kiwimum

My MP has been in touch and is bringing the overlap in depts up with the minister. I did almost laugh when the young lady I spoke to from one of the depts involved reminded me the ceiling for help is £33000. I pointed out that someone with 2 MDS and 2 Dadas could feasibly be paying £26000 a year and she said yes, that was how it was! You have to laugh or you would cry:)

Sorry...just seen this. She is 16.

Well done on the opportunity. I am no one to give advice as I have no common sense for things like this. When my dd was in year 6 and had been forever on the JAwaiting list, we auditioned her for Elmhurst PVPs...mainly to see if she was pursuing an unreachable dream . Lo and behold she got in and I had to do the journey from the south coast to Birmingham every week. It was exhausting! Was it worth it? In many ways yes. She made lots of friends, enjoyed the facilities and teaching at the school and seemed to make progress. The following year she was awarded 2 scholarships and a Mids place and now she is going to post 16 training. So yes...all in all it was worth it but costly in money and energy

Big hugs from us C4D. It's horrid when our dancing kids are upset. Hopefully there is something nice just around the corner for her.

I have always worried about the height question, but like Little Ballerina my dd is 5' 2" (nearly!) and it doesn't seem to have stopped her so far! I think just go along with the journey. Different choreographers/teachers will have preferences which is normal in an aesthetic art....but small doesn't seem to be the big problem I thought it would be.

That's strange...mind you, I do wish they would be more transparent about the way they do the calculations. Whichever way it happens...it's always too much.

There may be a chink of light on the horizon....have found that the metropolitan line extends to Chesham, next door to Tring....and that Tring may take oyster cards so it may be ok yet.....if I can find a teaching job in the area !!!!

We had 3 on MDS and they charged the initial amount calculated as parental contribution then added the £1800 per added child on MDS to the bill then divide it by 3. So if you pay 6k pa initially for first child and then 2 more did it it would be 6plus 1800 plus 1800 (=£9600) and that divided by three would be the bill for each child. The 1800 is the figure you are normally allowed to take off your gross salary figure for each dependant child. That is what each extra one pays but it the total is split evenly, although there may be a slight reduction for one for sibling discount. Hope that helps. Imagine me trying to expain something arithmetic to a maths teacher.....sorry meadowblythe for my awful explanation

Yes we do earn a bit more than the threshold...but it is having 4 doing it at the same time ....especially as MDS is assessed on how much you can afford ...and quite rightly so..we should contribute. The problem is that they do not take account of DaDa outgoings so to have 2 MDS and 2 Dadas ( not the fees but the living expenses) is beyond an average family. I guess we weren't meant to be greedy and have 4 at once.

Thank you for sharing your art with us Anjuli...they are lovely. I am more of an LS Lowry painter myself...matchstick men!

I think you are right too thequays ...I do believe in fate. But I intend to give her my best shot. She really does want to go to ENBS...so I can hold my head up high and say I tried.

Thank you...am trying to organise a concert with dancing, singing etc. I have set up a facebook page to raise awareness of our plight. It would Making a Dream Come True for Lowri. Let's see how far we can get the message. You are in US Anjuli aren't you? That's pretty far. Please have a look and the page and if you can, like and share it.

Feeling bleak 2 nite. DD offered place with DaDa at ENBS but, with all the other dancers in the family, don't know if we can help her follow her dream. Who would have 4 funded kids!!!! But we still face the same £33,000 ceiling for help. Arghhhh!!!!!

At Tring their feet were assessed in first year and, if deemed ready, they were allowed to start. Some were later starting when their feet were stronger.

I have no idea what is looked for...but there must be some degree of agreement as , with some exceptions of course, you tend to see the same faces at the finals of these auditions. My eldest ds had the same experience at Tring for the dance course as Janibayah-Jane's friemd's child....an outright 'no' but he was invited back to the musical theatre final there. He was offered a scholarship but chose instead to go to the dance course at Hammond on a bursary and after a while he was given an MDS there. The class aizes are generally small at Tring in the lower years....not indicative of a school who tske just anyone on the course to make the school viable. so Tring can be ruled out as a school that does this. (I appreciate Jellybeans had not directly named any one school).

