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Probably a silly question but do JAs automatically move up to MAs or do they also have to audition or pass an assessment or similar? 

Congratulations to all those who’ve had good news! To those of you who got a yes, just out of interest did they watch the entire audition video? 

3 hours ago, Londonballetmum said:

Our video has been watched twice as well on the 31st of March. I don't feel very optimistic because it's hardly been watched at all. My daughter is only 7 and hasn't auditioned before so I knew this would be a long shot. I am more upset at the personal effort that it required of me to put the video together for only 10% of it to be viewed. 

I think this is the nature of auditions sadly, they probably know more or less within the first minutes of watching. Some intensives only require a few photos and they base the entire decision on this. I don’t think you can jump to any conclusions at this stage, you may well get a yes. 

Nerve racking, isn’t it. This is the first year our youngest DC is trying, it’s so different to do this virtually. 

Can I ask if you are applying to this and other associates because your dance teacher recommended you to/gave their blessing, or are you doing this entirely on your own? I guess the studio etiquette is to only apply with your teacher’s blessing? Since you have to name your dance school and teacher on the registration form, I would assume it’s a good idea to let them know beforehand.

What do people usually do? 
 

We have a private ballet account for DC which lives on my phone. It’s fun to be able to follow other dancers, and during lockdown it was a great way to find out about zoom classes which she really enjoyed doing. We have posted a handful of photos. To try and keep it safe, we do the following:

- we don’t have her full name on her profile

- we don’t geo tag any photos 

- we don’t have her ballet school, academic school or any other identifying info in her profile 

I realise this is partly futile as anyone with enough time in their hands could find her on her ballet school’s account, where she appears a couple of times, and then they would know roughly where we live etc, but it makes us feel better to be a bit more anonymous. She also doesn’t have a lot of followers.

in contrast we know a very young child whose mother has her daughter’s first and last name in the profile of her public account, and they have bought advertising (sponsored posts) to gain more followers. The child is also in her school uniform photographed outside their front door on a few photos. Personally this makes me feel a bit uneasy. 
 

and it’s not just about security. I recently read an article about insta famous children, and how they feel about having their most private moments made public at the whim of their parents, and how they feel that they have to produce ‘content’ at all times, as though they are always performing to some extent. Granted this probably won’t be someone with a ballet account, as this is so specific to the activity, this would rather be the youtubers who think their family is their ‘brand’ and so on. But I still think about it.

1 hour ago, Amme76 said:

My DD was asked to remove her shoes and socks ! She was the only one in her group that was asked. They did an exercise then she was asked to repeat the exercise without her shoes and socks on. Did this happen to everyone else ? 

Sorry, I thought this happened in the YDA audition but perhaps you meant white lodge? Didn’t happen to DD at white lodge either!

No, not my DD. she wasn’t asked to remove her shoes. I would think it’s an encouraging sign that they show that level of interest? Did you hear back yet?

We love Osipova, clearly her feet (or the state of her shoes) is not holding her back!

Lighthearted post! 

Looking for some uplifting stories and examples to make us feel better about not having been born with perfect banana feet? 
 

Have you seen any success stories where a dancer has really improved the look of their feet through hard work, exercises, or just learning to work really well with what they have? 
 

Can you suggest any ballerinas or dancers in training who we could watch, or find in social media, who may not have the most amazing feet but are still amazing in all sorts of other ways? 
 

The current ideal for banana feet and hyperextended knees is a tricky one, as this is not something you can really achieve no matter how hard you train, and sometimes it feels as though these qualities are so important to teachers and audition panels etc. We’d love to see some examples of dancers who have achieved success despite not having these qualities!

thanks in advance 
 

We had a yes too, definitely did not expect it. I heard there were fewer places for finals this year due to covid restrictions - who knows!

What are the odds at this stage? Is it like academic secondary schools, who typically invite 2 children to interview for every one place they offer? 

Wow, this rings so true, Beezie. We are in the UK but I have definitely seen this here too.

