spooky

Perhaps I ought to say my dd was not saying that GCSE dance was not a valuable subject to study. In fact she picked up a lot of extra knowledge and skills from it that she didn't get from her out of school dancing such as choreographic skills; an ability to analyse and critique work and exposure to a much broader range of dance forms. However the school was trying to 'sell' the course as preparation for a possible career in professional dance which of course it isn't. DD took many hours of dance outside school, was an RB JA/MA then Central Pre-Senior, did summer schools, NYB and local dance company performances which was not being made clear to current pupils. They wanted to say look this person did dance at school and look where they are now! Dramascientist - I also have a scince PhD and totally agree with your comment about academic high-flyers lacking in other areas (often common sense in my opinion). I think so many people in positions of influence forget that every person is unique. We all have different but equally valuable talents and society would just not function if we were all the same. Science and the arts should be viewed as complimentary not in competion with one another. Personally I love quoting Winston Churchill when asked why not cut arts funding during the war and his reply was ' Why then what would we be fighting for?'

My dd went to our local school up until 16 when she went into vocational training and never once was she mentioned in a school newsletter or recieved encouragement from staff apart from the performing arts staff. When she chose her GCSEs the head of year told her she needed to cut back on out of school commitments and concentrate on GCSEs as they were the most important thing. He seemed most put out when rather than agree I told him that if dd wished to be a classical dancer getting into a vocational program at 16 was more important as GCSEs could always be retaken later. Then I had to write a letter to confirm I was supportive of her choices as they were predominately arts based and not more generalised therefore limiting her options! But this was a conscious choice to allow her to gain maximum grades without struggling too much as she is dyslexic (which we suspected but school refused to diagnose - she was formally diagnosed at voational school). She achieved 2 A*, 5A and 5B and when it came to collecting GCSE certificates the fact that one of the Governors was on the board at the RAD was 'bigged' up; those who had moved onto the grammar school mentioned but still nothing about dd even though she had passed RAD adv 1 with distinction by then, had danced leading roles with NYB, was at Central and been told by teachers that she got 100% in her drama GCSE and the highest mark in school for dance. Of course many sporting achivements were announced such as being picked for county teams! Anyway many years (and a first class honours degree) later dd is performing professionally and lo and behold she is contacted by the school asking if she would send a message to current students telling them about her achivements. The school also ran a trip to watch her show although not one member of staff had bothered previously. I was very proud when she replied that she didn't feel it would be appropriate to mislead current pupils into thinking they could achieve the same sort of success she has done purely based on the lessons they had at school which was the sort of message they were trying to promote and aside to me she said 'They never supported me at all when I was there so why should I do anything for them now'. Their loss in the end then!

Has anyone purchased tickets online close to the date. We are planning on going tomorrow but I haven't got tickets as wasn't sure we could make it. I have been on the MOVEIT site and it is still allowing tickets to be booked but says they will be sent to you. Is there an option to print tickets yourselves or just show a confirmation email on entry. Don't want to proceed with payment until I know how this works.

Katymac what about putting hair in a half-pony. Will keep it off her face but still allow more movement than tied up.

Has anyone driven to Olympia and tried to park in the surrounding roads for MoveIt. Our trains aren't running this weekend and bus replacements make the journey times too excessive. We are going on Sunday and I am quite familiar with driving into London on Sundays and have had no difficulty being able to park in the streets around ENBS if we arrive around 9ish in the past.

I notice you have previously been wearing Bloch balance european. My dd used to wear these but also used bloch TMT which (I believe) have some of the same technology as Gaynors. Most posters on here seem to have a favourite shoe but I have mentioned before that my dd had a whiole variety of styles/makes and preferred different shoes for classwork (TMT mostly I think for durability), pas-de-deux (balance european or grishko) and performance (Freed were favourites here). In fact I think the only shoe she didn't like were Gaynors!

When my dds did festivals I always gave them my honest opinion (in a nice way) of their performance regardless of whether they were placed or not. I distinctly remember one festival which was renouned for having a very high standard and one of my dds came third which was quite an achivement for the small school we attended at that time. Her teacher was there and was horrified when I congratulated dd but added that I didn't think it was the best I had seen her dance. I explained that I always gave my honest opinion so that praise for a good performance would be meaningful particularily if they weren't placed. The teacher then acknowledged that she had also seen dd dance better although she was very happy with the placing. I hope this attitude helped my dds to just do the best they could and not put too much importance on a placing.

