robin64

I have chatted to the teacher/owner and they would help if possible but can't do anything. She can't move up as she has just moved into this level and it is intermediate modern so she couldn't go up to advanced. I am happy with the school but it's a shame to miss out on training. DD wants to take her exams and try for dance/MT college. I also don't want to change schools particularly but it would be interesting to take a lesson in the other school and see what it is like there. However I really do not want to upset or annoy anyone as you know how important it is to have a good relationship especially if you want to go on to further training. I thought maybe I could keep up the other ballet and tap lessons at current school but do the inter modern at the new one. Is this too complicated?

Can anyone advise me about this dilemma please. DD has been at her dance school for 18 months after 10 years in her old school. After a couple of wobbles she has settled in well and is making good progress. This term the timetable has changed and we cannot get to one of the lessons. I have looked on the website of another school in the same town and it has this lesson on a convenient day/time. Should I ...A) give up the lesson for the time being and see if the timetable changes so she can carry on at present school or b)Try the other school to continue her lessons without missing out? It is not a core ballet lesson but another genre she is keen on too. I also wondered if I should ask/mention to current school as I have a feeling there might possibly be some rivalry between them. Both schools are well thought of and have very experienced staff. I thought I meant upset/annoy present school by going elsewhere for lessons. It has also come to my attention from checking out the times that DD could do most of her lessons on one day at the other school rather than 1 hour, 45 mins and 1hr45mins on 3 different evenings. It is a 90 min round trip for me and at the moment I do this 3 times a week. Is it not the done thing to go to different schools and will I just end up upsetting both if I do this? thanks for any thoughts.

C4D I want to send my best wishes too. I can sympathise (and empathise) although a slightly different story, I know a little of how you felt about your DD being unhappy at vocational school. My eldest (non dancing) daughter went off in Y7 to a very prestigious local girls grammar, it's only a state school but one that people try very hard to get into via 11+. We found out about the grammar schools quite late but as DD had moved to a new primary and seemed to have made a friend there who was sitting the exam, she took it too and passed. Off she went and we all felt proud. She really has not enjoyed it at all and we have had some miserable times trying to get through the last few years. Finally she is in Y11 and will leave as soon as her GCSEs are over. She will go to art school and hopefully finally be able to feel happy and be herself. We did offer her the chance to move schools but she didn't want to do that either and once you have done a couple of years it is harder to move again. The friend she went there with did not turn out to be a nice friend at all. My DD is quiet and I guess she makes an easy target. Hindsight is a great thing eh? I know you have gone through a really hard time but in some ways I was happy for you that you have managed to back out at an early stage and your DD can move on and hopefully be happy in her next chapter. It has gone on for years with my DD. but she gets to come home at the end of the day. Well done to you for making a brave decision and if your DD does think she might like to try again then there has been no shame in having a wobbly start. My dancing DD nearly gave up ballet this year after 10 years but only last night said how much she loves it again now. Her teacher commented that she was the most determined dancer for tackling her difficulty with pointe and coming through. I am sure your DD will use her experience to grow stronger as a person and a dancer. btw I had a slight pang that my DD did not want to audition for any vocational places, it sounded so thrilling reading all the threads on here. She said she knew she would hate to be away from home and does not want to go til she is 18 so I am very grateful to you for being brave enough to share your experiences. I guess vocational school is just not the route for everyone. I really hope that everything works out well for you and the family. x It is such a disappointment (for us as parents as well as our children) when something that seems so exciting goes wrong but have a big family hug, take a deep breath and go forward.

A friend of mine at uni kept up her dance at local studios and she became a primary school teacher. She used her dance and performance experience in her work with children at her school. It is always valuable to have this sort of extra skill when applying for teaching jobs.The other possibility might be a dance degree and pgce primary or teach dance at high school level. My dds school has a very good dance dept separate from the PE dept and teaches gcse and A level dance. Well done for your DD keeping up her dance to advanced level.

