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Flora

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  1. Flora
    Good grief taxi4ballet. So the school is materially funded by the UK taxpayer but the head sees no reason to attend the first stage of scouting UK talent. And sees no reason to be in sell mode with parents who will have to work their socks off to pay up to potentially all of the fees and entrust pastoral care and academic education of their children. It's not the commercial world is it this?!!
  2. Flora
    It was the same last year I gather. It seems to be intentional to schedule the London Upper School prelim on the same day as the Prix de Lausanne with the result the artistic director can't attend. Not an issue for dancers with an automatic pass to finals but a bit depressing for everyone else.
  3. Flora
    Funnily enough I had a very different and worse account from my daughter which was that the panel didn't bother to even look at a large number of dancers after the initial line up to look at bodies after they came in and the school's director wasn't even there. She found it rude that the panel did not make the effort to watch every dancer dance. If that is the case I agree with her - after all the Royal is good at taking on other people's dancers and getting rid of their own work- watching the dancer and the efforts of another trainer seems reasonable given the fortune the school makes every year from all the young hopefuls. If that is really not possible perhaps the approach overseas of only being called for audition if the school likes the photos or the video is better
  4. Flora
    Not yet- we still have a few days to respond.
  5. Flora
    So useful to hear this. My DD has a Northern offer too. It is such a relief to know she can continue her training next year even if she does not succeed with any of her other choices. For parents going through this next year my advice would be to apply to a range of schools. My son got his last choice of secondary school and in retrospect we realised his last choice should have been his first. It has been amazing. As for Northern decent training good pastoral care and a job at the end- what more can you ask for really?
  6. Flora
    Thank you!
  7. Flora
    Or rather out from 1 March?
  8. Flora
    Sorry where was it announced decisions by 1 March? The website I thought said four weeks after closing
  9. Flora
    We too enjoyed it and I thought the teachers were lovely in class and it is certainly relaxing. Things which were perhaps not quite so great/mean my DD would not want to go back: - per hour of dance, this summer school works out very expensive. You are paying for a holiday really. On at least one of the days there is a trip out, so only one class on that day. If your DD is year 7 there will probably be more than enough dance though. - obviously Morocco is not the safest ever tourist destination in common with a lot of the countries in N Africa, although it is very heavily policed and it is not as if the terrorism risk is zero in the UK. - the roads are dangerous. It is a very long and rather hairy road trip from the airport. - setting is beautiful but it is a charming and rustic (albeit v large) family home. Don't expect a five star hotel or five star hotel service (it is not 5* price but mention this anyway). - there are lots of creepy crawlies which my DD struggled with at night and the solar panel electricity supply (therefore hot water) is a bit hit and miss for some of the rooms. - the girls are certainly not over indulged on the food front: you might want to take a few extra healthy snacks in the bag if you decide to go. Adults are fed more but you probably won't put on weight and don't expect a choice of food. If you need sugar there is plenty of wine!
  10. Flora
    You just cannot tell with RBS - or any audition for any school for that matter. My DD did her first ever audition at 12. The panel was looking and smiling at her/pointing her out to each other and she heard them say how good she was. She came out thinking she had danced well and it had gone really well and she must surely have a place. But of course, when the results came out, the shock and upset of no place! She re-auditioned a later year- no panel attention whatsoever and wasn't sure she had danced well- but was given a place. I'd also try not to think about the MAs you saw with perfect feet, super skinny and stretchy legs. No idea about the current RBS MAs, but over the years many MAs who are auditioning for WL will already have tried but not succeeded in getting a WL place at 11 and will be trying for a second or even third time, having been turned down before. So don't give up: you never know and even if it is a no you can always re-audition or find another just as decent place to train. RBS does not have all the best teachers.
  11. Flora
    DD is auditioning too but I am bracing myself quietly. She is only applying to highly competitive schools (her choice, not mine). She is through to Elmhurst finals so we're going to have to wait until March, if not much later, to work out where she will be heading. Such a ghastly process!
  12. Flora
    Yes true- rugby results in quite serious injuries sometimes. I gather there is a sort of internal system of enforcement managed by the RFU under the "laws of the game".
  13. Flora
    Goodness I would be hopping mad if this was done to my DD. Smacking to leave anything like an enduring mark or pain is not just assault but actual bodily harm. If the mark is transient or trifling it is assault. Both are in any event a criminal offence. Totally disgraceful.
  14. Flora
    Just managed to book two tickets for tomorrow night with Alina Cojocaru as Clara. So thrilled!
  15. Flora
    Well maybe but it is still sad for UK girls who desperately want a school with a pure classical focus but for whatever reason - perhaps just that they are exhausted with GCSEs and controlled assessments- don't quite have what it takes to compete internationally at 15 or 16. Fraid I'm also not convinced by the "it's hugely competitive and international so may as well get used to that sooner rather than later" argument when you also sometimes read articles bemoaning the dearth of really good female dancers and esp lack of UK talent. Perhaps there is a gap in the market for a pure classical school at 16 which is not quite so competitive. There are other schools besides RBS ENBS and Elmhurst but how many are really solidly classical training?
  16. Flora
    Isn't this also to identify the children of professional dancers
  17. Flora
    DD through to finals for Upper School in March. She is over the moon.
  18. Flora
    We have Elmhurst US next week and the rest in the New Year. DD will be gutted if she gets nothing and has to give up and go to Sixth Form.
  19. Flora

    Pre-audition rest

    Flora replied to Flora's topic in Doing Dance

    DD auditions are mid Jan so she will need to do classes but we have to work out how many
  20. Flora
    I have no idea how much rest is advisable before the January audition season for a Yr 11 voc student i.e. over Christmas hols- is the answer none, some, lots or it depends on the dancer and if they finish the autumn term tired or not?
  21. Flora
    I guess RBS is tempting because they sometimes pick off other schools' dancers at SS (the cynic in me would say, having got bored of some of their own) so it is still a chance to get in to the school and that's really what you pay all those fees for.
  22. Flora
    Thanks Harwel
  23. Flora
    Yes: ENBS seem to take about one UK girl a year- maybe slightly more. By comparison at POB only really French girls will have the French ballet qualifications they require unless lucky enough to be selected from an international competition
  24. Flora
    Does anyone know please how many hours of classical ballet Yr 1 upper school students do at Northern Ballet School, Tring, Ballet West and Central? Many thanks
  25. Flora
    I have mixed views on this as a parent with a vocational DD going through the system. Surely if there is a bad crop of UK talent one year then ballet is an international art form and you have to maintain standards - so you need to trawl for talent overseas. In any case, better for the UK students who do not make the grade to know earlier rather than later. On the other hand, one or two of the top schools (arguably not Elmhurst though) seem to need to fill their upper school places year after year almost exclusively from overseas students. That does make you wonder if it's not just a bad crop and something is going wrong somewhere at 11-16....
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