LittleNutcracker Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hi all My DD will be auditioning for full-time vocational training this autumn. Any tips on the process? RBS, Elmhurst, Central, Rambert. All very new and scary. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hello LittleNutcracker, I am sure other members with experience will be able to chip in but in the meantime, assuming your DD will be auditioning for Lower Schools, here is a thread that will have useful information: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/4999-questions-about-lower-school-auditions/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BankrollingBallet Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Guessing from your list of schools LittleNutcracker that it's upper school auditions? I can hardly believe it's been 4 years since I did this with my DC, the memories seem so fresh. My top tips would be plenty of planning, preparation, positivity and a very generous supply of wine ;-D Enjoy the roller coaster ride! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanprincess Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Never give up! Rejection is inevitable, and although it seems horrible at the time, learning to cope with rejection will make your dd far more resilient- and it makes the "Yes" seem even more wonderful when it eventually happens! Also, do as many auditions as possible- I found that the more auditions I did, the more I felt at ease in what would otherwise be a stressful situation; see each experience as a learning curve, and be open minded! Remember, as much as the school is considering you, you are considering the school- so get a feel for the school, make sure it suits you! Lastly, I would say it is vital to have a good backup plan! Maybe get into an associate scheme, plan lots of nice events, so that if it doesn't work out this time, you'll have lots of other things to look forward to instead! (Yes, I know that probably sounds patronising when it feels as if not getting a place would be the end of the world- but everything happens for a reason!) Also, having some private lessons would be great audition preparation, also I'd advise to attend as many non-syllabus classes as possible- personally, I used to find it difficult to learn enchainements quickly, so found that experiencing a variety of styles, with different teachers, helped me to improve. I'd also consider attending summer schools or workshops at the schools prior to auditioning- in my opinion, it felt daunting to be in an unfamiliar studio at auditions, for example the floor at Northern was a lot less slippy than what I'm used to so I found it hard to pirouette- so just having an idea of what to expect would help your dd to relax on audition day! Also, I found ritualism useful for relaxing; I wore the same leotard for all my auditions, and had a playlist on my iPod to listen to on the way there, to get calm & 'in the zone', which helped me to be slightly less nervous! Having a set warm-up routine may help too- ignore what everyone else is doing, just focus on your own calmness and preparation! It may help to listen to a relaxation/meditation CD the night before an audition too. Also, take spare tights & shoes etc to every audition, just in case! And when you do the audition photos, save them onto your computer just so you can use them for anything else if you need to! Sorry for the very waffled post, that's all I can think of for now- good luck, and try to enjoy it, it'll be over very quickly!xx 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Great post Swanprincess. I'm sure that will be very helpful to all those taking this new and exciting route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Here's a link to the "Questions about auditioning for Upper Schools" thread which may be useful: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/5000-questions-about-upper-school-auditions/ Great post by Swanprincess - I agree about auditions becoming less stressful the more you do. Obviously if you have absolutely ruled out one or more schools for whatever reason, there's little point auditioning there - but it's nice to do some auditions purely for experience and to enjoy the class. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNutcracker Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Thank you swan princess and everyone else, really helpful advice. DD is currently on two associate programmes, this will be her 5th year, she's attending two summer schools and will be applying for sixth form/upper school places. Hoping we're on the right track. ???? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisiblecircus Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Great post, Swan Princess! Also remember that the audition panel are not trying to catch you out or pick holes in what you're doing. They WANT to like you! It looks as if you've already decided which schools to audition for which is great. Have a good look at the graduate destinations of the schools your interested in and make sure they line up with your professional aspirations, then think about what you will do if you don't get into any of those schools (hopefully you will!) Good luck, it's an exciting journey! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Very very naïve question, but for a full time course (16+) in classical dance what is the ideal profile to have? My dd is wanting to audition for 2017, is currently Intermediate standard ballet and modern (including ballet associate) also does jazz and informal drama classes (did lamda to G4) and any contemporary work shops going. However she recently announced that she does not want to continue with tap and is also very dubious about anything that involves singing. Is this likely to be a problem? I have seen a few recent posts that suggest tap is not entirely compatible with ballet, however several vocational schools mention it in either their application forms and/or prospectus. Very grateful for feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I don't know if the schools bother looking at a profile. I THINK they are looking at physique, strength, flexibility and musicality first. Then the ability to pick up basic choreography. The panel will be watching the students all the time, even when it is not their turn to dance. At 6th form level are they watching and concentrating whilst waiting etc. a student can have as many exams, competition levels etc, etc, but for classical ballet they will be looking for a student that fits their school. Good luck it's a roller coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisiblecircus Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Very very naïve question, but for a full time course (16+) in classical dance what is the ideal profile to have? My dd is wanting to audition for 2017, is currently Intermediate standard ballet and modern (including ballet associate) also does jazz and informal drama classes (did lamda to G4) and any contemporary work shops going. However she recently announced that she does not want to continue with tap and is also very dubious about anything that involves singing. Is this likely to be a problem? I have seen a few recent posts that suggest tap is not entirely compatible with ballet, however several vocational schools mention it in either their application forms and/or prospectus. Very grateful for feedback. It depends what she ultimately wants to do. If she wants to be a classical dancer, she does not need to be doing tap or singing however, in this business the more strings you have to your bow, the better! I don't know which vocational schools you are looking at but some of the schools which have classical courses also have courses for musical theatre. Also, I think that some of the specialist ballet schools have supplementary or optional classes in tap and/ or singing. Either way, you don't need to worry about tap or singing not being up to scratch if it's ballet you want to focus on. You would be better off spending more time in quality ballet classes and advancing your technique there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Thank you Tulip and Invisiblecircus. She takes her ballet very very seriously and her reason for wanting to give up tap is primarily to focus more on ballet. Sounds like I should let her make her own decision on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNutcracker Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hi forum people Could anyone throw light on the photographic requirements. Do you know how much focus is put on them during the audition process/selection. We've taken ours but not sure about the quality? Also, we aren't sure whether we will be applying for funding yet so am not sure which box to tick. It depends on a number of work related factors and the threshold for 2015/16 which we won't know about until that time. I've printed off last years forms to give me a guide as to what will be required.Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Re photos, as long as the poses have been checked by the teacher, there's no odd shadows and you haven't chopped off any heads/feet (!) they should be all right. They aren't looking for top quality photography (just as well, considering my skills ). It is probably worth ticking the box for funding, because it won't affect whether a place is offered or not. Some of the schools ask you to complete a form regarding income before finals so they have some idea, so if that is the case then you can explain your financial situation then. If you say 'no' to funding, you might not be able to change your mind if you need to... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNutcracker Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 Next naive question. Does anyone have any thoughts on audition venues. RBS and Central, for example, offer Manchester and Leeds as alternatives to travelling south for preliminary auditions. Other than saving money are there any benefits/detriments in staying north for prelims or should it/does it not make any difference? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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