Boys_can_dance

My DS was In Munich for a year, now in Hamburg. Would NOT recommend Munich for under 16’s! They’re not really set up for international students at that age. Most ballet students in Germany attended a local school- only Berlin has school included. The state pays for German classes, no test unless you enter into “Oberstufe”(yr 11/ sixth form) and/ or for Bachelor , then a proficiency test is required after a year. Remember they loose a year - German kids start school at 6, so are a year behind. Worked out ok for us, as it gave him a year to learn German properly without falling behind in school. Might be a problem going back though, if it doesn’t work out. DS is very happy in Hamburg, the school staff is efficient and concerned, the boarding staff seems very nice ( not a boarder, though). Applications- you can attend auditions, or as overseas student, send a video first, to see if they will consider her at all ( we applied there last year, he was rejected, as they thought he’d stay too short). All german schools have far fewer boarding spaces than they have students, so she might well be offered a place, but no bed. However, the whole experience is a lot cheaper then in the U.K.- schooling is free, the ballet education is heavily subsidised, so the main expense would be boarding. Unless you’re on a very low income and in receipt of an MDS, that works out way less than U.K. boarding schools. HTH , all the best

Germany, certainly. My DS was rejected by Berlin- reason: he has small feet, so was unlikely to grow tall enough 🙄 Never mind his father is 6’2” and shoe size 10.

Hi- is this also for boys, or girls only?

That raises several questions: 1)how old is the child? Surely age 8-10 should do less than , say, age 14? 2) how many hours a week do they actually have dance at vocational school in year 7 (comparable age to the original post)? And how many hours academic work/ homework ( which also needs to be taken into account)? 3) does training in excessively really improve performance? Surely if the child is exhausted, physically and mentally, no further gain can be achieved. I see it more as a marathon than a sprint- if you don’t pace yourself and optimise training vs r&r, then the child burns out early, and will never get to the finishing line.

It is certainly possible, I sometimes get the feeling they don’t want to leave themselves open to criticism. DS auditioned in Berlin last year, and was given feedback straight away, with a recommendation to work on upper body flexibility, and try again next year, and they had 4 dates of I don’t know how many children from all over the world. They don’t do prelims, either. He was this year accepted by Hamburg, and they also gave feedback and accept/decline straight away. It’s a British thing, I fear. We did feel it was worth attending the audition just to get some decent feedback! (Edit to say, we chose German schools due to the expense of British schools- would have loved British school, but earn too much for decent amount of MDS, and various other kids)

Hi- my son has not auditioned in the U.K., but for John Neumeier in Hamburg and he has been accepted!! Still completely flattened! 😱😃🎉

My son has been at the Ballettakademie der Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich since September, age 11, though. Very good and dedicated training, good dance facilities, less good fitness facilities. Part of the University. And it is WAY cheaper than anything you could imagine in the U.K.- currently £1200 a year (!), less for older “University “ students , i. e. over 16. They have independent accommodation for over 16s , no boarding. Ballettzentrum John Neumeier is in Hamburg! They board up to 34 students, and very well regarded, almost all their graduates find employment. Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin is the equivalent of the Royal Ballet School, they board up to 74 students, the only ballet school in Germany that has integrated schooling. All German schools teach Vaganova, which was quite a difference, and difficult for my son in the beginning, but he has adapted well now. All schools assess out twice a year, though, but generally it’s a lot lower key and less stress put on the youngsters. I hope that helps in a way

I'm German, and we have been thinking to move back for a while.Munich was one of the towns we'd considered, so we just went for it. They were great, actually, much less secretive than in the U.K., and really informal and low key. As a consequence none of the children appeared to be very nervous or tense. The director came and spoke to the parents and explained what they were looking for while the kids were warming up. He also auditioned in Berlin, and did not get in, but they told us what to work on, and to reapply next year. So much more helpful then just being told yes or no, worth the audition expense just for that info.

Thanks for the replies it's reassuring they take them back to basics, as DSs German is somewhat ropey. I'm sure he will learn fast enough, but not being able to understand the instructions properly, back to basics will be good. Thankfully, the German children enter year 5 when UK goes into year 6, so he'd repeat a year, which will give him time to develop the language.

Yes!!! Our heads are spinning!

Hi- DS (10) has been offered a place at Munich Ballet Academy. Does anyone know anything?? They are one of Germany's big five, so very chuffed, but one hell of a change at ten. They teach Vaganova,so that's a change, too- how does it differ? Thanks for any advice/ info :))

We've already had a taster/ assessment session on 18.9. I've tried to contact David Rhys, but he is not answering at all. Which I also find strange. It said on the website that they would release the rest of the sessions once they were happy that the commitment/ concentration etc was good, but as I've said- no yes, no no, no response to emails-just another trial session released on the website for 6.11. , without contact saying look on website. Why???

Hello- another question regarding Kick Start: my son attended the first 'trial ' session for this in September. Since then, no further contact, but now the next session is on as another trial session. Is this how it normally works, book session by session? I was sort of expecting a taster, and then a full year commitment? Anybody know anything?

I have the same problem with my son(10). I took him to a friend, who is a senior physio, and he said the hamstrings are so tight because they are overly mobile in the lower back and use the hamstring to stabilise the pelvis, which makes sense- but makes it hard when encouraging stretches. He hates them, and it hurts.

Does anyone have any experience/ information about them? How good are they? How is the teaching for boys in particular? I'm a bit reluctant, as they seem to want a whole year's commitment, which I can't do at the moment. Anyone who can talk me through this in small steps? Only starting out in this path, and feel a bit lost in the wilderness... Thanks

http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/how-old-people-have-screwed-over-the-younger-generationin-three-charts--W1AA_n4nEb Have a look

I think the job chances of dancers are not going to be England's main concern, tbh. What about Ireland, with no Good Friday Peace Agreement anymore? No United Kindom, with Scotland and maybe Ireland leaving to stay in EU? The mother of all recessions this is going to trigger? I would be concerned about ALL young people in the UK, not just dancers.

Thanks all- I will definitely try that, then ????

Thanks for the answers. I work full time, but it seems the best boys program available, so I'm prepared to bite the bullet- he is the only boy in the whole dance school, which is a bit of a concern, as he does not get enough gender- specific training. Did your son have to audition, or is it first come, first serve for places?

Hi- new to this forum ???? Please excuse me starting off with a question, but does anyone have experience with Tring's KickStart program for boys? I've tried to look on the website, but the info is for last year- i.e. 2015/16. So, does anyone know whether they need to audition, when it restarts and how to apply? And whether it's worth the almost 2hr drive from here? Thanks