Thank you

[Millie3]

Although I have been an infrequent visitor and very sparse poster on this and the old ballet.co site over the last few years, I've never really spent a lot of time on here. Having not been well for the last few days I've whiled away my time reading through many of the posts. Just wanted to say how informative it is and a big thank you to everyone who posts so comprehensively - although now even more uncertain with regards to encouraging or discouraging dd from auditioning for sixth form next year!!

 

Thank you all.

 

Millie

[Sim]

Hello Millie, and many thanks for your kind words about the Forum! We are always delighted to hear from 'lurkers' and are trying to encourage many more of you to post up; everyone's thoughts, views and opinions are of interest, and although we know that many people are shy, we are very keen to get more of you posting on here.

 

I hope you are feeling better now, and we look forward to hearing more from you in the future!

[Lisa O`Brien]

Hello Millie3. The only advice i can give regards whether your daughter should audition or not is for her to go with her gut feelings. Plus, if she doesn`t, may she regret it in a few years time? As an ex dancer [not ballet], i come across so many people a similar age to myself [in my 40`s] who say, "I really wish i`d taken ballet lessons." If she tries and fails, at least she`s tried. If she gives up, then she`ll never know what might have been. My one regret before going to vocational school at 16 was that i didn`t work hard enough on my academic qualifications. I had won a place at vocational school,before taking my exams, so felt i didn`t have to make any effort, as my future was, for the next few years at least, secure. 20 years after stopping dancing professionally, how i have always regretted not working harder for my academic exams. Just tell her to keep all her options open, and not to rule anything in or out.

[Anna C]

All I would say is that you can do a university degree at any time of life - but to become a professional dancer you have such a small window of opportunity in terms of time.

 

My advice to my daughter is to get the best GCSE results she possibly can whilst keeping up her ballet training. But she's worked so hard that if she wants to apply for post 16 training, I couldn't deny her the chance. :-)

[Anjuli_Bai]

One can never lose by auditioning. Auditioning by itself is a learning experience. If the audition is sucessful then the choice is in your hands. If it is not, then the decision is made. If one does not audition - then one has no choce at all.