White lodge video audition - making a video

[Lara Eschler]

5 minutes ago, The red shoes said:

Yes my ds said the same.. just don’t know how they can when not seen others or the ds who couldn’t make it ... I really hope we hear this week so I can move on !! Lol 

Yes, I also wonder how many are yet to be seen in total? I was hoping Elmhurst would be soon too, but I guess not. 

[PetitJeté]

Painful waiting isn’t it! (we only went yesterday! 🤣). I got a bit more info from dd this morning, as well as bending fingers back in the physios appt, she also had to reach forward to the floor (sort of roll down I think). But she also said they did frogs lying on their back in the audition, and also splits, so I guess some of the physical assessment happened then. She’s sure it’s going to be a no, which I guess is the better way around if it is, less disappointing. 

[Bunny]

I’m praying it’s tomorrow! It’s all consuming isn’t it, I feel like I’m thinking about it way too much! 

[Dancermom]

5 minutes ago, PetitJeté said:

Painful waiting isn’t it! (we only went yesterday! 🤣). I got a bit more info from dd this morning, as well as bending fingers back in the physios appt, she also had to reach forward to the floor (sort of roll down I think). But she also said they did frogs lying on their back in the audition, and also splits, so I guess some of the physical assessment happened then. She’s sure it’s going to be a no, which I guess is the better way around if it is, less disappointing. 

Yes my DD also said all of this. I do hope it’s not too long until we hear. And then if it’s a no another wait for the MA results 🥴

[Mrs Tea]

27 minutes ago, Bunny said:

I’m praying it’s tomorrow! It’s all consuming isn’t it, I feel like I’m thinking about it way too much! 

I totally agree. I am too!

[Ballerina_girl]

1 hour ago, ponklemum said:

My ds said the same too. I really think it’s a no with the physio not using the thing on this leg to check turnout etc. I’d like to move on now xx

I’m starting to feel like it might be a no for DD as they didn’t use this thing to check leg turnout on her either. It seems 50/50 whether they used it or not from comments my only question is would they have made a yes/no decision that fast before physio in time to report to them who they wanted to check this on? 

[Ballerina_girl]

1 hour ago, PetitJeté said:

Painful waiting isn’t it! (we only went yesterday! 🤣). I got a bit more info from dd this morning, as well as bending fingers back in the physios appt, she also had to reach forward to the floor (sort of roll down I think). But she also said they did frogs lying on their back in the audition, and also splits, so I guess some of the physical assessment happened then. She’s sure it’s going to be a no, which I guess is the better way around if it is, less disappointing. 

This is the same as what my DD reported as being checked too, she remembered more this morning 

[BellaF]

Is hypermobility a prerequisite for RBS? DD is slightly hypermobile in some of her joints but her fingers and thumbs are entirely straight 😆

 

Hope everyone auditioning this weekend has had the best time.

[Raquelle]

12 minutes ago, Weloveballet said:

I’m starting to feel like it might be a no for DD as they didn’t use this thing to check leg turnout on her either. It seems 50/50 whether they used it or not from comments my only question is would they have made a yes/no decision that fast before physio in time to report to them who they wanted to check this on? 

The last group of each day had physio at the beginning before they would have even looked at them dance...so I very much doubt they would have done different assessments on the children? I probably wouldn't read into it too much as it is hard for them to remember all the details, x 

[Ballerina_girl]

7 minutes ago, Raquelle said:

The last group of each day had physio at the beginning before they would have even looked at them dance...so I very much doubt they would have done different assessments on the children? I probably wouldn't read into it too much as it is hard for them to remember all the details, x 

ah ok, that puts that theory out then, thanks for that info, it’s a rollercoaster isn’t it! Will need to keep busy this week! 

[The red shoes]

Just now, Weloveballet said:

ah ok, that puts that theory out then, thanks for that info, it’s a rollercoaster isn’t it! Will need to keep busy this week! 

Yes my ds has physio first and he was last group of day. I think it was because they needed to finish by a certain time as he said they were hurrying them a lot ( the physio’s I mean not the panel). Then did the audition . He didn’t get out till 6:30 so did t start audition till 5pm... x

[BalletBoysDad]

44 minutes ago, BellaF said:

Is hypermobility a prerequisite for RBS? DD is slightly hypermobile in some of her joints but her fingers and thumbs are entirely straight 😆

 

Hope everyone auditioning this weekend has had the best time.

I’d be very interested to know that too.
 

