rowan

You could also look at the Centre for Advanced Training for the East Midlands. They've got a taster day coming up, and there's also information on youth dance in Derbyshire specifically. http://dance4.co.uk/young-people/project/centre-advanced-training/about/centre-advanced-training/national-dance-cats

Yes, I think that's right, as far as I understand it. You can read but you can't add to that particular thread. Only in very exceptional circumstances, such as breaking the terms and conditions of this forum, are some individual posts hidden so they can't be read at all.

Do you mean as regards companies or ballet schools?

I agree with LovetoDance and AnnaC, I think the ballet level should be higher, perhaps grade 4/5, even 6, for someone serious about ballet, though there's no hard and fast rules. The age your DD started dance doesn't really matter so much, as "serious" dance training doesn't really begin to kick in before age 8/9, and lots won't even have started before this age. There's some similar threads you might want to look at: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/441-rad-grades-and-age/ http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/860-istd-modern-gradesages/ http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/4283-idta-gradings-and-age/ http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/980-average-age-in-ballet-grades/

A few people posted on a thread last year saying their children got 100% in the Intermediate exam. The thread's called Intermediate Foundation Hours Per Week, but has diverged onto other subjects, as is common! http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/7775-intermediate-foundation-hours-per-week/page-3

The software has a part that is designed for "emotion recognition", which tries to analyse facial expressions to detect anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness or surprise. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/14/captionbot-microsoft-latest-ai-experiment-it-isnt-racist

The expression "graded exams" would include both sets of syllabi, to my way of thinking! They are all "grades" in RAD terminology, whether they are from the Graded syllabus - from Pre-Primary to 8 - or from the Vocational Graded Examinations.

Well, for this ballet picture, I got the message, "I think this may be inappropriate content, so I won't show it."

I think Pups_mum's comment is more a lighthearted groan than a serious moan about her son taking ballet!

I don't mind the tense at all! It's called the historic present tense and is common nowadays. There was a debate on it a year ago with John Humphrys discussing Melvyn Bragg's radio series In Our Time, although both presenters actually didn't like the tense. But it's academics who want it, Bragg said. He added that academics on his show who did use the historic present tense did so believing that it brought their subject matter to life - and he was not going to act like “some lollipop man” holding up his hand to stop them. "I don’t think that’s my job to tell somebody at the top of their game in scholarship to stop using that tense." http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/it-s-a-tense-stand-off-as-melvyn-bragg-raps-john-humphrys-9633001.html

This was fabulous. It's much more than a straightforward documentary. Highly recommended. It features Wendy Whelan and Natasha Oughtred, and a great deal more.

I absolutely get the point from those who see value in the summer schools for the reasons outlined above, but see what I mean about differing opinions? It all depends on your individual experiences so far. For example, DD had never had classes in church halls, so that's alien to us. The one thing DD got out of summer school was realising she was on track for her goals without being at vocational school -in that sense it gave her confidence. But summer school didn't address the things she felt she particularly needed to work on, and that's why it wasn't a good fit for her. It would depend if you had other classes you could access in the summer, too, whether or not you think it's worth the money.

Whatever gets suggested on this thread, you'll probably get another person suggesting the exact opposite! Summer schools are more designed with fun in mind, rather than serious training, even the very prestigious ones, and they can be very expensive. Consider if your money can be better spent elsewhere.

There are a few discussions of both those videos on the forum...somewhere!

I think it was three of the girls who have got into the upper school all the way through from Year 7, as posted on the Upper School thread, and six of the boys. Three might not seem that many, but it's virtually a quarter of the intake, and for the boys, it's a half. I think that could be considered a "success". Some years are better than others and will take more, or indeed fewer. It was also stated that some of those accepted places at other upper schools, even though they'd been offered a place at the RBS upper school. Other big schools, such as the Vaganova, also ruthlessly assess out. I can't put my hand directly on the figures, but I believe that only a minority of those get all the way through to the graduating class. Very few students at vocational schools will make it as a classical dancer. It doesn't matter how much you love dancing and how hard you work if it's no longer the right fit for you because your body has changed in a way that means it's no longer quite right.. It's not a personal insult, it's nothing you have any control over. There's no point pretending someone is suitable at 16 just because they were suitable at 11. Or they may indeed be still suitable, but someone else is more suitable. You're just setting yourself up for a fall later on. If you love dancing and you work hard, that's great. But are people going to be willing to pay money to watch you dance - not counting friends and relations - when they could watch someone else? That's what it all comes down to in the end. The vast majority of parents, unless they're dancers, won't necessarily know what good technique is, exactly what a good body for ballet exactly is and how those attributes need to combine. They may recognise musicality or artistry to some degree. But musicality and artistry in themselves aren't anywhere near enough.

