RBS Junior Associates 2018

[Sugarplummum]

Hi we have a RBS JA audition on Tuesday in Birmingham.  Could anyone tell me where the best / nearest car park is please?

 

Tia x

[TutuTaxi]

 

1 hour ago, Sugarplummum said:

Hi we have a RBS JA audition on Tuesday in Birmingham.  Could anyone tell me where the best / nearest car park is please?

 

Tia x

My dd attends jas in Birmingham...we park in thorp st car park, one of the cheapest around and directly opposite the royal ballet building, if that's full we use the Arcadian just around the corner. Good luck at the audition :-)

[Jan McNulty]

The Arcadian car park is more spacious in all respects than Thorp Street.  There is also a multi story and an outdoor car park on Pershore Street (although because they are cheap they tend to be full).

 

Avoid the car park by the Holiday Inn unless you are really wealthy - I got well and truly stung a couple of years ago because I did not know the prices had gone up - anything over 4 hours is prohibitive!

 

Good luck for tomorrow.

[Sugarplummum]

Thanks for the info guys 😁

[drdance]

I have a young lad from my Warwick school attending tomorrow’s JA audition and I’m nervous / excited for him! He’s got a great physique but is perhaps a little tall. He’s very nervous so I hope his personality shines  as he’s great when he’s comfortable!

[Mummy2BalletFairies]

3 hours ago, drdance said:

I have a young lad from my Warwick school attending tomorrow’s JA audition and I’m nervous / excited for him! He’s got a great physique but is perhaps a little tall. He’s very nervous so I hope his personality shines  as he’s great when he’s comfortable!

hope he enjoys it and does well x

[drdance]

16 hours ago, Mummy2BalletFairies said:

hope he enjoys it and does well x

 

Thanks! He seemed to enjoy it from what I’ve heard!

[balletmadmama]

Long-time forum lurker here emerging from the shadows because my DD is auditioning for the first time this month 😯  I hope it's fine to start a new topic for the 2018 JA auditions?  This forum has been my constant source of information leading up to this month, and I think in a way is also a source of emotional support for members who are undergoing the same roller coaster experience.  I just wanted to wish everyone whose DC is auditioning for JAs this year, it seems like the forum is quite quiet on this at the moment.  Am I the only one who is equal parts nervous and excited and obsessing about what DD should wear (although I'm sure it won't really matter on the day)? 😉

[Jan McNulty]

Hello balletmadmama and welcome to the Forum!

 

Thanks for starting the topic.  A couple of posts about JA 2018 auditions had appeared on the JA 2017 thread so I've moved them over here.  They do now (because of the time of posting) appear above yours.

[Selby1974]

Hi. My daughter has already auditioned for year 4. We are waiting nervously. If you have any questions about the audition, please feel free to ask.😊

[dancefanatic]

My DD is auditioning next week in Bath for year 4.  Think she will breeze through it on the day but I'm nervous about how she'll do, what the panel and teacher will make of her having had her elder sister successfully audition for Y6 JAs a few years ago in Bath etc.  And then the inevitable 2+ week wait for results!  Will have to put it completely out of my mind and try to concentrate on other things!

[Dancing feet]

My DD is auditioning in London. We tried for a year 4 place last year and she almost didn’t go in as she got very nervous. 

She has said she wants to try again and i’m Just hoping that she enjoys it. 

[Sugarplummum]

Dd had her audition today and she loved it and we had no tears, bonus! 

 

Really pleased she did it, was a great experience for her.

[Bluebird22]

1 of my Little year 3s went today absolutely loved it, and said the panel kept smiling at her (I’ve had lots say that to me in the past and I don’t think it’s any indicator of success!) 