I recently asked a tutor about my DS’s ability in the splits. They felt that the centre splits are adequate as a measure of potential (at least for boys) as they had students successful for WL who’s front and back splits were ‘ok’ but far from perfect. 

[Farawaydancer]

24 minutes ago, BalletBoysDad said:

I’d be very interested to know that too.
 

I recently asked a tutor about my DS’s ability in the splits. They felt that the centre splits are adequate as a measure of potential (at least for boys) as they had students successful for WL who’s front and back splits were ‘ok’ but far from perfect. 

Hypermobility doesn’t equal flexibility. My ds is very hyperflexible but has never been able to get centre splits flat. His hamstrings can get very tight too, unless he keeps working at it. Dd is similarly hyperflexible but has to work at all her splits. Neither had all splits when they got their mds awards. 

[The red shoes]

26 minutes ago, Farawaydancer said:

Hypermobility doesn’t equal flexibility. My ds is very hyperflexible but has never been able to get centre splits flat. His hamstrings can get very tight too, unless he keeps working at it. Dd is similarly hyperflexible but has to work at all her splits. Neither had all splits when they got their mds awards. 

This is true ... hypermobility is all about loose ligaments which can be prone to injury but on the positive side can be beneficial for ballet dancers achieving certain positions etc. It doesn’t come hand in hand with flexibility. My ds is hyper mobile in nearly all joints but wasn’t flexible until a year ago when he worked his socks off to achieve all splits and is now very close to flat box splits... this has come from sheer effort as not natural to him despite being hyper mobile 

[BalletBoysDad]

1 minute ago, The red shoes said:

This is true ... hypermobility is all about loose ligaments which can be prone to injury but on the positive side can be beneficial for ballet dancers achieving certain positions etc. It doesn’t come hand in hand with flexibility. My ds is hyper mobile in nearly all joints but wasn’t flexible until a year ago when he worked his socks off to achieve all splits and is now very close to flat box splits... this has come from sheer effort as not natural to him despite being hyper mobile 

That’s really interesting. Thank you both for the explanations, this is all an education to me so much appreciated. My DS can almost do flat box splits, specifically with the exercises recently given at Elmhurst YD. He didn’t have them before but I guess he didn’t have the exercises or knowledge of how to access flat box splits (though he can only do them at the end of class when he is very warmed up, which I’m sure is the safest time to attempt them). His front and back splits aren’t great though by comparison. He has some signs of hyper mobility, but not all. Hyper mobile fingers, but when he touches his hands flat on the floor, his legs are straight, but don’t bend forwards above the knee. No idea what all of this means. 

[Ruby Foo]

3 hours ago, Lara Eschler said:

Are teachers able to view the full report from the physio? 

 
No, I don’t think feedback is ever that detailed. The differences between students will be minute and the feedback is quite generalised. It is only given to the students dance teacher on request.

[BalletBoyMumma]

Interesting conversation. So can you achieve the appropriate flexibility for ballet with zero hypermobility?
I only ask as DS is pretty flexible (but only through constant work and he loses it really easily) but he doesn’t pass any of the hypermobility tests aside from maybe the pike stretch (which he didn’t have at first but has been taught how to stretch correctly to achieve it). There’s no hyperextension in the knees or elbows and he can’t touch his thumb to wrist and his pinkie and big toe can’t stretch beyond 90 degrees. His turnout he stands in is not great, nowhere near flat at all but teachers keep saying he has more and to try to rotate and use more because his pliés are very outward apparently, and he is comfortably in box splits when warm.
 

I think it must be so difficult at this age to understand what muscles to engage...and maybe strength, they don’t have a great deal of muscle mass at this age either. 🤔

I’d love to know more about that physio assessment. Do the other vocational schools do a physio assessment at audition too (thinking for the future)? 

Edited March 21, 2021 by BalletBoyMumma

[The red shoes]

1 minute ago, BalletBoyMumma said:

Interesting conversation. So can you achieve the appropriate flexibility for ballet with zero hypermobility?
I only ask as DS is pretty flexible (but only through constant work and he loses it really easily) but he doesn’t pass any of the hypermobility tests aside from maybe the pike stretch (which he didn’t have at first but has been taught how to stretch correctly to achieve it). There’s no hyperextension in the knees or elbows and he can’t touch his thumb to wrist and his pinkie and big toe can’t stretch beyond 90 degrees. His turnout he stands in is not great, nowhere near flat at all but teachers keep saying he has more and to try to rotate and use more because his pliés are very outward apparently, and he is comfortably in box splits when warm.
 

