pastel

Hi dramascientist, I'm new here too and dealing with similar issues of trying to navigate this road of bringing up a child with such a huge dream. If only there were a neutral body (not an examiner, but a group of ex-dancers) who could asses our kids at certain stages and let us know if they look like they have the potential or if they really need to consider other options. Where does one draw the line with finances? We have made a decision to accept the fact that we won't be paying our mortgage off too soon in order to pay for the dance tuition (and associated travel). We figure that we probably will be able to afford to pay it when we are about 80, but by then it will be a little late for our dd. Wishing you all the best, pastel

Hi Taxi4ballet, as far as I can tell the Prague Masterclass doesn't have a registration date, so you could wait to see if your dd is accepted into RBS and then apply for Prague without having to pay the deposit too early. (This is my plan) There is of course a chance that Prague will be full and you could miss out.

Hi Ballemum, the postage is 4.20 UK pounds (I don't have a 'pound' symbol on my keyboard). I had a look to see what others are selling RAD dvds for - someone was advertising 12 pounds - so 16 pounds all up. That sounds ok if it suits you. It has never been used. My dd swapped a couple of years ago from Cecchetti and had to take her Intermediate exam before any others, she then skipped Adv Foundation as she had done the equivalent in Cecchetti, went on to do Adv 1 but we had already purchased the dvd from England PM me if you would like to buy it, we could use paypal. cheers

I'm sure your rules are different as far as schooling goes, but we find homeschooling a great option. It takes much of the stress out of juggling academics as well as dance. My dd is 15 and started properly at full time vocational school this year. Last year she did about 15hrs week excluding rehearsals and extras like performances. We homeschool using international resources, so if anyone is after help in that department, I'm happy to share what we've found.

Hi ballemum, are you looking for Advanced Foundation (that's what the post title says) or Intermediate Foundation (as above)? I have Advanced Foundation. Would need to check how much postage from Australia costs. Let me know if you are interested.

Actually, it is afab's dd who has been accepted

"DD2 has been accepted at the American Ballet Theatre Summer School! The news is absolutely fantastic as we didn't expect it at all!" Wonderful news, afab! Hopefully you'll hear back from POB before your payment is due.

Hi, not sure that my dd's feet are like your's, but she has high arches and strong feet. We went through many brands of shoe and ended up with Gaynor's. They have been good. I don't think she would have been able to continue with paste shoes at the rate she was going through them.

Hi afab, not sure if you posted this or if my daughter hacked into your account!! Ha ha! I was just pricing airfares and accommodation and wondering if it was worth all the money - how many private lessons could we pay for with that $! My daughter however, has not stopped talking about 'when we are in Paris' since we found out about the POB offering their first summer intensive. It has been a dream of hers since she was younger than school age to dance at the POB or RB. So - yes, it is worth crossing the globe to celebrate the fact that they have finally opened their doors to outsiders. (If she gets in.) All the best for your dd too - hope we meet you there. pastel

Thank you all for your helpful advice. Tutoo2much and Ribbons - yes, we do have some great training here, but it is the higher level students who will be making the trek across the globe to participate in your summer schools - not really a fair cross section of our kids. We also have some dreadful training here. We are led to believe that you find a good vocational school which trains you to a level where you can then audition for a company school overseas to do your final year or two. thanks! pastel

Thanks Pas de Quatre, the Cymru one looks interesting, they also don't seem to be asking for any money to apply, only if you are accepted. I didn't realise that Scotland had earlier holidays, that is helpful too. We know that she will have probably have to miss 2 weeks of school, it is just part of being in the southern hemisphere. thanks, pastel

Thank you Aileen and afab, both helpful posts. I did see Tring advertised and think that my dd would not be eligible since it was Cecchetti, she did Ceccetti up to Intermediate level, but changed to a different syllabus when she started at the vocational school. Thanks for the heads up on the standard. We attended a summer school in Melbourne this year which was good but not good enough to warrant the cost of travel and rent. If it were in Sydney where I have free accommodation, we'd consider it again but you really have to check things out well when you're paying to sleep thanks again, you ladies are a wonderful help, pastel

Sounds like it might be fairer that way! There are so many incredible sounding summer programs in USA - it makes us feel like the grass is greener on the other side. Pity we are so far from everywhere! However, I can't complain, we have a fantastic summer school in Sydney, run by an ex-RBS lady. She brings out amazing teachers from around the world. My dd has met Darcey Bussell at least 10 times and had her for class at least 6 times. So, I shall never complain, just a pity the summer school only lasts 2 weeks.

