Its her Life

If you happen to live in the Brighton & Hove region, the Pebbles Trust sponsor talented children living in the area. It is not just for dancers, singers & musicians, but also for children training & competing at a high level in sporting activities too. My dd has been awarded money on several occasions now, which she has used to fund summer schools. You have to apply using their official application form from their website. They consider applications twice per year. They also have a Facebook page.

Yes, they do SBallerina.

Well done billyelliott, loulabelle and dancing2003

It depends what career path you want go down. My dd was in Billy Elliott for 2 yrs and a lot of the girls in the show had agents because either they wanted careers in musical theatre or were from stage schools such as Italia Conti & Sylvia Youngs. I ended up getting my dd an agent & it proved useful for a couple of yrs (had auditions & castngs for tv work & commercials etc), but then dd decided only wanted classical ballet career & began to dislike/resent going for the castings & obligatory workshops. So we terminated contract some time back. Although it didn't cost anything to continue, you still had to pay each year for new publicity photos & entry into Spotlight. Plus as said above, you were obliged to attend the castings etc. For a dance career, I believe it depends on what genre of dancing as to whether you require an agent.

I would say they're about equal distance, so it would depend on which way you're travelling on Vic line as to which stn you can get off first & start walking. If travelling up from Vic, I would get off at Warren St. You'd already be walking whilst train still going on to Euston.

Hi, just wondering, is anyone's dc doing Central's summer school this week and next?

Yes I agree with Spanner .... surgical spirit yes, but not white spirit. My dd uses surgical spirit to harden the skin on her toes to help prevent blisters from Pointe work.

We stayed in 2 other Premier Inns when dd was doing all her auditions back in the early part of the year and they were excellent.

Thought I'd let everyone know, my dd & I went to Bloch today to get a pair of Pointe shoes (my dd has always used Freeds or Grishkos in past but wants to give Bloch a try) and we were told Tiffany has left!!

We stayed at the Premier Inn in Hagley Rd. Fairly basic accommodation, but perfectly adequate, very friendly staff & very affordable - we only paid £29 for the night! plus cost of breakfast (children free), but that was back in Jan so might be more at this time of year. Only really suitable if you have car with you though as nr centre of city - but there is a free car park & it took only approx 10 mins max to drive to Elmhurst & that was with icey roads. There is also a Beefeater & TGI Fridays adjacent too which was very handy.

Both Tring and Rambert were max of 1 min.

Yes, solos at both Rambert & Tring auditions. At Rambert most students did a contemporary solo (in fact my daughter was the only one out of 7 who did a ballet one!). At Tring it was a mixture.

I work for a sixth form college too & ours works along exactly the same lines as Julie's.

Yes, it was a very stressful & costly few months. And then there's all their school work too! And work & family commitments to work around.

ENB were on a Sat (you had a choice of a Jan or Feb date) then Finals were on a Fri & Sat in March. Central were on Sun (choice of Dec or Feb) then Finals on a Sat or Sun in March, Rambert were all on a Mon as far as I'm aware (just the one day), Elmhurst there were a choice of 4 different dates (all weekdays) between Nov to Jan. Finals on a Thursday in March. I don't know Royal Conservatoire as dd didn't audition for that one. Hope this helps.

It seems extremely cheap .... £20, that"s unbelievable! Keep thinking there's been a nought missed off.

I'm going with my dd, but only to the show at the theatre in the evening.

Yes, quite a few do. It would be worth having some spares. I'll check through all our applications and let you know which ones ask for them.

I'm really curious to know how many have actually got auditions on Thursday.

I too have just sorted out private health insurance for my dd who's starting at Tring Sixth Form in Sept. I've ended up getting a policy with Aviva for full cover which is £28 per month. More than your quotes with Axa :-( but maybe that's to do with my dd's age. However, much much cheaper than the £225 bupa scheme that Tring were offering!!

A friend of my dd's developed bone splints and was told this could have been from dancing on a non-sprung floor!

Auditions for sixth form run right through from Nov - March but they vary from one school to another, so you'd need to look at all their websites from Sept onwards. This year Elmhurst was the first to kick off with prelim auditions running from Nov - Jan (you choose which date to apply for), Central's were either Dec or Feb, ENB Jan or Feb, Tring - loads of dates from Dec - Feb, Rambert Feb - April, Royal Ballet Feb, Northern - whole choice of dates too. Then finals take place from late Feb - late March. Some schools such as Rambert & Northern don't hold finals though. They hold just one audition on one day & cover everything. Best make a list as and when you find each one out. And beware, some end up falling on consecutive days which can be exhaustjng. My daughter ended up at one time having 5 consecutive days of auditions this year!

Is anyone else's dd starting there in the sixth form in Sept?

That's what I always do too. My daughter doesn't wear Mindens. She wears Freeds & Grishkos, but I always pin the ribbons in position with mini safety pins first before I sew them. That way you don't waste time having to unpick & re-sew!

I also have a friend whose dd has accepted a place there for Sept 2013 & she has said the facilities are superb & there is plenty of performance experience. What she liked as well were the accommodation arrangements considering dd is only 16.