Elliepops

Depending on how far away from Egham you are willing to travel the Susan Robinson School of Ballet has classes at Byfleet and is very well respected. Many students go on to vocational training.

DD has just completed her first undergraduate year at Cambridge. She found that planning and thought was definitely required to narrow down the college to apply to as no two seemed to have the same entrance tests, essay requirements, TSA etc (it is a whole other world and a vocabulary to match). The admissions tutors have the performance data for every school, so that they can contextualise a candidates performance against their school cohort and their circumstances. DD was on a scholarship and bursary at an independent school, but the majority of her friend group are from state schools. The terms are short, the learning very fast and the pressure is intense (not least having your results posted in public on the Senate House Wall (thankfully a 1st ) I feel her dance background although completely unrelated has given her skills to cope.

Hi Katie, Have completed your survey. Just to say that pointe shoes lasting for six months would bring whoops of joy from the ballet parents here, never mind a year + Most of the traditional shoes are designed to last approx 8 hours in use. J x

I've been down the themed to the ballet route a couple of times and found some very nice and not too expensive necklaces or bracelets online. If your DD is in LCB this year Nancy21 there are some very pretty apple necklaces out there. When my daughter did LCB Rumpelstiltskin I managed to find a silver spider necklace that opened like a locket and had a tiny spinning wheel inside, perfect as she danced Mother Spider and she's still wearing it.

Hmmm, after a nose at the website it would appear that the Fame Academy is a Sunday only associate style set up - similar to Stagecoach. Personally I would be surprised indeed if most if not all of the best dancers are not only attending this training, but studying at other dance schools during the week (I wonder if said schools receive any credit anywhere for their input). I admit to a morbid fascination with the US Dance Moms, although there is no way on earth I would allow my child to be subjected to the apparent mental and emotional torture portrayed on the programme,no matter how famous it made them. All my dancing mum friends and aquaintances are lovely sane people, you know who you are......

The University websites course pages are a mine of information and will usually contain details of the minimum qualifications and grades required to apply for a particular course eg A levels, B tech, International Baccalaureate along with UCAS points if applicable, as well as specific additional requirements eg IELTS , BMAT, STEP etc which a course may demand. Admissions tutors are there to field questions of this type, (I've personally found them to be friendly - Russell Group and Oxbridge) so I would suggest getting in touch now with any Uni you are thinking you might apply to.

Regarding the age qualification, If I remember correctly the age is taken as at 1st January of the show year and the minimum age is 9. DD loved doing LCB, it's a great experience both in the main cast and the tour.

It may be worth talking to Miss Porter regarding funding. When DD went a couple of years ago we paid the fees for one week and were later contacted by Miss Porter to say that DD had been chosen to receive a full bursary for two weeks and she was returning our cheque.

Maybe a silly question to ask, but does the application state that pointe shoes have to be worn for all poses for that age group? Could you not take pictures of the "flat" poses in flats and the en pointe one in pointe shoes (obviously!) It would not be unreasonable to conjecture that photo's were taken at the end of a "flat" class and pointe shoes changed into for the required pose. Just a thought ! Otherwise some very soft, soft blocks or de shanked and suitably prepared pointe shoes. Best of luck with photo's and applications. J x

If the VAT is shown separately, I think you will find the differences will happen in the rounding. J x

The sobering fact is these fees are being aimed at parents who for the most part - (although not all we were applying for scholarship and also a bursary) can afford day school fees of £15,000 - £20,000 per year or boarding fees upwards of £26,000 for each child, so in the scheme of things relative to that the registration fees are not so significant. I agree for those to whom it is a lot of money - and it was to us, paying it for our DD to sit scholarship exams at several schools certainly did mount up. Fortunately being so academic at the end she had scholarship offers from every school she sat for. She got to choose the school she liked best (and she has thrived at) and we got the option of a school that with the scholarship and bursary help given us we could afford.

I think you will find that this a fairly standard fee for registration at an independent school in this geographical area. Legat is part of St Bede's which is an independent senior school. DD's senior school charge a very similar amount. On investigation some charge a lot more, particularly for overseas students. J x

Ace job everyone!

You could try getting the white and calamine or pancake it. We've done that a couple of times when there was no pink to be found in the house. Or perhaps double up the Bloch.

Many moons ago when I was learning ballet myself we had mime classes, and we were encouraged to express ourselves a lot (my teacher had been trained by Karsavina), and if I remember it correctly when we took exams there were mime elements in some of them, the IDTA had separate graded exams and "performance" medals. I have no idea if this is still the case. DD does acting classes and has done the grades and medals with distinction in all (just about to finish off gold). She has found acting classes to have been very helpful for both expression and confidence. Personally my eye is nearly always drawn to the expressive dancers - even if they have been "hidden" at the back of the stage.

If you have time before she needs them you could check out ebay - lots of lovely pre loved and new never worn leos at very reasonable prices. We have found some real gems in the past.

When DD auditioned two years ago for the top girls class, there were approx twenty at the audition just for that class and only two, including DD were offered places.

Your GP should be able to refer you to a paediatric podiatrist through the NHS. The podiatrist will assess you DD and can give a tailored exercise programme and may take moulds of the feet for bespoke orthotics. Both my children have suffered from pronation and my daughter who has taken ballet lessons has managed to eliminate the pronation on one foot and greatly reduce it on the other. I would say though that her problem had been dealt with before she reached the stage of going on pointe. My son has had more serious issues with his pronation and even with the exercise regime and orthotics still experiences pain. He is now 15 and in the podiatrists opinion he has progressed as far as he is going to is unlikely to improve his situation in future, but will need to continue with a maintainence programme to prevent his pain worsening again. According to our podiatrist the younger the child is treated, the better the outcome will usually be.

For boys they run a course of classes from January to March for boys only at the Dance Attic.The last couple of years Bennett Gartside has taught the classes.

Chelsea Ballet and Balletomane are both adult amateur companies.

DD had a scottish highland dance that was always well received. We never came across another one at festivals and it was very easy to get a complete authentic outfit and shoes. J x

The endurance aspect is very interesting Dr D, there are a couple of national level tennis players at DD's school and they undertake a strength programme as part of the development squads, however during stress tests given to all the girls at school DD is able to hold these positions for much much longer - (embarassingly longer for them). As a totally non sporty child they are bemused that ballet ("all that wafting around") is the reason. ;-)

According to the Tring website there are still spots available for the 6th form dance course auditions this Thursday (31st January), may be worth checking with them and if that's still the case if you got your skates on she could audition Thursday - it may give you another possible option.

Central do make occasional exceptions I believe, there were one girl and one boy both 17 in DD's pre senior class last year.

What about a silver spinning wheel charm on a bracelet or a necklace? Have done this a couple of times for "big" performance moments - a charm bracelet of charms for Nutcracker (mouse, xmas tree,snowflake,spanish dancer etc) and a necklace of a spider which opened to reveal a tiny spinning wheel inside for Rumpelstiltskin. There are quite a few options online if you google. J x