Interested Parent

Yes for DaDa just as Hairbelles says. School get a pot of money, they audition and list wanted students in priority order (how much they want them/talent not how much they can contribute), parents complete income forms so school now knows how much of the pot is getting used as they go down the 'talent list' offering places. When the pot runs out they may offer wailing list places. Of course some of those offers will be declined and so the money left over can be assigned to another offer on the list, i.e. a waiting list place.

Gosh didn't realise the fees were so high at LSC! £13,770 and only able to get a 6k loan! I was sure it was around 9k last year?

NO!!!! I was lucky enough to get to all my DDs EYB performances but when we got the DVDs I could never see her! My mother always came to the performances and would openly ask me to let her know when she was coming on stage and point her out ((: it's all that makeup and those hair do's! Nightmare.

If you have grandfather, uncle etc that was a member of The Masons/Masonic Lodge you can apply for some funding but you might be late for that now. As AnnaC says your dd could try again next year and in the meantime do A levels locally and keep pushing to get some funding.

How about Danceworks, Pineapple and DanceAttic?

Dear Cara and BalletMadGril. Reading your posts has just cheered me so much. Best of luck to both your DC, I am sure they will both do well!

Just off the motorway. They can catch a bus from train station to very close to school. They have houses available for accommodation sharing and at audition will show you photos and info on them. No funding but if you apply for the bursary you will have a second audition and could pay quite a bit less. My DD chose another school in the end but the teaching seemed good and the staff were lovely. BTW if you're stopping over the Premier Inn is only 5 mins drive from the school.

I would thoroughly recommend Helene at Dancique. My DD would get a good fitting at Freed but within a few weeks the shoes (and any new ones) caused problems. It was a constant battle. It's difficult for our young dancers who do not really know what a shoe should feel like. We educated ourselves using the website given on here and discovered DD had a compressible foot meaning that off pointe/flat on the floor she looked wide but when en pointe in the shoe her metatarsals were compressing and she was sinking into her shoe causing bruised toenails and severe pain in her toe joints. We went armed with this knowledge to Dancique and they fitted her with a beautiful shoe that has literally allowed her to keep dancing.

I've had this problem all my life and didn't realise that it was adding to my headache problems until I saw a Physio and looked at myself walking in a mirror from the side. I couldn't even activate those stabiliser muscles under and below the shoulder blades. So my physio had me stand with my back against the wall, very close so that the wall was pressing against this area. I then rolled my shoulder blades back as advised by Dr Dance and could just about feel them. You can also do this lying on the floor and pulling your shoulders back to touch the floor. The physio told me to do 3 x 20 reps of activating/squeezing these muscles every day. After 6 weeks and also paying attention to my overall posture my headaches had reduced from 3 a week to 3 a month!!! Amazing. BTW my DD has this problem but has also learnt to control it with exercises.

Golly. Why is it so expensive!!

My DD had issues with pain in her legs, muscle fatigue and stomach aches. We went to see a consultant for her 'injuries' and he had scans done but also blood tests for vitd deficiency. He advised that many young people are low in vitd for all sorts of reasons suggested above but it was the high energy training since starting voc school and her low vitd levels that had contributed to her injuries. I don't think anyone should just start taking vitd but I do think it's worth getting a blood test done for kids who are involved in high energy training. This way your gp can prescribe the right dose if needed to bring those levels back up and then advise on the right maintenance dose going forward. Made a big difference to my DD.

Hi Anaballerina. Talk to your ballet friends around you. Ask them how they feel. You will be surprised how much you have in common with the homesickness worries and how many other students will be feeling this too. My DD did this last year and it helped enormously knowing she wasn't the only one.

I agree it's not ideal to show too much negative emotion in front of kids. BUT I do think they need to see some so they know you miss them and they feel able to discuss concerns with you.

