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English Youth Ballet Rehearsal times


rubyrubyruby337

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Hi :)

 

I'm auditioning for EYB next month, but noticed one of the rehearsal dates for my area is on the same day as an exam at school (June 3rd). The exam finishes as 10:45, so I was wondering what time the rehearsal times usually start? I know there are quite a few people on here who have been a part of EYB/ their daughter or son have been so I would be grateful for any insight. Since the rehearsal is on a school day, and considering everyone (bar the professionals) are under 18, I thought it might start after school or in the afternoon, however I don't like to assume.

 

Thank you

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Thank you taxi4ballet! I'm at sixth form so will be off on study leave during the exam so once its finished I go home. Yeah, i'm sure i'm not the only one with this problem!

 

Janet- sorry I didn't realise! I had just been reading about ENB's nutcracker so probably had it on the brain haha thank you

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EYB rehearsals where we live are usually weekends or holidays and always either 12 or 1pm start, so depending on how far you have to travel, you should be fine. One day dd did have to miss the class and the first half hour of rehearsal but because we gave Miss Lewis plenty of notice and it was a one-off, she allowed it.

 

Casting day was on a schoolday but it started at 4.30 so some people didn't need any time off school, others just needed a couple of hours off school.

 

If you are successful at audition, it's not long before you get provisional rehearsal dates and times. :-)

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Don't worry too much. Obviously Miss Lewis and the other staff would like every dancer there for every rehearsal and they do get understandably narky if there is a lot of absenteeism, but they are reasonable people and will understand that you can't miss school exams. Mostly rehearsals that are on school days start late afternoon/early evening anyway - the rehearsals generally are in a school and obviously they can't run whilst the school is full of its own pupils. If you are reasonably local that shouldn't be an issue.If you live somewhere where the school holidays are different to the area where the rehearsals and performances are going to be it can be a bit tricky, but there are usually ways round things.

Miss Lewis gets annoyed if people over commit themselves/their child and come with a long list of reasons why they have to miss EYB rehearsals or arrive late because they are simultaneously involved in multiple other projects. This I can understand. There is a huge amount of work to be done in a very short time at EYB and it's very disruptive to the other dancers if someone is missing a lot. But she is perfectly understanding about unavoidable absences or lateness. One day my DD was late because we were travelling a long distance, there was serious flooding and many roads were closed. I rang her to apologise and she couldn't have been nicer, even though it was the day of the parent's showing. She was more concerned about me and DD driving in the awful weather than she was about disruption to the performance.

Good luck with the audition. My DD can't make any of this year's productions and we are missing it terribly. EYB is brilliant.

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My DD really likes Miss Lewis. She's quite a formidable lady when you first meet her but DD found her very kind and fair . Miss Lewis was the main teacher for one of the groups my DD was in and she was a bit scared of her initially but by the end she absolutely loved her and she learned a great deal from her. All the EYB staff are great though. I'm sure you will have a good time.

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If you are successful in your audition then you pay EYB a substantial amount of money to participate.

Of course they need maximum attendance to ensure the performances are the best they can be but if you have an academic exam then that is your priority.

Missing one rehearsal should not be a problem especially if you tell them when and why. You only need to read the news letters to realise that poor attendance is an ongoing issue for them.

Good luck for your audition :-)

Edited by Kitschqueen_1
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Most "regulars" know my DD is not a career dancer, she's always done it as a hobby that she loves.

Her old school was small and never did festivsls, but her teacher was keen for her to do EYB. as her teacher danced for many years under Miss Lewis and she valued her as a teacher.

DS's done EYB twice now - Nutcracker (snowflake) and Giselle (willis) Thoroughly recommend EYB, the whole experience and Miss Lewis and the rest of the dedicated staff are wonderful. Bridget, Juliana, Sebastian and Dominic are all fabulous and genuinely care about the children.

Yes, it may seem costly, but definitely money well spent and there are no extras - other than the tshirt!

 

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It may seem expensive, but then on the other hand, they do have the great opportunity to dance Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and so on with professional dancers in big regional theatres.

 

Many of them will not be vocational students who get the chance to perform with the Royal, ENB, BRB etc.

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Going off at a slight tangent, but came to mind reading taxi's last sentence - some of you may not realise how few performance opportunities most vocational students get - it's mostly a tiny minority who have a chance to dance with the associated companies (WL have been "lucky" to at least had Nutcracker for years 7-9 for a while again - that's not always the case) and in very many cases it's a case of being lucky size-wise.

 

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Thank you to everyone who has replied! Yes, the cost to me is not that bad considering the amount of hours you get to dance (which is very useful for staying limber during the summer holidays) and the opportunity to perform. Thankfully my dad wants me to get as much experience as I can so is OK with the cost, although if it were more I think I would have to save up for some of it myself. However I have agreed to pay for any extras such as shoes. I'm not getting my hopes up for the audition as I know there are many talented people in my area, but I think the audition experience alone is in my opinion awesome.