I think it must be so difficult at this age to understand what muscles to engage...and maybe strength, they don’t have a great deal of muscle mass at this age either. 🤔

I’d love to know more about that physio assessment though. Do the other vocational schools do a physio assessment at audition too (thinking for the future)? 

Yes you can be flexible without hypermobility.

Tring & Elmhurst both do physio checks... not sure about Hammond? 

[BalletBoyMumma]

4 minutes ago, The red shoes said:

Yes you can be flexible without hypermobility.

Tring & Elmhurst both do physio checks... not sure about Hammond? 

Thank you. So we are still none the wiser really.

Gosh, this waiting really has us overanalysing things. 😰

I hope we are put out of our misery soon with some results. 

[Macmac]

9 minutes ago, The red shoes said:

Yes you can be flexible without hypermobility.

Tring & Elmhurst both do physio checks... not sure about Hammond? 

Hi, my dd was invited to MDS auditions at Tring & Hammond and in both she had a physio check. X

[BalletBoyMumma]

Thank you. That’s good to know.
 

We’ve never really taken this too seriously before but if next year we apply again (DS already really wants to), it might be worth having a private physio check beforehand, just incase, to rule out any physical limitations. 

[Lara Eschler]

28 minutes ago, BalletBoyMumma said:

Interesting conversation. So can you achieve the appropriate flexibility for ballet with zero hypermobility?
I only ask as DS is pretty flexible (but only through constant work and he loses it really easily) but he doesn’t pass any of the hypermobility tests aside from maybe the pike stretch (which he didn’t have at first but has been taught how to stretch correctly to achieve it). There’s no hyperextension in the knees or elbows and he can’t touch his thumb to wrist and his pinkie and big toe can’t stretch beyond 90 degrees. His turnout he stands in is not great, nowhere near flat at all but teachers keep saying he has more and to try to rotate and use more because his pliés are very outward apparently, and he is comfortably in box splits when warm.
 

I think it must be so difficult at this age to understand what muscles to engage...and maybe strength, they don’t have a great deal of muscle mass at this age either. 🤔

I’d love to know more about that physio assessment. Do the other vocational schools do a physio assessment at audition too (thinking for the future)? 

I was also thinking about paying for a private consultation with the ballet physio when all restrictions are lifted (especially as DS is adamant he did not have one as a JA). Ds had a consultation on zoom but I am curious to find out more (and minimize any risk of injury). 

DS attended the YDA final in London today and though the letter said there would be some physio checks, he just said there were some stretches and no contact (he was awarded a funded place). 

[BalletBoyMumma]

7 minutes ago, Lara Eschler said:

I was also thinking about paying for a private consultation with the ballet physio when all restrictions are lifted (especially as DS is adamant he did not have one as a JA). Ds had a consultation on zoom but I am curious to find out more (and minimize any risk of injury). 

DS attended the YDA final in London today and though the letter said there would be some physio checks, he just said there were some stretches and no contact (he was awarded a funded place). 

Well done for YDA!!! 👏 Your DS is fabulous - he’ll have some choices to make, no doubt about it.  

I think we missed our opportunities for DS this year due to not being serious enough about the vocational route early on however DS has a place at the oversubscribed local school with a fantastic music department and is a specialist sport and science academy (all his strengths, so I really can’t complain too much) - academically he’ll be fine, I just worry whether he’d be able to keep up his dancing to the standards that would be required to continue how he wants to. A private physio appointment would certainly help with some decision making, for sure. 

[BalletBoyMumma]

23 minutes ago, Lara Eschler said:

I was also thinking about paying for a private consultation with the ballet physio when all restrictions are lifted (especially as DS is adamant he did not have one as a JA). Ds had a consultation on zoom but I am curious to find out more (and minimize any risk of injury). 

DS attended the YDA final in London today and though the letter said there would be some physio checks, he just said there were some stretches and no contact (he was awarded a funded place). 

@Lara Eschler I think you could be right, though DS said in yr6 they had one but wasn’t touched, just told to do positions and watched (their teacher mentioned the physio assessment in yr6 and gave extra exercises for homework on the parents eve - DS was given hamstring stretches).

In YR5 I think, going by what DS says, it was a bit more involved but they were in different classes then. 

[The red shoes]

30 minutes ago, Lara Eschler said:

I was also thinking about paying for a private consultation with the ballet physio when all restrictions are lifted (especially as DS is adamant he did not have one as a JA). Ds had a consultation on zoom but I am curious to find out more (and minimize any risk of injury). 

DS attended the YDA final in London today and though the letter said there would be some physio checks, he just said there were some stretches and no contact (he was awarded a funded place). 

