MAK

Another batch is due at the end of the week - I had to contact EYB about our empty envelope (as to be expected, a lovely response) and was advised this.

Just watched the one we did receive - soooo good and emotional all over again 😂

2 minutes ago, Jay Jay said:

Oh no! How disappointing. 

I hope it was just a question of it not being sealed properly and falling out - I hate to think of someone actually taking something from a package clearly marked for the attention of the parent of a child.

Fingers crossed everyone else receives theirs safely!

A bit gutted - ordered two copies to be sent to our address - the first arrived yesterday (not had the chance to watch yet) but the second was sent separately and has been tampered with so all we have received is an empty padded envelope (inside a clear bag from Royal Mail stating that it looks like something is wrong with the package). Hopefully EYB will replace the missing item as the claims cover provided by Royal Mail doesn't even cover the cost of the DVD

Nothing here yet

7 hours ago, Confuddled said:

Thanks, that’s so helpful!

 

So if they come straight out, is that a definite ‘no’? But if their number is called to stay it’s a ‘got through to the next stage’? I have a dd who likes to know exactly how things will work and gets stressed if she doesn’t...

 They all come out of the room, but only some get invited back in! 

Just one addition - it's probably obvious but the Finals invitations have tended to be issued a week or so after the second of the "first" auditions - so if you are in the October audition it will be nearer to two weeks after the audition that you'll hear if your dc has been invited to Finals, whereas only a week if you've been to the November audition (again caveat being this is based on previous years' experience). Plus emails go out in batches so if you have a few auditioning from the same dance school you might not all hear on the same day. (We had this even within our own family last year where both DDs had been recalled on Day One, but did not hear at the same time about whether they were invited to Finals (one was and one wasn't)).

Central is offering a number of one day courses, details on the website.

ENBS is doing an Autumn intensive from 22nd-26th October for 14-16 year olds.

Fingers crossed 😊

5 minutes ago, Number11 said:

I think they may change it this year. Last year they are a lot fewer people in certain age groups auditioning so they may group some age groups together to lessen or shorten the auditioning days. I emailed them to ask as I have 2 children auditioning 2 years apart and would love to only go once not 2 weeks running!!! 😂 Obviously if I have to then of course its fine 🤣

If they are two years' apart they would go on the same day even with the old system 😊

Unless they change it this year, 9, 11 and 13 year olds (as of 1st Jan 2019) will audition on 28th Oct and 10, 12 and 14 year olds on 4th Nov. Not sure about boys. That is based on previous years though!

Hello

I can't answer the question on the audition date - as you say, this is a new process - but we heard about 4 weeks after the close of applications, so on this basis I would expect to hear by the end of March.

I have always found them really helpful and it may be that there is a glitch on the website regarding dates etc. so maybe email them, I expect they want to make it as straightforward as possible to apply 😊

1 hour ago, Nicola H said:

 fiz were you  in Lincs in the 1980s ?   when  8 pointing  under your car  was  standard practice  in some places  because even if you  were a civvies, your neighbours  and school friends were likely service families ...

Definitely didn't happen in the part of Lincolnshire I lived in during the 1980s but it's true I wasn't that close to Cranwell, Waddington etc.

Anyway, going back to the original post, I hope if the OP comes to the UK there will be a wealth of dance opportunities for her dd. Does the Academy of Balletic Arts train dancers of this age? Another to add to the list maybe?

2 hours ago, ArucariaBallerina said:

I'm absolutely loving EYB rehearsals at the moment (I have to say ballet class is amazing too - it's meant to be a warm up, but they give so many meaningful corrections! I'm getting consecutive triple pirouettes again, phew!) 

 

Tickets aren't selling enough though, so if any of you lovely forum members would like to come to watch Sleeping Beauty (Aurora's Wedding) and Ballet Etudes in Carlisle on 21/22 September you would be very welcome! ❤️

Wish we were nearer, I hope you have a wonderful time. Funnily enough my two daughters also felt their pirouettes improved a lot from the ballet classes prior to Wimbledon last weekend.

