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Questions about Upper School auditions


Anna C

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When my dd did her Rambert audition last year, we had an 8.45 one so had to stay overnight. We stayed in the Premier Inn in Richmond, literally just the other side of the river. We drove though & it was a 5-10 min drive to Rambert school the following morning Also saw one other girl staying there too. I don't think there are any hotels within actual walking distance of the school, but others on this forum may know otherwise.

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The Twickenham travelodge is within walking distance, took us about 25 mins to walk. The hotel was ok one of the ones that has been done up and right next to the train station. It was a little noisy for us but we are used to no noise at all during the night where we live so might not bother others.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, trains booked for us as DD starts her quest for an Upper School place next week with audition number one of many!!

 

Rizzo - well done to your DD - my daughter loves Ballet West and we are up there in Feb half term.

 

Good luck all! :)

 

F xxx

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Guest dancer2027

Slightly off topic but I'm new to this forum and didn't know how to start a new topic if that makes sense so I chose the most relevant one. Does anyone know anything about elmhurst's post graduate course? I am 18 and have auditions for upper schools at many places but elmhurst recommended me their post grad, tried to contact them but no answer due to holidays. Just wondering if anyone could give me some info ?? Thanks :)

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Guest dancer2027

Thank you along for the ride mum, I have had a look but unfortunately no where does it say about applications/ auditions :/ may be a case of just calling up the school when term starts again

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Well, trains booked for us as DD starts her quest for an Upper School place next week with audition number one of many!!

 

Rizzo - well done to your DD - my daughter loves Ballet West and we are up there in Feb half term.

 

Good luck all! :)

 

F xxx

thank you Frangapani -

are you up there in Feb for a course or an audition?

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DD had a lovely time at ENBS Audition Workshop yesterday. During Q&A time we were told they audition about 350 and re call around 50 for the finals - very tough ! and then they take about 30 into the school, hopefully half boys and girls.

What really surprised me was that we were told they are mainly looking for potential so it isn't crucial if anyone is doing vocational training or just 2-3 lessons per week. Does anyone know of anyone taken into full time post 16 training on 2-3 ballet lessons per week ?

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Guest Autumn days

Jazzpaws, did they specifically say the bit about vocational training versus two or three lessons a week or is that just your assumption following the comment about potential? I know that for yr 7 entry this is very much the case but assumed that for 6th form then they would be looking for students who are at least at the same standard as the current yr 11s in vocational training. I think that it is possible, by the way, that people can be that good on limited training, I just wondered what they had actually said!

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Jazzpaws, did they specifically say the bit about vocational training versus two or three lessons a week or is that just your assumption following the comment about potential? I know that for yr 7 entry this is very much the case but assumed that for 6th form then they would be looking for students who are at least at the same standard as the current yr 11s in vocational training. I think that it is possible, by the way, that people can be that good on limited training, I just wondered what they had actually said!

I did hear it mum in a spin - I hadn't expected that at all !

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Friends of mine have been successful in the past on getting places ranging from Northern Ballet School, ENB, and musical theatre courses on 3 classes a week. They have all been trained in ballet and modern. So it is possible!! (they have done various summer courses over the years which really has helped them)

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DD had a lovely time at ENBS Audition Workshop yesterday. During Q&A time we were told they audition about 350 and re call around 50 for the finals - very tough ! and then they take about 30 into the school, hopefully half boys and girls.

What really surprised me was that we were told they are mainly looking for potential so it isn't crucial if anyone is doing vocational training or just 2-3 lessons per week. Does anyone know of anyone taken into full time post 16 training on 2-3 ballet lessons per week ?

That is interesting. Did they mention if that 350 includes overseas video auditions? We've sent ours in and had a reply saying they will watch it along with the finals in March and we'll have a reply after the 22nd. Such a long wait!

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Does it mean that the DVD auditions automatically go to finals? I thought you had to be there in person for the finals. Did I misunderstand something?

I'm not sure. The paperwork says that your link must not have an expiry date as they may wish to view it along with the finals. I assumed they would view it first and perhaps let you know if you were rejected at that first stage........ No, there is no requirement for overseas applicants to be present at the finals for ENBS. Elmhurst indicates you need to be present. The others don't say either way. A couple of the schools say that UK and EU applicants must be present at the finals, but those from further afar are exempt from that rule. 

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She did say that you had to be there in person for the finals. It's only at the finals that pointe work and a detailed physio examination is done, looking at things like hip turnout, scoliosis, foot arches, metatarsals and other technical things. they also do a summer school in America that is used for selection

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Jazzpaws, I hope that is only for UK and EU applicants (as they said on their form) I can't imagine how we would just pop over for the finals. We had to send a lot of photos, plus pointe work and variations on the dvd.

