Sam

La Scala, Milan

I am glad that I could give you some insight. Basically, if a student is a borderline fail in ANY year they can be offered the possibility to redo the year instead of being asked to leave. For example, my dd is at another 'Conservatoire' in France and out of the class of 7 first year girls, 2 were asked to leave, 2 are redoing the first year and 3 passed into the second year. It is very common in all French vocational schools. This had no bearing on academic studies which continue. The other advantage is the vocational schools are supported by the state and so the fees are low and affordable. They do not hold a summer school, but most of the teachers teach in other summer schools in France.

Hello, My DD has two friends at the CNSMDP, one redoing the first year and one in the fourth year and they are both very happy! The audition is in two parts, a lesson with around 30 students and if successful, a notice is pinned up at the end of the afternoon, the students selected perform a prepared solo. Although there are lots of applicants at various levels, the intake is very small, and the process lasts over a few days with each day allocated to different ages (entry 14yrs-17yrs). The results are very quickly given, at the end of the week or the beginning of the next. Almost all the teachers are ex-POB 'Etoiles' who have all completed one, if not two, obligatory teacher training courses ( illegal to teach without in France). It is an excellent school and at 15yrs all the students pass a competition and the winner has the opportunity to complete their training at the POB school (This happened to a girl my dd knows and she received a contract with POB upon completion of her training last year). There are usually a couple of students at the 'Prix' each year and the standard is very high. If they feel you have potential but haven't progressed enough, it is possible to redo a 'dance' year ('redouble'). The class sizes are usually between 12-20 students, half girls and boys. Graduates can go anywhere in France and further afield ; POB, Opera de Bordeaux, Capitol de Toulouse, UK Scottish Ballet , Monaco , Royal Danish Ballet etc Sorry I can't help you with the B1/A2 question, https://www.dansesaveclaplume.com This website reports on their open day and show each year with photos and video footage to give you an idea! I hope this helps, feel free to ask anymore questions, although be warned the 'boarding' part does not include weekends! Good Luck Sam

Hi Domino, My dd used Perfect Pointe when doing lots of rehearsals/exams last year and never stopped using them. It is quite an easy system to follow!!

There are not many that enter after 13, but it does happen. I do not know the percentage of those that start between 9-13 and finish Upper School either, unfortunately. I do know two that started at 11yrs that graduated 2 years ago, one boy did two years as supernumerary before getting a contract in Italy and a girl who is on her third year as supernumerary. Wherever you research , graduate destinations are important , but also , for me, it was school atmosphere, pastoral care and as others have said on this forum the right fit for your child. My dd only started ballet at 9/10 and so did not try POB at 13yrs, she did two years of 'sport studies' , school morning and ballet afternoon/evening and then auditioned for vocational school at 15yrs , at the two schools of our choice. Good Luck, its not easy!

Students can be assessed out at the end of any year. If accepted, it is affordable compared to UK schools but the boarding house shuts at weekend, and so you have to find host families (Afab mentioned this in a previous post). The last two girls that entered the Corps de Ballet from the School (Concours last summer) both started at 15yrs, one came from the Prix de Lausanne and the other from the CNSMDP. Some students, who graduate, stay at POB on supernumerary contracts and try again a year/two/three years later. On looking at their graduate destinations they seem to end up in companies in France and Europe, interestingly at the 'Opera de Bordeaux' there are graduates from POB and RBS.

We were in Biarritz last week for a spring ballet course and the dog came too!! We stayed in a campsite and found dog-friendly beaches!!

http://www.biarritz-academie-danse.com/en/ This summer school has a great reputation, friends of my dd have been going for years!

I bought these for dd last year after years of silicon toe pads. They saved her feet when she had rehearsals every day last November!!!

If she is brave enough to travel ; http://www.bejart-rudra.ch/pen_homepage_01.php

Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with a hip stress fracture 3 days before and so could not attend Monaco or Royal Danish Ballet SS last summer, bed rest for 2 months She was very disappointed! Her friend went and really enjoyed it, although, she said the same as Flora about the level of interest.

My dd applied for the ss last year and we just did a general 15 min video with barre work, a short middle, a few pointe exercises and a small contemporary solo of 2 min at the end! I hope this helps!

Thank you BlueLou I really enjoyed it!!

Hi Ballet4ever, My dd has just started her second year in vocational school in France (we live here), if you would like more info on the schools here and the process etc let me know!

My dd and I sew her pointes together, I darn ( Perimeter of pointe x 2 in blanket stitch) and she sews ribbons and elastics! In front of a good film our production line manages two pairs in 1 1/2 hrs !!

My dd has friends there and knows a little girl that auditioned and from asking around, as far as we know, they do not make exceptions to their audition format. However, it doesn't hurt to ask. Even if they are accepted there is a trial period of 6 months before a final decision is made. At the end of each year children are assessed out, so be prepared! They do audition after 13yrs but the criteria is different, as can be seen on their website. The other thing to check is if they are allowed to board the weekend if you are not in the same country, before they were expected to return home at weekends (or to a host family), this still happens in most French vocational schools (Marseille/CNSMDP). I wish your dd best of luck with her audition and well done!!

Are you prepared to travel? There are options in Europe !

Done xx

My dd, aged 15yrs, started vocational school this school year. It does not have an education department, it is a Conservatoire for Music and Dance, so she started the CNED which is a government run home education system, there are modules and it follows the normal French curriculum. Although, I know, the system doesn't exist in the UK, I just wanted to say she is a hundred times more happier and less tired! She does have a support tutorial once a week and the rest is up to her, but to be honest , I have never seen her so motivated and organised! We all learn in different ways and for us it was definitely the right decision!! Good Luck!

I totally agree. Here, in France, the auditions for Rosella Hightower (in Cannes) and ENSD ( Marseille) involve a week long 'intensive' as does the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco. The POB, CNSMD Paris and Lyon involve 2 parts.

Have you tried 'Yann Tiersan' (check spelling) ? He composed the music for the film "Amelie", it is mostly piano music but really lovely to dance to! He has about 3/4 albums. We also found 'Satie' good for dancing, especially the "Gymnopedie and gnossiene"- Good Luck

Fantastic news !!!

My dd started ballet late, age 9, and although she started at Vocational School this September, age 15yrs, pirouettes are her nemesis. Singles fine, doubles good right, not-so-good left, triples when all the stars are aligned in Jupiter and the wind is blowing in the right direction!! She has decided she is not a 'turner', so .......... Forgot to add, we line in France so no grades here!

My dd is very very pale (Irish/English parents) with blond hair, after discussing with her teacher, last year we bought a simple Degas leotard for competitions and auditions in 'Begonia', a very pale pink/beige mix. Dark leotards make her look like she is ill, and the style really suited her physique as well as being very simple. She wore it for several comps so by the time the auditions came around she was very comfortable in it and it gave her the extra boost she needed!

Yes, she is bilingual. There were a few English speaking girls in her group so she helped translate some corrections!