It’s nice that some of the panel show a human element and try to settle the kids nerves 

[hfbrew]

Every pupil of mine who has ever gone has always thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

[balletmadmama]

Thank you very much for the welcome.  I'm so glad to hear that the audition is a lovely experience for the children.  As an adult, I think it would be quite daunting for me but I suppose kids are more relaxed about these things.  I know this has been discussed in the previous year's thread but I was wondering for those who auditioned this year whether the format is still the same?  Simple ballet class and a bit of improv (from the sounds of it)?  It must be a challenging task for the panel and really hard to predict who gets in because there must be lots of talented little DCs out there full of potential.  Not sure what we can do to make ours stand out as such? 😟

[Tops]

My DD auditioned yesterday in Bham. The panel did a little welcome and the girls where then lined up in number order, which I think was age order. Lots of stretching before but not in a competitive way, just warming up friendly stuff. Then they were gone, for an hour. 

She came out really happy, had a great time. Took shoes and socks off, some basic bar and centre. Really nothing tricky at all. All looked happy as they left. 

Must be so hard as all the girls looked wonderful and then arrived another group and so on. No idea how they choose or what they are looking for. 

Long long wait now. When do Bham result normally arrive ? 

[Darkbeans]

My daughter auditioned for a year 5 place at Totnes a couple of weeks ago. She had a lovely time and came out with a big smile. The way she described it, close to the start of the lesson they lined them up in rows of 4 in front of the panel,  they then stood in various positions (first position, parallel, parallel facing the side etc.) They held each of these positions for quite some time. My gut says that they say no to a lot at that point for whatever reason (feet, posture etc) then watch the ones that weren’t a no through the rest of the class. However that’s just me speculating 😜! 

[Selby1974]

That sounds about right. I have no idea how they choose, as they all looked similar in build, etc. It is such a long wait. Darkbeans. Is your daughter auditioning for Elmhurst in Plymouth this weekend?

[Darkbeans]

22 minutes ago, Selby1974 said:

 Darkbeans. Is your daughter auditioning for Elmhurst in Plymouth this weekend?

She isn’t auditioning for Elmhurst. Mainly because if she got in to both I would find it hard to commit to taking her - we live 1 and a half hours drive from Plymouth - 2 hours to Totnes - and have 3 younger children. In fact my littlest was at the RBS audition with us (if you saw the lady with the fluffy haired 10 month old that was me!!)  DD is also is a Balletboost Associate which is monthly( ish!) at Totnes and she really enjoys 😊.  

[Selby1974]

Gosh that is far. We saw the year 4's come out, as ours went in. She is auditioning for Ballet Boost too. I can't see my daughter being accepted for all 3  so she just wanted to audition for everything in the vain hope she get's into one of them. I think she will be gutted if she doesn't get into at least one. Have tried to prepare her for the fact that might happen though. How many year 4's auditioned?

[Darkbeans]

12 minutes ago, Selby1974 said:

Gosh that is far. We saw the year 4's come out, as ours went in. She is auditioning for Ballet Boost too. I can't see my daughter being accepted for all 3  so she just wanted to audition for everything in the vain hope she get's into one of them. I think she will be gutted if she doesn't get into at least one. Have tried to prepare her for the fact that might happen though. How many year 4's auditioned?

There were 15 in Group 2, however from what the lady said I think they were a mixed age group - possibly going for yr5 and yr 6 places. DD had a friend who is the same age as her( so going for a year 5 place) in Group 3 - however he is a boy and I think perhaps all the boys, or all the boys going for yr4/5 places were put in the same audition group, as DDs audition group was all girls. Very confusing 😫, who knows!! Fingers crossed for your DD! 

Edited May 17, 2018 by Darkbeans

[Selby1974]

Good luck to yours. I asked the lady on the desk if group 2 had any year 3's in it and she said that there were not. However I definitely saw some girls in group 2 who compete with my daughter in the same groups at festivals??  So was your daughter's friend in the last group that my daughter was in? There were 4 boys in her group?

