twinkletoes

welcome Letsbhonest! there some students on the waiting list, it was a very competitive year this year and each year we place a few the waiting list as there are always a few who drop out for various reasons.

results have all been sent out now and you should have them today at latest ... time to cross those fingers and toes!

the RAD summer schools are very good and quite reasonably priced, tend to be London or bournemouth but 1/3 ballet, 1/3 contemptory and 1/3 musical theatre, quite a few students do that one

Many parents consider alternative education for a variety of reasons, some consider the private system 'better' for their chosen career or they feel that their child would do better in the smaller classes or the children may just not suit state systems and there is a danger that we assume that those in academic private education have no resourcing issues, those who make that choice for their child's education often have the same stresses and worries as those who send to vocational school, often they have extra jobs and plough all their funds into the school fees in the same as dancing parents and also have the stress of auditioning for scholarship places to try and reduce the costs, many private schools also have entrance exams so their equivalent to performing audition tends to be academic exams. I know parents who have DC's and nonDC's in the alternative education sector and both types work every hour they can and sell all that they have to put their child into the best school for them, and worrying constantly that they would lose a job or that the child will lose their subsidising scholarship funding etc private schooling whether vocational performance based or academic is expensive and a constant source of ongoing worry about finances, its no longer the exclusive domain of the upper classes but widening participation and access means that more and more people are considering non-state options for their children at earlier ages .... basically any educational system that differs from the state norm seems to be expensive and stressful for both parents and students i do think though that those parents considering a traditional private school know that they are going to have to fund the entire cost themselves and work on that basis, any subsidy will be a bonus while those who are looking at vocational schools don't always look at the funding first but their first pressure is to get into the school and then once that happens the panic starts. i'm not sure what could resolve that either

Even when MDS funding is spread across years its not normally allocated by anything other than 'merit' it simply means that all the eligible children get to audition together and the MDS is awarded from that pool rather than saying we're going to give 8 to year 7, 3 to year 8 and 3 to year 9 etc. Sadly deciding to send DC to a vocational school is the same as deciding sending them to a private school and parents have to weigh up the benefits of the school against the cost of sending them (though i am aware that that may be a controversial view of things ) in my experience this is something that many parents don't realise or accept, often citing that if someone wants to be a professional dancer they need to go to vocational school, NOT something i necessarily subscribe to, at least most vocational schools are now able to offer SOME funding support even if the MDS etc is limited in numbers at least places like Tring and Hammond etc give very generous bursaries normally to help, normally bringing the cost down by 50% - 75% while although still leaving with a big cost when looking at the bill if you consider how much most parents of vocational dancers spend on classes, associate programs, travel and auditions etc makes does put things in a better light as that often adds up to thousands a year and when the DC are at school the dance classes are now included so this bill is no longer incurred. There does need to be much more transparency on the costs of sending children to vocational schools and the hidden costs that may be incurred etc so that parents can make a fully informed decision BEFORE setting off and don't pin all their hopes on funding options that realistically only a tiny amount of students are able to get.

the schools are businesses but making a profit doesn't meant that parents are being ripped off, the staffing costs are higher than state schools also there are smaller class sizes, the buildings cost more to equip and maintain and the staff development costs are generally higher too. If you look at the fees paid for the schools they do look horrendous but most private schools are around 15 - 25K a year for just the local 'non-presitgeous' private schools and then there are the dance classes on top, essentially you are paying for private education and exceptional dance classes and, in my view, i don't feel they are excessive. Other countries may charge less but they are sometimes state or privately subsidised where the UK subsidies only the top % through the MDS funding and the like. I do have concerns about parents who do not have a realistic view on the probability of getting funding, it is so hard to get and often a child will be exceptional in their school but then when compared with the others they are fighting for a funded place among the the elite and this is often not considered, when a child gets offered a place and can't fund it then there is often huge conflict of feelings, i've found parents get a range of emotions from anger to hurt to disappointment and the expectation of funding means that they will crash when its not realised. Often the child is unable to cope with the 'rejection' and loses sight of the fact that they have won a place in the first place and therefore are talented and worthy, they are just not the best of the best so you find children of 10 or 11 facing what seems like the end of a dream and they can sometimes take this as someone telling them they are not made for dance which is NOT what was being said, or a family will sell everything to fund a child who then has the additional pressure of knowing that they are the cause of the remortgage/house sale/pension cash in etc and of course where there are siblings in the house this often means the entire family sacrificing for one child leading to resentment potentially. It is a rollercoster of stress and elation and more stress and i do think that schools should maybe outline the consequences of an offer a little more, but i'm not sure if even then that would make a difference I know that personally, i wouldn't go for a place without having some sort of plan in place, even if that plan was a worse case scenario, as it just causes so much stress on all concerned if that plan isnt' in place and everyone has to know what the options are, i've seen too many families torn apart because not all the family members buy in to the plan .... thats just my view anyway

