NotadanceMa

He’s off to Boston 😭

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.

If a school really really wants a student they can and do offer a scholarship. It is misleading, though I’m sure very well intentioned to suggest that fees can be negotiated at vocational schools; unless of course you can provide first hand information that this has occurred. MDS and DaDa have the up to date income scales on the .gov website for people to look out. They are purely income based on financials, not outgoings, they do however take into account things like siblings under 16. The fees are the fees.

I suppose the point is though that at least academics is inspected, monitored, has a system of attainment that is identifiable and measurable. There is a recognised system.

In answer to your musing. ISI pay very little attention to the vocational side of things, it is primarily an education focused assessment. Feedback from my teen in training. Unless ISI are made up of specialist dance inspectors how would they know what they were inspecting?? My child’s school made sure the students knew in advance that inspectors were watching.

It’s an excellent question. There is no one independent of the vocational training from what I could find that oversees the MDS students funding. It feels to me quite an arbitrary process as well once in. Tring assess MDS students annually, I don’t yet know if this is an independent assessment; because it should be in my opinion. I will find out in time no doubt. It niggles away at me. And ‘no’ the ISI do not offer any advice, I know I asked it has nothing to do with them.

You are right they no longer use Cechetti they have their own system of training now.

No not in my experience they don’t. There are usually only about 6 MDS available at Tring and they offer scholarships as well.

No they don’t not at Tring anyway. They also don’t invite everyone to the MDS audition that has ticked MDS. The MDS feels even more special than the first audition as the MDS places are so limited. They do offer residential places straight off to those that don’t tick MDS as well. It isn’t the same letter for everyone. congratulations on the offer x

@Neverdancedjustamum ‘he was still young, he complained he had a headache after!’ I know this headache only too well.

This is a lovely thread. 🩰💗 I have the feet that ballet dancers would die for 😁 high arch, high instep, perfect Demi-pointe and very lovely to look at. I am also hyper mobile. Alas I am fat in the way that a grown up Renaissance cherub would be, so all is lost. I also find classical ballet in its entirety the most boring dance genre in the world, so my beautiful feet would never be tempted to crush themselves inside a pointe shoe. (big gasp from the auditorium, I know, I know excommunication from the forum) I do love the music and certain variations if they are performed exquisitely, but I need a remote control for this and just get ants in my pants when I accompany my ballet loving teen in training to a performance; but accompany them I do. I am led to believe from assessments and physio that my teen has the perfect classical ballet body in all its proportions, with exquisite feet. (Haha) They are hyper mobile, but fortunately before ballet got serious as they experienced ankle and hip pain as a toddler, a wonderful paediatrician told me to make sure that we strengthened around all the joints. We did through swimming alongside ballet early on and physio. It was the paediatrician that pointed us toward ballet or gymnastics when child age 2. Child chose ballet because of the ‘beautiful music.’ I am very glad they did, and they are also very jealous of my feet!! 🦶

Do you mean Lower or Upper school?

@Kate_Ncould you tell me I’m sorry for asking what will probably seem a stupid question. Can my child on their Irish passport (as I am entitled to one as I was born there and have Irish parents) meet the requirements for funding support at European ballet schools? We live in the U.K.

I always remember my child telling me what their JA teacher said to their class; she said in this world someone is always watching and it’s as much (maybe a bit more) about being in the right place at the right time as it is about being the best most talented student in the class, or vying with your peers for a place in an audition. My child has just started Y9 vocational training, on paper they have SEN and need significant support adjustments to learn and our journey on this ballet path has clearly demonstrated who doesn’t want them and who does, and leaves me to read between the lines when feedback is not forthcoming. I am not precious about this and neither are they, I make sure they know this is the process. what my child has always had is that thing you can’t teach, if they can get in the room is a quality of movement that takes your breath away, but this isn’t enough, nowhere near enough. They also have talent and potential, again not enough. They applied initially to the most obvious vocational school for Y7 after being told to by their associate teacher. It was a flat no. The feedback from the audition was that they were ‘exceptional,’ given to me by his associate teacher as she scratched her head. Knowing when a no means no is crucial, it doesn’t mean stop, but it can mean stop trying at a certain place. So we did, but I never told my child the feedback they had been given. Their ballet journey when panels read what’s on the application form puts many people off. The successes have come from them being seen through windows, or prelims or workshops and associate classes, and of course getting into an audition. My child has had offers from everywhere, but in random roundabout ways. They eventually took the one they never even thought of at the beginning of this journey, the one we didn’t have to apply to because someone was watching them, liked what they saw and offered a place. What I’m trying to say is that being honest and open about how brutal this industry is is key. Being turned down, rejected, ignored and overlooked is part of the process all the way along and getting what you want in the end is very difficult indeed. I was brutal with my child from the minute they stepped out of the safety of their local ballet school. I make no apologies for this. Do I think my child will be a professional dancer? I think it is highly unlikely and so do they. what you maybe must help your daughter decide is when enough is enough, at what point do they want to stop. What else do they have in place to pursue whilst they are navigating rejections. Start having lots of conversations about what not succeeding looks like and what to do next, when they really don’t want to do this anymore. Reframe ‘giving up’ as finding an alternative path that transfers your daughters skills. If she chooses to keep trying then be honest and say this is going to hurt and make you feel wretched and sad and like you have failed, because sometimes that’s what rejection feels like. This is validating her experience of the ‘no’ and then moving to the next thing. Managing expectations and knowing when to stop are key, and so is helping her understand that she can bear the difficult hurtful feelings that come with rejection, this too is part of the journey that she has chosen.

