Katia05

Thank you for the tip! I'll look out for Vicarage Crescent.

Thanks, that's good to know!

Hi, we need to go to RAD headquarters next week for vocational ballet exams and usually go into London by train, but as parents can't wait in the building at the moment due to Covid etc I was planning to drive this time. Has anyone got experience of where to park nearby? I don't want to add to the stress by driving aimlessly round those narrow streets at the last minute! Any tips welcome! Thanks and good luck to all those doing exams at the moment!

19 hours ago, SJBallet said:

Fab news. Well done your DD xx

Thank you!

I spoke too soon - we finally got the grade 7 results through today, yay! A distinction, so one happy DD!

Still waiting for results from March before the lockdown, so slow!! 😅

1 hour ago, TinyNEDancer said:

My DD got hers last Wednesday, she took her exam about 3 days before they cancelled them. I hope you get your DDs soon!! 

Ah that's good to hear! Thank you!

Anyone else still waiting for RAD results from the session just before lockdown? Hard to know when we'll hear! DD took her Grade 7 in the last week before they cancelled all the rest of the exam visits... Hope we don't need to wait until September!

Yes, our lounge is now a dance studio for a lot of the time! Portable barre permanently in there (I'm actually using it too for zoom adult ballet on Fridays!) and Harlequin floor mat soon to arrive... Strange times!  

No for dd for SA London - oh well, she enjoyed the audition anyway! All good practice. After three attempts, it looks like it's always going to be a no so maybe that's the end of the Royal journey, but was fun! Well done to all the 'yes' recipients!

My dd had a very positive experience of the SA1 auditions in Covent Garden this week - lovely teacher taking the class and a very friendly atmosphere all round. Now just the waiting game again... Good luck to all who auditioned for Associates. 🙂 

13 hours ago, sunrise81 said:

So my dd well and truly hated the audition today. 

1. The Manchester JA teacher coming in and speaking to all the JAs she teaches. Ignores all of the rest of us.

2. In the lesson the teacher uses numbers for students she doesn't know, and names for ones she does. That's really off putting for a 10 year old.

3. Have so many students in the room that at the barre she kicks the child to the right when lifting her leg, and cant lift leg to left as barre on wall next to her is in the way. No space to shuffle along either.

4. Room so hot and not being able.to drink.

If she doesn't get through to finals.she doesn't even want a MA place now as she hated it that much.

Would be interesting to hear what others thought.

I have to say, we experienced the first point at the London Mids auditions last year too. The existing group teacher came and greeted all the pupils she knew, and at the end of the audition she winked and smiled at a couple of them. My dd didn't take much notice, but I thought it was a bit off to show favouritism when the girls were all equally excited and nervous about going in, and we were led to believe it was a level playing field. Not sure whether it had any bearing on who was selected, but I found it a bit cliquey. At least we'll be prepared this year and have no illusions!

5 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

This earlier thread (and quite a few more) come up if you click on the tags at the top of the link:

 

 

Ah thanks, Jan, that's brilliant! Just what I was looking for.

I'm following this thread with interest, as I also have a DD wondering which route to go for... Can anyone recommend/have any experience of any universities (mainstream courses, rather than dance, performing arts etc) where dance societies are particularly strong?

On 18/01/2020 at 21:42, Millicent said:

Can I ask how important the photos are for JA auditions? Applications open this week and my DD's dance teacher took hers today. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist but I don't think they really show my DD in her best light but the teacher thought they were fine. Should I just relax about it and go with what the teacher thinks? How much difference do photos make? Are they just to help identify or actually make any difference to selection?

I once asked if we could send in some new photos for a JA application, as we weren't really happy with the batch - we had a very nice reply saying we couldn't send any more, but, and here's the rest of the email: 'please be reassured, for auditions the photos are not for any pre-selection but are referred to at the discussion stage only, if deemed necessary, as the young dancers are seen in person in the audition class and our panel will make judgement on how they present and perform in the studio.' 

