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More than one vocational school associate scheme? (weekend classes)


In at the deep end

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Hi. Does anyone here have children that attend weekend classes at more than one vocational school? Is it possible? Would you recommend?

The reason I ask is that my DD is an Elmhurst YD. She got SWL for Birmingham JA last year. We were hoping if she got accepted this year (I know this is far from guaranteed!) that she could do both YD and JA. But this weekend I heard via another parent that they were told not to apply for both as it was too much? They had been told to choose one school only. They were also surprised at the number of classes that our girls attend. My DD does 2x ballet, 1x modern, 1x competition/Performers. Her friends do this plus 1x tap. 

Can I have others opinions and experiences please? My DD teacher recommended all these and my DD is happy :) Thanks

Edited by Anna C
Edited by Mod for clarity
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From our experience many, many children do both and I believe the schemes are, to a certain extent, timetabled to allow for this. Makes me wonder if the other parent was trying to put you off 😂 Weekly classes sound very typical too.

 

Best of luck for results! Fingers crossed it's not too much a wait for you now!

 

 

 

 

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  • Jan McNulty changed the title to More than one vocational school? (weekend classes)

My DD attends two vocational schemes I don’t think it’s a problem I think it’s down to an individual child and whether they can cope.  I know lots of children that do both JAs and YD.  I would say your DD is doing a similar amount of dance to my DD.  I would agree with BellaF I think who ever spoke to you was trying to put you off.  I would say go for it especially if your child is keen.  Good luck 🤞 

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My older DD used to do Elmhurst and JAs on the same day, as did a number of others. My younger one does Elmhurst Saturdays and Ballet Boost Sundays. It will depend on the child I expect, some may find it too much, others won't bat an eyelid. It's certainly not unusual though.

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40 minutes ago, In at the deep end said:

Hi. Does anyone here have children that attend weekend classes at more than one vocational school? Is it possible? Would you recommend?

The reason I ask is that my DD is an Elmhurst YD. She got SWL for Birmingham JA last year. We were hoping if she got accepted this year (I know this is far from guaranteed!) that she could do both YD and JA. But this weekend I heard via another parent that they were told not to apply for both as it was too much? They had been told to choose one school only. They were also surprised at the number of classes that our girls attend. My DD does 2x ballet, 1x modern, 1x competition/Performers. Her friends do this plus 1x tap. 

Can I have others opinions and experiences please? My DD teacher recommended all these and my DD is happy :) Thanks

My DD is a bit older, soon to be leaving the JA age bracket. I would say to do what works for both your child and your family! We’ve had lots of people over the years telling us that DD does too little or too much, there’s always someone to annoy it seems!
 

I don’t think it sounds too much, as long as the quality is good! My current year 6 DD will be doing associates plus 4 hours a week of ballet classes, 1 private class fortnightly, plus tap, flex and Pilates. We’re hoping to add in a second bi-monthly associates into the mix too. BUT she would not have managed all this a year ago, she’s built up to it. 
 

Our rule is if it’s still fun then she can carry on, if she’s not enjoying it then we drop it. She recently dropped a contemporary class for this reason! 

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If you live in Birmingham  and the classes don't clash I'd say it is eminently do-able.  If you have to travel from outside the area and they are on different days then it might be too much.

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  • Anna C changed the title to More than one vocational school associate scheme? (weekend classes)

Personally, I sometimes found there were various motives behind the advice of other dance parents, so would listen to them but also do my own research - most just want to help, but there were a few who had their own agenda!  We are very lucky on this forum to have such a supportive and knowledgeable group in Doing Dance. ☺️

 

Only you know what is do-able for your family in terms of time, money, energy and other commitments.  It also depends on age and how much homework a child has, as I’m a firm believer in keeping up with academics so that dance isn’t the be-all and end-all, especially given how extremely unusual it is to proceed along the entire journey from junior associate level to a paid contract in a classical ballet company.  

 

My dd did do two associates but only from 14 onwards.  Although she was doing two ballet classes, tap, modern and one associate scheme in primary school, she also had Brownies, swimming lessons, piano lessons and homework, as well as time to rest and just be a child.   Only once she had decided to focus on dance and music (as well as academics) did she add in the second associate scheme (which was every other Sunday), so although she was dancing most evenings and every Saturday, she (and we) got every other Sunday off.   Had we had other children, we would have had to work round them until dd was old enough to take herself to London every Saturday.  

 

It’s your decision as a family, and on the advice of your dd’s ballet teacher.   You can always start both but say to your dd that it will be a trial until you know whether it’s logistically possible.  

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My dd does two vocational school associate schemes and I would say most of those we know, if not all, do two or some even three. It’s definitely not that unusual, particularly around year 5/6 when attention is often moving towards vocational schools and using it as a way to dip into experience of the schools before choosing if/where to audition. 

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3 hours ago, BellaF said:

From our experience many, many children do both and I believe the schemes are, to a certain extent, timetabled to allow for this. Makes me wonder if the other parent was trying to put you off 😂 Weekly classes sound very typical too.

 

Best of luck for results! Fingers crossed it's not too much a wait for you now!

 

 

 

 

Thank you @BellaF 😊

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3 hours ago, Ballet Dreams said:

My DD attends two vocational schemes I don’t think it’s a problem I think it’s down to an individual child and whether they can cope.  I know lots of children that do both JAs and YD.  I would say your DD is doing a similar amount of dance to my DD.  I would agree with BellaF I think who ever spoke to you was trying to put you off.  I would say go for it especially if your child is keen.  Good luck 🤞 

Thank you @Ballet Dreams X

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1 hour ago, Anna C said:

Personally, I sometimes found there were various motives behind the advice of other dance parents, so would listen to them but also do my own research - most just want to help, but there were a few who had their own agenda!  

 

You can say that again!

 

Anyway, it is fairly common for children to do more than one associate programme, more so when they are older. For the younger ones, they might find the different teaching methods slightly confusing. 

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Thank you for all your replies, they are reassuring! We can just about fit it all in around our son as well, who is a competitive swimmer, so also requires a taxi service 😂 (though personally, I long for school holidays for a rest!!) Both children are happy and I'd never thought of this as a potential problem until this weekend. I'm glad you all think a 2nd associate scheme (should she ever be accepted) is OK. I also thought it would be a good experience for her, and she could enter any future auditions having had her eyes opened to what might be available.  X

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6 minutes ago, taxi4ballet said:

You can say that again!

 

Anyway, it is fairly common for children to do more than one associate programme, more so when they are older. For the younger ones, they might find the different teaching methods slightly confusing. 

That's actually already happening, as her local teacher is very much from the RB background, so a few positions/postures clash between her and the YD teacher. My DD accepts this and tries to remember whose class she's in 😂

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1 hour ago, In at the deep end said:

That's actually already happening, as her local teacher is very much from the RB background, so a few positions/postures clash between her and the YD teacher. My DD accepts this and tries to remember whose class she's in 😂

I think it is definitely manageable. I suppose it depends what you want and how seriously your dd wants to dance...when my dd was in year 4 she was a bit apathetic towards dance so we didn't apply to any extra schemes as I wasn't going to pay all that money or travel if she wasn't that bothered! A year later she matured quite a bit and said she wanted go apply and we ended up doing 2 schemes in year 6 (1 every other week, 1 monthly). I would say if she wants to or is thinking of heading to vocational school the vast majority do at least 1 often 2 or 3....I am glad we ramped up her training so to speak in year 6 as it gave her a fighting chance when it came to vocational auditions, although I still think she does less than many! X 

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