Thankyou @Dancer20 for taking the time to reply to my nosiness 😊

Were they all girls or boys and girls? I have no child applying I’m just interested/nosey!

Did any Y8 children get offers of a place in the RB finals? I ask because I know WL changed their system this year and now children are guaranteed I believe 3 yrs without assessing our.

It’s about 2 weeks

Yes the MDS is reassessed every year, it is linked purely to the vocational element of the school (academics make no difference) and can be withdrawn if the student’s dancing/PA is below the standard expected by the school. The school my child is at has assessments each term and a main Easter assessment. A letter is sent out each year letting you know the MDS has been awarded for another year. For entry into US in the same school they usually have to re audition.

I watched this film when it first came out and then this week on Netflix. I found it extremely moving and sad, it highlighted so much of what parents often worry about on this forum. what stuns me every time I watch clips of him dancing on YouTube and the pieces shown in the film with my ballet child, is just how extraordinary a dancer he was. He was absolutely out of this world. I can honestly say I have seen no Principal male in the RB company anywhere near as good as Polunin since that year he was made a Principal. For me he was breathtaking I wish I had seen him dance live. Lots of good male Principals but for me he had that something, like Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Dowell, Hallberg, Acosta. The film does indeed focus in very intensely on all the many potential pitfalls of the ballet world. The scene at the end where he is dancing the Jerome Robbins piece in front of his parents is so heartbreaking; he looks emancipated and so broken. Nothing he ever did again after he officially left ballet ever looked like it did before.

Usually a letter with Tring.

If it helps at all. We’ve only ever done photos with the help of a dance teacher and my child has always had a Yes to both RB intensives over the last 3 years. RB is photo only unless they’ve changed this year, child not applying for SI‘s this year. Photos matter in as much as the schools know what they are looking for and what they want. My child’s peers in their associate classes didn’t ever have professional photos taken either again just help from the teacher. A professional photo is absolutely no guarantee of a place. Good lighting Neutral background Taking the photos from a lower position rather than same height making legs look a bit longer etc but not rocket science Teacher that can help your child with the poses who knows what is being looked for Edit for brightness, colour, cropping etc Don’t overthink it. So you are right, correct position within the physical facility of the child is important and that it is a good clear photo and everything can be seen. The professional photo thing seems to have become a ‘thing’ in the last year in a way that it wasn’t before. what you are doing sounds perfect and free!!

I believe Ballet Boost are running some workshops. They have a website.

I just want to comment on this part in relation to my post. The ‘anecdotal’ is by way of saying my friends cannot speak for themselves on here. We have to work within the forum guidelines so I am mindful of that when posting. These parents, my friends did not wait, they removed their children as soon as the problems arose as asked in the OP’s question, and the problems were primarily with the academics offered and taught being weak. They are now in different vocational schools and are happy with the academics offered. The AD whom I cannot name is well known on here and has no axe to grind working between their own vocational training business and also recently as part of the faculty of one of the main vocational training schools. I am trying to protect peoples identity who are not on here to post for themselves. I would not post these things if I felt it would mislead people reading my posts, or if they were not accurate. It might be that what you wrote @SissonneDoubleewas not linked to what I posted, but just in case it was I felt it important to clarify any areas of confusion. This thread is about the quality of academics offered by the schools, not the vocational training as is so much discussed on this forum. The academics between the vocational training schools from my experience are very varied indeed.

I can only add to this anecdotally, we have friends that removed their Y7 and Y8 children from Elmhurst because the academic and unfortunately ballet training was so poor in their experience. I was also advised not to send my child there for Y8 place offer by a vocational AD well known for their training program outside the main schools. There was also a post on here recently that said a member had removed their child with Dyslexia because they were offered not a scintilla of learning support from Elmhurst despite it being offered as part of their SEN policy. Again anecdotally Tring has the best reputation for academics, it makes no distinction IME between vocational training and academics pushing the students to achieve excellent grades alongside vocational excellence. Recognising that dance and performing arts are cut throat worlds getting even harder to break into. I attended an Open Day there and was very impressed by what the school offered, the success of there GCSE’s offered and taken, and the calibre of the teachers on the academic faculty. I also liked their honesty and transparency about why they pushed academics as much as the vocational training. The Royal Ballet historically has never been associated or chosen for outstanding academics, mostly offering soft subjects, with their focus understandably on the vocational training. Don’t shoot the messenger, we have a number of friends with children in all these schools, except Hammond and my child is also in one of them. My comments are based on my current personal experience and my friends past and current experience; it is not casting any negative aspersions on any particular school just relaying my real-time experience.