if i remember correctly its letter but i'm easily confused lol

they should be out in a week, the number of spaces available is still being finalised but the demand this year has been almost double previous years to the hope is to run 2 classes rather than one

they are very good for beginners and you can get medium shanks and narrow fitting which may help too

girls shopping day to london it is then

have you asked her teachers? they would know her feet and may have an idea what shoes would suit her, i know it takes a few tries to find a shoe that suits the dancer and to be honest you'll find that you'll change shoes quite often as her feet grow, i'm actually impressed they've lasted 8 months I like Gaynor mindens but i know that some there is a split of opinion on them for new pointe students and its probably not a good first shoe if she's only started on pointe a few months as they tend to be more for professional dancers, Capezio shoes are quite good for those starting off but its worth asking the teacher what her view is and then spending a few hours in a shop trying them .... a girls day out to London may be called for good luck

] It's worth noting that if you start treatment under private cover the NHS will normally charge you if they have to pick up continuing treatment if started private, a few have been caught out with this in the past and it gets expensive depending on the HA and age of the person (some cover children) alsothe NHs also has been known to class treatment as elective or lower priority depending on what it is, they don't necessarily have the budget or willingness to cater for sports injuries in the way that we would often like, hens the need for bupa in the first place)

hi swe i would say that you know what the limits for your child are, if your dh is supportive and your dd wants to do the classes then thats the only thing that really matters, personally 6 classes a week doesn't seem that much to me, if she is serious about being dancer then she may even have to increase the training depending if she wants to be a ballerina or all round dancer doing stage work which required more disciplines than ballet. my dd did 2 or 3 classes 4 nights a week on top all day saturday and then the music and academic studies and she had little intention of dancing as a profession but simply loved to dance. my son swims for his country and we had 5am swim sessions 7 days a week and then 2 hrs after school each night and weekend sessions and competitions as well, looking back i have no idea how we did it all lol go with your gut feeling if you think she is finding it too much cut back but if she wants to take it up seriously then she will be spending every spare second in classes ... while you wait on in the car/waiting room/costa coffee good luck

it doesn't take much to make a rapid change in flexibilities, just 10 mins a day with a good stretching program makes a big difference, also yoga or Pilatea will help too

my understanding is that they will have paid the £420 before casting so the money is lost. The girls are no identifiable from the newsletter from what I could see and therefore there is no defamation as there is no identification ... but if it was my child i would be fuming so i can see the point i'm rather intrigued by it all and find myself wondering what on earth happened in Newcastle I can't believe that someone who has auditioned for the process would leave for no good reason but then again i have come across quite a few dancers in my career who have issues with accepting that they may not be as good as they think they are and think they deserve a 'better' part than they have, its hard often when they go from being a 'big fish in a small pond' to suddenly being one of the crowd. I always tell dancers that many a career is made on being a hard working understudy and it seems to me that this is the case here where they may not have stood out in casting but shone when given the opportunity to stand in. I also agree that a dancer who only dances at 100% health is a dancer who will go hungry as in my experience there is always some niggle there and you find a way to either push through it or adapt, of course only for minor issues and most dancers know their limits

