Waitingmum

2 hours ago, dizzyalice said:

I’m new to this forum, hi!!

I’ve just received the email about Elmhurst finals still taking place but I’m worried it’s not classed as essential travel. My daughter and I were meant to be travelling by train, now I’m thinking of driving just to avoid public transport. What about those who can’t attend because they are in self isolation - do you think they would get another audition date? It’s all very up in the air, isn’t it and I’m sure that there will be those who will not be able to travel, due to self-isolation, where does that leave them? Corona virus is getting very scary and causing all sorts of mayhem 😢

If you email them they will send you the specific video information they require for finals and they are very happy to have this rather than you attend. 

12 minutes ago, valentina said:

The difference in quality of teaching at a certain establishment between boys and girls is obvious to all.  Hence the reason for most  boys going through the school and graduating into upper school. Nothing to do with hours.

I’ve always thought this was more a numbers game. There are many more girls dancing than boys so many more to choose from if you only want the best? Also shape, etc is slightly less of an issue for majority of boys as they have not finished growing so they give more the benefit of the doubt than they do girls?

10 hours ago, SissonneDoublee said:

I suppose in a way it’s like an internal promotion at work... you have more time to prove that you are what they want, but also more time to prove that you are not! I think at some schools their own lower school students go directly through to finals, but they will take the dancers they want from the auditions without any priority given to their own.

Do lower school students receive tailored audition preparation in the same way that JAs do for WL auditions? Or do they go in blind like all the other candidates?

They go in blind

On 28/02/2020 at 23:40, Tutumuchmum said:

Thank you , Sounds like a tough ride for girls . Does the school give preference to their own home grown students that they’ve had from JA through to white lodge ? Does seem like quite a small number to be taken into the upper school. Especially when students give up so much to train there . 

No preference given to own students, the only benefit is guarantee of an actual audition. Often it is foreign students brought into year 10 that get offers for upper school.  If you are successful then you may only complete 2 years and be assessed out before the 3rd and final year and from the 3rd year only a few will get offers for the company apprenticeship scheme. Each year this equates to only 1 or 2 Original JAs in upper school. 

At White Lodge probably just over 1/2 girls get through all 5 years. The school believes that they give warnings in their marking at assessment times but many parents still feel that it comes as a bit of a shock. 
The majority of boys make it to Upper School but probably only around a 1/4-1/3 of girls get into Upper School. 
Parents vary in their opinion of what level of support they give when assessed out - I think they do try but it is always a difficult time especially if you weren’t expecting it. 
I can’t comment on Elmhurst. 
It is a roller coaster of a journey, you just have to hang on and try and enjoy it what ever happens!!

8 hours ago, RuthE said:

 

We had a few of them in the Marquis of Anglesey with their parents watching the remaining 3 hours of Wimbledon men's singles final, too!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the RBS performance yesterday, though having seen one of the Holland Park "predominantly Upper School" shows, was *slightly* disappointed that with the exception of the solo piece, the Paquita Mazurka for the youngest students, and of course the grand defile, it was effectively the same show.  However, with much of the principal casting different except in Simple Symphony, there wasn't really that much sense of repetition.  I echo the thoughts of those above who complimented Untied, Undone.

 

I was struck by how much better Simple Symphony looked on the ROH stage; at Holland Park without the lit backdrop, the costumes looked lurid, but with the correct background lighting it was much easier on the eye. And I was glad to see La Valse repeated on the ROH stage, as at Holland Park (which has no curtains) the ending just doesn't work.

 

As an aside, there was one White Lodge dancer not in any featured role who consistently caught my eye as I thought she had a characterful face and radiated personality.  She was in Bottega and then ended up at the front of the line of Year 10 girls at the end of the grand defile.  I'll look out for her again next year!

I shall pass your message on about the Year 10 girl - my DD will be thrilled to hear your lovely words!!

9 hours ago, ballet4429 said:

I watched both Saturday matinee and Wednesday evening at the Linbury Theatre and there were some cross over of pieces. It was fascinating to watch the pieces in different settings (some worked , some didn’t). I’m interested in how the casting works. For instance Wednesday evening the show was stolen by one performer in a contemporary/ neo- classical piece but that performer was noticeably missing on Saturday matinee and the piece lost its impact. Do the school showcase all students as par for the course or is the show run as a ballet company would be? I understand they are students in training but I’m interested in how casting works at that level? Are we, as ticket purchasers watching everyone or an elite few? 

The school usually has 2-3 casts rehearsed so that all students are able to perform in something. This is one of the few chances that parents get to watch their children dance so they do try to ensure that each student is in at least one of the performances. 

Sometimes aesthetic marks can change as they get older as no one in year 7 looks the same as they will when older. For many schools the aesthetic mark is much more than just appearance. My daughters has changed significantly over the years so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. 

Also I would encourage them not to share marks - my daughters group never has, better for them. She has a long way to go from year 7 so don’t let her start worrying about marks yet, they will all have different strengths and weaknesses. 

39 minutes ago, Newbiemum said:

Does anyone have an advice re homesickness . Is it better to bring them home to break it up or better to make them brave it out and settle . 

