Karen

Dd considered giving up ballet at 9. We agreed that she would continue for the rest of term and then give notice if she still felt the same. She enjoyed competing in a festival during that period and decided she wanted to carry on. She is now hoping to complete RAD solo seal, so it was a good decision!

Sadly too late, as back to school on 5th.

Definitely no problem to take your child out after the open morning. You’ll get the boarding house email (if you don’t have it already) so it’s easy to let them know what your plans are. As long as they know, it’s no problem at all. Open day is a great way to see classes, but you won’t know until quite near the day what your child will be in.

How horrid for you all. I do think it’s worth talking to school as I am aware of someone else in a similar situation some time ago and school were very supportive to allow her to stay. There are also some charities and funding pots for families in certain occupations, which I think will be detailed somewhere on the forum as there have been many threads about funding sources over the years. Good luck. 🤞

Sorry to hear about your husband’s ill health and wishing him a speedy recovery. I’ve sent you a pm about a potential landlady.

I have asked my Dd about Hammond rules and she has said that it is personal preference and most girls wear light make up, but for classes it is not an absolute requirement. As already stated here, performances are a different matter and although in the seniors there is not the list of colours as in lower school, it was made clear what was expected by each teacher for each dance performed.

Many of the girls in my dd’s Year had DMs- very sturdy and supportive. I was shocked at the initial cost but as dd’s feet have stopped growing, they did last for 2 school years.

Dd was in the senior ballet and tap (I agree it was fab!) and said how hard they worked to get them like that. David Needham has been amazing as a teacher for her this year and she has loved his classes - he has expected and achieved a high standard from those he selected to be in his pieces. Just how it should be!

Don’t forget that some of the schools/colleges offer the opportunity to do A levels alongside dance. It’s working well for my Dd who has just completed 1st year, and I like the fact that her academic/dance day is filled from start to finish.

The black shoes looked great - I smiled to myself about your posts as I watched the show. We had the fun of buying the requested costume items, after which the teacher changed her mind and we had to get something else! It was a great show, but we’re looking forward to the holiday now. Shame there’s not going to be a dvd on sale; hopefully the photos will be good.

Lovely to hear a happy story and I hope your daughter moves on to some wonderful jobs that make the hard work up till now worthwhile.

Sending sincere condolences to you and your family. I have an autistic nephew who has been hospitalised and know how important your campaign is. I hope it has impact on change.

Dd is coming to the end of yr 1 at Hammond and has a friend at Northern. As far as I can tell, Dd is taught a broader range of dance genres in regular classes and also has the opportunity to do 2 A levels, although I think there is the opportunity to do a teaching qualification at Northern. I think the amount of singing in yr 1 is similar. Happy to be corrected as this is my impression from conversations, rather than a direct factual comparison.

That’s not very helpful to those living a distance away. I would have thought that it was relatively easy to have agreed a system of ensuring they are speaking to the right person, so that calls can be made on the day or even emailed to a pre agreed address. Let’s hope it gets sorted for those poor students and their families where it will have significant impact if they either have to travel or wait additional days for the post.

My daughter rang last year (around 10.00am) and they gave them to her over the phone (This was The Hammond). Think lots of people did this - it was agreed beforehand.

So sorry to hear your story. It struck me as I read it, that sometimes our dancing children/young adults don’t want parents to intervene, but actually it can make quite a difference if we do. If your instincts are to present a well measured case about unfair treatment and inappropriate support, I would be tempted to go with them. Sometimes others have no idea how it is from someone else’s perspective and a short, sharp reminder can make a significant difference. I do hope that your yda gets resolution and if you do decide to change establishment, I think it could be worth ringing around to discuss options, as there is still lots of place shuffling and sorting going on. Best wishes.

Good luck to your Dd - hope she loves uni and the law degree 😀

Thank you for sharing your dd’s story. It’s so sad when our lovely, talented young people don’t get the support they need, whether that’s in the dance world or elsewhere. I’ve heard many stories in the past few months about dancers who are moving on from their original dance path choice, some because injury or health has forced it, and some because they have decided dance is no longer what they want to do. It’s made me realise that the path my Dd is currently on must be navigated in small steps, one phase at a time. Whilst we have an eye on an end goal, we also now talk regularly about every next step decision and acknowledge that it may be necessary or desirable to step off the path at any time. There are so many amazing opportunities for motivated, talented young people, all of which may lead to a happy and fulfilled life. I hope your Dd finds a new path which leads to happiness and joy throughout the rest of her life.

Could there be a world record coming on here? When we were in NY a few years ago, there was a world record attempt for the largest number of people en pointe at the same time in Central Park! I’m getting all sorts of ideas about sprints, marathons and relays now!

My Dd attended for one year about 4 years ago. It was a once a month class and either (or both) Shannon and Peter taught it. Shannon’s ballet teaching was stretching but not over challenging and Dd enjoyed it. There were occasional guest teachers as part of the day, I think. Sounds as though it might be quite a different set up now, though.

Best wishes for you dd’s speedy recovery. I have a friend with an injured Dd and it has made me realise how finding the best person to treat a problem can make such a difference.

Really looking forward to it! Dd is in 1st year seniors so more 2nd half focus for us this year. Some lovely numbers, I hear!

Tickets are now on sale and there is no Sat eve performance which saves a night in a hotel for us! Edited to say posted at same time as Dancing 2003!

I hope so, as we can then go home, but the person I spoke to last week thought that there was an evening show again. I guess we’ll find out when the tickets go on sale!

Students at The Hammond have the chance to be assessed by Pro Physio plus in Chester and the report we receive shows your child’s results anonymously within their peer group e.g. the range of turnout your child has on each side and how this compares on a scale to the other students in the year. The recommendations for performance improvement at the end have been scant, but if you were paying for this on a 1:1 basis, maybe this would be developed. I would be happy to scan and email you a copy of my dd’s report if you wanted to see the format to consider if it would help you.