pastel

We use jet glue and shellac (not necessarily on the same shoe). Found jet glue good. My dd usually wears the shoes for about half an hour, then hardens the shank and sometimes the box. You have nothing to lose if the shoes are now too soft for you! Just be careful not to lean over and breathe in the fumes if you use jet glue. Also, take care not to get it on your fingers - it is nasty stuff!

Thanks for posting about life in different countries. I found Afab, mimi66 and Zachorovitti's posts all very informative.

Just had a 'no' via email from ENBS - dd very disappointed as she'd hope to maybe make the finals for one school. Still waiting for Central. Does anyone know when they send results for who made it to the finals?

sorry balletmadgirl....... best wishes for the ones to come.

Oh gosh!!! Sounds like it will be this week. I'm assuming you mean 'yes' or 'no' for the finals?

NO!!! Waiting (im)patiently!

Great news Afab!!! Congratulations to your dd

My dd attended Prague last year. She found it an amazing experience. The teachers were excellent and yes, from Europe. I wouldn't say there were real networking opportunities if you mean the chance of being offered jobs etc. I think a lot of the teachers were in companies rather than from schools. They each gave a talk in the evening, but it was more of a lecture, then Q&A than meet and greet affair. Also, if he is going alone, be aware, there wasn't any formal supervision. There was a delightful young girl from Japan there, who was terribly vulnerable. We took her to a few places and tried to look after her, but we were very concerned that her parents didn't realise she would be on her own. My dh made sure she got back to the hostel safely, but she really could have been in some danger because she was so naive. The Czech language is really hard to speak and understand! So - definitely a great experience, but your ds could certainly wait a year or more. There were many older students and 1st year company dancers there. Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me if you would like any further info.

Well, this is an interesting discussion, especially for someone applying for UK schools from abroad. I think everyone tends to have a 'grass is greener on the other side' mentality to a degree, including my dd. She has trained in Australia since she was tiny. She did start pointe early by your standards (10 1/2) but only with an in depth physio assessment and even then, they barely did anything other than strengthening exercises for the first 3-4 years. Now at 16 1/2, she looks at the kids on youtube at Prix, YAGP etc and is astounded at how accomplished they are. I'm sure everyone noticed how many 15yo were in the finals at Prix last week! BTW, there were no Aussies in the finals. I think there are a few common issues between UK and Australian students, firstly, we have strict educational requirements until the age of 17, so dancers are limited to the amount of hours they can spend in the studio. I've never heard of private dance schools offering early morning classes. Most kids (not in vocational school) are doing 2 x 90min syllabus classes a week, plus 1 or 2 open classes, stretch/pilates, contemporary and possibly jazz. Plus, most serious students are in a (competition) performance group and probably have a private lesson per week to work on solos for competitions. RAD is still the major syllabus used here. My dd grew up with Cecchetti, did a little RAD and is now doing Australian Conservatoire which is Vaganova based. We are definitely in the minority, not doing RAD. I'd say most of the kids we know around 15-16yo are up to Adv1-Adv2. Yes, kids here are encouraged to compete, although, the more 'classical' schools limit competitions to a few selected ones rather than the hundreds out there! Personally, I hate the competitions...... Back to the point. It is interesting that UK schools are in such big demand. They must be doing something right for the graduates to be offered jobs. I've been told numerous times lately (by teachers at full time vocational ballet schools) that the only schools in Australia which will take students to company audition level, are the Australian Ballet School and Queensland Ballet Pre Pro course. The other schools are all offering to train students to a level where they can apply for company attached schools overseas. So - I'm not sure that our kids are any better than those in the UK. My dd certainly looks at loads (too many) youtube videos of kids from all over the world and can't believe how advanced they are. The bottom line is that UK schools are training dancers to get jobs and that has to be a good thing.

I had an email from ENBS saying we would find out after 8th of Feb (for video preliminary) if dd was accepted into the finals.

wow! All the best!

Vonrothbart - there are some excellent schools here in Australia, many offering full time courses from about 14yrs (along with distance ed or homeschooling). Most of them train dancers to the level where they can apply for company attached schools overseas. We have the Australian Ballet school which up until now has been the main one to train students to a level where they can audition for companies. It isn't a huge school and the graduate success is ok but not brilliant. Students come from a wide geographical area including NZ and Asia. 18 months ago, Li Cunxin became AD for Queensland Ballet, which up until last year was a 'local' company. He has done wonders and it looks like the company will really take off quickly. They have a pre-pro course now. West Australian Ballet have also just started a pre-pro course but their company isn't very well known, plus no graduate history yet. Most students audition for international schools. Having done the rounds of considering different schools, I've been told numerous times now that all of the privately run ones will get your student to a level where they can apply for pre-pro schools overseas but not to company audition level.

oh, I hope you're able to reschedule another audition!

Myveryownbillyelliot it is a hard road - just having other people on this forum helps since we are all in the same boat and have some understanding. All the best for your ds.

Well - a 'no' for my dd for RBS video preliminary audition. Not a surprise, but disappointing just the same, she hoped to at least get through to the finals for one of the schools. Still waiting on the others.

congratulations Frangipani and Jazz Paws . So lovely to hear good news for your kids!

My dd also enjoyed Prague - wish we could return....... She followed it with 2 weeks in Florence with Joffrey. Both were amazing experiences and very different. Prague had large numbers, high level of dancers and a wide variety of (excellent) teachers while Joffrey had small numbers, a lower standard of dancer in general, although 2 were from the Bolshoi school, and was very personal. Only 2 teachers (Davis Robertson and his wife Nicole Duffy).

that's what I was thinking!

Tulte, it is too late anyway, we've sent off 3 auditions and just have to wait until we are contacted. We don't really know how to afford the training but we're in a position that we have to start applying and seeing what doors open, then going from there a step at a time. It is hard not knowing though.

Having just put the dvd audition together, I agree with you Mum in a spin. On one hand there is a little leeway with a dvd, but there is also a buzz about a live audition which helps the student perform better - knowing they are right there. It is always hard to get a feeling of 'life' via a dvd. Also, you don't get a chance to re do sections until they are right. There isn't enough free studio time. The sections we re did were those that had technical problems, such as thunder etc. My dd's dvd includes imperfections she would rather not have them see, but we figure it is real life and they can see it hasn't been overly rehearsed. Maybe some people are able to create the perfect video, but it seems unlikely. We were squishing video times in between rehearsals in the studio for the end of year production. Then the studio closed for Christmas and we couldn't access the space at all - I'm sure most people are in a similar position.

oh gosh, now I feel a slight panic!! The audition fees along with registered postage costs are really high - we may have just wasted a few hundred dollars!

Jazzpaws, I hope that is only for UK and EU applicants (as they said on their form) I can't imagine how we would just pop over for the finals. We had to send a lot of photos, plus pointe work and variations on the dvd.

I'm not sure. The paperwork says that your link must not have an expiry date as they may wish to view it along with the finals. I assumed they would view it first and perhaps let you know if you were rejected at that first stage........ No, there is no requirement for overseas applicants to be present at the finals for ENBS. Elmhurst indicates you need to be present. The others don't say either way. A couple of the schools say that UK and EU applicants must be present at the finals, but those from further afar are exempt from that rule.

That is interesting. Did they mention if that 350 includes overseas video auditions? We've sent ours in and had a reply saying they will watch it along with the finals in March and we'll have a reply after the 22nd. Such a long wait!

Beautiful!! Your children are wonderful dancers My dd watched with longing eyes - she was inspired and impressed. (She is just this week recording her audition dvd - it has made her try even harder)