Good luck! 🍀😊

My two absolutely loved the whole experience. I feel very privileged to have seen the performance, it was beautiful and so lovely to see all those young dancers enjoying themselves!

Hope everyone has a fantastic opening night !🍀😊

It's lovely to see so many dance schools supporting their dancers and publicising the event on their social media platforms. I thought the invitation to Principals and their guests to attend drinks in the interval and meet Miss Lewis was really nice too. Very impressed with the whole experience so far and looking forward to the "sneak preview" on Friday. 

I think the summer holidays and Bank Holiday weekend are real obstacles. We have bought 14 tickets so far between family and friends but will try to find other takers that are not on holiday. (My own Facebook pleas are starting to sound a bit desperate now though 😱).

As an aside, just checking people have seen the photographs from rehearsals posted on Facebook yesterday? How lovely that the Cygnets had the opportunity to perform in costume at the shopping centre too!

1 minute ago, KeepDancing!! said:

 

I remember reading on here that this year there were 2 girls from original Y7 cohort of 12 who had received the full 5 yrs training at white lodge were taken into US this year, along with a few girls who had joined for y10 or y11 having been recruited from abroad. 

 

I think the thing some people have been complaining about is that the students recruited from abroad are more advanced and have trained more intensively as they are homeschooled and do 5/6 hours a day of ballet, at least the competition winners who have in previous years been recruited.

We've just been at ENBS summer school, where the participants mostly came from overseas (DD1 absolutely loved it and would really like to go back for more courses). I cannot pretend to know whether one dancer was "better"/"more able" than another - I'm just a mum and I don't have a dance background or any technical knowledge - but it was certainly the case that 12-14 year olds from overseas were clearly experienced at more advanced "moves" than I have seen in more UK based classes e.g. Associates etc. This was particularly the case with their Pointe work - something that has been mentioned above. 

Good to hear. I have a little/Russian Marinsky and a swan and they are really enjoying their first EYB experience so far 😊

17 minutes ago, RuthE said:

 

How on earth can that work, logistically? I can understand if they offered "first two weeks" or "last two weeks", but surely one can't pick weeks 2&3 (or indeed, two non-consecutive weeks) as they would end up with the wrong number of students...

I'm sure they'll manage numbers though based on preferences expressed during the application process. This year, for the week DD1 attended, there were just over 80 students in total, and another 166 still on the waiting list at the time they closed it shortly before the course. 

It's obviously a new process for next year and they must have their reasons for introducing it but I can certainly see how it won't work for everyone.

DD1 would love to go again but she hasn't tried any of the other options yet so we'll have to see.

20 minutes ago, Mnemo said:

ENBS has never been residential. We were lucky in that we could commute in every day when my dd attended. 4 weeks staying in London could get very expensive and I am sure it will deter some applicants. A shame because its a fabulous ss.

Very true. The two week option is still available so may well be favoured by many for that reason. We got the impression that most of the dancers who had travelled (the majority in attendance) were doing two weeks this year. Dh did remark along the lines of: "just imagine how much dd would improve if she did a whole four consecutive weeks there" which I could not disagree with (although in practise I can't really see it happening for a number of reasons). The tuition we observed was exceptional.

I believe they can assist in finding accommodation but it's not like some of the "properly" residential courses where you can stay on site.

So DD1 really enjoyed her week at ENBS summer school last week and its international ethos. We really enjoyed watching three classes on Friday too.

For anyone interested in auditioning for next year there have been a few changes as follows:

Entry is by audition (either live or video)

There is no longer a one week option. Students are recommended to attend for four weeks but there is also an option to attend for two weeks (any two of the four). 

The Repertoire performance at the end is only for those students who have attended for all four weeks.

There are also one week courses running in Autumn and Spring (application by photograph and form).