I go to see ENB more often than RB....the fact the company tours and is accessible to the suburbs really helps but I love what has been done over the last few years under Wayne Eagling's directorship. At the end of the day there is a need for 'bums on seats' and Eagling's 'Nutcracker' will assure just that for quite a few seasons to come. I loved 'Strictly Gershwin'...it showed real versatility and, I believe, might tempt more people to come to see more traditional repertoire in the future. I did go to see Ballets russes (programme 2) but don't feel able to comment on it as I don't feel in any shape or form expert enough to pass comment....except to say I loved it and was entranced by how precise the corps de ballet was. It was beautiful. I think it is a pity WE is leaving but I don't know the ins and outs of why he is going. To me as an outsider, he seems to have done a great job in introducing new productions, giving dancers the chance to dance in promoted roles, getting the profile of ENB raised in the public eye. The company is really getting out there...at music festivals, dancing with flawless. I think it is a move in the right direction. Add to this ....he is a very personable chap. Over Christmas he made time to pass a moment or two with me and my eldest daughter as we were awaiting our offspring to come out of the theatre. It changes the face of ballet from stuffy and elitist to open and welcoming. I for one am sorry he is going.

Anything by Matthew Hart will be good I think. He is so meticulous and daring in his choreography and can instill humour. A very good idea this to introduce the audiences of the future to ballet, as well as giving the third year ENBS students such an amazing opportunity to perform.

So sad to learn of this...we were looking forward to seeing it on the big screen !

Oh C4D and Interested Parent...am sad to read of your rotten news. That is so disappointing. Just hold on to the fact that your lovely dancers are talented as they wouldn't have gotten to the finals otherwise.....and their time WILL come!!

*Crossed

Hello tutugirl: My daughter got her place from the reserve list for MDS 5 years ago and has never looked back . Fingers grossed

II have a son on the dance course (yr 8) and a daughter on the dance course (year 11) at Tring. My son starts every morning with a 2 hour ballet class. He then has a modern/tap/choir class till lunch. One day a week he does his normal class then does boys only class....more than an hour a day. My daughter does practically all ballet....ballet class/solos/pas de deux/pointe. She has one contemporary class per week and 2 jazz classes...the rest is ballet all the way. (3 dance classes a day) She is in a classical set and has been given the opportunity and coaching to take part in YBDY, Phyllis Bedells and Cecchetti competitions. I read somewhere on the forum that someone had seen poor fifth positions in class...perhaps it was a musical theatre class as all the students (including drama students) do ballet.( My oldest son is on the MT class there and his 5th would not be that good!) I have found the standard of the teaching to be excellent and the students reach a very good standard in exams and performances. The day is split with the juniors dancing in the morning, seniors in the afternoon. I note that at finals for upper school the school was very well represented too! The recent outstanding for dance course in Ofsted is a testament to this.....and the school has the most amazing friendly atmosphere. I

I've finally gotten around to clearing out a whole batch of letters I kept for sentimental reasons and came across my dd's offer of funding for Hammond....dated 27th April!!!!! Thank heavens you guys won't have to wait that long!!!! Will probably regret throwing all the letters out now but am paying lip service to tidying up my life!!!

My dd's school does measure and weigh the children once a year. I have always felt that it was to ensure that they are not losing weight and have a baseline to monitor it by. There is a policy in place if a dancer is not eating well enough, or seems to have lost too much weight, they will be taken off dance as they could hurt themselves. The school even brought an outside nutritionist in to talk to parents, as well as the children. I was shocked at how poorly attended this was. It reassures me that the school is proactive in dealing with this issue. What scares me the most is the loyalty the children have to each other when they know someone is suffering because they see them avoiding food or hear them being sick but don't want to tell on them. It means it can take longer for the problem to come to light. Education in this area is vital.

What a shame the children(not to mention the parents) are being made to wait so long. It is such a tense time for them, especially as the children in Year 6 will have their friends talking about the move to secondary school in September and they are still unsure where they will be going. Let us hope the Hammond will put you all out of your misery soon with happy news for all ballet.coers.