robin64

Just to add...The Urdang one looks better value and shows more commitment by offering a year's sessions.

I have looked at the links. Does anyone else think that £250 for 5 sessions at Laines is expensive or is it just me? Plus all the travel costs. I do sometimes think that some of these "opportunities" are a way of making money from young hopefuls. Not all places charge that much - a week at Ballet Cymru (general dance lessons/no audition) is £60 for the whole week. I recall DD doing a workshop at RAD and it was pretty reasonable. I am sure these things are great but some of the more low key local opportunities can be excellent too. Have you tried your county youth dance team Katymac? They often have someone to offer advice on what is on offer or try the Youth Dance England site which has links.

Well done from me too. x

oh my goodness, OPEN IT Please! The suspense is killing me Hope it is good news and a huge congrats to yes DCs plus sympathetic hugs to no's. How exciting for you all. Remember how amazing you all are even to get to the finals. I love the fact that some DCs have had those no letters before and gone on to get in this time..brilliant and pats on the back to the parents for all their hard work too.

Any news Discouraged?

PD 123 what kind of dance career are you interested in? I think there is a different pathway depending on what dance you want to take further or what you want career wise.

I agree with Marianne - I don't think there is anything cynical involved. Far from it, the teachers and panel members have passion and love ballet and know all too well that the children and young people coming to those auditions love it too and have made it their lives (for years at 6th form level). They know what it means to people which is why they look so carefully at the candidates. We all know how hard interviews and auditions are but intensely so when all candidates are so talented and able and so young and vulnerable. Other schools know how hard it is and that is why they will take on pupils that have been assessed out or not gained a place at finals for another school. I don't think a dancer would only go to their classes as a child to be successful at an audition in the future. They go because they love it. It's a shame that so much anxiety creeps in the more serious they become about dance. Some of that probably comes from us adults who know how tough the real world is and are desperate for our children to be happy and successful and are so sad when they get knock backs.

It must give you the edge. After all, the pupils at vocational school are putting in so many hours. That is not to say that only vocational pupils will get through but those that are auditioning for 6th form are the cream of the cream. They have got through years of critical assessments and put in more hours of training. Like a sports person - to get to the top takes top coaching and hours of training. Hopefully your DD will gain a place at 6th form and advance her training but whatever happens she will have learned from all the hard work and discipline she has put in so far.

Sorry, posted at the same time as you Julie. You are right it is probably just the tiniest thing between a yes and a no at this level.

Discouraged, have your DDs teacher/associate teacher ever given you feedback? I suppose there is competition from overseas as well as British associates for the places plus the vocational school pupils. There have been huge discussions on here about the physical requirements and preferences of the various schools. Sadly my DD has the wrong feet and we were told that she would never be able to train for classical ballet. She has continued to grow and at 14 is now 5' 8 and is now probably on the edge of not even being able to train for any dance course even though it is all she has wanted to do since she was 2. Her older non dancing sister has stopped growing at 5'7. It can be a cruel world. Can you spread the net and see if there are any other ballet courses that she might like? btw the son of a friend of ours trained at Central and he has had a very happy career in dance working for a prestigious company.

Sorry to hear of your nos Pointytoes and Discouraged. Good luck for Central. Discouraged your DD sounds very talented and has obviously stood out before to be chosen to be an associate for so long. Do you think her physique has changed as she has grown up or something physical like shape of her foot. It seems like there are so many physical things that can count you out at a very competitive audition. Or does she get nervous in an audition situation? It must be frustrating to be in this situation especially for your DD after working so hard for so long. I am sure as others have said that things will work out in the end. Stay positive and fingers crossed for you. Have you lined up auditions anywhere else?

Stirrups36 Bravo to you for giving something like this your time and thought. It sounds like a great idea but I understand that it would be utterly time consuming and a labour of love. I could see it being a brilliant extension of an established dance school offering dance to a wider range of pupils eg a state school with links to Elmhurst, Royal etc with an enhanced dance curriculum. The problem would still be that demand would outstrip places so how would one get in!!!