It does goes on tour after Sadlers until mid-March. see http://new-adventures.net/edward-scissorhands/tour-dates

Lots of good advice but reassure her also that it has been a very long term and everyone is getting run-down especially now the nights are drawing in. This is true not just in dance schools - I work in a secondary school and it is clear students are flagging, as is my non-dancing dd at uni. Also get her to think about things that HAVE to be done and things that can (although not ideal) be left. Also is she a morning or evening person? I am a morning person and have learnt when I reach a certain point to just leave things, sleep and get up a little earlier the next day, Jobs take me only half the time in the morning with the added pressure of leaving the house on time that they would in the evening when I am tired and there is no time deadline apart from a need to get to bed.

I have done as its her life suggests and sewn a shelf lining into a leotard but rather than use an old leotard I used the top part of a pair of tights - the waistband makes a good bottom edge to the shelf lining.

If she is year 6 which i think is correct I would say get applications in immediately and audition for a year 7 place now. At this stage they are looking at potential more than level attained to date and there are far more places available than in later years. If accepted at any of the vocational schools for year 7 they will all take them back to basics anyway although your dd might have to work a little harder than some of the others as they progress quickly.

My dd commuted into London for 6th Form for two years (about 1 1/4 hrs door to door) and yes it was very exhausting for her but she used to use the time on the train to write up her class notes/ sew ribbon on shoes etc. Also it is worth remembering that while she is still at home your dd will not have to do all the things like shopping, cooking, washing etc. Once home there was a cooked meal waiting for my dd, dance clothes always clean, sandwiches made for her, she didn't even have to make her bed or clean her room! She also managed to work on a saturday night waitressing for some extra money. It definately wasn't an easy option but the commute was quite straightforward from where we live and she had her dad for company much of the time. Costwise however it only worked out slightly cheaper than living in London and that was because we only had to pay for travel during termtime whereas accommodation has to be paid for a whole year.

Its not just washing which can discolour pink tights. Wearing them under dark coloured trousers especially jeans the dye easily rubs off onto the tights. I used to get really annoyed with dd when she did this after i had been so careful with washing them!

This leotard is however an excellent cut for anyone wanting to minimise a longer torso!

Another second time successful story here. DD tried unsuccessfully for y5 place on teachers suggestion and I was very unsure about trying again for y6 although teacher was encouraging and felt it was just a lack of confidence on dds part. DD and I were more convinced it was lack of flexibility as we were both intimidated by the competitive warming-up. However dd seemed keen to have another day out and in the end I decided we would go only because RBS had just moved from Talgarth Rd to Covent Garden and I thought it would be nice to have a look round the new building! Was so suprised when she was offered a place and that was when we stepped on the rollercoaster which we are still on (just) 11 years later. I hate rollercoasters anyway but this one is mega believe me and I still sometimes wonder if we made the right decision all those years ago.

I think the anxieties associated with changing dance schools (for whatever reason) are two-fold. Firstly there is something about ballet teachers which attracts a strong loyality but as a parent we need to remember that our dcs needs are the priority and most times it is possible to leave a school on good terms if it is approached in a positive and honest manner. When my eldest dd needed a school which offered more lessons we found one suitable then went to see the current teacher with a small gift, thanked her for all she had done and explained our reasons for leaving (ensuring we gave the correct notice required). It is always worth remembering that all the teachers ( good or not so good) our dcs encounter on their journey contribute to their overall development as a dancer. Secondly the issue of our dcs friendships. When we start sending our kids to classes it is usually just for fun and therefore the friendships that they subsequently make become part of the enjoyment. However those friendships are almost certainly based on a shared love of dance and it is therefore just as likely that the same type of friendships will be formed with another group of similarily-minded kids. We had to change schools several times (for different reasons) and each time my dds have formed lovely friendships some of which survive a move and others which dont. In fact a new person in a class is often seen as quite a novelty and serious ballet kids generally seem to be quite welcoming (although their parents are not always so). So my advice to any parent in this situation (and it does seem to come up quite regularly) would be don't be afraid of change. If you have reached the stage where you are thinking about it then you probably have actually already made that decision. Put your dcs needs first and if it doesn't work out think again. I have known dcs leave a school to return at a later date and most teachers/pupils are actually more accepting of this than you would think although unless the reasons you left have changed this is probably not an advisable move (beware ' grass is always greener' syndrome).

Only just looked at this but have you tried your local library. I managed to get nearly all of the books dd needed for first year at Central from ours although some had to be ordered in from other branches. I did this initially intending to then purchase the ones she actually used or found most useful but because they are quite specialist books noone else requested them and I was able to keep renewing them for the whole year.

