Clara67

1 hour ago, Lildancer96 said:

Please feel free to pm me of you have any questions😀

Thank you very much.

1 hour ago, Lildancer96 said:

Hello - my dd went to Tring upper school after non vocational training up to that point and gained a  classical contract when she graduated in Europe and has been there 5 years now .

That’s lovely to hear. Thank you.

3 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

 

I'M SHOUTING - HE GRADUATED FROM TRING UPPER SCHOOL.  He told us that when he joined the company.  I wouldn't have bothered saying it otherwise.  I am well aware the students can go to several schools but he came to the company from Tring.

I think shouting is a bit unnecessary! - the fact that the BRB website refers to Tring and RBS, in that order, led me to assume that one came before the other, when perhaps it was the other way round. I have nothing against Tring - it seems a lovely school and we considered it very seriously for our DC. I am just trying to gain actual statistics about the upper school  - rather than the suggestion that lots of graduates end up in classical companies, which I think is possibly not accurate.

23 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

As previously mentioned - Tyrone Singleton, who is a principal at BRB, graduated from Tring into the company as did cohort member Carrie Johnson who has subsequently gone on to have a successful career in Matthew Bourne's company and the West End.

 

Max Westwell graduated into ENB and had a successful career there before moving into An American in Paris and subsequently into Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.

On the BRB website it says that Tyrone Singleton trained at Tring and The Royal Ballet School - so presumably not Tring upper school?

16 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I don't have any relatives in dance training but I do read Doing Dance.

 

I don't think it's quite that straightforward - students don't just move from lower to upper schools they have to audition for them and I would guess that most students apply for more than one upper school.  Don't forget that international students are also applying for UK upper schools (and vice versa) and that it is always a good idea to have plans B,C and D rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

 

I don't know how old your child is but it is also worth bearing in mind that aspirations can change.  The daughter of one of my colleagues went to The Hammond at 11 determined to aim for a career in a classical ballet company.  Within a year she had realised that that was no longer her aim and she was aiming more for musical theatre.  She ended up having a fulfilling career as a dancer on cruise ships (and her Mum and Dad enjoyed a number of cut price cruises to exotic locations!).

 

It should also be remembered that far more students graduate from upper schools than there will be vacancies in ballet companies.

Thank you. My DC is already at a vocational lower school - I’m just thinking ahead! Tring would be one to consider for upper school because of the A’ levels offered, as my child is very academic - it just seems that those who have had a classical career having been at Tring have only been there for some or all of their lower school training. Does anyone know of anybody gaining a classical contract after training at Tring upper school?

13 hours ago, Momapalooza said:

I don’t think all 4 have gone or would go straight to RBS upper from Tring? I’ve seen one incoming one and one who is now in second year but I don’t think either were at Tring from first form either. I am guessing the other two maybe started at Tring but moved to WL or other schools. But you’re right in that they did train for some time at Tring. It will be interesting to see apart from the one who has been announced as going to RBS upper how many of the recent graduates (this year and maybe last 2-4 years) went on to classical ballet schools such as RBS, Elmhurst, ENBS, Central and overseas classical ballet schools.  I have seen one girl go on to the Bolshoi but I don’t think she started or finished at Tring. Does Tring publish their graduate destinations? 

Am I correct to assume from this that it is not usual for those wanting a classical ballet career to remain at Tring for upper school? Do classically-focussed students always move on from Tring lower school to train elsewhere when they are 16+?

1 hour ago, CMcBallet said:

RBS Upper School - I believe there’s a young man in 3rd year and a young lady in 2nd year. 
Ballet companies - I’m afraid I’m not clear on other recent graduate destinations.

It’s worth remembering that Tring has a ‘dance’ course and not strictly a ballet course.

Read into this as you may but I see it that they take their ballet seriously and that you ‘can’ progress classically upon graduation.

Historically their graduate pathways have been as diverse as their training, also pre pandemic there were a large number of recent graduates dancing with Matthew Bournes productions. 

Thank you.

8 hours ago, CMcBallet said:

I can’t speak to their particular training system but recent graduates have gone on to train at RBS Upper School and join major ballet companies.
A current 6th form student has just gained a contract with BRB. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPQEJHABJJY/?utm_medium=copy_link

Do you know of more than one recent student who has gone on to RBS Upper School? I only know of one, who seems to have had quite a lot of training in addition to their training at Tring. Which major ballet companies have recent graduates joined?