Congratulations to all who got places! Can I ask, of those who had successful applications, did you have your photos done professionally in the dance studio?

20 hours ago, balletboy8 said:

Does anyone have any thoughts whether pupils have more or less chance of WL if they apply for Y9 vs Y7?

 

 

Definitely more chance (though still very slim, of course!) for Year 7. By Year 9 barely any spaces come available, maybe only one or two at most, and there are still plenty of hopeful dancers auditioning!

12 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

Am also bemused why old info & only old photos on site.... surely any one in place in Strategic marketing/consultancy role would ensure up to date accurate info no 1 priority.....

I agree, it's not very easy to find and puzzling why the whole thing wasn't updated! If you go to the Take Part drop-down list, then Current Season, you will find the FAQ page with a notice about it all.

33 minutes ago, Marconcini said:

They do have info up. And sadly it says there’s no summer course this year. 😭

Ah it's a shame! Even the auditions had become part of our spring term routine - such a positive atmosphere and lovely experience. Hopefully they'll restart it next year...

On 07/12/2019 at 13:41, Astrid said:

Just wondering if anyone has any pearls of wisdom..DD is 8, she has been at her dance school since she was 3. We have always been really happy there. It’s quite a small dance school she is pretty much doing everything she can there. She recently started at elmhurst as a young dancer and is loving it, but now that she has, things are starting to clash. because it is quite small, there aren’t really any alternatives, so for example, she has recently had to stop modern, which she loved. 
There is a larger dance school which does a lot more, and can be more accommodating, and offer more opportunities (and have been fab at offering all sorts of solutions)  but while it makes sense on paper, we both feel a bit sad about leaving our current one - we feel a sort of loyalty. I think I know if she wants to continue doing more then we have to make the move, but it makes me feel bad!  DDs view is she is worried she won’t know anyone. she wants to do more dancing but is scared of not having friends..I don’t want to be a pushy mum who does things she is sad about, but she is too young to get it at the moment?

anyone got any good advice? 🙂 x

Hi Astrid! No great pearls of wisdom, but just to say that we changed dance school twice before my dd found the dance school where she now thrives and gets excellent teaching across the disciplines. She didn't know anyone there at first but it didn't take long to make new friends and now she would never go back, even though she can see positive things about her old dance schools too. My only suggestion is to do a trial at the alternative one, and be open with your director at the current one. Age 8 is quite a good time to move in some ways, as they still have so many years ahead of them. Good luck with thinking it through!

My dd is currently wearing these, as at the time of fitting they were the best of the bunch for her. But she isn't quite sure she likes them or not. They are in some ways similar to Gaynor Mindens, though look a bit more refined, I'd say. They have the feature of not needing to be broken in, but my dd finds the feel of them a bit frustrating in that respect. Very stiff on the foot. The shank also comes up rather high on the foot, which seemed fine at fitting but on a daily basis has felt too high for her. So I doubt we'll choose them a second time - probably back to Freeds next!

19 hours ago, ArucariaBallerina said:

At my SA audition the only pointework was releves and echappes in barre and centre, nd courus across the room. X

Thank you  

One more question about the SA auditions - do they do a lot of pointe work in the audition? And is the audition run in a similar way to MA auditions, just more advanced, of course?

3 hours ago, richieN said:

I'm reminded of an internet quote that I recently saw:

"If you fuel your journey on the opinion of others, you won't get very far"

 

And there you have it in a nutshell. Your daughter is living her own life and her own truth. Neither you, nor her have to justify anything to anyone.

richieN What a great quote - thank you!  

2 hours ago, valentina said:

All the MA’s have to re- audition along with everyone else. There is a significant drop in places for SA’s in comparison to MA’s and as there is for MA’s in comparison to JA’s.

Thanks, valentina. So just to clarify, do all the current MAs go along to the same audition session as any dancers who haven't been MAs?