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Hi! New member here and was curious about the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory in Torrington, CA. If anyone has experience with the school, could you answer some of the questions below? 1. Favoritism exists to some extent at most schools, but how big of a deal is it there? Are less favored/less skilled dancers also given a reasonable amount of corrections, or are they left to their own devices? 1a. IF there is significant favoritism, how correlated is it to actual skill? (i.e., can initially less favored kids change their status by catching up?) 2. What is the general level of the students there? Is there an abnormally large discrepancy between the more skilled and less skilled students? 3. How is the atmosphere? Is it competitive or friendly? 4. Any other informed opinions/personal experiences would be appreciated! Thx!

Hi, we are looking to relocate to Manchester from London hopefully before September! My daughter currently trains at Central School of Ballet plus a local ballet/dance school to us where she is doing her prevocational course, does anyone have any recommendations for dance schools in the area where they have associate classes or prevocational courses as she would like to continue her training when we move! Thanks

I am delighted to say that this new approach to vocational training is working beautifully and producing amazing results. ABA is everything you would receive at any top vocational Ballet School with the added bonus of living at home. So, any pastoral care issues vanish, which as a parent is so key and as a teacher it means my students are thriving due to this new approach. The classes are very small (8/9 in each), the feed back and contact with myself and other teachers is constant and we are working more in line with levels seen in Australia and the America. Dancers attend who used to be at white lodge, Elmhurst and Tring and are all thriving with no injuries. The Staff are at the top of their game and the academic schools have been fantastically supportive. There are exciting developments in the pipeline but I am just so delighted that for the dancers and families of today, there is now another option that is genuinely at the same level as the usual top choices. I realise there may be concerns as I haven't existed for many many years and so the brand name is new. Please ask away and feel free to visit the school to observe and meet the teachers if you are genuinely interested. I won't firewall you, or sell a huge building but I can guarantee happy, healthy and superbly well trained dancers and I will always be honest as I am a mother too - we don't get to redo these precious years! Ages 10 to 16 Auditions March 29th at Sadlers wells www.balletboost.com

On 7th April, 2017, Paris Opera will be holding a 2nd ballet schools gala featuring an exciting selection of schools, including RBS: The Royal Danish Ballet School, The Vaganova Academy (Saint‑Pétersbourg), The Royal Ballet School (Londres), San Francisco Ballet School, Canada’s National Ballet School, John Cranko Schule – Stuttgarter Ballett, Ballettschule des Hamburg Ballett Further details at: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-16-17/ballet/gala-des-ecoles-de-danse-du-xxie-siecle The site mentions lectures and other activities taking place during the ballet schools' visit - I've written to ask for details of any rehearsals/classes/talks etc. that we could attend. Earlier the same month (1st, 3rd and 4th April), the Paris Opera School has their own annual performance. Also the Paris Opera Ballet School's annual demonstrations (showing what the students are doing in their different classes and giving an amazing insight into the POB system of training) will be held this year on 3rd 11th and 17th December (Same performances on each of the three days. Usually they have the younger grades in the morning and the older grades in the afternoon; sometimes they swap these around.) Public booking for the above opens on 13th September. I'm able to book from today with my groups booking account. If you know me and would like to join the group or could use some tips about getting your own group purchase, just send me a PM. One problem with POB's group tickets (as opposed to their individual ones) is that they are paper, not electronic. This can be a bit tricky if you find you can't come and need to pass the ticket on to someone else at the last minute, though I've found that the Paris Opera have been very accommodating about reprinting. Also happy to help with some cheap/group travel and accommodation options if there's interest. Yafa

I apologise if this topic has already been addressed somewhere, but just wanted to ask if anyone has had any experience of DC/yourself getting into a vocational school at a different age? I'm hoping for entry into Year 10, and I know most people go for 11+ or 16+ or nothing! Is there a slightest chance? Even just for Assosciates? I'm auditioning for RBS SAs and full time, Ballet West Assosciates and Moorland full time. It doesn't' help that I only started ballet at 12, and the dance school I go to only does a maximum of 3 45 min classes a week of ballet (though I do practice daily in my bedroom!) are they looking for potential still or just at technique? Leading on from that point, I'm wondering whether to change schools later... I love my dance school, and my teacher is very strict on technique luckily, but I know of a school half an hour away that would provide more classes, and has got people into ballet companies such as BRB and schools such as Elmhurst and RBS Associates. So hard! Back to the question, is thee a slightest possibility of entry at 14+ ? What level would it be at? And straying even further, my family are very keen on academics... Does RBS and Moorland have very good academics? Thank you, and sorry for how long this is!