[Raquelle]

Hi everyone. Hope you don’t mind me joining the thread! My little girl is auditioning for the first time next Wednesday in Bath! She’s very excited and we have no idea what to expect!! Does anyone know the best place to park in Bath? Thank you! X 

[Welshy]

8 hours ago, Raquelle said:

Hi everyone. Hope you don’t mind me joining the thread! My little girl is auditioning for the first time next Wednesday in Bath! She’s very excited and we have no idea what to expect!! Does anyone know the best place to park in Bath? Thank you! X 

There is a car park just to the right of the venue! Parking is free for 5 hrs but you must get a ticket from the machine near the entrance and display in your car window. 

 

Good luck to your Dd, she will love it x

[Miss A]

Hi everyone, my daughter also has an audition at Bath next Wednesday. We don't know what to expect as its our first exposure to RBS. I think she is a little apprehensive but still looking forward to it. Does anyone know how the set up is at Bath? 

 

Raquelle how old is your daughter & have you been there before?

 

We are from Bristol anyone from here too?

 

M

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Miss A and welcome to the Forum!

[Raquelle]

On 18/05/2018 at 22:42, Miss A said:

Hi everyone, my daughter also has an audition at Bath next Wednesday. We don't know what to expect as its our first exposure to RBS. I think she is a little apprehensive but still looking forward to it. Does anyone know how the set up is at Bath? 

 

Raquelle how old is your daughter & have you been there before?

 

We are from Bristol anyone from here too?

 

M

Hi Miss A

we are from Cardiff - it’s our first time so all very exciting. My little one is 7 (8 in July) so will be one of the younger ones. How about your Lo? X 

[richieN]

Hi everyone,

 

Just dropping in to say good luck to all applicants. I know what you're going through.

 

My DD is in the mids now, but spent over a year on the JA waiting list before getting placed. So to parents - if your DC really wants to get in, persevere. "No" can mean "not now". It all depends on how your DC trains and matures.

[Raquelle]

Hello everyone. We went to the Ja audition in Bath today and it was such a lovely experience. My Dd thoroughly enjoyed. Seemed some very bendy young ladies there so not sure how she will fare but she loved it and we’ll definitely try again next year regardless of the outcome. Any idea on how long it takes for results to come out? X 

[dancefanatic]

Mr Annear said results will be out by early July unless they get a chance to look at things over half term, in which case late June. Best to try and forget about them as the time really will drag otherwise. 

 

My younger DD was there this afternoon & really enjoyed the class. Managed to avoid seeing all the ‘bendiness’ thanks to being later arriving than planned (over- turned car with caravan on the M4) but really don’t let that worry you. My elder DD auditioned four years ago & came out saying she wouldn’t get a place as she couldn’t do the splits whilst others could. A couple of weeks later she was offered a Y6 place and is ending her second year at vocational school. The bendiest DC may not have the elusive factor that RBS are looking for and JAs really is about potential plus aptitude for their style of training. 

 

Big well done to all those DC auditioning as you’ve had a fab day out doing class with an exceptional teacher and hopefully made some fantastic memories. 

[balletmadmama]

Hoping to hear from those who auditioned at Eastleigh today? How was it? :-)

[Mummy2BalletFairies]

Apparently "not easy and not hard". "Nobody spoke". 'we did 8 gallops across the room by ourselves then that was the only dancing we did on our own (does demonstration- looked odd- i said that looks odd, she says well the music was jumpy) ." "we had to be seaweed attached to a rock."  'i tried exquisitely hard and managed to be more flexible than normal today." 😂

Clearly i don't think we will be getting much useful info from my DD! 

Think they lined them up from the get go in 4  lines of about 5. They looked at feet and posture early on. Looked at them in different profiles and bends.

 It kind of sounds like they're going for body proportions and posture for most the audition- what I don't quite understand is how they can tell who is trainable into a better posture and who isn't, as We all know it can be improved... Then a few more physical exercises to demonstrate flexibility. Then a little musical stuff I guess to confirm if they're musical/have dance style required. I thought there'd be more dancing than DD described. Hope that helps.