Just as an example, in our previous school it was very hard to get a private and inexplicably some 6-7 year olds had permanent slots, alongside of the vocational students (who needed them for auditions and competitions etc), while pretty much everyone else never got one. I have no idea why, but it always confused me. 

I think all teachers have favourites, but some are very bad at hiding it! One teacher we had visibly focussed her attention on a handful (months of lockdown zoom lessons made this pretty clear). Others keep you guessing.

I've posted this forum before re getting honest feedback on a child's potential for this very reason. Ballet schools are businesses and they have to keep the money coming in, so it is hard to know if you are there for the 'right' reasons. 

1 hour ago, coniger said:

 My DC got a place and has been lucky enough to go to a few over the years  but it has absolutely no baring whatsoever on whether they will get a WL or MA place.  The year my DC was applying for the school there were a few who didn't get spring or summer but went on to get a place at WL.  Honestly year 6 is the most stressful year for both parents and children - it should have a health warning!

I was just thinking perhaps we shouldn't even bother with the MA application this year, so this was nice to read.

1 hour ago, Whiteduvet said:

DD’s whole JA class appear to be on the SWL....

That must have been unexpected? I am assuming they have fewer places than normal this year due to covid.

It's a waitlist for us too.

Thank you!

Does anyone know when we can except to hear back regarding the Royal Ballet spring intensive? 

Thanks! Interesting

Hello,

I have posted before regarding lower schools but realised I never asked this particular question! So just as the title says, has anyone been waitlisted for JAs (or received a 'not yet') but never been offered a place, but still been offered a White Lodge place? Or is a no/wait list for Year 6 JAs a pretty good indicator that there isn't much point in applying for White Lodge or mid associates?

Thank you all for taking the time to respond, there is so much wonderful advice here and I am sure it will be helpful to all who read this.

We truly value all our children's after school activities (dd's siblings have very different interests and talents) for so many reasons. I believe that sports/dance/music/etc teaches so many invaluable life skills, particularly when done beyond a purely recreational level. Whatever their chosen field is, it can get incredibly competitive beyond a certain point (as an example, ballet has nothing on football in this respect, in my experience parents can get incredibly intense...!) and it becomes necessary to carefully consider what one is willing to invest as a family. 

9/10 is very young - too young to say much for certain about dd's future in dance - but I think getting a 'second opinion' in the form of a private lesson with someone knowledgeable might be the right way to go. We had a few small successes recently - obviously Covid put a stop to all of that this year but at least she got in to these things, which was nice. 

What is the best way to get an indication/assessment of future potential? I worry that my (year 6) dd’s teachers only tells me what she/he thinks I want to hear... especially post/mid (?) Covid I’m sure every student is needed in order to keep the revenue stream going. Things are very complicated and political in my DD’s ballet school and I probably shouldn’t listen to what the other parents say, but all the talk has gotten to me and I now really worry that my dd is at the bottom of her class by some margin. It is just so hard to tell. I think she dances beautifully but as parents we are all blind when it comes to our own children so I’d really appreciate an additional, unbiased opinion on her potential. 
 

She loves to dance and I would never make her stop, but we are spending so much money and time on ballet so perhaps we would reduce our current (significant) commitment if a future in dance is beyond her. 

Any advice on how to get a second opinion would be most welcome.

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We got a SWL for JA’s in London. I understand it’s is unlikely to change to a yes but still better than a no!

Thank you everyone, we will speak with dd's teacher once we are back to normal again

Not good news as such but I have to say that ballet has turned out to be far more lockdown compatible than we feared. My dd is doing more ballet now than ever before as all her teachers are streaming their classes, and have added more options than what was previously timetabled. Online classes are working out really well and she is enjoying seeing her friends. As a bonus she has also been able to do classes with other schools and teachers too as there is loads to close from on Instagram and youtube!

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Dd is 10. She is at a stage where all the hard work is beginning to pay off in some small ways so she is quite enthusiastic about her training, and would like to do more. Her teacher has encouraged her and some of her friends to apply to the Royal Ballet JA (which is obviously a very long shot) but I'm not sure how she would feel about taking lessons in the same style with another teacher/school. 

Not that any of these things matter right now... sigh!