angel

No you are not perfect ..

Hear hear. ☺️

My advice, if you a near Nottingham, would be to visit  https://www.gedlingballetschool.co.uk/

My experience has been that it is not about how much ballet you do but who teaches. 

Where does she do her ballet classes now? Are you local to Birmingham?

Whatever your DD feels most confident in and shows her passion for dance would be my advice. Good luck 😀

My mixed race daughters say wet your hair, use a nit comb, spray with gel spray. Have never seen them not look very neat

If it’s jazz/commercial you’re looking for https://jazzassociates.co.uk/locations/midlands/ in Stoke is worth a look. Depends where you are and what you DC is

wanting to do. 

I found stuckonyou.co.uk labels (the spot ones stuck really well) after years of sewing to be the best option. 

2 hours ago, Tiaramum said:

This is my worry about taking up a year 7 place, we've also heard rumours that if assessed out of WL there will be little/no chance of getting another vocational school. What happened to just going to one class a week. LOL

 

Almost all children assessed out of WL will be snapped up by another vocational school (unless due to injury). Everything WL saw to begin with will still be there and even one year training at WL makes a real difference to technique. 

I have always brought my DD's home whenever they have needed to, which has meant 7 years so far of driving forwards and backwards to WL,Hammond and Tring from the Midlands, most weeks, with the help of the kindest friends along the way.

Personally, I think it is important to listen to your own child, not other parents or house parents.  It is your child who 'may' suffer from poor mental health if not given the opportunity to offload.  There is very little opportunity at vocational schools to do this in private and dancers very quickly learn that they are meant to develop a thick skin, and they may, whilst they crumble inside, learning to repress their feelings.... of course they may thrive.  I don't know many young dancers who came through completely unscathed 😒

Every child/young person is different and only you can decide what works for your family 😊

Yes, just briefly. 

One of mine had a Vans galaxy print, the other started with a black Topshop leather one, then burgundy and various blues  Noone batted an eyelid 😏

My DD's have done this.  It's a well run course with top class teaching faculty.  Fairly large classes sometimes so it depends what you want out of it.  

I just had a look to see if DD could do it this time but she's on holiday.

2 minutes ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

She asked to be taken out of the piece for her own safety and that of those around her.

What the heck? Oh just realised that she asked!

sorry to hear she isn’t in it. She deserves her place as much as any 😌

Wells away (Dar Danse) put on adult courses too. 

I know that Wells Away do them (Morocco).  Not sure of dates but worth asking.  Gorgeous place to holiday too

Good luck with not being a pushy parent. It kind of creeps up on you 😂

JA is a basic class aimed at mastering the basics of ballet. It’s exciting being a part of it but not necessarily an exciting class, if that makes sense. It’s hard work, almost tedious. A good grounding for what’s to come!

One thing I wished I understood years ago is the absolutely tiny amount of dc who actually go on to have a career in dance, let alone Ballet, even after success at JA, vocational school etc. 

Wishong you and your dd luck 😊

imo it would be easier to get into JA’s earlier because they do really take children on their physical and musical potential. The older they get, there is an expectation, to a degree, that they will have at least a working knowledge of the exercises they set.

The more experience children get, in a relaxed and enjoyable setting, at auditions, the better. Even if they aren’t successful first time around, they can see around them the level of the other dc in the group and understand what they are working towards. 

With regard to CAT. I would imagine most dc who got into JA’s would get into a CAT scheme also, however they might work more on current ability rather than future potential?

What year is your DC now KindleK?

I have two dc at tring now.  Both have done very well compared with how they would have anywhere else. However, I have resorted to tutors at home to help out when the pressure has been on. They have singing/piano lessons which take them out of class so I feel that it helps make sure there are no gaps. 

The only tricky thing as far as I can tell is fitting in the amount of studying around vocational shows etc and being exhausted by the time May/June comes around. 

We had an email from WL 3 years ago. 

Drove to Hammond to collect last year. Tring this year and haven’t asked yet!

7 minutes ago, Legseleven said:

That is so true, Karen. As you say, children of whatever age often desperately don’t want their parents to intervene and state the facts - but unless someone does so, how will matters ever change? 

I don’t think anything will change. There are too many other dc who will take their place in a heartbeat. 

Also, something I have found is that school directors will bend over backwards for their personal favourite dc and not for those that aren’t. 

19 hours ago, Cara in NZ said:

I absolutely agree with angel. Because my DD was/is 'talented but not driven to want a dance career', we've always said to her 'Dance is something you do – it is not who you ARE'. The whole question of identity is so difficult because these kids grow up in a world dominated by dance from a young age, and just when they hit their teens and are sorting out 'who they are', is when the biggest pressures come on them to succeed, excel, etc.

The ballet world is unnatural – my DD wants to be an anaesthetist and I noted that she might only be finishing her training as her dance peers were finishing their ballet careers! There's not many spheres where you train from childhood, start your professional career at 19, and hope to last 10 or 15 years doing it. Such a huge investment for the dancers AND their families.

A beloved teacher of ours encouraged us to 'look at the bigger picture' back when DD was 11 and looking at auditioning for Scholars here. I didn't see her point entirely at the time (blinded by the heady possibilities LOL), but now I see she was trying to tell us to keep the rest of DD's life in perspective – that ballet might continue to be part of it, or might not. Either way nobody has failed or given up. Ballet is a tyrant, and many choose to walk away from its exhausting, beautiful, impossible standards. But our DC have all gained so much from their time with this art. Let's allow those DC who have had enough to walk away towards new possibilities that will be more rewarding for them.

This is So beautifully written Cara 😊

4 hours ago, angel said:

The 'best' ISN’T always best and a school which might seem to be less prestigious can be absolutely the best environment for your dc to thrive in.

 

Wishing you both luck 😊

I agree with this.  It's so difficult to share advice without telling the 'world' your now adult dc's business though.

I can say though that my dd hasn't actually decided not to dance again..just not at the moment.  They put so much of themselves in from such a young age and it can become completely and utterly who they are, their whole identity.

My advice would always to make sure that dance isn't all that they do.  Encourage an interest in other activities so that there is a plan B in sight from day 1.

Yes, trust your gut instincts Crystaltips.  Don't let the school intimidate you.  I've had to be quite tough with my younger dd's school and it has meant that I have developed a much more equal relationship with them than I had with my older dd's schools who was unhappy in two schools but much happier, for a time at least in her last choice.  The 'best' is always best and a school which might seem to be less prestigious can be absolutely the best environment for your dc to thrive in.

Wishing you both luck 😊