amos73

Agreed SarahW, how unpleasant for your DD.

I'd say legs and feet too! IT seems to be what they are preoccupied with at auditions!

Don't think you can send both! I would say work out what the important aspects of the photo are, e.g. turn out of legs, posture, neck/chin angle, arms, and see which photo has more of those aspects looking best?

Yes - when I have raised concerns recently about this matter there are a couple of schools who have been very defensive and then post all sorts of pictures and comments on social media referring to 'haters' and 'jealousy'. 

 

Heaven forbid I might actually be concerned for childrens' wellbeing!

I think I might know this school as it was another one that DD followed but I actually deleted it from her instagram as I thought it was too much! And yes, that is exactly the kind of comments they were putting up.

Just to add, this isn't the school I was referring to in my post above, and neither of these are vocational schools, but they are big dance schools who compete in lots of competitions, not just a little village dance school with one or two classes.

Finally got audition date for Elmhurst through - Tues 19th January. So, will be RBS and Elmhurst in same week!

Exciting, yet nerve-wracking (for me probably more than DD ... )

I can't name names on here Dr Dance but it is quite a big school.

Hard to know Taxi. The child was on a chair, teacher behind, legs raised up in oversplits and the teacher pulling them back behind the line of her body!

Just last night DD was looking at instagram of a dance school in UK and there were clips of a teacher doing what looked like extreme stretches to children - standing behind them and pulling their legs in oversplits behind the line of their body, so much that the children were wincing.

This to me looked dangerous and likely to encourage other young DC to try it if they see a teacher doing it, thinking it must be what they need to do!

Pictures, Karen and Tulip glad to hear that these schools don't encourage it.

I agree Tabitha, flexibility is not the be all and end all when it comes to  dancing, but I do think these kind of photos on social media sites are symptomatic of an aesthetic 'ideal' that does seem to be more and more prevalent in classical ballet, and dancers and aspiring dancers are going to be affected by this 'ideal'.

But what part do the schools have to play in it? Hyper flexibility seems to be more and more what they are looking for too, so not surprising if children want to try and attain it as they think it is necessary to gain a place. 

DDs teacher who is cover teacher at RBS was told that one of the overseas students taken to WL this year was so hypermobile they had previously broken their back?! 

Some photos posted on instagram by students at WL show them in the poses condemned in the article. (My DD follows some of them but not any of the dance mom type accounts).

I don't think it is just 'Dance Moms' type publicity that is affecting it, it is also decisions by the top vocational schools that seem to imply this level of flexibility is required.

DD and I are going to this next Tuesday. Just wondering if anyone else is?

She is group 1 in morning.

What year are you auditioning for amos73?

Year 7 - your DD too?

First audition date through for tring on 2 dec. All starting to feel oddly real now.

Has anyone noticed the photo requirements are different on the main Rbs photo req page to the ones it then asks you to submit whilst filling in the form online? I'm totally confused now and took the photos in advance before- which do I submit? !

No, I haven't seen that. What was the difference?

My DD has narrow feet and Katz fit them really well.

Yes, that was what I was told too Sandsfoot, perhaps it is different if you get a place then they are a little flexible. Not sure if we will do it anyhow with the vocational school audition merry go round this year.

Photos done. Applications in post to Elhurst, Tring and YDA, submitted online to RBS. Let the fingernail biting begin ...

Hi Haggis

Thanks for your insight - perhaps the unofficial line is they will make an allowance for RBS auditions, though the official line in the email reply I got was quite clear that if they weren't able to commit 100% to ALL rehearsals there were other children who would be and therefore it was not fair.

I think you're probably right. We couldn't do it last year because she had Tring CBA on Sundays, but this year she has rehearsals for Nutcracker with YDA most Sundays until Christmas so we didn't stay on at Tring and I thought it would be good to do another performancey type thing on Sundays next term as she does an associates class every Saturday anyway.

But my misgivings were that there was going to be enough on with auditions for four schools etc, so yes, it will be best to focus on auditions and see where we are after all that next year!

Thanks

Thanks for your replies, Anna, Taxi and Janet.

I read back through some of the threads and saw that someone in a previous year had said they would let children miss one rehearsal who are auditioning for vocational schools so thought - ah, perhaps this is a 'thing'. 

Emailed the LCB info address and they said in no uncertain terms that they do not expect anyone to miss any auditions, no matter what.

So, guess that's the end of idea of DD auditioning, lol!

Thinking of auditioning this year (not me, DD, lol!), but have a few questions for any parents who have done it before.

DD is year 6 at school and just beginning the auditions rounds for vocational school . As the rehearsals are all in the Spring term and it looks to be an intensive schedule would this be too much with audition demands? Also, I noticed that prelims for Royal are on Sundays in Jan when there are rehearsals and the registration form says very clearly that you have to be available for all auditions, so we would definitely have to miss one there.

Does anyone have experience of doing it in this academic year, i.e the year their DC were auditioning for vocational lower schools? If so, was it too much with all the auditions as well?

Are they that strict or would it be ok to miss one rehearsal for audition?

Thanks!

I just did and she said either is fine. Wondering though if it wouldn't be best to do bare legs though for the reason you said!

Thanks Anna C. Yes, Elmhurst and RBS specify bare legs and feet for year 7. 

Although I haven't seen it specified but wondering if I have missed something on the website??

Quick question. I can't see anywhere on the Tring application for lower school where it says if the DC should have bare legs and feet or tights and shoes for the photos.

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

Spent 2 hours today filling in application forms for auditions though have yet to broach the photographs. Some want different poses, some you can submit online, others print out and post hard copy ... Give me strength. And we haven't even got to the actual auditions yet.

Congratulations to your DD on being chosen, though it does sound like an awful lot of travelling for you. Fantastic compliment to your dd though that she has been offered a place, whatever you decide.