celb

yes all the best and enjoy the day to all those heading to White Lodge in the next 2 days...exciting times.

spannerand pony - he does do 1 day a week at the BUPA centre at the Barbican in London - Wed I think ( Thurs & Fri in Manchester)

Leon is a Sport Medicine trained Doctor, he also has interests in athletics football and rugby

well done and all the best to those who have made finals

My heart goes out to those young dancers going through this harsh and unforgiving process. It's hard enough being a young teenager without the stress and uncertainty of whether one is going to have to change schools and leave friends.I understand the logic behind the assessing out procedure and why changing course is theoretically a good idea at an earlier stage rather than investing years of training in a classical ballet programme only to discover that you don't have what it takes to gain a classical contract. Well done to those who have made it through and to those who have received bad news this week please pay heed to the wisdom and experience of those on this forum who have been through this process and survived.

The pain could also be referred from her back -if she has pain putting her nose to knee

All the best to those stalking the postie in the morning.

Some children also get injured after the casting and before the rehearsals -I know of at least 2 girls who dropped out of Manchester's Giselle for this reason.

In my DDs no letter for RBS WL finals today (Manchester prelim) - the letter stated that they are looking for" technical facility,theatricality,musicality,physical proportions and suitability for classical ballet training" . Certainly her physique is no different from when she was a JA yet - disproportionately long legs and neck , well arched feet , marginally short torso , hypermobile ankles and good flexibility.

The best person to advise you on whether your DD is ready or suitable for the RBS JA programme is her teacher.There is still plenty of time to apply for this year's auditions.Any child can go along to the auditions just for the experience of an audition class.Although photos have to be sent prior to the audition for the JA programme no child is turned down on the basis of the photos .The Royal Ballet School does tend to place significant emphasis on a good physique so some very good dancers do miss out though I am no more qualified than any other parent to guess what the Royal Ballet School are looking for in their selection process! The audition takes the form of a very simple ballet class with a standard pattern of barre work centre work and some flexibility. RAD grade 2 standard sounds fine for a 7 year old child.There are 8 JA centres across the country .Children who are selected for the JA programme attend a weekend ballet class 2 to 3 times a month during term time ( some Fridays in Manchester).The ballet class concentrates on technique at a basic level together with body conditioning.Depending on how close you live to the JA centres this can be quite a commitment for parents.The majority of the places are given to children going into Year 5 the following September though there are a few selected going into year 4.The audition is a great day out and worth going to for a fun experience for the children.My DD auditioned at 7 for the experience and to keep an older friend company and she and I were shocked when she was selected for a year 4 place.She subsequently had 3 happy years as a JA and made many new dancing friends..For children attending I would advise looking on the day as an opportunity to show off their lovely dancing and keep it low key as many more children audition than there are places. The other opportunity worth considering is attending the RBS JA for a day sessions.I think you may have missed these for this year but they give children the experience of what a JA class is like -details tend to be in the Outreach section on the RBS website.

Checked back on my emails from last year My DD got her yes letter for WL finals on Thursday 3rd Feb for 26th Feb finals! Who is stalking the postie at the end of this week!

good news in this house

I have it on good authority that audition letters were posted today

Daunting odds!

All the best to your DS at this exciting but nervewracking and stressful time - this is what all the training has been for!

So many hopefuls for so few places at this wonderful school!

waiting list also for my DD - she did get in off the waiting list 2 years ago ( with only 4 days notice) Well done to elfie and budding ballerina

English Youth Ballet and National Youth Ballet are 2 different entities.Both are great performance experience for young dancers.EYB has plenty of non pointe roles.I'm sure your DD would have no difficulty in selection for EYB if she is a RB MA.EYB are based regionally -the children do 11 rehearsals then 3 performances.The majority of the rehearsals are based around school holidays eg the Newcasle Swan Lake April performances rehearse mainly during Easter; the most recent Manchester Giselle rehearsed in October half term for November performances.There are also some weekend rehearsals and some of the shows may be during the week depending on venue.NYB is based in the south with a summer school for rehearsals based at Tring (residential only for 12+ and day attendance for the younger ones) and the performances are in London and a touring arm.The standard is generally said to be higher than EYB.My DD has not done NYB so there will be others better able to comment.More info can be found on their websites.http://www.englishyouthballet.co.uk and http://www.nyb.org.uk

Checked last year's selection letter was dated 1st April - but the entries closed much earlier this year due to the Olympics. I still feel they might wait until after the preliminary school audtions coming up in the next few weeks - so i'm not stalking the postie yet.

I hope everyone has had an excellent Christmas and is looking forward to an great year of ballet in 2012