Pointetoes

NonDD has been auditions and been offered 2 unconditional University offers to do Music Performance and 3 conditional. She took 2 A levels last summer and is taking 1 this year ( 3 yrs in 6th , I won’t go into that all I will say is it’s been a very tough time for her ) Because of various reasons her A level Music was no where near the grade she was predicated and not the grade most unversities she was applying to wanted, however with grade 8 on 2 instrumental and 2 levels she has over 120 UCAS points which was why 2 universities gave her unconditional offers. She is off to her top choice Huddersfield with an unconditional offer. It’s an amazing situation to be in. My advice is put everything down, your highest dance and/drake and/or Music exams ( grade 6 and over) Those extra points add up and can make a difference in how a university makes their offer to you, especially on courses where you have to audition.

I hope you get the answers and treatment required. Speaking from similar experience, my knee buckled when walking, stairs were avoid as much as possible etc My knee consultant, who was specialist in sporting injuries and who my Physio had recommended ( I use to run long distance, marathons,) wanted to avoid surgery because it’s 50/50 as to whether it works or how long for suggest a personal trainer and to work on core strength. Sounds odd I know, especially as I had good core strength BUT a year later I ran a marathon. It was hard work and at times seemed crazy, touch wood 5 yrs on my knee is as good as ever. I would never have thought of seeing a personal trainer but I am so glad I did. Goid luck

Launch weekend is Move It weekend, not sure that will make a difference to those who want to go.

Only know of yr 10 at Hammond. I think it would have to exceptionally circumstances for yr11 because of GCSEs

What a lovely article

Just to add I have seen seniors who have previously got through ( via reserve list) not get through. They were very shocked but having watched them audition I could understand why.

Let’s hope so, I am confident they will

For each performance there is only one audition, they take 50% from the juniors and the same from seniors but it does depend on how many are audtioning because the cast is maximum of 100 children. Even if there are low on numbers of children auditioning they will still not take about 20% If you get a no you may still get offered a place because they do offer places off the waiting list. If that doesn’t happen it is definitely worth trying again - DD had 2 no’s before she got a yes and her last two auditions she has found herself in the scholarship group. Hope that helps.

We might have one.

Fantastic news

I sat and read all of this yesterday, it took me a while to digest everything. There has been some really good advice on here (as there always is with this forum) please read it properly. In other words don’t read what you want it to say. DD was in a school where she was being bullied by the teacher, it took me time and patience but eventually she agreed to move. HOWEVER the impact on her mental health has been enormous and although she is at vocational school now it still haunts her. My advice is to take a step back. Yes I am sure your daughter has her life mapped out BUT believe me that can all change, she is very young (you may not think so) and their ideas change very quickly. I have a nonDD who literally change her university course choice over night, it has been the right thing for her but I know she isn’t the only teenager to do that. Your daughter is doing an awful lot of dance, as many have said more than children at vocational school. There is simply no rush, no matter where she goes at 16+ or 18+ she will start at the beginning with everyone else, back to basics. As drdance has said with the right teacher technique can be improved but it doesn’t sound like you have the right teacher. If you decide to look for another school my advice is look at where students go on to and at what age ( especially important if that is the direction your daughter ends up goi in) how big are the classes, personally I like the fact that DDs school entered children for exams when they were personal ready not because the whole class was ready or parents thought they should be taking the next exam. Yes that meant we had mixed age groups but I think that worked very well, they all learnt from each other. It isn’t a race, grades like all exams ( GCSE, A levels etc) are all stepping stones and guide lines, there is so much more to dance than taking exams. Above all make sure your dauygter likes the school, the pupils and most importantly the staff, even if you don’t. I appreciate as a parent we only want the best for a children and in the world of dance(and music) it is very easy to get swept along with it. Sometimes the best think is to take a step back and look at what you already have. Regarding EYB , the information you have been given couldn’t be further from the truth. DD is about to do her 5th performance with them and I can promise you children of all shapes and sizes get in. EYB is about performance. Your DD is obviously technically good enough but if she didn’t perform in her audition they will have offered places to not necessarily better dancers but better performers over her. Please let her try again, it is a fantastic experience. This does unfortunately bring me back full circle to the state of her mental health. One final thing....... is this about your daughter or you ? We are all guilty, at some point in our children’s lives of taking complete control and prehaps wanting them to do something we were unable to do during our childhood. Apologies if that sounds harsh. Good luck with everything.

They usually let us know 2-3 weeks before hand, so hopefully next week. And then we will know where rehearsals will be as they are usually at the same place. Just looked at the info we were given at the audition and it says venue tb confirmed, letter sent by January 12th

How funny .......

From memory I think DD was No 9 (senior) she was in the scholarship group. What number were you ?

You won’t know the rehearsals venue until a few weeks before the casting date, so early June - sorry it’s just the way they work. We have casting on either January 30 or 31 but don’t know the venue yet.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I don’t think so, they have asked for arms in 4th so that’s what you should send. They ask for photos in certain positions for reasons plus they want all applicants in the same positions, it makes it easier for them.

This year the angels are first year upper school and the snowflakes are usually first year Royal Ballet. The party girls and boys are Year 8 WL. The gingerbread are yr7 White lodge and when I remember the rest I will tell you.

DD spent 18 months on Grade 6 but did Grade 7 within 6 months and the same with Grade 8. She took her Intermediate in between grade 7 and 8. We were always told Grade 6 is an enormous syllabus compared to grades 7 and 8. Her school put them in for exams when they are ready regardless of others in the class and most of them also do tap, modern, contemporary, commercial and musical theatre. So as already said it does vary from school to school and pupil to pupil. The one thing to remember is is it isn’t a race, grades are stepping stones in life the same way as GCSEs, A levels, Diploma or degrees are.

That’s fantastic news

I know of a girl a few years ago who was incredible ill for her first round WL audition........ she is now very happy at WL

EYB haven’t been but Miss Lewis has her old company perform there in 1992. It’s a lovely theatre. Yes 7 th audition and will be her 5th time performing with them ( first two auditions were a no but she is resilient) 🙂 I spoke to them before hand and they only planned to take 70 in total but you are correct there is normally 100+ at both auditions. There were some very heart broken Juniors, some were inconsolable, which I hadn’t seen before.

Smallest audition DD has done and this was her 7th ! Only 43 BUT the stage and theatre is small so they were only planning a small cast (70 instead of 100)

Snap although we did one very recently

Did anyone audition last night ?

Auditions timings are : Juniors 4:30-6:15pm seniors 6:45-8:15pm I would recommend getting there at least half an hour before the starting time.