BellaF

On 08/02/2021 at 18:45, Clarabelle said:

Hi everyone,

I’m new on here and hoping someone can help with a Q, maybe someone who has already been through it hopefully! So we got the letter on Saturday to say she’s gained a place on the performance foundation junior course and she’s been invited to Audition for funding, stating she will take part in a modern class and deliver song and monologue, now does she just do what she’s already sent in or is it better to do new ones? I’ve emailed the school to ask and they have said it’s up to her, either do the same or new, I’m wondering what people have  done previously? I know this seems to be mostly about the kids who have applied for the dance course but hoping someone here has some knowledge on this? Has anyone else on here got a yes for the performance course? 

well done to all the kids who have gained a place for 2021 x

Sorry don't have any advice to offer but well done to your DD for getting an offer! 

22 minutes ago, Twinkletoes22 said:

To be honest, I think she’s gone backwards since the lockdown because all her lessons are on zoom and she’s had very little studio classes - probably the same as everyone else. But I’ll do them again. I was interested in what everyone else was considering doing. Thank you! X

I suppose you could always do them again and send to her teacher who could decide which was better, even from isolation.

Good luck with it all! 

5 minutes ago, Twinkletoes22 said:

Can I ask whether you would use the same photos and videos as you submitted last year?  Our teacher is shielding and she took our pictures for us last year but not the video - I did that myself (with the guinea pigs chuntering in the background!). 

Do you think your DC has improved in the period since the videos/photos were taken? Did they get SWL?

I think I'd be tempted to redo if it isn't too much of a hassle.

Just now, Waverley said:

Sorry if I’m misunderstanding but presumably there was a risk last year that some children would practise before hand anyway? Even if the videos were emailed out rather than made publicly available? I doubt it matters anyway as they know what they’re looking for... 

 

 

Yes videos could have been viewed before and I remember some people on here convinced that lots had (and got places). I certainly know of a few dancers who followed the rules and were successful so wonder how much of a difference it makes. Agree RBS are looking for potential rather than a polished performance.

I wonder how much watching the videos before would actually help? The exercises are VERY basic, if not just standing in positions/stretches. I suppose the improv section could be rehearsed but even then it would be clear if a dancer was not responding to the music for the first time.

8 hours ago, cotes du rhone ! said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-QUQ-g1L6/?igshid=17m4kbt6vfdz4

A friend whose daughter is final year US also raves about MBS. DD was booked on Easter and Summer last year until the obvious happened 😪 Think Easter will almost certain be written off now but really hope summer goes ahead, not just for us but for the lovely person who runs it.

18 minutes ago, Millicent said:

The website says that dancers shouldn't practice beforehand:

 

Please do not practice the Junior Associates video audition parts before filming. 

 

I am surprised though that they have just published it on their website for anyone to view, rather than sending a specific link by email like they did last year. 

I wonder how that will that will work in practice... even if dancers don't rehearse the videos beforehand I can imagine teachers watching them and 'training' towards them in some cases which is quite different. I suppose though teachers who regularly have children audition for the programme already have a good idea of what will be asked. 

8 minutes ago, Exhausteddancemum said:

It’s the same video as last time though isn’t it so huge cost, photos, no actual audition experience and more exhausting videos to record! Was really looking forward to trying again this year with my 8 year old but both of us feel pretty despondent at the video experience again!

Yes exactly the same! Lots and lots of stories of people who successfully audition after a no so keep that in mind. And also that there were less places than usual last year.

Good luck to everyone applying this year!

Interesting that they're not bothered about about children rehearsing beforehand, in contrast to 2020 auditions where they were very strict about not viewing ahead of filiming.

So glad RBS have taken the decision already to conduct via video even if just preliminaries to avoid the looooooong process of last year. Everything crossed for you all 😊

3 hours ago, drdance said:

Hi,

 

A good tip for this is practicing sliding into splits then bending the back leg with the shin vertical and foot pointing up to the ceiling. If the hips are open, the dancer will find this very difficult. It requires more flexibility in the front of the hip on the back leg. A dancer who has a good second position / box splits but tighter hip flexors/ilopsoas will find that they naturally want to twist

 

Thank you so much - this is really helpful! 

Just after a bit of advice. My DD has had (a form!) of all her splits for a while but has noticed that her hips are 'open' in front splits - any tips for rectifying this? She's tried for a little while to slide into them keeping her hips square but has not seen much progress this way. 

Guessing getting her alignment right is pretty important? Thanks 😊

Has anyone heard of any musical theatre results? A friend’s child applied for both MT and dance courses but is still waiting for news. 