Thanks so much for posting all these open and honest personal experiences. They are so interesting to read and will be very helpful I'm sure. Vocational School has never been on the agenda for us although DD is a keen dancer and enjoyed summer school. At her state grammar school speech day yesterday I noticed one of the 6th form leavers was off to LSC for a professional theatre dance course after taking A levels - keeping up her local training and getting an A* for her dance A level (plus other A levels, one an A). It did make me think that it isn't the end of the road not to go to vocational school or even away at 16 so remember there are many roads. I do understand that a for a classical ballet career WL or Elmhurst would probably be the dream start but if you don't audition/get in then it is not the end of the road..and a few exams in the bag first might be helpful later. I did see this young lady dance and she was very good and obviously had worked hard at her local lessons so I thought I would share that.

I really don't have a problem with drinking as such and at 16+(hopefully not 14+ but seems more likely than I thought) teenagers will try things. These girls are away from home so the school has some duty to keep an eye on them. It's not just the drinking and whether they feel ill but the possible difficulties a girl can find herself in under the influence. Also the girls at vocational school have worked hard and won places others would have loved to get. It is a shame if they don't grab the opportunity they have got. I am certain you would not catch elite young athletes smoking either. As I said hopefully it is a not going to be an ongoing thing and there won't be pressure for others to do the same to fit in.

As some of the students are under 18 I would be tempted to mention the drinking and smoking to the school. I bet the parents of those girls would not be that happy. Time for a stern chat from staff if you ask me. Obviously you don't want any come back on your DD for "telling" so there is no need for the school to say how they know but that they do know what has been going on. Perhaps they have just been a bit wild on getting some freedom but there should be some monitoring if you ask me.

Yes, that sounds a brilliant suggestion. I would head to the open day and find out as much as possible.

Would it be possible for you to rent a place on a short term lease perhaps until the boarding issue is sorted out then your DD can take up her place and get started. Was she supposed to join the Hammond this month? Isn't your DS an associate there? If you feel the Hammond is just not working out then I would agree with the advice from Ribbons to audition for as many schools as you can and take it from there. Is your DD interested in classical ballet or a variety of dance or MT? Might be more choice and there are some scholarships available such as a new Amy Winehouse scholarship at Sylvia Young School etc And if you and DD are getting really upset and anxious perhaps you could just give yourselves a breather, stop for a little while and take some time off the dance thing. It won't do any harm and might help you reassess the situation. What I mean is the old saying that sometimes "you can't see the wood for the trees". It has probably been hard for your DD changing schools especially if the new one isn't what she hoped. However she might relax and enjoy school better if she is not worried about this whole Hammond business. I wish you the best.

oh so sorry to hear that C4D. It must be awful. I don't have experience of vocational school but I am sure someone will come along soon who knows what to do. It is bound to settle with time I'm sure. Is there someone at Dd's end that can look after her. Maybe an older student could talk to her about feeling homesick. Sending you a cyber hug.

We too had a fitting at Dancia over the summer hols that wasn't very inspired and did not buy pointe shoes. DD liked a leotard in there but I wasn't keen on the price..£53!...we did not buy that either!

Elliepops, does Linda have a shop in Brighton where the fittings take place or do you have to make an appointment to see her at home/office etc I go to Brighton at least twice a year to visit my brother so would love to have the address. Could you PM it to me please if you can't give the address out on the forum. I know Brighton very well as I used to live there too but as it was before children I probably wasn't looking out for pointe shoe fitters then!

If any of you ever go to the Gower on holiday, there is a superb fitter in the Mumbles. So you can have ballet and beaches!

My DD changed schools after 10 years and it has been hard at times. She did miss her friends and being so familiar with everything. She is now at a very well established and more professional school and I know she is being well taught but it can be quite difficult going from being one of the old hands to a newbie and slightly outside the "circle" (and for the mum too). It has been a year now and DD is feeling a bit more settled in but remember it might take a little time. We have had the odd wobble as I have posted about but DD has come through and is showing good determination. DD knows that she changed for the training and so she could make faster progress. Her old school did seem to take forever to put in for exams. It was small so DD had to wait for younger girls to be ready. Now she has skipped some tap and modern grades and is thriving on the more challenging level of class. Good luck and stick with it for a while to feel the benefit.