Yes I too think they need to see some emotion. It's important for them to know that these feelings of sadness and missing someone are very normal so you need to show that a little too. In my experience if you expect 'stiff upper lip' and your child feels they have no control, they will find that control in other ways such as what they eat and we all know that can lead to all sorts of problems. My DD couldn't wait to go to voc school at 16 but when she got there she struggled enormously. I put on a brave face and kept her calm and focused but occasionally we both cried together (and her Dad!) and I think that showed her that none of us are perfect, we should share our true feelings with those we love and trust but we also learn from that and become stronger, more resilient people for it. Ironically this year she can't wait to get back and I'm an emotional mess ((-:

Thank you.

So my DD has come to the end of her first vocational year (post 16) and her ballet teacher wants her to work on 'flexibility and mobility in her back to improve her extensions and arabesques''. She also needs to fully anchor her shoulder blades. Could anyone give advice on exercises, thoughts/imagery or maybe a Physio is needed to help her improve?

Worth also noting that EYB rehearsals are most likely in a different venue to the shows. When we did Oxford the rehearsals were in a secondary school in Blackbird Leys, about a couple of miles from the city centre.

Thank you Anna and 2dmum. That's very helpful. I had worked out that you could probably get a couple of years depending on what you had already received. It does seem unfair that if the government didn't subsidise the first HE qual, you should be penalised. However I also know directly of one girl who achieved the full Trinity Diploma under DaDa and then chose not to dance and went to University studying English instead for full 3/4 years. So it does seem wildly variable.

The reason that you cannot get student finance for a level 6 diploma but can for a degree is not really related to the qualification but to the institute that provides it and awards it. The colleges are private institutions whereas universities have some public funding - ie we all pay something towards them through our taxes. And it is something to do with the legalities of private versus not. It was further explained to me that there is a shortfall for any degree course between what the student pays and the actual cost of providing the course and that is effectively paid by government funding. I don't know whether it is actually the financial equivalent but the government also gives the private colleges this 'shortfall' in the form of DADAs and this is one of the reasons they argue against going to do a degree course with a student loan afterwards, because vocational students have already had their allocated pot of public money - that shortfall (here DADA)

 

That explains a lot 2dmum because I have also read some statement on the gov website stating that you can't get student funding after you have completed a DaDa.

So I would be interested to know if you complete a HND but privately and without any funding, you can still apply for a full student loan for another course whether it be dance-related or not. Any ideas?

Thank you D2003! We finally made it to Dancique in Birmingham and had a fantastic fitting with Helene. DD back enjoying her dancing and all because of the right shoes! Amazed at what a difference it has made. She has Russian Pointes too! Thanks to everyone for your kind advice.

Lots of posters will give better advice than me on here I'm sure. Just one thing that always gets missed, specifically when rehearsing most days for a show is the 'after pointe' treatment. Be sure to take off those shoes and rest those feet, walk around barefoot and spread those tootsies out, soak in a tepid/cool footbath and massage all over. It tends to get forgotten but if done every day can stop the build up of little aches and pains and niggles.

Two pairs of Bloch Aspiration pointe shoes for sale.  Size 5.5  C

Both pairs are brand new and never worn.  Ribbons had been sewn on 1 pair but can easily be removed/repositioned if required.

Happy to sell individually.

£30 each ono (includes p&p)

The problem with vitamin D is its processed when the body is exposed to daylight so if young adults do not spend much time outside they can be deficient even if they have a good diet. The use of sun lotions also blocks the absorption so it can be a no-win situation without supplements.

I agree Aileen. We found out with a simple blood test and then prescribed supplements from the GP. You have to be careful with dosage because taking too much can also cause problems.

Food and all round good nutrition is key and if your child hasn't trained vocationally before 16, the numbers of hours training will be hard and puts huge stress on muscles and bones so fuelling those is essential. Trying to ensure you are getting enough high nutritional food when you might not get home until mid evening is very hard so try to spend the holidays teaching your children how to cook well balanced, simple and quick meals. Also I cannot stress enough the importance of Vitamin D. Teenagers suffer with low levels because they are just not outside enough but this is especially important for dancers who are inside all the time and low levels can cause muscle and bone fatigue leading to a higher incidence of injury. I believe BRB were involved in studies proving the concerns about this. Been through this with my DD and know what a huge impact this can have.

Thank you everyone. We have 3 good choices now. Just need to find a slot when both DD and I can get over there ((-;