BlueLou

3 hours ago, Tinks said:

Hi

My 8yr old was a no for associates too, she got to the finals and is grade 2 RAD and just about to take grade 1 IDTA, it’s a long process at our dance school which is frustrating! She has just auditioned for York Dance Scholars and that’s the one she really wants, she loved everything about the audition. 

Good luck with your logistics if you end up with one dd at Northern and one at York Tinks! Both great schemes though, with wonderful teachers. 

If she wants to study dance / MT and not classical ballet there is no rush to go at 16 and I would definitely wait and try again to get an offer from one of her top choices before settling for second best. Some of the top MT colleges don’t even accept under 18s. If she starts the level 3 course she could still audition for a couple of her top choices next year (assuming that they take under 18s), and then quit the BTEC half way through if she gets in. 

8 minutes ago, Dd123 said:

I have been following this topic with interest and have been moved to join the forum in order to ask for your advice. Is it possible that DC can go to Central or RCS when they are 18. 

I know that with ballet it is usual to go to vocational school at 16 - or of course earlier. Does anyone have an advice that they could pass onto me. 

 

With thanks

My impression from the pre-audition talk was that it is very unusual for Central to offer places to 18 year olds, especially girls. I think RCS are a little more flexible with starting age. 

No problem with student finance for BA courses for 16 year olds at Rambert, Central or RCS. 

5 (or possibly 6) of this years 1st years at Rambert were 16 year old boys at the start of the academic year in September, so it’s certainly not uncommon. Most stay in Homestay, at least for the first year. 

Betty Laine loves her ballet, and seems to particularly like the ballet boys. Several grads into Matthew Bourne’s company.

The other one that springs to mind as worth a look is London Studio Centre. 

Ds has been offered a place for Intermediate Associates. Just a word of encouragement - he applied last year and didn’t even make finals, worked hard and tried again this year and now he has a place  

I think York Dance Scholars would be perfect. It was my daughter’s first summer school, and 4 years later it was my son’s first (aged 11 and only been dancing for about a year). When my daughter went for a second time she took a friend who loved to dance but had no wish to be a dancer, and she loved it too. It’s very friendly and inclusive, and they are grouped by ability so the ‘top group’ can stretch the more aspirational dancers, whilst other groups are very suitable for newer or recreational dancers. My son is going again this year. 

Also heard great things about Tutugirl’s summer school, which unfortunately we have never been able to make. 

Hi Addyweese. Both schemes are very good. BB is more ballet focussed, with optional contemporary. YDS is more varied and gives equal weight to ballet, contemporary and jazz, with a 30 minute session of body conditioning as well. So the main reason to choose one over the other would be whether you want to focus more on just ballet or have a variety. It depends on age, but I think you would do about 2.5-3 hours ballet per session with BB, 1-1.5 hours per session with YDS. YDS is 30 sessions per year, BB is fewer (around 20 in London I think, but not sure about other centres). 

It is a bit strange that there is such a big gap between Associate and CAT auditions. You would think it would be helpful for them to know which of the candidates were accepted onto CAT before making Associate offers, so that they make the right number of offers. Another mystery of the audition process!

CAT at Northern is a great scheme, but it is a big commitment. At your daughter’s age, 2 nights a week and all day Saturday, plus lots of holiday intensives (including 3 weeks during summer). They do not look kindly on absences for festivals (although I think you are allowed to ask for a couple of absences for this reason per year, so long as they don’t clash with important rehearsals).

I would say to your daughter - try to be relaxed and enjoy the audition. There is very little you can do about the outcome now, so just go in there and do your best - whatever will be will be. My daughter was an Associate. She applied for CAT but was turned down. The next year she was offered a place on CAT. She did 2 years on the programme and loved it  .

Feel free to pm me if you want.

Good luck! 

My dd always enjoyed festivals. We only did about 3 or 4 a year. Some schools do a lot more, but I don’t think we would have looked forward to them as much if they had been more frequent. She made lots of friends there and loved the whole thing of costumes and make-up and performing. There are usually separate sections for novices, and at that age several of the novices in the section will be nervous, forget bits or get bits wrong, so I wouldn’t worry about it. I would suggest arriving a couple of hours early if you can so that you daughter can watch some other sections and get a feel for how it works. As Tinks said, if she gets the bug it can become expensive - check out Ebay or ScottishBalletMum’s Facebook page for second hand costumes! Good luck!

On 14 March 2019 at 15:27, Jan McNulty said:

 

I decided that I didn't need to know who the different children (and their spouses) were apart from mature and young Beatrice.  I decided I really didn't need to know who all the politicians were.  I did need to know Victoria, both Beatrices, John Brown (easily identifiable because he wears a kilt), Liko, Albert and possibly her Mum were.  They carry the thread of the drama and the rest are just left to the imagination.

 

Same here! I identified the ‘key players’ and so followed the gist of the plot, and for the rest I just enjoyed the glorious dancing. 

The various duets, trios and solos were fabulous, but I would have liked a really exciting group piece and I think it lacked that.

It’s a small thing, but I did really like the effect of the curtain swishing across the stage to separate scenes. 

David Nixon’s farewell speech was lovely - a fitting tribute without being too syrupy.  

