spooky

here here!

Janet did the pink bananas taste much different to the regular yellow ones?

Ooo which I could get hold of one - think I might have to do some serious research. DD would be most impressed! Love the idea of asking her if she wants some pink bananas and then when she is expecting prawns actually give her pink bananas!

I was following a builders van the other day and was slightly taken back by its advertising. Under the list of services offfered i.e. loft conversions, extensions etc was a picture of a ladder and some tools then the words: 'Let us handle your erections" I couldn't believe my eyes! Back on the food though when youngest dd was tiny she kept asking for 'pink bananas' and for ages we had no idea what she wanted. Eventually turned out to be prawns!

Sorry can't help directly as it is about 25 years since I lived in Oxford! But might be worth phoning the threatre for advice. I have contacted many theatres to ask such things as parking, eating places nearby etc and always found them most helpful.

Spanner - they need tights from school for any performances so that they are all the same however these can be brought as and when needed. Most girls seem to adopt the dull grey colour after a few weeks of doing their own washing/wearing under dark jeans so doesn't really matter for day-to-day! Encouraged - have sent you a pm

Have sent you a PM Tulip

Tulip, my daughter enjoys going for an occasional run and it doesn't seem to have done her any harm. She has been out a few times recently mainly I think because of the nice weather. Her view is that as she spends the best part of six days a week shut up inside it is a good way to get some sunshine! I think you will find that quite soon once they are in rehearsals for the summer performances she will have very little time for running anyway so let her enjoy it while she can as long as it doesn't seem to become obsessive exercise and she is not suffering any ill effects. I think that their awareness of their bodies and their dance training is so inbuilt that they automatically warm-up/cool-down adequetly and will stop immediately they feel anything isn't helping their ballet.

Keighley is the nearest mainline station to Haworth but there is also a station at Haworth which is on the preserved Keighley and Worth Valley railway (The Railway Children was filmed on this line). Trains probably run throughout the summer holidays but possibly not a viable option for a commute! Although I am from the south and that is where I am currently based I spent 9 years in Leeds and this was one of our favourite outings. Actually was in Haworth on Sunday just gone which was the first time for 15 years!

Lots of dance teachers have big stores of costumes from old shows. I kmow that many of the schools near us hire sets out to each other for a minimal charge. I have often been to a local dancing school show and recognised some of the costumes! Might be worth contacting schools local to you as this will also minimise transport costs. Also agree with aileen about Primark. I have a very simple pattern for gypsy style blouses and often make these from sheets which works out much cheaper than buying material e.g. recently brought king-size flat sheet from Asda for £6.50 as needed clean white but even better value are sheets from charity shops.

When dd first started at vocational school (sixth form) she had some problems with her nails causing her pain. She saw a podiatrist who narrowed the nails on both big toes - the same procedure as is used for ingrowing toenails. She was only off dance for a couple of weeks and has had no further problems with her toenails - that was three years ago now. I would therefore suggest a visit to a podiatrist if you are still having problems,

The first major injury my dd had was a broken metatarsal and after several frustrating a&e appointments where doctors had no idea of dancers needs and each told us something different we were recommended a local physio who we found out when we went had actually worked at RBS many years previously. She showed an incredible understanding of how a dancer feels when they are unable to dance and as well as showing dd which pilates exercises she could continue with to maintain her core strength she gave us the following wonderful advice. She told dd to use the time she was unable to dance to spend time socialising and generally doing all the things she would normally miss out on due to dancing commitments. It was some of the best advice we have ever been given and although she missed her dancing she had some lovely times with her friends who made a great fuss of her.

If looking for flats it is a good idea to try and talk to the current third years as many flats are passed down as they leave. The only problem is often the third years don't know what they will be doing when they finish yet and therefore tend to be reluctant to give up a place in case they still need to be in London so places often become available quite late in the term. Good Luck all! I am so glad we are finished with this worry now. It is one of the biggest drawbacks with Central.

Encouraged - make sure when you contact student accomodation places that you let them know your daughter's age. Many will only accept over 18s which makes it even more difficult. I know there are current third years in Therese House (touchstone housing) which was new a couple of years ago and only a 5-10min walk from school but they will only take over 18s.

Some of the ones I can remember my dds doing over the years are: Character: Queen of Hearts baking tarts; An evacuee (had lots of placings with this one I remember), A witch whose spells went wrong, Mary Lennox finding the Secret Garden, girl getting in a mess with bubble gum. Song and Dance: Colours of the rainbow, Annie (dumb dog) Thought there were more but many were duets!

