, so your child can start at the right point for your them.
  22. Dancers Dad
    I appear to be 7 years late to this thread - but yes, I'm a cricket fan! And player. And occasionally writer. About to put the kit in the loft for another winter...
  23. Dancers Dad
    That sounds truly dreadful. You're right, there's no 11 year old in the world who can be prepared enough to deal with that. It would test most adults.
  24. Dancers Dad
    Well, this is very true. You can plan and think and consider all you like but much remains in the lap of the gods. I suppose that's why I tend to like the idea of sending your child off with the tools to manage whatever comes along: a bit more awareness of themselves, who they are, their strengths and weaknesses - and, crucially, that just because one adult in a position of power says something, it's not gospel.
  25. Dancers Dad
    Our 16 year old daughter has just started at another school, so I can't comment on those you're looking at. However, on the general point of going to lower school and boarding, I guess I'd think long and hard about it and also be curious about the route of staying in conventional training (with Associates, Summer Schools etc thrown in) until 16, then going to upper school. Would this suit your child better? Would they lose any ground? We are also a non-dance family and really it was only through ignorance that we didn't consider lower schools. It was only when our daughter become deadly serious about being a ballerina that we looked into how to give her the best chance of making it happen. And although she is quite a young 16 year old, I feel like we've had a bit more time to give her the self-awareness and self-belief to withstand some of the vicissitudes of dance school. I should say that I probably also bring in a certain bias, having boarded (not dancing!) myself from a young age and not wanting to put my children through the same experience.
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