Lemongirl

Nothing here either!

It sounds like they send out all the yesses first.

We haven't had an email yet so I suspect it's not good news

Waiting here too! Dd was on the 1st Nov.

Is there any nearby parking at the venue please?

Where do you buy the Nutcracker and Giselle ones pictures?

Oh dear, my dd might be interested in this. Is it not legitimate?

Yes, sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the character section in festivals rather than character in graded exams! Thewinelake - Welwyn Festival is coming up in January, that should be fairly local to you. And Watford in May.

With the photos, I really wish EYB would take good quality photos of each group which you can then buy. I always find it stressful taking my own photos and usually manage to include other parents heads!

No, she was a friend and was very happy as that was the part she wanted

And the tiny little girl (baby songbird/Cinderella attendant) was adorable She couldn't have been 8 surely??

It looks like Hunger Games is quite common then. Dd was thinking of using the original film music. She's not keen on abstract ideas!

Loved it. The new costumes are stunning. My dd was a little jewel in Sleeping Beauty about 3 years ago and had a white/gold costume (mostly white). The new costumes look much more jewel like. Love the sparkly gold guests costumes too

My dd and her friend are looking for some ideas for a new character duet. They are both 14 and have danced together before. They are looking for something original, a bit different and not old fashioned. Something with good dramatic quality. One idea they have had is the Hunger Games, any other ideas please?

Thank you Taxi

Does anyone know if the restaurants are on the theatre side or the station side please?

Do they have a website? How many productions do they do a year?

Doesn't look like there's anything near enough for us next year sadly :-( And they're not doing Coppelia at all, does anyone know why? That's the one dd really wants to do!

Oh dear, I really feel sorry for the mums whose dds get through pointe shoes so quickly. You must be forever sewing ribbons on! I am halfway through sewing dd's GM ribbons - hard work!

Reporting back from a lovely day in Southend this week! Just Ballet were fabulous, well worth the trip. Dd had such a thorough fitting, she must have tried at least 20 pairs. It was down to Russian pointe or Gaynor Minden at the end and she chose GM. I was slightly worried about the foot not working as hard with them but she totally loved them so that was her shoe! We then had a windswept couple of hours at Southends seafront! Will definitely be returning to Just Ballet in the future, dd was very impressed.

My dd did a week at OPES last year but it wasn't a good experience for her. The standard was incredibly high, nothing wrong with that per se, but there did seem to be a lot of vocational or soon to be vocational students there and I think she was a bit intimidated. The girls in her dorm weren't particularly friendly either. Sorry to put a dampener on a positive thread.

Dd is 14, has been doing pointe for a couple of years and is still struggling to find the perfect pair of pointe shoes. Her first pair were bought locally, can't remember the make, and as they were her first pair she had nothing to compare them with. When she'd outgrown them we went to Covent Garden, looked in the various shops, tried loads on and she eventually chose a Bloch pair from their shop. She has since bought another Bloch pair (different shoe though) but keeps going back to the second pair (although she says they're not perfect). She has EYB coming up (and inter foundation exam) and I think it would be a good idea to get a new pair. I'm thinking of making a trip to Southend to the shop there so she can try lots of different brands under one roof. Does anyone have any advice? Also, I still don't know for sure what to go for in terms of ribbons and/or elastics. One her last pair I sewed elastics in which frayed very quickly. Dd likes those Bloch ribbons with the elastic bit at the back but they're soooo hard to get them in the right place!

I have never worked out why Tring station is so far out of town! Anyway, my dd may be travelling by herself by train to Tring on a Sunday in a few weeks time as we can't take her that day. She will obviously need to get a taxi from the station to Tring Park as the bus only seems to run a couple of times a day. I did investigate the station a while ago and I think there is a taxi/minicab company there. But how safe would this be for dd travelling alone? Does anyone know of any reputable/licenced taxi firms so I could pre-book for her?

Has anyone heard anything about next year's venues in the SE of England yet?

This is worrying reading. Surely it's more important to give our daughters a strong message that women are SUPPOSED to have breasts, curves and more body fat than men..?