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Lifeafterballet

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About Lifeafterballet

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  1. The burning question is though, are the trainees parents paying for the privilege of their children dancing with the company ? I had two children graduate back to back and wouldn’t have been able to afford for even one to dance with a company that charged them 😢
  2. OMG 😦 Over €15,000 How can this be classed as a company position for a graduate. Its so sad that some companies take advantage of graduates 😢
  3. My Ds started ballet aged 12 and was non vocational when he auditioned for Elmhurst US. At 16 he made finals but got a no. He was very raw and petite. He went to his local high school to do A levels and did a year as an RBS SA. He reapplied at 17 and was successful. An extra year can make a lot of difference. There is no rush for boys I feel. He trained for 3 years and has been professional for 5 now. I’m sat at Gatwick currently waiting for a flight to go and watch him dance 🤣 Just stay calm, what will be will be. Luck plays a huge part in auditions and success. And the reality isn’t all we dream it will be.
  4. My son has danced in both the US and Europe and has never had to have a medical for a visa 😅 Is this a new thing ?
  5. I’m pleased your daughter had a good experience. Did she get to see the actual studios and theatre ? My daughter’s audition was held there and not at a hired venue. It was also January, so there were no outside cafes, or people really 🤣 Perhaps the place livens up at different times of the year. The very best of luck to your daughter with her auditions ☺️
  6. Hi Derin’s Mom, If you google Houston Ballet Academy Fees and go to the Professional program you will see the tuition costs for Professional 1 and 2 and HB2. $8,200 per year for HB2. Then scroll down and you can see all the additional costs like accommodation etc. You are right that it is part of the academy. They dance in the same studios as the other levels. I believe the students get the opportunity to dance with the company as students in U.K. ballet schools do but i bet like RB, BRB and ENB they don’t pay them. They do mention a stipend payment. My son’s US junior company gave him a stipend payment which worked out at $1,000 per month. He couldn’t live financially independent with this. And this was pre pandemic. But there were no tuition fees to pay like there is at HB2. If your child has completed ballet training and graduated then this will be another 2 years of training and money on top with no guarantee of employment. Having experienced my son dancing in the US with the very short seasons, visas, insurance and not being paid all year round I personally wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. Its so hard. Especially when our children have completed their training and just want to continue to dance. Wishing you the very best of luck with your choices x
  7. Just Ballet have one for hire. My daughter wore it for YAGP, it was very lovely.
  8. Fascinating reading on mirrors in the ballet studio. Thank you ☺️ But why do all UK ballet schools have them on every wall ?
  9. It doesn’t have to be your GP. One of our Consultant colleagues did my children’s medical for vocational school 😄
  10. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I though that the DaDa auditions had to be conducted in one audition 🤔 I remember one of Dd friends having a very serious injury before the DaDa audition and being told that because she couldn’t attend she couldn’t be considered. She could be offered a place but not the funding.
  11. 🤣🤣 Im not very good with X and don’t like TikTok but the rest I'm ok with. I sent a funny Pug gif to my daughter once, she likes Pugs, and ever since then my Instagram feed has been flooded with the things 🤣 Same with ballet, I don’t follow all these Instagram ballet dancers or job advertisements, they just pop up. It’s really hard to get rid of them. Need to find another interest 🤣
  12. I think it’s essential to have all forms of social media when job hunting. The difficult part is getting rid of ballet from your feeds when you have moved on 😅
  13. My Ds did GCSE and AS Dance at his College before going to vocational ballet school at 17. We had the opportunity to watch them perform their own choreography one evening at the school before it was assessed. Out of all the ballet / dance I have seen at Dd and Ds’s vocational school I think I enjoyed that evening the most. There was no anxieties, no fear, no competition, just pure love, passion and expression in a supportive and non judgmental environment. The students were all so raw and natural. My son did a beautiful piece to the music from Sam Smiths Writings on the Wall. We were allowed to film from the audience. I still have it on my phone 🥰 I’ve just watched a clip on Instagram that his company has shared of him dancing a pas de deux and the music and the piece reminds me of that evening.
  14. My two graduate children both did invited auditions and individual auditions within company class in the US and Europe. The company class ones were I feel the ones with the most likelihood of getting a contract. Ds got his first contract from an invited large audition and his second from being invited to join company class after the season had started. Dd flew to the US for a week and managed to squeeze in 3 auditions, all in the same state but that still required an internal flight. She did that solo at 19. Planning is key. Getting in as many as you can in one trip, being cheeky and asking for company class. Dd got offers of a trainee, not paid, and a contract in her rounds. All just before Covid. She attended Houston Ballet Academy on a short term offer from YAGP and didn’t like it. The standard of their senior students was very high and the teaching was excellent but it was Houston itself and the lack of freedom, not getting to go outside much that she didn’t like. There were a lot of restrictions on students for their safety. Ds was in a Studio Company in the US for a season, cut short by Covid. It was very expensive. The visa, the flights, deposit for an apartment, health insurance, transport etc etc He got paid $1,000 per month. But not over Christmas when they were closed. The season is August to May and then it’s off you go home with no income for 3 months to reapply for your visa again and start the paying out. His European contract is paid all year round. He’s been lucky in that it has paid enough for him to survive on and he hasn’t had to leave due to a visa expiring. It’s a minefield. But you learn quickly. Especially when you have to do it twice like we did 😅 Never again 🤣
  15. https://news.sky.com/story/lancashire-ballet-dancer-dies-after-eating-mislabelled-cookie-in-us-13056475 💔 A collection for Allergy UK has been set up in Orla’s name for those wishing to support this very important charity x
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