taxi4ballet

Perhaps some schools don't like their students to enter these competitions because they might not be very successful, and that could affect the standing and prestige of the school.

Dry ice affects me in much the same way and I'm only in the audience! It makes me cough...

I don't know about post-covid times, but certainly when it was my dd's year to audition for upper school, there were definitely a number of people from overseas in her audition group, including someone from the USA - I got chatting to her mum while we waited for them to come out. In any case, if it is mostly students living in the UK who are auditioning in person, do they not deserve equal treatment and get the chance to be seen? Most British dancers do not get the opportunity to compete at YAGP or PdL, as even the full-time vocational schools rarely if ever enter them. And how are non-vocational students ever going to be able to find people to coach them to that level? The training set-up in many overseas countries is different from here, and it really seems to me that British-based students are getting the thin end of the wedge. I have no axe to grind about the present situation by the way, my dd is long out of the vocational training game.

Yes, it would take a lot of preparation to be involved in these competitions, but not everyone is in a position to be given that opportunity. Surely dancers travelling from all over the world to the auditions actually at the school really deserve equal consideration, and to have the AD present at their audition.

How do you lot ever get tickets for these? Whenever I find out about them, they are always completely sold out already.

That's not quite what I meant. What I was trying to say was that on more than one occasion, the RBS AD has been absent from the audtions for his own vocational school because he was attending the Prix instead, and that it is rather odd that the school doesn't rearrange the audition dates so he can actually be there instead of them clashing every year.

I wonder whether the RBS upper school auditions with clash with the Prix again this year...

Auditions usually take the form of a normal ballet class. They will normally let you know whether it is tights or socks, and if pointe shoes are required at the audition or not. You will be given numbers to pin on, so it is better to have a leotard that isn't too strappy or low-cut at the back. Wear clean shoes, but not brand new ones. And don't put a water bottle in the bag on the way to the audition in case it leaks. The main thing is don't big it up into an important event - treat it as a one-off class in lovely surroundings, and if there are any new steps, just give it a go with a smile.

I agree. It is good to know that people are no longer required to deny their heritage and disguise their skin tone isn't it?

I completely agree with you about the wigs. I must also confess that I've always thought the SPF and Prince costumes just a little pale and wishy-washy.

My dd had to leave professional training at the end of the 2nd year due to a career-ending injury, and she received the Level 5. Hope that helps.

Certain UK schools do not enter their students for competitions because (horror of horrors) they might not win, and they can't have their international standing besmirched like that, can they? Anyway, back to your question dizzyalice, a number of the schools and institutions mentioned by others only take students from 16+, and some of those also take older students, who have already done their A-levels. Since your dd is non-vocational at the moment, she can try for a place at 16, but if she's not ready then there is no harm done as she can apply for places like Central, Northern, Rambert and RCS at 18. It would be beneficial if she can do A-levels first to be honest, I wish that's what my dd had done.

Not MDS no, it is for ballet only I believe. Dada funding is for 6th form, and (or at least it was when dd was auditioning) is one pot of money, which is then allocated according to the level of eligibility until the pot runs dry. So some years there will be more students receiving funding, other years there will be fewer. It all depends on how much each student is allocated.

Yes, working at Advanced 1 and for ENBS / RBS then Adv 2 as you are up against world-class international candidates. Slightly different for male candidates, so I've heard, as there are fewer of them.

When going to the audition, don't keep your water bottle in the same bag as your ballet kit! (Didn't happen to us, but to someone at one of dd's auditions - poor girl arrived to find her bag full of water and her leotard and shoes soaked). If you are travelling by air to an audition, take your mini scissors out of your sewing kit and leave them at home, otherwise they will be confiscated by airport security. (This did happen to us, and jolly good scissors they were too). Wear clean shoes, but not brand new ones, wear them in a couple of times first. Don't wear a leotard with a very low-cut back, as you will find it difficult to pin your number on. Don't either join in with (or be disconcerted by) all the competitive stretching in the waiting room. Just warm up a little bit when you arrive, especially if it is a cold day. During the audition, if you go wrong in the middle of an exercise don't stop dead, keep going and go wrong with style.😂 You have to do this on stage, after all.

Achieving a very high level of ballet probably isn't necessary - althought maybe to get to around Intermediate level by 18 would be useful. More important is good teaching, core strength, and solid, ingrained clean technique. Because if you can use your body correctly, then you can ask it to do (safely and without injuring yourself) anything that a contemporary teacher or choreographer might ask of you.

I've watched a few episodes of the BBC young dancer competitions, and all I can say is that when watching the contemporary sections, it is very obvious which of the entrants have had ballet training, and which haven't. They use their bodies quite differently.

The funding for 6th form is by Dance & Drama awards, the information is on their fees and funding page if you scroll down past the fee section.

And how are the disabled and those who struggle with technology going to manage? One of my friends has autism and he refuses to use them. He just can't do it. I went into our local Matalan yesterday and there was one cashier. She spent more time fiddling about with the self-service tills and helping people on those than she would have done if she actually served them. I was exchanging something so had to wait while she did all that. I said to her that I didn't much like them, and she said no, they're not for everyone.

Supermarkets and their never-ending obsession with revamping store layouts. I have just been to buy some macaroni and a pot of cheese pasta sauce (cheaper than using my nice vintage cheddar) and it took me several walks round the entire store to find the dratted things. Just leave things where they are, dammit! Grrrrrr😠

In our area there is a fund administered by trustees which makes one off payments to young people going into higher education. It comes from a trust fund set up over a hundred years ago. There might be something like that in your town or parish too.

Probably not!🤣

I've been chased by a very aggressive hornet, I had to run about 100 yards before it decided I was far enough away from where it didn't want me to be.

I have one leg longer than the other, and it has caused some issues. My osteopath told me that quite often your legs grow at different rates, first one and then the other, and hopefully by the time you finish growing they both end up the same length. It would definitely be worth taking advice now though, so that any potential issues can be investigated.

There are some clips on youtube, but avoid the silly ones that use one of those doughnut things.