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Lifeafterballet

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Everything posted by Lifeafterballet

  1. This happened to my daughter in the March of her graduate year with a European ballet company. Just before the first lockdown. Then they telephoned her out of the blue in the October to ask if she was still available, only to later say that they were unable to offer her a contract again due to going into another lockdown. It’s like being dangled on a piece of string and the hope keeps you in the game for longer than you should be. It’s soul destroying. Employment laws don’t seem to apply to the ballet world at all.
  2. Hello. I don’t have any experience of the summer workshop to share but I go to Tallinn very regularly to see my son who lives there. It is a beautiful city. Very safe with lots to do and excellent public transport. The Opera House is stunning. I have seen many performances, watched company class in the studio and had a tour. Most Estonians speak English so communication isn’t usually a problem. Summer is a lovely time of year and there is a fabulous beach at Pirita, a scooters ride away from the Old Town.
  3. The burning question is though, are the trainees parents paying for the privilege of their children dancing with the company ? I had two children graduate back to back and wouldn’t have been able to afford for even one to dance with a company that charged them 😢
  4. OMG 😦 Over €15,000 How can this be classed as a company position for a graduate. Its so sad that some companies take advantage of graduates 😢
  5. My Ds started ballet aged 12 and was non vocational when he auditioned for Elmhurst US. At 16 he made finals but got a no. He was very raw and petite. He went to his local high school to do A levels and did a year as an RBS SA. He reapplied at 17 and was successful. An extra year can make a lot of difference. There is no rush for boys I feel. He trained for 3 years and has been professional for 5 now. I’m sat at Gatwick currently waiting for a flight to go and watch him dance 🤣 Just stay calm, what will be will be. Luck plays a huge part in auditions and success. And the reality isn’t all we dream it will be.
  6. My son has danced in both the US and Europe and has never had to have a medical for a visa 😅 Is this a new thing ?
  7. I’m pleased your daughter had a good experience. Did she get to see the actual studios and theatre ? My daughter’s audition was held there and not at a hired venue. It was also January, so there were no outside cafes, or people really 🤣 Perhaps the place livens up at different times of the year. The very best of luck to your daughter with her auditions ☺️
  8. Hi Derin’s Mom, If you google Houston Ballet Academy Fees and go to the Professional program you will see the tuition costs for Professional 1 and 2 and HB2. $8,200 per year for HB2. Then scroll down and you can see all the additional costs like accommodation etc. You are right that it is part of the academy. They dance in the same studios as the other levels. I believe the students get the opportunity to dance with the company as students in U.K. ballet schools do but i bet like RB, BRB and ENB they don’t pay them. They do mention a stipend payment. My son’s US junior company gave him a stipend payment which worked out at $1,000 per month. He couldn’t live financially independent with this. And this was pre pandemic. But there were no tuition fees to pay like there is at HB2. If your child has completed ballet training and graduated then this will be another 2 years of training and money on top with no guarantee of employment. Having experienced my son dancing in the US with the very short seasons, visas, insurance and not being paid all year round I personally wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. Its so hard. Especially when our children have completed their training and just want to continue to dance. Wishing you the very best of luck with your choices x
  9. Just Ballet have one for hire. My daughter wore it for YAGP, it was very lovely.
  10. Fascinating reading on mirrors in the ballet studio. Thank you ☺️ But why do all UK ballet schools have them on every wall ?
  11. It doesn’t have to be your GP. One of our Consultant colleagues did my children’s medical for vocational school 😄
  12. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I though that the DaDa auditions had to be conducted in one audition 🤔 I remember one of Dd friends having a very serious injury before the DaDa audition and being told that because she couldn’t attend she couldn’t be considered. She could be offered a place but not the funding.
  13. 🤣🤣 Im not very good with X and don’t like TikTok but the rest I'm ok with. I sent a funny Pug gif to my daughter once, she likes Pugs, and ever since then my Instagram feed has been flooded with the things 🤣 Same with ballet, I don’t follow all these Instagram ballet dancers or job advertisements, they just pop up. It’s really hard to get rid of them. Need to find another interest 🤣
  14. I think it’s essential to have all forms of social media when job hunting. The difficult part is getting rid of ballet from your feeds when you have moved on 😅
  15. My Ds did GCSE and AS Dance at his College before going to vocational ballet school at 17. We had the opportunity to watch them perform their own choreography one evening at the school before it was assessed. Out of all the ballet / dance I have seen at Dd and Ds’s vocational school I think I enjoyed that evening the most. There was no anxieties, no fear, no competition, just pure love, passion and expression in a supportive and non judgmental environment. The students were all so raw and natural. My son did a beautiful piece to the music from Sam Smiths Writings on the Wall. We were allowed to film from the audience. I still have it on my phone 🥰 I’ve just watched a clip on Instagram that his company has shared of him dancing a pas de deux and the music and the piece reminds me of that evening.