18 hours ago, BellaF said:

 

Thanks - I did have a look at this one and it looked great but only offers 2 hours a day for age 10, and as we would be staying in London for the week, would like a longer day. Have banked for the future though!

 

 

Ace thank you 😊

You might find that Masters of Ballet actually allocate your daughter to the “junior” group, which is all day, rather than the “foundation” group, if she’s 10. My DD did it a few years ago (it was video auditions then) and we were surprised when she was put in the juniors - I think she was 9 at the time. You could email them to ask?

Very sad to hear this.

40 minutes ago, The red shoes said:

That’s a shame... so they do t care if the boy has musicality or not it can improvise? Strange associate teacher preps improve so much if it’s just about plié and barre work 🧐. I’ve been told by several other dance teacher friends that artistry is very important. They must have that “ something”

They did improvisation at the WL prelim auditions last year but not at finals, which seemed a shame.

2 hours ago, stardust1 said:

At the girls final last year there were 3 groups of around 25 each over the two days.  There was no obvious logic to the groupings, it appeared to be random and definitely not based on age, home location or JA centre.  

My DD was there last year with 3 other girls from her JA centre and they were in the 3 different groups, which definitely seemed to correspond with their ages (2 were together in one group). 

40 minutes ago, Lara Eschler said:

I also thought Elmhurst gave you a 5 year commitment to training dc. Does Tring assess out self-funded places? 

That’s correct that Elmhurst do now give a five-year commitment to those who join in year 7 (“subject to good health and behaviour”) - it’s changed from what they did in the past.

54 minutes ago, Pointytoes said:

I think there are many factors to weigh up 

regarding costs. Having had DC at both, MDS superficially seemed to cover more at Elmhurst, however you can apply for a music bursary to RB which can cover music lessons. 
Uniform and leotards are not covered, but there are other aspects to take into consideration. 
Healthcare is by far superior, class sizes overall are much smaller. It depends on how you view value for money. 
Regardless, we have found all ballet schools in general to be money pits!😂

Could you possibly elaborate a bit on what you mean about the healthcare? Also, do you mean academic class sizes? My DD’s ballet class at Elmhurst has 14 girls, and her friend’s at WL has 15, so they seem very similar? They’re with the boys for academics at Elmhurst, so are they not at WL? Thank you. 

6 hours ago, taximom said:

Have a listen to Shostakovich Jazz Suites, some great music there suitable for ballet solos.

 

Heather

aka Taximom

We have used several lovely pieces from Shostakovich Ballet Suites for ballet solos.

Hello. The classes in Plymouth are for school years 4-6, so your daughter could audition if she is currently year 3, 4 or 5, to start next September. The auditions aren’t until May or June, so there probably won’t be any information on the website for quite a while yet. Hope that helps!

1 hour ago, Waverley said:

We're back from holidays now and starting to think about getting organised for next term - have returned to an exciting parcel containing the tracksuit top, belt and ribbon 🙂

 

My DD is 8 in August and v small so we went for the smallest sizes in everything - the size 0 leotard fits perfectly other than the wide crotch as others have mentioned. The tracksuit top is baggy but fine. 

 

Has anyone found any navy leggings or joggers that match it well? I didn't buy the official ones having read the comments here. 

 

 

Hi Waverley - the joggers are Fruit of the Loom premium joggers, which you can get from Amazon. When my dd was starting year 4, in the size 0 leotard, we got the age 5-6 joggers, which fitted fine.

The Lovefor age 6-8 isn't massively too long though, although it is a bit too long - it's just generally too big and baggy!  

Hi - I just measured her and she's 125 cm. Hope that helps!

Hello. My daughter is a small 8 year old and wears a size 0 leotard (apart from her Roch Valley modern class leotard, which is a 1) - we recently ordered the Lovefor flesh leotard in age 6 but it is quite a lot too big (I'm keeping it for when she's bigger). She normally just wears flesh coloured dance pants under leotards and for modesty during changes. Hope that helps for working out sizing!

Ok - that's good to know, thank you!

Hello - does anyone know of any 7 year olds in group one?  My daughter is only just 7 and just received a "no", but with the same letter that some others received, which said that her dancing was of a "good standard" and that with further training she might be ready at the next opportunity etc..  I'm just wondering whether it's worth her trying again in November, or whether she would be better waiting until next May? 

Hello - I have this same problem with my daughter, who is very fair skinned. We use Revolution footless tights from Dance Direct in "classic pink", which are actually not pink at all but a very pale tan colour.