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The "Doing Dance A-Z"


Pups_mum

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I thought this would be a fun thing to try on a cold miserable Bank Holiday and it might also be useful to newcomers. I remember when my DD first started and I heard people talking about the wider ballet world, they may as well have been speaking a foreign language. I thought RBS stood for the Royal Bank of Scotland back then, CATs were small furry animals and an MA was a masters degree!So i thought it would be fun to see if we could do an A-Z of commonly used terms and discussed topics on the forum. I'll start off with the first couple and hope that a few of you join in. Let's see if we can get all the way to Z!

 

 

A is for associate programme

Schemes run by a number of vocational schools and companies to provide additional training for promising children who are not in full time dance training .Examples include the Royal Ballet School Associates (junior, mid and senior associates often abbreviated to JAs, MAs and SAs), Elmhurst Associates and Northern Ballet Associates but there are many others. Entry to these schemes is by audition and classes can vary from once a month to once a week depending on the individual scheme and age of the child. Most schools and companies have websites were you can find out more about their associate programmes.

 

B is for Bruce

Bruce is the founder of the original ballet.co.uk website and the person that we have to thank for starting this great community.

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I'll do the easy ones then....

 

C is for CAT

 

Centre for Advanced Training. Non residential vocational training schemes for teenage (?) dancers showing lots of potential. Most are contemporary dance-based, although there are some that focus on South Asian dance. The only purely ballet based one to my knowledge is at Northern Ballet, Leeds. Most contemporary ones do some ballet though.

 

D is for DaDA

 

Dance and Drama Award is a government based funding scheme that covers a lot of the fees at vocational schools/colleges running degree or foundation degree courses (I think!). The student/family has to pay the same amount in fees as if the student was attending a university.

Edited by dancerbabe82
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G is for Gaynor Minden.

A dancewear company from the USA particularly noted for its pointe shoes which are made of synthetic materials rather than in the traditional way. People seem to either love them or hate them!

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H is for HDA

 

Hammond Dance Associates - An associate programme ran by the Hammond School In Chester. Admittance is via audition only. Classes are held once a month on a Sunday. At least 3 classes in the day including a ballet class.

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Can I add an H for Hairnets and pins? :-)

 

I find hairnets so much easier than bun nets when doing buns. Because the hairnets are bigger, you can spread them out to get a flatter bun, even wrapped around 2 or 3 times. When I used to use bun nets they were that much smaller and you ended up with more of a doorknob bun.

 

Likewise I love the big Bunheads hairpins as you only need a few for a really secure bun, no matter how much hair you're dealing with. :-)

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J is for Junior Associates.

 

Many vocational dance schools run Junior Associate schemes but the term is most frequently applied to Junior Associates of the Royal Ballet School. The scheme is open to children in school years 4, 5 and 6 and entry is by audition. The children who attend these classes are normally known just as JAs.

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A couple more for I

I is for ISTD and IDTA

Two of the well known dance organisations/examining bodies.

I is also for Intermediate Foundation and Intermediate

The first two vocational or "major" exams in most examining bodies' schedules.

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H is for HDA

 

Hammond Dance Associates - An associate programme ran by the Hammond School In Chester. Admittance is via audition only. Classes are held once a month on a Sunday. At least 3 classes in the day including a ballet class.

 

Now known as HPAA Hammond Performing Arts Associates

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Some easy ones - it still took me a while to know what they were though ;)

 

DD is for Dancing Daughter

DS is for Dancing Son

 

SWL is for Short Waiting List

 

PVP is for Pre-Vocational Programme

Elmhurst's Associate programme

 

 

Sorry got carried away and forgot alphabet!

Edited by w445403
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D is for DaDA

 

Dance and Drama Award is a government based funding scheme that covers a lot of the fees at vocational schools/colleges running degree or foundation degree courses (I think!). The student/family has to pay the same amount in fees as if the student was attending a university.

 

I hate to break the flow of this thread, but just wanted to post a slight clarification regarding the definition of DaDa. These awards are generally offered by vocational schools which offer National Diploma courses for post 16 study (eg English National Ballet School, Northern Ballet School, Elmhurst). The schools which offer degree and foundation degree courses (eg Central School of Ballet, Rambert) are funded in the same way as other British degree courses (ie you take a student loan to cover your fees and living expenses)

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I'm going back a few too - sorry (I might have a try to put them in the right order at some point!!):

 

M is for MDS (Music and Dance Scheme)

 

MDS places are offered at Royal Ballet School (all places are MDS places), Elmhurst (most places are MDS places), Tring Park, and Hammond and as you'll see from the link, they are also given at some music schools.

 

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/toolsandinitiatives/b0068711/mds

 

The government fund these places which are means tested according to your income (with a small adjustment for having other children), meaning that someone on a low income wouldn't pay anything for a place at one of these schools, going up on a sliding scale until you get to paying full fees. You'll find all the info you need on the link, but just to add that you get more for your money at some schools than others (eg music lessons, dance uniform, private health care).

 

I think you are invited back to audition for MDS places at Tring and Hammond.

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M is also for Moderators

 

Those of us with responsibility for ensuring the smooth-running of the forums - and making sure that people are sticking to the, few, rules. And we're not paid ;)

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One that threw me recently on this site was CG, better known as Covent Garden, which, if you're not referring to an area of London or its tube station, is itself better known as the ROH, the Royal Opera House, the home of the RB, the Royal Ballet.

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Whilst in the break of the flow....

 

What we really need is a thread for translating Britspeak for American users. :)

 

OK - resume flow.....

 

You start one with the questions, and we'll provide the answers! :-))

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You start one with the questions, and we'll provide the answers! :-))

 

Having been here since around 2002 - I've figured most of them out. But I do have to admit when I first saw:

 

"I sat for my ballet exams."

 

I wondered how one would do a ballet exam sitting down - unless it was a written exam - which plainly it wasn't considering the context in which that sentence appeared. Took me a while to realize "sitting for an exam" meant "taking an exam."

 

BTW - did you notice my smooth use of the word "whilst" in my previous post? I l ike to think using that word is my ticket of admittance. And I always hope when I misspell something y'all will think that it is American spelling. :)

 

I've been able to decipher that if one is munching on crisps during the interval whilst sitting in the gods at the ROH during hols from uni - it's a good time, indeed. Hear! Hear!

 

And then there's the "reversals" - the meanings I have to reverse - like: public school means private school. Sometimes I see a name of a person or unfamiliar entity - which at first I think might be a dancer but come to realize much later is a football/soccer player or team.

 

It's not easy being me.

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Pups_mum, this was a great idea. Thank you!

 

What we really need is a thread for translating Britspeak for American users. smile.png

 

Anjuli, did I mention before that you should just be glad we're not discussing motor cars? The terms there are pretty much incomprehensible between the two Englishes, it seems to me!

 

PS: where I come from, we sit exams rather than sitting for them ...

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