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Ruby Foo

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  1. Ruby Foo
    I don’t know how far you have to travel or which center you are auditioning at, but I would recommend doing a very good warm up at home and some stretching afterwards. Then wrap up warm to travel. Some of the warm up rooms are very cramped, Manchester for example, and full of nervous mums too - impossible to find any space to do anything! London is more spacious. There was very little warm up in the audition and they went into stretches very quickly. Also, remain calm and focused and look beautiful, plain leotard in flattering colour with reasonably high cut leg line and clean, comfortable shoes that flatter the feet. Lovely neat hair with a small matching ribbon is good.Best of Luck to your Dd.
  2. Ruby Foo
    If it’s any help, there is a HUGE range of height difference in the year groups at White Lodge (13-15 yrs) from extremely teeny weeny to extremely tall. At that age there is still time for growth though so don’t think it’s very helpful to you.
  3. Ruby Foo
    Sorry, just to add - there is some quite advanced pointe work during the course. My daughter is the same age and found it challenged her at times despite having been on pointe for 2 yrs and at vocational school.
  4. Ruby Foo
    You will really need to speak to the teaching staff regarding the pointe work. They may be willing to let her do the more basic exercises at the barre but not the centre work. I am sure, once you manage to make contact, they will be willing to assess on the first couple of days. I have always found it easier to make contact by phone and ask for Colette Murray. Whatever answer you get, I would also remind them at registration on the first day of the course so that everyone is quite sure of what is happening.
  5. Ruby Foo
    Even if you have been through a full training at RBS and followed through with a career in a company, it doesn’t mean you will be a great teacher. Being a good teacher takes specialty teacher training and that special ‘gift’ of teaching which many dancers simply don’t have.
  6. Ruby Foo
    About time too!!
  7. Ruby Foo
    Found this article very confusing! Have always believed that teachers who use unqualified students to teach the youngest students are making a huge mistake as those tiny tots are the most challenging in many ways. However, teachers in the article are complaining that they have received young children who have little or no technique due to being taught by unqualified students.This is completely contradictory! Young children should not be trying to master technique! Developing musicality, storytelling through movement and a sense of poise is the way to go with small dancers. It is not until a child is around 8yrs old that their brain maturity can begin to understand the complex nature of the classical technique.
  8. Ruby Foo
    Totally agree with Tutugirl. The classical tuition is very good indeed. Both boys and girls, over the years have been accepted into RBS upper school and ENB. Both winners of Phyllis Bedells last year were from Tring.
  9. Ruby Foo
    It really depends on the QUALITY of training your Dd receives from her local dance school rather than the quantity. Are there lots of older students at her school who are doing very well in exams/ associate schemes? I remember reading a few years ago about a girl in UK who got a place at RBS upper school ( incredible achievement) by taking private lessons each night. It was, however, with a world renowned teacher. You would also need reassurance that more lessons/ private lessons could be added as time went on. Associates, whoever they’re with, are always just a compliment to weekly lessons. DSS do their training after school and finish late. The difference then is that the academic homework is tailored to the training. Does your Dd manage the homework easily or does she struggle to fit it all in? The homework only gets heavier the older they get. Also, there is no wasted time travelling to and from classes. The big plus for opting for SB must surely be that she comes home every night and all the benefits that has!
  10. Ruby Foo
    Tring is a very happy, vibrant school. The accommodation is not the best, but with the new building work taking place, should improve. Academics are good with lots of enthusiastic teachers. Good Luck!
  11. Ruby Foo
    Sorry, forgot to mention a short jazz/ stretching class after the ballet.
  12. Ruby Foo
    Be nicely groomed. Miss Rist is a stickler for clean shoes and neat hair. There’s a short talk by the Directors. Then a tour of the school. Miss Rist usually speaks to each dancer individually about where they have traveled from and how many classes they do. Ballet class, solo ( you can add a skirt or belt to your ballet leotard), lunch - the food is good at Tring, then short academic test done on computer. It’s a lovely day and the dancers all come out smiling.
  13. Ruby Foo
    Not sure why they put so many on wait list when so few places actually become available. But even if a place doesn’t materialise it does mean that they are still interested and your photos will be recorded for future auditions/ intensives. As we’ve heard before on this forum, dancers have been turned down for summer school and gone on to get a full time place at White Lodge or been lucky with future intensives.