13 minutes ago, Mum of unicorn dancer said:

Congratulations. We got postman visit too and I am in shock - it is yes for DD with invite to funding audition. We opted for non bording as living about 45 minutes train journey away. 

So nice to hear good news on here with everything that's happening at the moment 😊 Well done to your DD!

Well done to your DD! Amazing news!

I'm not 100% but a friend's experience was similar a few years back - think boarding places are confirmed after funding audition. Hopefully someone better informed will be along soon 😊

@spamcat agree it seems very unfair to August born children who will be auditioning alongside current year 5s who are eligible. As I understand, there are other programmes, whilst not as prestigious, offer really good training ahead of audition (or any other) year.

DD will be at Malvern this summer (covid dependant 🤞).

Is there any advantage to attending an intensive if you are planning to try for WL? Hadn't really considered it for DD. Worry they might not like what they see and discount her before audition even happens 😂

11 minutes ago, Whiteduvet said:

Silly question but if the closing dates have passed why is there an open day? Or have the closing dates not passed yet?? 

I've just looked at the website and some courses are still open to applications (including Junior Dance which I thought had passed).

Thanks both, that's really helpful 😊

What does the means testing look at? Just income or does it look at other assets like property or company assets? Note that funding drops off completely after a certain amount. A place at any of the schools is a long shot but not sure we could afford to send DD anyway looking at the calculator. 

52 minutes ago, ponklemum said:

I think they’re all going to have a variety of videos this year. One of my ds videos is of him dancing whilst avoiding the chair and Xmas tree 😂🙈

😂

I suspect schools will be very forgiving!

47 minutes ago, Raquelle said:

I'm relieved I can't see how long the videos have been viewed as I know i would overthink, but I wonder if they're just checking the links work now? Also I remember from the JA analysis of their videos you could never tell from the views whether people were successful....I'm sure someone got in and they only viewed it gor a very short amount of time...xxx

That might have been my DD. Spent weeks worrying that our JA videos had only been watched for less than 3 minutes (out of 35 or so minutes total) and still got a place 😊 Worth saying that others with multiple, longer views were also successful - you really can't tell that much. 

Feel for everyone doing 'big' auditions this year. Have everything crossed it's good news for you all in a few weeks... and that finals can take place in an actual studio!

7 hours ago, NJH said:

I can see  some  teachers being  dubious aobut some of the ' Associate'  schemes that  pop up but equally  when you look at the  Quality of some of the teacher  involved with associates not affiliated  with  a  VocationaSchool or Company, they are not to be sniffed  at... 

I'm only a recent newcomer to all this but entirely agree with the above. My DD is an associate of 3 of the biggest vocational schools (though only starts one in January) but I would say gets the most from a fourth scheme which is unparalleled in terms of personal feedback/corrections etc. In fact I know of lots of other JAs who travel a distance on a Sunday to attend too! 

Would also echo others recommending a performance based opportunities - we did Midland Theatre Ballet for a year which was just lovely and turned DD onto to applying for associates. 

I think there are some available on the ROH site now! Well there was when I looked a few minutes ago x

15 hours ago, Spamcat said:

Thank you that is lovely to read. It makes me sad because my DD really is such a beautiful dancer. Her musicality is wonderful, she is graceful and she has this amazing ability to watch a dance/routine once and just perform it. But I know that her body is just not that classical ballet shape and we can't change that. I'm sure she has a future in dance of some sort and she is so passionate about it. Who knows what the future holds! 🥰

This really shows the limits of the JA audition - even more so in a video year! Not much chance to show off musicality etc but thankfully that changes further up the years. Sure your DD will get to wherever she wants in the future, she sounds a lovely dancer.

1 hour ago, Millicent said:

Well done to the yeses!

 

@BellaF that makes me wonder if the analytics aren't actually very accurate as I'd be so surprised they would give out a yes after having watched less than 10% of the audition. So pleased for you.

Could well be the case - YouTube Studio showed all 3 videos viewed briefly the day after submission, then video 1 for less than a minute last week which does seem strange. 

One thing that is clear is that you really can't read into the number of (estimated) views - judging from here there is no pattern!

10 minutes ago, Balletbow said:

Oh really? My daughter is SWL,  so hoping someone in group 3 doesn’t take up a place lol - didn’t know if they had a cut off point for responses. Mind you, I think there’s only 4 places going at Eastleigh so it’s be unlikely! X

I'd imagine they'd chase for a response if they haven't heard after a while... super well done to your DD getting SWL, huge achievement especially given the very few places 😊