There is a discussion of this video (the original, shorter version) on the News and Information thread, if anyone is interested. http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/11961-dance-of-the-little-swans-film-about-the-vaganova-academy/

Is Kremlin Palace Theatre the home of Kremlin Ballet, or is that a different company altogether?

I didn't know they biodegraded. I assumed we'd been infested with mice chomping away at them for nests!

Not everyone who gets an offer of a place gets offered funding at Elmhurst, even if eligible. There's a thread on it from a few years ago (2012), where, after some debate (see below), it was reckoned that there were about 20 funded places at that time. Elmhurst were hoping in the future be able to offer 90% funded places in the lower school. http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/1216-mds-dada-and-funding-alternatives/ Elmhurst's website says clearly that awards are for "the most talented children entering Year 7. Under present arrangements, these Aided Places are allocated to the most gifted and eligible children." That does not mean everyone offered a place, I'm afraid!

Fab, Kate_N!

Yes, Millie3 is right. You normally have to completed academic study "recently". A friend of mine became a physiotherapist after many years in the performing arts (musician). She did A-levels in one year (hard work, but she thought doable) at her local FE college (was supported by her husband as she did these!) and then got one of three places on the physiotherapy course reserved for mature applicants at King's, London. To take on a physiotherapy course, you need to get as much work experience - voluntary is fine- as you can. It is a very competitive course. My nephew has just started at Sheffield Hallam. He got 2A* and an A at A-level (maths, biology, chemistry), so you need to be sure you can do well enough at the A-levels to get in, otherwise you might find you'll be short-changing the dancing and the A-levels. Another line of approach would be to forget the A-levels and do an Access course, taken after any dance training/dance career. An Access course in Science or Health Studies (one-year-course, I think) should be OK, but you need to check that universities will accept the course you're doing - it will need a high component of biology. Another friend of mine got on a university course to study medicine after doing an Access to Medicine course, and is now a doctor. This works well for subjects with a high vocational component, such as nursing. I know two people who became social workers, for example, this way. Neither had A-levels at all, and universities were happy to accept the Access course (in Social Work) instead.

Vienna Festival Ballet is a smallish touring company and I would expect it to take children from a variety of dance schools from places where it tours, though I don't know for sure. For companies such as the Mariinsky coming to London, children in the past have come from a small set of dance schools and outreach programmes, such as the JA programme. They have to audition and will likely be of vocational school standard. For Vienna Festival Ballet, it might be worth contacting the dance schools you know they are working with and asking. You're more likely to get good dance opportunities with the established children's ballet companies, such as London Children's Ballet or EYB. Pantomimes at local theatres often take children from local dance schools as well, of course, if you're looking for performing opportunities. Depending where you live, you could think about the big musical shows such as Billy Elliot or Lion King. I know quite a few children (age 12 is about right) who appeared in both of these. Again, very good dance skills will be needed and it's a big commitment all round.

The little girl already knew that they didn't want to take her, as it had been explained to her and her mother when she did not pass the audition and was "only" offered a waiting list place originally. She had been told very nicely that they were concerned about her previous gymnastic training and her height. The other class members also knew this, as the results of the audition were announced very publicly on the audition day. Although I did wince a bit at the teacher reminding her of the fact, I ultimately thought that they needed to remind her that she did have weaknesses, in part due to her previous gymnastic training, that she would have to work hard to overcome - but that the teacher believed in her and thought she could do so.

It was the Grand Audition in Brussels. This was the first year it has been held http://www.grandaudition.dance/

Some of those minimum ages listed are really surprising. Age 6 for the Russian Ballet general class?! How could that possibly work?