Like balletqs I always used the large fine hairnets for my dds. As they were doubled/trippled over it was still possible to used them with several large holes in them. However once they got older and when eldest went to vocational school they started to do their hair without nets at all and were always complimented on how neat they looked!

I have never used them but there is Gandolffi in Marylebone road near Baker St. Not sure if they stock any makes other than their own and I have heard they tend to be quite expensive. Otherwise as already mentioned most of dance shops are within walking distance of Covent Garden. Alternatively can you try and track down online the shoes in the same make and size as her regular ballet shoes assuming you are happy with how these fit.

From the UCAS website the same grade exam earns the same number of points regardless of exam board http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/entry-requirements/tariff-tables/gradeddance Also no exam above advanced foundation gives ucas points as these are considered to be equivilent to degree level study anyway This is the table taken from the UCAS site Graded Dance and Vocational Graded Dance Graded dance Vocational graded dance Tariff points Grade 8 Grade 7 Grade 6 Advanced Foundation Intermediate Distinction 70 Distinction Distinction 65 Merit Distinction Merit 55 Merit 50 Pass Merit Pass 45 Distinction Pass 40 Pass Merit 35 Pass 30 edited to add link as table didn't copy clearly (its almost at the bottom of the page): http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/entry-requirements/tariff-tables

My dd initially planned to do A level dance and art but realised almost immediately that this was too much for her despite being a high-achiever at GCSE (non-vocational school). She decided to drop dance as she was told the A level would be superceeded by her degree anyway. It was still a huge struggle to get the work done for art and after passing the AS she decided not to continue with the A2 as second year is even more demanding than first. I think most don't do A levels but I do know of at least one student who managed to successfully gain three good passes. As regards child benefit. No you cannot claim child benefit if in reciept of a student loan regardless of any A level studies. It was mentioned in respect of a student doing a dada or self-funded diploma course like at Tring etc.

Individual licences have not been needed for NYB in the past. I think they are normally covered with a 'Body of Persons' licence. It is a while ago now but my dds did panto and NYB and if I remember correctly for the panto licence we had to list any performances in the pervious 12 months whether licenced or not and just give the name of the person responsible. A child can only be licenced by the council for the area in which they reside regardless of where the performance takes place and there is always a part of the form for the parent to complete so no individual application could be submitted without your knowledge. A quick call to your licencing dept should be able to sort out exactly what info they require rather than guesssing and perhaps having the licence delayed. I have always found them most helpful as it is less work for them as well if you supply the correct information first time.

If she has solos that clash with associates you can always ask for her to dance 'out of class' at another time. She will not get a placing but still gets a mark and at least gets to do her dance.

My 17 year old youngest dd hopes to follow a MT route and having an older sister who went to vocational ballet school at 16 initally thought she would follow a similar route. Last year we looked into all her options which included auditioning for MT courses, extended BTec at local college in either dance or musical theatre or 'A' levels at sixth form. I would say she is a good average academically so was concerned she might struggle with 'A' levels (I had seen amount of work my middle non-dancing, very academic dd had to do for these) and was initally inclined towards the more practical BTec. However on making enquiries I was most unimpressed with the standard of the BTec courses at our local college, although I am aware there are many excellent courses around, and also the attitude of the students who seemed to think that they would be able to walk straight onto a west-end stage after college! This was reinforced by attending an open day at dds favourite MT college and speaking with the vice-principle who said it made no difference to them at all if students were 16 or 18; made financial sense to get two more years free education and some more qualifications and that they favoured 'A' levels over the BTec provided a high-level of dance was kept up as well. As a result dd is now just about to sit AS levels in Performance Studies (this is more practically based than drama), Media, English and Maths. She attends a wonderful dance school and takes part in several amateur MT productions each year. She is very busy but it has taught her to manage her time very well and was the right decision for her. Having had one classical ballet dd and one (hopefully) MT I would say entry onto either of these courses at any of the 'big' well-known places is entirely down to how you perform at audition so providing that you can access good-quality dance etc outside school/college you should choose the route you would happiest with. The only time I can forsee that the actual subjects studied would matter would be if you wanted to apply for a university dance/drama course but even then if you have other qualification in these areas you would probably still be ok. It might be worth contacting a couple of the places you would like to apply to at 18 and asking their advice.

I was at opening night in Tonbridge a couple of weeks ago. Really enjoyed the programme. Lots of very strong classical dancers in this year group so overall slightly more classical pieces than in the last few years which I know will please many. Highlights for me were Chris Marney's 'Carousel' and the jazz piece which looked so much fun.