you are right that there are 2 sides to each story and the reality is probably in between the 2 sides, I have had a few dealings with the EYB and always found them to be rather professional and i think they do a very good job and offer opportunities to dance in a large scale show that many dancers would not have otherwise, however, they are all very passionate about what they do, its a family type company and where they feel that they have been 'let down' and they take it personally when people do leave in rehearsals as they have 'taken' a place that could have been offered to other dancers. I'm not a fan of mentioning that type of thing in a newsletter as i think we never know the back story but i suspect that Dominic was trying to phrase their disappointment and expectations, possibly not effectively. I hope for those in Newcastle it doesn't impact on their decision to go back there

it scares me at times at how young some go onto pointe, as a rule for me 12 is the min age and then i have to be very sure, the bar works lasts a while too but i know many teachers who think childrens feet and bones are 'strong enough' at 10 because the dancers are technically very good but in reality the rush to go onto pointe is potentially damaging and should be paced. Some think there is a status to going on pointe at a young age, sadly it often results in later damage and is often an indicator of an inexperienced teacher who is potentially pressured or carried away with how good some dancers are. I'm just very wary about the rush to go on pointe, i'm sure there are exceptions but i've yet to meet one that i'm fully happy with

the grade range varies, there isn't an expectation but most are RAD grade 3+ there is a wide range of people auditioning, JA etc but that doesn't really mean that all the auditionees have to be JA level, its potential and how they perform on the day ... smiling does help just have fun thats the most important thing

times are getting sent out tomorrow, they were being finalised this afternoon

also when you are auditioning in person you need to show off the legs and muscles to the best you can, ideally avoid tights as then the leg muscles and tone to the best ... unless of course the child isn't well defined in which case tights are the answer high leg leotards work wonders

not working for me either if its your group C4D you would be able to see it, is it open? i think they default to closed .... this is why i don't use FB much lol

every child offered the place by a school is obviously recognised for potential otherwise they wouldn't have been given a place, funding bodies do sometimes have additional requirements though as many are separate from the schools, sometimes these are socio-ecomonomic aspects such as means testing sometimes they relate to the top x% of pupils this means that they can have funding for a certain number of spaces but less people meet the requirements than there are places offers, it all depends on the funding body. The means testing levels are quite low in most cases and looks at household income and family responsibilities rather than disposable income in the household which is quite hard and unfair, i know some funding bodies actually as you to justify what the home equity is and then why you haven't released it etc. by harsh and objective i was referring to these financial elements this not the child ability i don't necessarily think its fair either, i personally think that any child offered a place should at the very least have the LEA contribute what they would have paid out in schooling costs as obviously they don't have that to pay anymore

Do you know if all the funding was issued? they don't always offer all the MDS available out it depends how many meed the exacting criteria, its hard i know but sometimes you have to be quite harsh and objective and ask "do we meet the requirements?" I know of a few years when we've not offered all the funded places we have available because we just didn't have enough people who met the requirements. its a harsh world and not fair at times but at least there are bursaries to at least help and most schools accept monthly payments, i would contact the LEA and see if they will contribute as they often have funds they can release depending on the area you live in, even if they match funds with what you can raise you may find that possible at a push ... its worth a try

C4d I really feel for you, Im sure your daughter will come round, she should focus on the face she got in and it's just the money so really her confidence should home in on that, she must be good to have got in but I can see how it's easy to get bogged down on the factshe feels a failure. See how she feels after the EYB at least she has that to focus on and im sure once she is one that stage she will be all for dancing again

It's sad for all those who got a no and a harsh reminder of the cruelty of a life in the arts but if there are lots of other avenues and sometimes it's better to go later, at least this solves the issue of an unhappy dad C4D ... Though I suspect he feels horrid now seeing how upset your daughter is I'm sure it will sort out in the long run, will she carry on the associate classes and try for year 8 next year?