10 minutes ago, sunrise81 said:

Does anyone know about the lesson times for NB CAT as will be looking at this next year. I work full time so need to think carefully about the demands for this.

It depends on the level - which is loosely linked to age. Also, it is individualised to a certain extent. Last year I think most of the younger ones did 2 evenings (not Tuesdays or Fridays), and all day Saturday. For the older ones they do various combinations of nights depending on their strengths - e.g. some do Fridays, some don’t. But that could well change.  The other thing to consider is the holiday intensives, which are pretty much compulsory - 3 weeks in summer, a few days at Easter, plus a couple of days during other October and Feb half terms I think. And extra rehearsals on Fridays and Sundays in the run up to the annual show. It is an excellent programme, but it is big commitment! 

3 minutes ago, Tinks said:

That’s great news! I’m just worrying ( and hopefully overthinking it) but someone earlier in the post said their DS had a recall for intermediate, so I’m thinking are they doing the yes pile first 😂

May be in the order the auditions happened last weekend?? My Ds audition was 10.30am. 

I guess they are all different. Northern Ballet CATs have a 100% success rate. Last year there were 7 graduates - 2 got into Central, 1 to ENBS, 1 to Elmhurst, 1 to Rambert, and 2 to NBS. Between them they also had offers from RCS, Tring and Laine. 

Results emails are coming out! Ds has made it through to finals for intermediate associates and been offered a summer school place  . 

Unlikely, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility. You are more likely to be interviewed or checked by the physio. 

Northern ballet associates get a written report once a year. As I recall, scores out out 5 for lots of things like ‘musicality’, ‘phsique’, ‘flexibility’, etc etc, plus a couple of sentences. Ballet Boost similar - scores, an overall grade and a few sentences. 

I think the main part of the prelim lasted about 2 and a half hours. In addition, there was a talk beforehand and some people were asked to perform solos or have physio checks or interviews after the audition. 

Tips - this is only guesswork really, but I got the impression that they look for dancers who stand out as individuals. I would go bold with the solo rather than playing safe - try to be original, strong and vibrant. Dance big and fill the space.  At finals there is a creativity exercise - creativity is important at Rambert. If interviewed, be confident - it’s not a place for shy shrinking violets. 

Good luck🍀!

5 minutes ago, Lifeisgood said:

How many normally go to finals at rcs? I’d be interested to know how the ballet compares to that of the northern ballet course? Thanks 

Given the number of prelims, I was surprised by how few there were at RCS finals. From memory  I think only about 35 in total. 

33 minutes ago, Lifeisgood said:

Hmm as I thought may be case making it too late catch train for finals next day! Some of these finals seem so close together this year. 

Last year we had Central 24th and 25th, Rambert 26th, RCS 27th and 28th March. We were not alone! The long journey from Rambert up to Glasgow was the worst bit. We made the train I’d booked from King’s Cross by the skin of our teeth and I think we got to our hotel in Glasgow at about 10pm! Fortunately dd’s physio appointment was in the afternoon on 27th. 

Good luck with it all! 

57 minutes ago, Lifeisgood said:

Anyone do rcs finals last year? Is it over 2 days and you need to be there for both days? 

Thanks 

Last year it covered 2 days - physio and interview on day 1; classes, talk and tour on day 2. 

2 hours ago, tutugirl said:

Well I’m delighted that my former pupil has made it to the final 5 !

She is now at Tring !

Joined by a girl from ENB and a boy and a girl from Royal Conservatoire .

No idea who the 5 th one is but congratulations to them all 

tutugirl 

I believe there is a girl from Central in the final.

40 minutes ago, Luckyshoes said:

Update , I watched the ballet semi final at Sadlers Wells last night and had a wonderful evening. Some beautiful performances both ballet and contemporary. Representatives from Elmhurst, Central , ENB, ballet West and KS Dance.

I was a little surprised to see only 2 out of the 14 semi - finalists were boys.

I don’t envy the judges picking the final line up of 5 !! 

Do you happen to know how many men there were in the Contemporary semi-final? I believe there were 3 from Rambert. 

23 minutes ago, ArucariaBallerina said:

….. I just feel very down-trodden. Am I just not good enough? Am I just not tall enough? It's so so hard …..

Now is not the time for doubts and despair! You have to keep going - give every audition your best shot and your biggest smile and believe that you belong there. When all is said and done (for this cycle of auditions anyway), then you can review the situation and decide what to do next. But while you’re in the middle of it, you’ve just got to stay on the roller-coaster and sparkle all the way!

Very best of luck to you Arucaria, and Merry Christmas to you too  

Northern Ballet have announced the dates of their free open days, including one that is just for boys. 

https://northernballet.com/academy/open-days?fbclid=IwAR24kOgBgPwshXYMnGqZVd9s10G32WJ7qn4nVodZBFdrz5XaSBmLlhPzzHw

Northern School of Contemporary Dance also have a CAT scheme, which is linked to the Northern Ballet CAT scheme. This in itself causes some confusion because they are not in the same building (several miles apart), but Northern Ballet do share a building with Phoenix, who also have a contemporary dance academy but which is not linked to Northern Ballet