Personally I think it is very dependent on each child and family. My daughter suffered from homesickness when she went away in Year 7, now in Year 10. She came home nearly every weekend as she said she could cope with the thought of a week but not 2 or 3. Also it is so full on at school she needed the down time at weekends to be able to cope otherwise she could never fully relax. 

Go with your instinct and what your child thinks he/she needs, I am sure if you ask they will be rationalise their thoughts. My DD certainly could and often said despite the homesickness, she still wanted to be at school more but this didn’t stop her feeling bad. 

By the first Christmas homesickness had massively improved for us, I hope it will for you too. Good luck 

Does he still really want to do ballet - even a vocational school is not the only route to achieving this? As you say his mental health is the most important issue. 

Can he sit with you when he is next home and write out all the pros and cons of either decision - may help him make his mind up?

So hard at this age. X

I would agree it is an amazing experience and definitely set my dd off on the road of wanting to take ballet seriously. I didn't know Miss Lewis did private assessments but I do know she had a go at my dd's ballet teachers for not putting her forward to RB associate programme!!!

4 years later my dd is at WL, despite my protestations!!!

Also know of one dd who has been told she has to wait until York scholarships have been handed out to find out if she has one from London audition. 

I was thinking that - they must divide the scholarships between the 2 locations?!

Is it safe to say that the letters received tomorrow will be no letters?

I know of a year 7 'no' letter

I get the impression from reading this Forum that once you are "in" White Lodge, that's when the real pressure starts. Is it really that stressful and competitive there?

My DD loves it there, has fantastic opportunities and dance experiences, has some amazing friends and they are all so incredibly supportive of each other, not competitive between themselves. They are worked incredibly hard as one would expect at their level but most thrive on it. Assessments are stressful because they want it so much but there are so many reasons that they won't all make it and age 11 is so young to make these life long decisions about what they want to do, things change, some within their control and others not.

My DD sometimes worries about not having a plan B - her older sister hasn't even got a plan A!!

In shock to say my DD is one of the 2 JA girls from Eastleigh...

There are 2 girls and 2 boys with yes emails from our centre.

Those that have followed my story will know that we started this road with a "no" email from RB in yr4... So just goes to show it really does just mean "not yet"

Please don't let your lovely DC give up :x

Well done to your DD - funnily enough that is exactly what happened to my DD and she is now in year 8 WL. So many things change along the way - a girl came into Year 8 this year who had a no in Year 7 and I know a girl coming into Year 9 who also didn't get into Year 7. It all changes again as they get older and develop more - so although with nos don't give up x

There are a couple of girls who have been offered Year 8 as well.

Apologies just realised that I wrote Year 8 - I meant into Year 9 ☺️

The longer it goes on the more I have convinced myself it's a definite no. Totally talked myself out of the idea that she'll be offered a place! So would be genuinely in shock if she does (but she won't!). Too many girls there for anyone who has any kind of weakness to stand a chance and I believe my daughter probably isn't flexible enough. I remember seeing a couple of JAs a few years ago who subsequently went on to being offered a place at WL showing amazing flexibility. My daughter is flexible but they were like rubber. Would anyone with WL experience second that extreme flexibility is right at top of priorities for the panel?

They look for natural turnout and some degree of flexibility but not amazing flexibility as this can be developed. My dd was certainly not in the amazing category when she got in 2 years ago!!

It is a balance of so many things that they look for that you could go mad trying to understand why some get in and others don't. Different shapes, flexibility, looks, experience, technique, etc, etc .... I'm still not sure ????

There are a couple of girls who have been offered Year 8 as well.

High grades and winning competitions is not necessarily what RBS is looking for. In my DD's year there was a huge range of previous experience from those that had done all of this to those that had done very little and had only been dancing for a short time.

Also remember this is not the only route to success!

I do remember how nerve wracking the auditions and the subsequent waiting was - I feel for you all!!

Would love to tell you it gets better but not sure it does! ????

Has anybody heard approximately how many girls are auditioning for y7 places tomorrow/Saturday? There's a mum at Bath JAs who seems to know all this type of info through her JA teacher! Makes no difference of course but would be good to prepare DD if there are going to be 60 girls there.

The girls already at WL have been told 50-60 girls which is why it is running over 2 days but don't ever quote them!!!

Has anybody heard approximately how many girls are auditioning for y7 places tomorrow/Saturday? There's a mum at Bath JAs who seems to know all this type of info through her JA teacher! Makes no difference of course but would be good to prepare DD if there are going to be 60 girls there.

The girls already at WL have been told 50-60 girls which is why it is running over 2 days but don't ever quote them!!!

Not sure they have asked WL students if they wish to attend yet, they automatically get a place if they wish to go, well that use to be what happened.

WL students had to apply the same time as everyone else, however they have had their places confirmed now.

Absolutely- it makes no difference whether they are in the call back if they get a yes in the end. Sometimes they get called back because the panel didn't quite seem them do something and they want to check before making a decision.

Once in no one takes any notice of whether in the call back or a straight yes - they are all on a level playing field and straight back to basics!!

2 years ago the final auditions for WL was on a Friday and we got the offer email on the Monday!!