mimi'smom

Congratulations Margot and Balletjack and good luck for the final - is this for year 7? Good to see Elmhurst getting a quick turnaround on those letters too!

C4D - you have been amazing in supporting your daughter not only to enable her to fulfill her Hammond dream but also supporting her in this brave, difficult decision. And you will never have that 'what if...' moment - you should feel so proud that you did all you could for her. Whatever she has gained from her time there will not be lost and she is still so young that her dream is still very much within her reach. Sending you both all our very best wishes and lots of hugs xx

For last year's auditions for current year 7, WL offered their places jist before Elmhurst final audition and Elmhurst offered their places just before the Hammond funding auditions. By just I mean literally a couple of days! Don't know if this is the general pattern each year. Sorry I can't help about Tring x

I'd say yes to ballet shoes with elastics rather than ribbons and I would suggest (if for year 7) ballet socks rather than tights.. DD can't remember if they looked at feet in the first round audition - sorry, but best to err on the side of caution and have readily accessible feet! As parents you do get to go in and watch the last little bit of the audition, prior to that you get a tour of the school and a talk with the principal. Good luck - can't believe auditions have come around so quickly! Angela x

The Ibis budget (which used to be the Etap) is a very short bus/car/taxi ride away from Elmhurst. Angela x

The premier tonight was at our local theatre where we have seen ballet theatre UK perform twice before and my dd and I are so disappointed to not be able to go this time due to parents consultations at Elmhurst but an appreciative audience will be there from dd's old dance school! I echo hfbrew's comments that it is a fabulous touring company and as it tours smaller venues you get a very intimate performance which for young children especially is mesmerising. Good luck to your son hfbrew - hope he enjoyed the opening night!

My DD at Elmhurst tells me all of the boys in her year 7 class can do the splits!

DD didn't have to prepare a drama piece when she auditioned for the year 7 dance course last year - otherwise as described ie ballet class, a more modern/jazz class dance solo in any style and vocal solo if prepared plus a physio assessment and some academic tests (other academic tests completed at own primary school if offered place) x

Nana Lily and Seagazer how exciting it must have been to see your children!! Lovely to see Elmhurst's profile being raised (as promised) even if only locally!

My dd and her friend (who are both starting at Elmhurst next week) are sitting in our dining room at this precise moment giggling their heads off and it strcuk me that that is what I will miss the most - the noise! The laughter, the giggling, the chatter about anything and everything - the house will be unbearably quiet without her. And, as another poster said, I will miss the friends we have made along the way at associates but especially our local dance school who have become more like a family to us both. It will be a terrible wrench made bearable only by her huge excitment at the adventure she is about to begin....

I agree with the above post - about to get our third pair of pointe shoes fitted at Charades - great service and Lisa really knows her stuff!

It is based on current grades - they do short (hour long or thereabouts I think) sessions for younger children but full days in Birmingham were from Inter foundation and above (if I recall correctly). Angela

My daughter did two this year (Nutcracker and Hobson's Choice) and really really enjoyed them. They start with a class led by brb dancers and then they are taught a couple of dances from the current production which are then performed to parents at the end of the day. They also award a couple of attendees a pair of tickets to the current production at the end of the day too. At £40 for a full day (lunch not included) I thought they were great value and a wonderful experience. My daughter was/is only 11 so very much one of the younger dancers there but she found all the girls really friendly. PS if you're not familiar with the BRB studios (at the Hippodrome theatre) they are great and obviously fab shopping in Birmingham too!

Thanks Spanner!

Sorry for my ignorance but what does the surgical spirit do? Incidentally someone on another thread earlier suggested this for my dd's extremely sweaty feet so I am intrigued!

This reassures me greatly Anjuli - thank you! My dd has always worked hard at her dancing but especially so this past 12 months in the build up to auditions, dancing every week night except one and all day Saturday on two associate programmes. She is very excited about starting vocational school in September but has switched off totally since breaking up from school and more significantly, dancing. She is enjoying a normal 11 year olds summer holidays - playing out with friends, riding her bike, going on the trampoline and just chilling out completely! It may take a couple off weeks to get her ballet brain switched back on in September but fingers crossed she has years of focussed ballet training ahead of her. This summer, where she still has local close friends and a love of being a little girl, will not happen again. September will be here all too soon!

Brilliant news - please keep us posted as to how she gets on

Birmingham Royal Ballet run a similar scheme called Studio to Stage insights in Birmingham and Manchester which my daughter has done a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed. Cost £40 but good value for a full day!

Lovely news - sure she will have an amazing time! Best get making that skirt!!

\when my very slim dd weight seems to dip, a couple of weeks exchanging semi skimmed for full fat milk seems to work well!

drdance Can you elaborate a little more on skinfold testing and how body fat can be measured/ascertained (if possible at home?)

Really interesting soodles thanks but do you know if onset of menstruation is delayed through physical exercise/low weight does that impact upon their final height or are they destined to be a particular height genetically whether they reach that at 12 or 16?

Didn't it also say somewhere in the other thread that girls who are very physically active may have the onset of their periods delayed? What are the physical triggers? Is weight one of them? Isn't their height genetically predisposed? (within reason and given good nutrition and general health) So many questions - sorry!

Thanks Oldermom glad your dd enjoyed it and I agree it was so nice to see the children getting along so well. Nice to meet you and dd too - see you in September! Angela x

DD had a lovely day today and is looking forward to a return visit tomorrow to see the summer showcase!