English Youth Ballet- choosing the parts

[Petite_Dancer123]

I want to audition for the English youth ballet in June. Of course, I haven't auditioned yet so I don't know if I will get in but if I did, I have the problem of the fact that I will be away for 3 of the 5 day rehearsals in August. Would that be allowed? 

 

Also, I was wondering for the 'casting and press photo' day, how do they pick the parts? Is it dependent on the audition or do they do another type of audition?

 

Any help would be appreciated

Edited April 7, 2014 by Petite_Dancer123

[Picturesinthefirelight]

My DD has never auditioned but if you go to the Doing Dance forum there are quite a few posts about EYB, its audition and casting process etc

 

Usually some rehearsals can be missed but it would be frowned upon if it was one of the ones in the lead up to the performance.

 

[Jan McNulty]

I've moved this topic to "Doing Dance" as more people are likely to be able to respond to your query here.

 

You could do searches on English Youth Ballet too as there are a number of topics already that may answer some of your questions.

[Pups_mum]

There isn't exactly another audition, but on the casting day they do look at everyone again, and put everyone into groups of similar size and technical level. Remember it's not just about what you can do -the look of the groups has to be right and of course you have to fit in the costume.

With regards to missing some rehearsals, the best thing would be to contact Miss Lewis in advance, explain your situation and see what she says. To be honest though, you will miss a lot in 3 full days. There are usually only 10 or 11 days so you will be missing nearly a third of the rehearsals. Because the schedule is so packed, EYB are understandably not keen on people missing lots of the rehearsals. As well as the effect on your own performance, it does impact on the whole group as the others have to learn the dance with gaps where the missing people are supposed to be. My daughter has done EYB 3 times so far, and there have always been the occasional absentee so it's not completely out of the question, but as I say, 3 days is a lot of the rehearsal time gone. Also, it's not cheap so your parents might not feel they are getting good value for money if you can't attend the whole thing!

[Dreamy11]

I don't think they would be too keen on missing rehearsals, casting day similar to auditions then get given parts, obviously age, height, costumes comes into it with some parts. hope that helps.

[kcoom75]

hi petite dancer. My dd has done EYB four times and each time they held a casting day where they choose the parts.It is like an audition but more relaxed and done as a class. A lot of the parts are chosen because of costumes (these are reused at every performance) do they choose dancers that would fit the costumes. They are quite strict about attendance though and I don't think they would be happy about you missing so many rehearsals.

[Nancy19]

My daughter has done EYB three times, last time, We had a family wedding in London, which would have meant my daughter missing Saturday and Sunday rehearsals. Miss Lewis said my daughter had to make the decision, ballet or wedding! She chose ballet. Had to rely on friends for sleep over and pick up / drop off. My cousins were disappointed she wasn't part of the wedding. Miss Lewis told us that they need 100% commitment and absences would not be tolerated. As others have said, it's an expensive experience, so if you are going too miss three sessions it may not be worth it. Good luck with your decision.

Nancy ????

[Petite_Dancer123]

Thank you everyone for your replies. It's really helped, looks like I won't be auditioning after all then because as some of you said 3 days is a lot. The problem is though all of the performances are too far from where I live so looks like I won't ever get a chance... But thank you all very much

[kcoom75]

even if you're not able to accept the place my dd always enjoyed the audition as it's in the form of a ballet class and she always learnt a lot from it. It's an extra lesson taught by principle eyb dancers and it would give you a good idea of what to expect if you are able to audition for a more convenient performance.