  16. My two graduate children both did invited auditions and individual auditions within company class in the US and Europe. The company class ones were I feel the ones with the most likelihood of getting a contract. Ds got his first contract from an invited large audition and his second from being invited to join company class after the season had started. Dd flew to the US for a week and managed to squeeze in 3 auditions, all in the same state but that still required an internal flight. She did that solo at 19. Planning is key. Getting in as many as you can in one trip, being cheeky and asking for company class. Dd got offers of a trainee, not paid, and a contract in her rounds. All just before Covid. She attended Houston Ballet Academy on a short term offer from YAGP and didn’t like it. The standard of their senior students was very high and the teaching was excellent but it was Houston itself and the lack of freedom, not getting to go outside much that she didn’t like. There were a lot of restrictions on students for their safety. Ds was in a Studio Company in the US for a season, cut short by Covid. It was very expensive. The visa, the flights, deposit for an apartment, health insurance, transport etc etc He got paid $1,000 per month. But not over Christmas when they were closed. The season is August to May and then it’s off you go home with no income for 3 months to reapply for your visa again and start the paying out. His European contract is paid all year round. He’s been lucky in that it has paid enough for him to survive on and he hasn’t had to leave due to a visa expiring. It’s a minefield. But you learn quickly. Especially when you have to do it twice like we did 😅 Never again 🤣
  17. https://news.sky.com/story/lancashire-ballet-dancer-dies-after-eating-mislabelled-cookie-in-us-13056475 💔 A collection for Allergy UK has been set up in Orla’s name for those wishing to support this very important charity x
  18. Wasn’t it 12 institutions that the journalist said were being looked into ? Sharing your experiences on here, good and bad, could be the first time you realise that you are not alone. And this could empower others to come forward and demand change. Moderators, you are doing a great job, but there won’t be many schools left to discuss on this forum soon 😞 It’s a sad world we live in.
  19. OMG 😦 they take 5 year olds for an 8 day course. Is it only me that is shocked by this?
  20. €280 to enter before you have paid for flights, hotel, transport and food 😏 7 ADs, 2 from the U.K. who will hold their own separate auditions too. Neither of my children attended events like this as I don’t believe them to be as selective as they make out ££££. I would personally feel uncomfortable in my child taking a contract with a company in a country that they had never visited. I think you have to get a feel for a place. We flew to one company that looked fantastic on the website and Instagram account but was a hell hole and even if it was the only offer my child got they would say no. on the other hand I hear Split is very nice 😊
  21. My son started ballet at 12. Danced locally and did a weekly associate program til he went to vocational ballet school at 17. Survived the 3 years of that 😅 and has been a professional ballet dancer for the past 5 years. In our experience, boys can start training later than girls. Schools seem to see potential in the older ones and want to invest. He was also very lucky that his senior school friends were very supportive of his dancing so didn’t experience the bullying as your son sadly did.
  22. My son’s European Ballet company to my knowledge haven’t held auditions since pre pandemic. They advertise, for men only, and invite to take company class. The AD watches and then has a meeting after the class to discuss whether they are going to be made an offer. If successful it is later confirmed by email. This was how my son got his contract. The corps and apprentice female dancers are mainly employed from the school apart from one or two that I can think of. There are very few boys in the school. I quite like the fact that they employ their locally trained students and wish that U.K. companies could give U.K. trained students more opportunities.
  23. I’m sorry I can’t give you exact numbers but the studio was full. A lot of the dancers had been at the Hungarian National audition a couple of weeks before too. That one was heaving. Ds felt a bit overwhelmed as that was his first ever audition and he got swallowed up in the masses. At Dutch National he made a plan to push himself to the front and he got asked to stay back. Confidence is key. You will find that you get to see the same people at all the auditions until they get what they want and stop attending. My Ds was the only one from his school invited to the Dutch National audition, apart from 2 girls who were invited via YAGP. There were lots from ENBS doing the rounds. Not many from RBS, I recall, perhaps they get to audition privately 🤔 In our experience that happens a lot, so how many is in the room isn’t really a good indicator of what you are up against. Well done to your Dd. Hope she enjoys the class and gets some free time to explore Amsterdam. Both my Ds and Dd enjoyed visiting the different countries even if the outcome wasn’t what they would have hoped for 😊
  24. He verbally accepted but as I recall they sent the offer by email afterwards with more details about funding and accommodation etc. I remember the ones who were helpful and courteous as a-lot aren’t. He was in the US for less than a year. Returned home early due to the pandemic and then secured a contract with a European ballet company where he has been for the past 4 seasons. He has been very lucky to have had the opportunity to dance professionally. Sadly, many graduates never get that 😢
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