Pas de Quatre

But surely it is the DaDas that should be offered in order of merit.  What you say, mum in a spin, seems to assume that there is an all or nothing approach to being able to afford fees without DaDas - exactly what we are upset about with the new scheme.  I have always believed that there are many parents in the middle range who would make huge sacrifices to pay if they aren't awarded a DaDa, but would be mightily relieved if they were.  It becomes quite a difficult decision over what to put on the application form, whether you can afford to attend without any help or not!

Was typing at the same time as you Ribbons.

It would be lovely to think that places and DaDas are always awarded strictly on merit according to the published criteria.  However, audition panels are human and it would not surprise me if sometimes it is too great a temptation to offer someone a place without a DaDa, knowing they can pay, and then offer the DaDa to someone further down the list to increase numbers!

Edited for grammar

A very interesting read - so many parallels with the dance world.  Thanks for posting it Stirrups.

An easy mistake - Central School of Drama has nothing to do with the ballet school, and I believe pre-dates it.

dd  was auditioning for 6th form entry in 2009 and we had to submit income then before the DaDa audition at Tring, so it is nothing new.  They did indeed say that DaDa funding would be by merit with income being the tie-breaker if two candidates were equal. 

I wish everyone the best of luck, whether auditioning for a contract or for 6th form.  Both are tough and it seems to get harder every year.  Ian does have a valid point though - there are simply too many graduates chasing too few jobs.  Sometimes I think it might be better to be have to re-evalue at 6th form level, with the possibility of a change of direction, rather than spend three years training with no prospect of success at the end.

Only that it has an excellent reputation!

As I understand it, this is aimed at "Dance" which is usually more contemporary based e.g. as in GCSE & A-level, rather than "Classical Ballet" which is one specialised area. 

Congratulations!  Annoying how dates work out isn't it?  The first year my dd was an MA we waited to hear from RBS summer school, she didn't get a place but by then everywhere else was full.  As so few Brits are offered places, (approx 10%) we never bothered again and always went elsewhere - Wells Weeks, YBS, Ballet Cymru, Central etc.  My opinion would be go for Prague!

Actually - I understand that it is hyper-flexibility that is one of the concerns, so those with sway back knees and high arches will be checked out by the physio to see if they have enough strength, or whether they will be too prone to injuries to follow vocational training.

Fingers crossed - I'm sure she'll get a place. 

Seeing the schedule some of dd's sporting friends had at school we found ballet to be very family friendly! Amongst the worst seemed to be swimmers & divers, poolside at 5am several days a week coupled with weekends all over the place for competitions. 

Agree with hfbrew - I have had a couple of pupils there in the fairly recent past and was very pleased with the way they progressed.  Both had been mid associates with RBS but didn't get SA.  I don't have anyone there at present, but don't think anything has changed, so would thoroughly recommend it.

I would have thought Grishkos would be better.  Have you tried the Grishko 2007 as well as the Vaganova?  Bloch Suprimas might suit her too, have you tried these?

Prizes for 15 & 16 year olds are a year's training at one of the schools, older winners are awarded an apprenticeship.  There is a list of the schools and companies who offer this and the winners have a month to decide where they would like to go.  This year's winners' choices will be published soon.  All the competitors are competing against each other at the Prix, it is not divided into two competitions, but the candidate's age determines what they are offered. 

It is because in some places they ask them to remove their socks so they can actually see the bare feet.

"There is a shortage of boys in ballet, and not just in Russia"... It was this sweeping statement that I was referring to.

If the child has caught "dance fever", then yes it is worth it.  However, I am not sure how accurate the article is overall.  One point leapt out at me - they say there is a shortage of boys, yet at Prix de Lausanne a few days ago there were more boys than girls in the final and everyone was saying how male dancers are really coming into their own these days!

http://www.welshballet.co.uk/news/riverfront-summer-dance-form-2013/

This is a link to the Ballet Cymru site.  The course is in Newport, Wales.  Easily accessible by car or train from London.  They have excellent summer schools at different levels.  DD and some of her Vocational school friends have done this in previous years.

The main problem you have with UK schools is that your daughter is due to go back to start at her school just before the British (English & Welsh) schools break up.  It might be worth looking at some of the Scottish schools - Ballet West & Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to see if their dates fit better, as Scottish summer holidays are earlier than the rest of UK.

Edited to add second paragraph

Unless they've changed it, minimum level for Prague is one year full time vocational training at Senior school i.e. for your dd it is the first year she would be able to apply.   So the standard is very high and there are also young professionals in their 20s who take part.  I think it would be more challenging than any of the UK summer schools.  The disadvantage of course is comparative cost, but it would give you a better view of the situation in Europe and she would hear first hand from other students & teachers what is going on, make international friends etc. which can be useful for when she wants to start auditioning in 3rd year.

It was one we considered for dd, but she ended up going elsewhere.  It has an excellent reputation - teacher friends have had pupils there and say it is wonderful.

This is information that parents and teachers should take on board.  A generation ago, graduates from UK schools who didn't get offered a contract in UK would usually manage to find work in Europe, Germany & France being the main destinations.

In the meantime many European schools have been established and are now turning out enough graduates to fulfil their own needs with the rest competing for any other jobs.   Add to this the Eastern European  countries who have joined the EU and their excellent ballet schools, and you can see why there is a surplus of classical ballet graduates.  This then feeds back to some of the other threads - how many classical dancers should the UK be training?

No Spanner, not Prix de Lausanne, they have had candidates at the Adeline Genée which is the RAD's competition.  Does anyone know what the funding arrangements are currently as Ballet West is now an HND course and no longer a degree course.  There doesn't seem to be any mention of fees or funding on their website at present.

Tring have auditioned in Japan for many years now, this is not anything new.  I think it is moving onto dangerous ground to imply that the dancers whose parents can afford to pay are less talented than those who need funding.

These schools may be cheaper, but they are very hard to get into - think RBS and ENB for the standard and competition for places!