That is an interesting link suzyszoo. I wonder if it will take off? If the schools cannot be selective, then in this case they are selecting by gender at least. Perhaps offering lots of dance training might mean only those who really want that would apply for a place thereby self selecting to a certain degree. It would be too much dance and not enough academics for some wouldn't it? so they woudn't choose that school. The ethos of the school would have to be serious training which could be non selective but would perhaps only be enjoyed and "endured" by those who want it. Hope that makes sense. In lots of ways I do think there is a place for a dance school which is less harshly selective than the current vocational schools - it could lead on to a broader range of further dance courses for classical and other careers. My daughter is in a company with disabled dancers and the pure pleasure those young people get from dance is wonderful to see. They would love a dance based school. There is no reason the dance classes cannot be taught at different levels within the school. It would be an interesting project. Perhaps a way of actually getting the government to support young people rather than making life so hard for them.

The government have been giving away millions for people to set up free schools so why not one for ballet or general dance? just a thought.

Thanks for the link eloise please. I have saved it to print out for my daughter, it has some good advice to offer.

DDs ballet teacher told me kindly but honestly that DD would never be a classical ballet dancer because sadly for her, her feet are just not the right shape. Her teachers have praised her determination and hard work and she continues with ballet and is making steady progress. DD had been doing ballet for 10 years at this point. Luckily she is very good at tap, modern and singing so can aim for MT. I appreciated the truth, it has helped us be realistic. You have to deal with the reality of a competitive world and nowadays it is the whole world you will be competing with not just dancers from this country. Even the best and brightest will suffer setbacks so be prepared to grit your teeth and move on and that advice is as much for the parents as the dancers. Sometimes it is someone else's day.

This looks good but our half term is the week before

Signed. I know we will have to seriously consider the cost of higher education and training for our children. The thought of all that student loan debt really worries me.We fell just the wrong side of the fence for the child benefit changes and suffer because we are a one income household at present so a little means a lot to us and sometimes just the dance lesson fees can be a struggle. Definitely feel squeezed. Some people might say dance lessons are a luxury and I can understand that but dance is important to dd2 and why shouldn't she have the chance to learn to dance as much as someone who wants to take any other subject and ballet tap and modern are not offered in state schools are they? The funding should be sensible and make training possible for all not just a certain few. Getting a place is hard enough without the door shutting because of funding.

I expect the dates will be similar to last year - end of July/beginning of August but you could email them to confirm. They are very helpful. There was a week of general dance followed by the ballet week and you can do one or both. Last year there were three ballet groups I think, according to age/grade. DD did 2 weeks and really enjoyed it.

Pop in, get everyone's letters and we can all breathe a sigh of relief

Good grief! I can feel the tension mounting and it isn't anything to do with us..eek! I have been unable to stop myself checking in on your agonising wait! Wishing you all the very best for those letters. Stay calm all you mums (and dads) xx

Katymac, my advice would be to remember that pointe work is a long slow build up so don't let your DD get disheartened if she finds it hard at times or it is taking some time to do it confidently. It has taken several years for my DD to gain strength and confidence in pointe. Eventually finding good shoes has made a difference especially as DD has very difficult feet for pointe but mainly it has been perseverence. Ask your ballet teacher for an honest appraisal of your DDs feet (Anjuli has explained the basic foot types very well in another thread). This will help give you and DD realistic expectations for how pointe work will go. If your DDs feet are not ideal for pointe it does not necessarily mean she will never manage it but it will take hard work determination and some heart ache along the way. Don't rush it especially as in other posts you have said you DD has been unwell.

Thanks for all the advice. I will let you know what happens. At my age I really ought not to be nervous of a ballet teacher.

Thanks everyone. I think I will ask if the school minds us going elsewhere for this particular lesson. If they are unhappy I can consider what to do otherwise it will be after Easter before there is any chance of a timetable change and even then it may not be the right time.

Julie, I agree. It is very difficult and I wish they all saw it more as a simple servic. There seems to be quite a culture of strict loyalty to schools! DD moved after 10 years and it was really hard telling her teacher. We had moved house but realistically could just as easily have carried on there but in reality I knew that DD needed a more professional school with faster progression and as it turned out DD skipped up 3 tap grades and is doing well. Her old school was small with 3 pupils in her tap grade and she always had to wait for ages to take exams. It's tricky now to contemplate trying another school but I also feel that it's a shame for DD to miss out.