Well done to your ds!!!!! YDA is great from what I’ve heard. A friends daughter is in year 8 now and loves it!

 

But I think he will have more yeses to come 🤞🏻🤞🏻

[Lara Eschler]

9 minutes ago, BalletBoyMumma said:

@Lara Eschler I think you could be right, though DS said in yr6 they had one but wasn’t touched, just told to do positions and watched (their teacher mentioned the physio assessment in yr6 and gave extra exercises for homework on the parents eve - DS was given hamstring stretches).

In YR5 I think, going by what DS says, it was a bit more involved but they were in different classes then. 

Yes, ds was also given hamstring stretches by the same teacher but he never mentioned anyone else coming to the studio. At the WlL audition he said when he was face down on the physio table he was  almost falling asleep, so who knows what he can remember, lol.  He has hyperextended elbows and hypermobile wrists and thumbs. I  don't think that would confer any advantage in ballet and the line of the arm in the arabesque can look very weird if he fully extends the elbow). 

Regarding the lifting the toe assessment, could that also be to look at the arch of the foot (i.e. to exclude flat feet)?

[BalletBoyMumma]

2 minutes ago, Lara Eschler said:

Yes, ds was also given hamstring stretches by the same teacher but he never mentioned anyone else coming to the studio. At the WlL audition he said when he was face down on the physio table he was  almost falling asleep, so who knows what he can remember, lol.  He has hyperextended elbows and hypermobile wrists and thumbs. I  don't think that would confer any advantage in ballet and the line of the arm in the arabesque can look very weird if he fully extends the elbow). 

Regarding the lifting the toe assessment, could that also be to look at the arch of the foot (i.e. to exclude flat feet)?

Yes, DS is vague on who was present too now though I knew it was coming up because we had pre-warning and so I asked him about it at the time and I’m certain he said someone came in but just had a clipboard and was writing notes. 
 

DS’s teacher is hypermobile (and DS has bowed legs so has to work extra hard to tighten up in the thighs) and I’ve been lucky enough to be present in some of his classes with her when they’ve discussed these issues - if the dancer knows how to work with these things to compensate the over bending and make them aesthetically pleasing it’s generally fine. I guess that comes with age. I wouldn’t worry too much there. 
As for the toes, you could be right, though all of mine have their dads very flat feet but arches are appearing with the correct foot work (eldest DD is about to go on pointe which we thought might never happen - DS does the most work there of the three so his feet have much more of a foot arch than his sisters). 
 

It’s interesting what focused work on certain areas can do. 

[Bunny]

At least by this time next week we should know one way or another! 🙏 (Hoping it’s by this time tomorrow!)

[Ballerina_girl]

1 hour ago, Lara Eschler said:

I was also thinking about paying for a private consultation with the ballet physio when all restrictions are lifted (especially as DS is adamant he did not have one as a JA). Ds had a consultation on zoom but I am curious to find out more (and minimize any risk of injury). 

DS attended the YDA final in London today and though the letter said there would be some physio checks, he just said there were some stretches and no contact (he was awarded a funded place). 

That’s brilliant well done! 

[Ballerina_girl]

8 minutes ago, Bunny said:

At least by this time next week we should know one way or another! 🙏 (Hoping it’s by this time tomorrow!)

Hope it’s by tomorrow for you too! 

[BalletBoyMumma]

18 minutes ago, Bunny said:

At least by this time next week we should know one way or another! 🙏 (Hoping it’s by this time tomorrow!)

I hope so too. The unknown is really stressful.
DS keeps asking too even though we’d geared him up for a no even before he went in to audition. He had far too much of a good time I think. 😁 (thank you to everyone who made it wonderful - the fellow auditionees and the WL staff - all brilliant!). 

[Ballet Dreams]

42 minutes ago, Bunny said:

At least by this time next week we should know one way or another! 🙏 (Hoping it’s by this time tomorrow!)

Good luck to all the boys awaiting results.  Fingers crossed 🤞 you will hear tomorrow x

[Cheshiredancemum]

10 hours ago, BalletBoyMumma said:

Haha, this bugged me too. When DS told me I put my Google detective hat on 🧐😅 and I think, going by how DS described it and the way they manoeuvred his leg apparently, it might be a digital goniometer - there’s a compact one called Halo used by physiotherapists but DS said it wasn’t that one. It’ll be to check rotation in the hip socket, they’ll be able to tell if a child has natural turnout or forced (more from the knees) and how much range there is (apparently). 

Ah ok, this is interesting thank you!!