afab

That's the way it is in France (POB & National Conservatoire) and Germany (Stuttgart, Hamburg...). No tuition fees and one pays only for boarding and not much at that...

DrDance, as we live in France, apart from POB where it is a full time boarding school, the other schools are vocational in the sense they have an agreement with normal academic schools where kids study half the day and then they go and dance for the rest of the day in their vocational school. No boarding, one has to find a host family or another solution. Our DDs were in one of those vocational schools.

I have to add that when our daughters were told they had to change school to get better, they were in a renown vocational school! They left to go to a small local school before they were at the level to go to better vocational schools! Local doesn't necessarily mean less good! In our part of the world, it actually meant better! Edited to add that most parents in the first vocational school believe we thought we were better than everybody else and didn't understand our choice... We tried to explain and finally gave up...

Our 2 eldest DD did a summer school in the UK once about 4 years ago, their first, a small one, no audition but in one big vocational school... At the end of the 3 days, the head came to talk to me and cleverly but not straightforwardly asked the question of their dancing and what they wanted to do with it. When I told her they both wanted to be dancers, her attitude changed and she told me very straightforwardly they had potential and we had to find a better school for them, one that pushed them more with better teaching or it would be too late. She even said it might be difficult for them to get into a vocational school because of bad habits they had already developed. They were then 12 and 10. We followed her advice, were immensely grateful she gave it to us. Their dancing grew so much with the new school. They both applied to Tring the year after, both got in. For financial reasons, they ended up not going but now DD1 is in a musical vocational school in Paris and DD2 is following suit in a ballet vocational school in Paris in September. The best bit of advice we ever got! And I discovered this forum just after...

Classes are 90 min. in France and school finishes at 4.30 for the youngest and often 5.30 at the start of secondary school if not later at the end of secondary school and kids still attend. My non vocational daughters finish dance at 8.30 twice a week and 7.30 every other day of the week... Then there is school work and lots of it as it's the French way! Edited to add: By the way, I completely relate to what Anjuli said... And also shows are planned and rehearsed to a very high level in 2 weeks in DD1 school and they are wonderful! Everything has been covered along the year...

No but would love to hear more about it... Good luck to your DD!

Very interesting! Thank you Pastel!

Gosh! How depressing as I always feel chubby in those mirrors! So the reality is even worse...

Seriously New posters with more attitude than knowledge, can you get down your high horses!

I find it very very annoying, having read the whole thread, to see people who want to help and are maybe not always as diplomatic about it as one could hope but nevertheless very honest about who gets picked by the top schools of the world, vilipended and judged that way by another poster... Nobody's been unkind once, they have been informative. Selection is hard and we cannot do anything about it. Only the excellent ones will be picked by RBS, POBS, Hamburg, Princess Grace Academy, the Bolshoi, etc. I have to say I am the mother of non excellent DDs, good enough for top schools but not excellent enough for the very top and knowing that helps me caring for them and supporting them. Your attitude, balletmum16, has also been to take everything personally and the wrong way... and now accusing people of "vitriol and unpleasantness" among others so I won't be missing your attitude once you leave the forum. If this forum ceases to be honest at the same time as supportive, it doesn't have any reason to exist and wouldn't be useful to anyone.

For us it would have been easy to hop over the Channel but not so easy when you live farther away!

I don't actually think it is the case in every country... Never heard of it in Germany for example. At POB you need a Paris contact in case of illness but you need it also for French kids with parents not living in Paris... When our DDs were offered places in Tring, there was no question of that either even though we live abroad.

For the Hamburg school, you have to either speak German, or go to a special German course the first year before joining the German academic school the year after or else go to the international school (very pricey!) unless you're over 16 and you can stop school altogether... Home schooling is not allowed... That's what the head of studies told me a couple of months ago.

I would like to point out that given their recent results at Lausanne for example, Princess Grace Academy is definitely not second grade to RBS. Have a look at their recent footage on youtube, the students are absolutely amazing! Edited to add I hope what I say didn't get into the "you said" category, Julie! If so, I'm sorry...

Definitely LinMM! Here's the English description: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/les-artistes/l-ecole-de-danse/admissions/plus-de-13-ans

LinMM, I called them trainees for lack of a better word. They are kids who didn't get into the school because they are either too old or slightly not good enough (even though very good) and they are offered a year's training but they have to pay. They are not considered as " belonging" to the school even though they have classes with the students and they cannot apply to POB jobs in the internal auditions. POB has internal auditions for the school students and these auditions come first and if the theatre doesn't find what they want, they organize external auditions open to non POB students. So the trainees can only stay a short time and also audition externally. I hope I'm being clear...

Just to answer about France to people who don't know, top state schools i.e. POB, CNSM are free for students accepted in the school whatever their nationality (at least EU students). One only pays for boarding. Trainees at POB though have to pay fees but they are not technically students of the school...

Interesting point Melody! One of DD1's French friend just got offered a contract in the US which is truly fantastic for him as he deserves it but one wonders about how and why since I'm sure there are dozens of fantastic American dancers around...

There is Centre du Marais, very old building though but lots and lots of classes and big timetable. I always found it overrated but some people swear by it... And there is Rick Odums for contemporary and jazz. 54 rue de Clichy, 75009 Paris. My favourite one though is Centre des Arts Vivants, 11 rue Bréguet, 75011 Paris. It's a fantastic place full of dancers of all sorts. If you go online, you'll see their timetable. Lots of jazz and contemporary classes of different levels and styles, Horton, Graham, tap, Modern... With an amazing Ballet teacher, Dimitra Karagiannopoulou, she's a Bolshoi trained dancer and teaches Vaganova. She's very precise and strict when it comes to technique but also funny and caring and always trying to get the best out of students. She teaches an Advanced class early afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays and an Intermediate one on Tuesday evening and Thursday morning. She has a Professional class also at Rick Odums on Fridays. Hope it helps!

Oh! That's where we had our wedding night so many years ago...

macnatt, are you not n in the EU? It changes the rules for funding if you are... I'm quite sure you know that but just in case, I thought I'd let you know...

Congratulations to your DD, Pastel! It's wonderful!

The Rose and Crown was lovely. Unfortunately it has been turned into a retirement home...

In most of the schools I know abroad, the results are given on the day. I have to say I quite like it and there are so many "nos" compared to "yesses" that one doesn't feel as bad getting a "no"... When alone at home in front of a letter or an email, it's difficult not to feel that one is much worse than the other applicants...

I'm very interested too as we will be in the same situation next year...