Spanner DD is 5'8 and slim and I don't think her feet look big really. She does rather hope she has finished with growth spurts now though esp in the foot dept! In the holidays she was fitted with new point shoes and they look lovely - Bloch Balance European which we have never had before. Well done pupsmum (and DD) - sounds like a good shopping trip.

Good luck everyone. I hope all your children and young people have a successful and rewarding year and that you manage not to be too sad when they have gone. x

Thanks all, managed to end up with clarks and a pair of Keds which look like the old school daps! (but more expensive!) they lace up and are supportive. DD was pleased because the size 8 in these were too big and the 7 fitted. The uncoolness of Clarks school shoes was a bit of a sticking point for a while and we did have to trail round for ages looking elsewhere but the Clarks school shoes are £10 cheaper than ladies shoes and did in fact go up to an 8.5.I am afraid the 8.5 measurement did cause some tears to be shed outside the shop. Poor DD. So no baggy ballet flats this year thank goodness. I did arm myself with some of your facts and advice and cyber sympathy which helped.

I have to say congratulations to your DD Balletpointe. She sounds very hard working and has achieved a great deal. I will keep an open mind and try to visit the college some time. I know they have had a considerable amount spent on facilities and all colleges must start to build their reputation. I am glad there seems to be some money and expertise going into dance training in the NW. Thanks for posting about your DD. My DD enjoyed the amazing summer school at Ballet Cymru so I am happy to look at some less obvious choices in future. These days value for money, funding options, living expenses etc do really count (at least for us they certainly do).

Thanks Aurora, that is what I thought really. I always look at where people trained in show programmes and it is mostly colleges such as Bird and Laines but that would mostly be for 18+ I don't really want to be paying fees before that. We recently went to see Top Hat in London and the choreographer explained the audition process they had for the dancers...it was tough!!

You have made it a very easy process to donate so thanks and well done for that.

Hi, I am not really looking yet as DD is in y9 so has her usual dance classes and companies. It was more just a general question of whether training at a better known school or college gives you an advantage. Lots of DCs seem to head off to vocational training at 16 and I assume there would be fees to pay but not at an FE college such as Preston. So would there be a major advantage to training at say for example Tring/Hammond against somewhere like Preston College? Sorry I don't know a huge amount about the fees etc for different schools yet.

This is following on from another thread about dance teacher colleges. On that it mentioned Preston College. I didn't even know there was a dance course there but I had a look at the link and was pleasantly suprised. Plus DrDance commented it was a good course. It led me to wonder how much of a difference it might make where a dancer has trained when auditioning for jobs or perhaps for post 18 training. Obviously for classical ballet there are certain schools you would aim for but if you were looking for a more general dance training with ballet but also tap etc would it make a difference? For us doing some 16+ training in Preston would be an option as there would be free accommodation with family and it looks like there are free bus passes, extra funding available etc But is it better to try for some more well known dance or MT colleges?

Thank you DrDance I knew you would have some useful tips. Shopping trip postponed but we have had a chat about looking after her feet. DD has had some back ache recently but hasn't been dancing for a couple of weeks so I don't think it is related. It just reminded me of the need for DD to look after herself including feet.

Primrose I have some wrapped in tissue too. I always wanted those button ones! I bet you had the little navy coat with the velvet trim too. My girls had those and the smocked dresses...no stop it...I'll be shedding a tear soon!!

pups mum is the Preston course for age 16 so instead of A levels? Had a very quick look at the link but wasn't 100% sure. We are not at the stage of looking at post 16 yet but it will come round very quickly. We have family in Preston so I was interested in looking at the link. I didn't even realise there was a college with dance courses there.