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Hi Pastel - it is possible that I am wrong on that - I think that is what she said, but it was a busy Q&A session and if you have been told otherwise, then I'm sure that is correct. I did hear correctly that Miss Saidi said the amount of previous training doesn't necessarily matter (thanks Kat09 for confirming that or I would doubt myself). The only thing I would say (probably wrongly), is that students have physical examinations in the final and I don't see how this can be done by DVD audition - but I am sure others know far more than me about this - good luck with your audition Pastel x

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Guest Autumn days

It's very encouraging to hear that those that can't take so many classes can and do have a chance

 

However, I am quite alarmed about the fact that some people may not need to audition in person. I don't mean to offend any individuals and appreciate that it is not easy to travel from the other side of the world for a few hours but I just don't think that a video audition can be compared to a live one. In a live audition, you have to do exactly what you are asked to do and have to get it right first time. There is leeway in a video do do your preferred and well practiced combinations etc as long as hey nclude what is requested and it can be filmed over and over until t is as near perfect as possible.

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I was also at the ENB Q&A after the workshop and also heard that they consider overseas dvd as prelim and that overseas must attend the finals: though this does seem to contradict the info pastel has received. Maybe worth asking just to be sure?

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It's very encouraging to hear that those that can't take so many classes can and do have a chance

 

However, I am quite alarmed about the fact that some people may not need to audition in person. I don't mean to offend any individuals and appreciate that it is not easy to travel from the other side of the world for a few hours but I just don't think that a video audition can be compared to a live one. In a live audition, you have to do exactly what you are asked to do and have to get it right first time. There is leeway in a video do do your preferred and well practiced combinations etc as long as hey nclude what is requested and it can be filmed over and over until t is as near perfect as possible.

Having just put the dvd audition together, I agree with you Mum in a spin. On one hand there is a little leeway with a dvd, but there is also a buzz about a live audition which helps the student perform better - knowing they are right there. It is always hard to get a feeling of 'life' via a dvd. Also, you don't get a chance to re do sections until they are right. There isn't enough free studio time. The sections we re did were those that had technical problems, such as thunder etc. My dd's dvd includes imperfections she would rather not have them see, but we figure it is real life and they can see it hasn't been overly rehearsed. Maybe some people are able to create the perfect video, but it seems unlikely. We were squishing video times in between rehearsals in the studio for the end of year production. Then the studio closed for Christmas and we couldn't access the space at all - I'm sure most people are in a similar position.

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Tulte, it is too late anyway, we've sent off 3 auditions and just have to wait until we are contacted. We don't really know how to afford the training but we're in a position that we have to start applying and seeing what doors open, then going from there a step at a time. It is hard not knowing though.

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Guest Autumn days

pastel, my post was not meant to be personal or to reflect your own experience. I was just saying hat I think that all candidates should be seen together at final auditions to make a fair comparison. You have raised another valid point, though - where some people may come alive in a live audition, others may be nervous and not perform their best. Perhaps the most fair way would be for every candidate to submit a DVD AND attend a live audition?

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Just a quick reminder, audition panels are not looking for perfection - it doesn't exist in ballet anyway.  At this level they are still looking for potential, to see if a dancer has the attributes to benefit from that particular schoo'ls training, Of course a certain level of technique is needed, but it is more about what can be learnt in the future than what has already been learnt. 

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That is interesting. Did they mention if that 350 includes overseas video auditions? We've sent ours in and had a reply saying they will watch it along with the finals in March and we'll have a reply after the 22nd. Such a long wait!

 

That is interesting. Did they mention if that 350 includes overseas video auditions? We've sent ours in and had a reply saying they will watch it along with the finals in March and we'll have a reply after the 22nd. Such a long wait!

What seems a bit strange is how they can say they are looking for potential.Then pick so few out of 350 candidates? Surely all or most of the 350 candidates would have potential or they wouldn`t be auditioning for the school in the first place?Is this just a polite way of them saying "The most talented",do you think?

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They were saying that there were usually 350 - 400 auditionees, from which they would normally take 30 or so. There are preliminary auditions in the UK, Spain, Italy, a summer school in the USA which they also use as an audition, and all the dvd applicants as well.

 

Someone asked a question about auditioning by dvd, and they said that the dvds were used as a preliminary audition, and that anyone selected would be required to attend the final, together with the other finalists.

 

(edited for spelling)

Edited by taxi4ballet
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