Thanks Lottie, I shall investigate further. They all look so appealing, it is just sifting through and figuring out which ones are worth the cost of travel and accom. ta, Pastel

afab, thanks for your in depth reply. It is very helpful. I have read a couple of negative things about the American school in Paris but also a defence from one of the guest teachers - quite confusing when you can't go and have a look. They also have extremely limited pictures on their website, so you can't even get an idea of the standard from there. It is a big commitment to travel to the other side of the world for these things! We would be better to spend the money on private lessons from our daughter's teachers, or we even have access to a couple of excellent ex-RB principals (at a price). When you refer to SAB do you mean School of American Ballet? I can't believe they would treat people like that! They are just kids! Maybe it isn't so bad that we can only send dvds, at least my dd can warm up and feel prepared. My dd ballet teachers have both returned to Australia recently after careers in the USA, one is originally from Aus, the other from USA. They both speak highly of the summer programs over there which is why we are now looking internationally. Unfortunately, the US ones are too long for us to leave home (work and farm) and we aren't ready to send our dd off alone. thanks for your help, I shall scrap the idea of the American school in Paris.

Hello, any advice would be appreciated My 15yo dd has applied for POB and RBS summer schools. Since we will be travelling from Australia, the ideal situation would be if she were offered places at both in the same year...... but, I have no idea what the chances of that are. Since we don't want to turn a place down if she is offered one only this year, we're looking at options for a second summer school if she is accepted into one or other. So far, I've found the International Masterclass in Prague runs over the same dates as the RBS, so that looks like a good option if she is accepted into POB and not RBS. The only other one which seems to work date wise, is one week of ENB. I've looked into the Academie Americaine de Danse de Paris but it overlaps with the POB and is 10 days away from RBS (quite a long time to pay for accommodation even though I'd love to stay in either London or Paris). Does anyone have thoughts or advice on any of these summer programs, considering the cost of airfares and accommodation. We have school holidays here between 29th June and 14th July, but outside of those dates, we'll be paying for her full time tuition here . Thank you for reading, pastel

Thanks Janet. It doesn't look as though the summer program focuses on preparing for a performance. They just have a parent demonstration on each Friday.

Hi Spax, could you please post a link to the Ballet West website? I've googled it and there are several sites by that name in different locations around the world, not sure which one you mean. My daughter would love to do a summer school which is performance orientated. There are no youth ballet companies anywhere near where we live. We have applied for the RBS and POB summer schools. If she is accepted for one, we would like to fit in a second one to make better use of the airfares from Australia. The ideal situation would be to be accepted into both in the same year. We just couldn't turn down the opportunity of a place at one of the schools, hoping to be accepted into both next year or the year after. thanks

Wow, afab, you have 3 daughters dancing! That must be a full time job for you with all the running around. My dd is at ballet school 6 days per week, so I find the driving exhausting, but at the moment we've chosen to stay on the farm because we love it here, we may move closer if it gets too much. Trying NOT to be envious of your family with dual nationalities and living so close to all the action

Hi Tulip, when you say you've had 3 reminders, is that to send in your application or to accept a place? pastel

Hi afab, my dd is 15, will be 16 by summer. She is just as keen to attend the RBS as POB. She has had many teachers from RB so it seems like 'the mother country' if you know what I mean We live in the Hunter Valley, about 3 hours north of Sydney (1 1/4 hours from our ballet school). My husband and I lived in London for a year over 20yrs ago, so RBS is a comfortable option for us since we speak the language and know the tube system etc. My dd has been learning French for about 4 years but is definitely not fluent. The POB is currently in Sydney for Giselle and she took a masterclass last weekend with Isabelle Ciaravola (which was amazing of course!) and Isabelle kept reverting to French and my dd found it easy to figure out what she was saying. I emailed the POB to ask how much language they would need and the reply was that they all speak at least some English, so not to worry. Can your dd's speak French? Are you based in England? All the best with your applications, I hope we do meet in the summer. pastel

Hello, this is my first post here, so please forgive me if I don't get things quite right. Afab, did you hear back from POB? Was your dd accepted? I have just posted my dd's audition video. We live in Australia, so it will only just arrive before the cut off date. I was a little alarmed to read that they are accepting people before seeing all the applicants! It has been summer holidays here and we've been away in Sydney and Melbourne for summer schools, so only just returned to put the dvd together as quickly as possible. I've found the staff at POB extremely helpful via email. They even sent me a message to remind me that the date is looming. Do you have any idea how many applications they have received? Good luck, I hope your dd is accepted. Mine is desperate to get in! She has also applied for the RBS. It would be good if she was accepted into both summer schools in the same year, so we get better value for the airfares