I was told the following information from the dada adminstrator at one school which I believe shows the enormous problem faced by the schools themselves in administring the new system. Previously each school was told they had been awarded x number of dadas and so they could take the top x names from their talent list (their wording) and tell them they would recieve funding. This year they have just been given a 'pot' of money equivilent to the funding they recieved over the last few years. So now the number of funded places will depend on the personal financial circumstances of those at the top of the talent list. If lots of the 'most talented' come from lower income families then overall fewer funded places can be offered and vice-versa. Schools need to be careful not to give out more funded places than they can afford which is really difficult if financial income is not known beforehand (which is the recommended route to ensure only the most talented are selected) so it is entirely possible that dada offers may trickle out more slowly this year with some recieving offers quite late in the year. Another piece of useful information was that schools are not allowed to ask for a deposit/acceptance fee/reservation fee in order to hold open an offered place if the student would not be able to attend without funding. I have heard of some MT schools asking for up to £250 to hold a place prior to funding results being known.

Thanks spanner - don't usually have any problems posting links. Not sure what happened this time!

www.sylviayoungtheatreschool.co.uk/ www.susiearnshaw.co.uk/ www.redroofs.co.uk/ and hammond also take drama students edited to add - sorry none of the links seem to be working

Oh I didn't realise associates wore purple now. When dd was a pre-senior the leotard was a pale blue one, very similar to the senior school but not the same cut around the leg and previously to that it was a green one in a really thick cotton lycra with very low-cut leg - yuck!

The black leotard Spanner mentioned is identical to the Central school ones (we have both). Our black one was from dance direct and have just seen they also do a purple colour. http://www.dancedirect.com/uk/Products/Ballet/D911/dancewear-dansez-ballet-leotard-d911/

Have used watered-down acryllic paint but needs to be down in several thin layers to avoid overwetting the shoe. Just make sure if you are mixing the desired colour to make up plenty as it is virtually impossible to make the same shade twice! Also good idea to try out on an old pair first as colour may lighten/darken on drying. For flesh shades have used foundation make-up like taxi4ballet. I know Freeds can make poinet shoes to order in different colours as dd has just had some black ones for performance but no idea how much this costs as school paid for them (miracles do happen!)

I would ask your teacher's opinion. If she has said an earlier exam would probably mean a lower mark how does your daughter feel about this? Is there the posibility of also starting the next grade before taking the exam so she can start to learn the new work and not fall behind her friends whilst still working towards this grade to hopfully get a higher mark.

stretcher - try not to worry too much about your dd if you get a no. The kids often surprise us and bounce back much quicker than us parents.

Picturesinthefirelight has summed it up very well. I have been a licenced chaperone for over 9 years now and the requirements seem to increase each time I renew my licence (used to be every three years but now every two). First time it was just forms, references and CRB then a face to face interview was added and this year I had to attend a safeguarding course. Lemongirl if the delay is not your fault and you have completed everything required, most importantly the CRB check then it might well be worth speaking to the person who deals with licencing to see if anything can be arranged to allow you to chaperone this weekend. At Christmas I wanted to chaperone Panto, as I have for many years, but my chaperone licence had run out and a new badge couldn't be issued until I had attended the newly introduced course. All my other paperwork was completed but the only evening date available for the course (I work in the day) was after panto finished. They very kindly gave me permission (in writing) to chaperone wearing my out-of-date badge. I think it helped that I have had a lot of dealings with them in the past as I chaperone for several different groups and also my youngest dd has done quite a bit of performing for which she needed to be licenced but still unless you ask you never know.. The other thing to remember is that CRBs are non-transferrable. I know a lot of amateur groups just ask parents if they have one and then assume they can look after children. This is not the case and unless a licenced chaperone a parent may only look after their own child/children, Although legally chaperone ratios are 1:12 for over 8's our council suggests best practice should be at least 2:10 so that if one child needs to go somewhere (e.g. the toilet) there is still someone to stay with the rest.

A classical leotard means a plain coloured leotard (usually black or another dark colour) in a simple style i.e. no fancy trims or lots of straps and normally with spagetti straps. As Millie3 has said above probably your dds normal class/exam leotard will be fine. I think a lot of youngsters use these courses as a chance to wear a special leotard that perhaps doesn't get much wear otherwise but if there is a demonstration for parents at the end it looks a lot neater if they are all wearing something similar