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If anyone remembers watching the ENB documentary "Agony and Ecstasy", a dancer called Adeline Kaiser was featured. If I remember rightly she had just had knee surgery, and Derek Deane said that he'd make her do it (the whole dance) "if they weren't here" ("they" being the camera crew/filmmakers). ;-)

 

EYB announced on their Facebook page that Adeline has joined them as a Principal, following Emma's retirement. There is a nice interview with her on their Facebook page.

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The year that they filmed Agony and Ecstasy, Adeline was one of my DD's 'mums' in the Nutcracker party scene. Along with the male dancer she took a shine to (he had to carry her off stage under one arm in the rat scene!), Adeline was absolutely her favourite. She said she's really lovely. She couldn't believe it when Adeline asked her for a photo with her at the end of the run! She really didn't need to do that and not many professionals ever would. I think she's an excellent choice for EYB.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know my question is not according to the topic, but I didn't want to be annoying creating another thread so I hope it's ok to ask it here- but can anyone tell me what the senior auditions are like? I see it's an age range and so i'm not expecting extremely complex allegros however I have herd that the auditions can be tricky. I'm a bit nervous as to being given very complicated exercises, does anyone have an example of what I might expect? 

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Good question! It's a huge age range - 12-18 if I remember rightly. My dd last auditioned a year ago; she had just taken Inter Foundation and there were a couple of steps and sequences that she had never done.

 

Fortunately she picks up steps at lightning speed! Expect a busy stage, some exercises which may be unfamiliar, and give EVERYTHING your best shot. Dominic is very good about demonstrating each exercise, and the lines rotate so that you always get your turn at the front.

 

Try to smile and enjoy the experience - EYB like people who look as if they love dancing, and they especially like people who will give new steps a try. :-)

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Thank you Spanner and Taxi4ballet! 
 

@Spannerandpony that's good news as I often feel my musicality makes up for my technical mistakes, hopefully they will see how much I really do enjoy myself! I tend to get quite nervous and forget to breathe during exercises haha so i'm going to have to try and calm my nerves

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all, just wanted to give an update to anyone who reads this! 

 

Just got back from the audition and I won a place in Swan Lake!! :D :D So happy, as it was not expected at all. Now, I have a few questions (sorry!) I hope someone can help me with!

Okay, so I forgot to include "pointe work" in my audition form when It asked which levels are being studied. Should I ring them to tell them I do pointe work before the casting? This leads me to my next question; when do they decide casting, at the audition? I think I may only have a very small role :/ I wish I could be a swan but I don't think it will be.

Also, which other roles in Swan Lake have pointe work other than the swans? I think I may be cast for character.

 

Thank you!

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Many congratulations! :-))

 

It is a while since my DD did EYB but if I remember correctly the parts are given at the initial casting session so take your pointe shoes with you then, smile, perform and treat it like a second audition.

 

Others will be able to tell you about the parts in Swan Lake but generally dancers have at least two dances and all perform on the finale.

You will have a ball, enjoy! :-)

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Congratulations rubyrubyruby! 9 of my students are currently rehearsing for Swan Lake and having a great time! Just take your pointe shoes to casting and you should hopefully be given a role on pointe. Sorry I don't know what roles there are for older dancers as my students are aged 8-10.

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Well done!

The first rehearsal is the casting and you just need to take your pointe shoes along to that. Everyone who is on pointe gets the chance to show what they can do at the casting so don't worry. You don't need to tell them in advance.

I can promise you that you won't get a very small part - nobody does! Everyone who participates in EYB gets a good amount of time on the stage and everyone is in 2 acts and the finale. It's one of the best things about EYB in my opinion.

Casting depends on what you can do, but also on you size, as obviously the groups need to be made up of similar sized dancers, and you do need to fit the costumes too!

The swan group is big, so if you are an average sized teenager you may well be in that group. The big and small Mariinsky dancers and the 3 princesses were the other groups on pointe when my DD did it, along with some of the courtiers and nursemaids, but there will be some variation from place to place. They change the choreography slightly at each venue to suit the cast.

But whatever part you get, whether on pointe or not, I am sure you will have a lovely time and a great experience.

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You and your parents are in for a treat Ruby Ruby Ruby, this is in my opinion the most spectacular EYB ballet of the lot, especially for girls! The swan scenes are quite breathtaking and there are lots of swans, so fingers x you get your dream role!

 

Flowerdew, i understand your dance school has a fab reputation in the area, so not at all surprised to hear of your 9 pupil success - thats outstanding!!!

 

All best wishes

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  • 1 year later...

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