  14. Ruby Foo
    If you can download some ‘ music for ballet class’ from i tunes, it will usually tell you if a piece is 2/4, 4/4 12/8. etc. By listening to the music over and over, you will get to familiarise yourself with the different time signatures and the phrasing and style. You could also check out some classes on ‘ you tube ‘ such as Royal Ballet on World Ballet Day and notice how the teacher counts through the exercises. Usually, dancers count in threes for time signatures with multiples of 3’s - 3/4, 6/8,12/8. So, 1&a 2&a 3&a... up to 8&a, It makes a nice continuous feeling like little circles if you do them with your finger. The heavy beat is usually the 1st beat of the bar( but that can sometimes change depending) For 2/4, 4/4 - dancers would count 1&2&3&4... up to 8. It is a more decisive beat and can best be described by moving your finger straight up and down in a straight line. Apologies for the very basic explanation but it’s a very complex question!! The counting usually becomes intrinsic to the dancer, but is more conscious for the teacher/ choreographer. You may not be interested in ballet, but it’s a good place to start as all styles follow a similar pattern.
  15. Ruby Foo
    I don’t know how old you are, Aixsta, but just thinking in terms of sad and happy ( smile or no smile) is fairly bland and won’t necessarily bring maturity to the piece. Sadness and happiness are made up of many emotions, so by researching what these actually are and what they mean to you personally, and through the words and music, will bring a greater depth and emotion. Goid Luck.
  16. Ruby Foo
    My Dd got a place at Summer School from wait list. Email came at the end of May.
  17. Ruby Foo
    I was going to repeat my earlier post that providing your shoes are clean and neat ( not new!) then it’s really the dancing that takes priority, and it’s common sense to wear the ones that show you off at your best. However, I also think that Newbiemum makes a really good point regarding the fitting in element, especially at Royal, where I remember Mr Powney making a point of looking for students who would fit in easily to the year group they are auditioning for. Obviously, the technical/ artistic ability of the student would take priority... but every detail helps. Knowing a student is working comfortably in soft blocks might be an added bonus.
  18. Ruby Foo
    Most people wear flats as far as I’m aware. The mid- associates auditioning for White Lodge would certainly be wearing flats. Don’t think it would matter one jot though as long as they’re very clean and neat.Just wear the ones she’s most comfortable in and make her feet look nice.
  19. Ruby Foo
    Well done for making finals! I’ve followed your posts for a while and you sound a very dedicated young dancer so I’m really pleased for you. Your height may be an issue for some schools and not a problem for others- they all look and see things differently, so try not to fixate on it. All you need is one offer of a chance at full time training. It may not be your 1st choice of school or even your 3rd or 4th but it will open your world to new teachers and new opportunities. From there, if you think intelligently, you can begin to work towards something different if you wish. Very best of luck.
  20. Ruby Foo
    My Dd is the same age and did ENBS last year. The classical tuition is extremely good with lots of corrections given. My only criticism would be the class sizes which were very large indeed. I counted 44 girls in the class at the end of the week which we were invited to watch. This was the result of joining 2 groups together which didn’t happen every day, but did on several occasions. On that particular day there was hardly enough room for them all at the barre despite the lovely spacious studio. Think they are having a huge reorganisation this year so hopefully smaller sets. My Dd would still choose to go anyway as the teaching was top notch.
  21. Ruby Foo
    We too, are having a ballet free Christmas! Going to enjoy every minute!
  22. Ruby Foo
    Lots of MA’s were never JA’s ( mine included) so don’t worry about that. It can be a little daunting at the audition seeing all the JA’s in their leotards but important to keep focused and warm up sensibly without looking around at others. Be confident and enjoy!
  23. Ruby Foo
    I’m glad you’ve found a school that’s a better fit. In my opinion Gr1 is the most important grade and it seems odd that a school would skip it! Just can’t stress enough how important it is to get the basics right from the very beginning. As others have mentioned already, it is very difficult to go back and put things right once the work has become more challenging. A good teacher, who is prepared to go very slowly, despite the parental pressures of exams, shows etc is the best decision any parent can make. Focusing on perfect posture and learning how the legs rotate correctly from the hips, correct use of the feet, together with nuturing musicality, drama and fun, will stand your Dd in good stead, even if she only ever does it for fun.
  24. Ruby Foo
    A dancer friend of mine, who sadly had to quit the ballet world due to injury, retrained as a sports/ dance physio and ended up working with the Olympic team. Many re- train as teachers( wide spectrum from vocational schools to private coaching to community projects) or teaching dance at gcse/ A level. Some go into theatre or television work both as performers or behind the scenes. Another dancer friend ended up in the production team at BBC. Some go down the sports psychology route or go to university to re- train completely - expensive but otherwise relatively easy these days.
  25. Ruby Foo
    It’s a great starting point for you and your Dd that you have been to ballets and appreciate the sublimeness ( not a proper word, but who cares😂) and exquisiteness of ballet. However, as you don’t have a technical background and from where you are standing right now, at the very beginning, you probably can’t begin to imagine the hours and hours and years and years of complete slog and dedication that lie ahead in trying to achieve the impossible, crazy perfection that one must achieve to become a professional. It is truly admirable that anyone makes it at all! At the end of the day, although I can’t speak for everyone, most dancers ( but certainly not all) feel amazingly privileged to have been part of that unique art even if it did come at a price. I know I certainly do!
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