SissonneDoublee

The MDS calculations mean that the families of most students are paying as much as they could possibly afford. The calculations don’t take mortgage payments and other commitments and I know of families that have really struggled, despite being funded by MDS. Given that many households are facing a drop in income, this could mean that more than usual are in need of additional support. Are all UK based upper school students also on MDS? Often bursaries are given to upper school as a priority. Hopefully most parents will take the same view as Nala: that their £36 might go towards an emergency bursary for a student that might otherwise have to give up their place.

We let DD’s MA place go well after the deadline, having previously accepted it. We just really struggled with the decision for DD to go full time. RBS were lovely about it, and her MA space was released to another girl in late May, so don’t give up hope if you haven’t heard anything.

1 hour ago, AdageKitty said:

Congrats Sissonne!!! Fantastic news!!

Thank you! I should clarify before I cause some serious postman stalking... our yes wasn’t this year! Sorry, I should have been clearer!

41 minutes ago, Lottie77 said:

Good luck to everyone waiting for the results xx 

let’s hope they’re not delayed! It feels like an eternity already!

 

is there anyway to know if the letter through the door is a 👍🏻 Or a 👎🏻 ? Big envelope / small envelope? 😂

 

 

 

We had a full A4 envelope for a yes. The school is still active online, setting work for students and in regular contact with parents, so hopefully the closure won’t affect results coming out. Good luck!

30 minutes ago, dancefanatic said:

We’ve been told already that fees will be due as normal at Elmhurst. Provided I still earn then I am happy to do so as the staff need paying and I want there to be a fully functioning school for my DD to return to. 

I completely agree. It would be terrible to see schools struggle during this time, and in the same way local schools need our support, the vocational schools do too! I just hope emergency MDS recalculations, or something similar, can be done for those whose livelihoods have been affected.

7 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

It’s got me thinking about next term & vocational fees....

Don’t have insurance (seemed pointless to take any in GCSE year as if something made dance not possible kid would still attend as it’s exam year....) Well how foolish does that look now? Always supposing insurance would actually cover & pay our for this extraordinary situation? I hope it does for those savvy souls who did take it out...

Has anyone heard anything about what could happen if no swift return as far as next term fees etc? I appreciate schools will try provide distance learning etc but that can in no way make up for vocational dance training in studios with teachers & peers plus performance opportunities etc.... 

At same time I’m so worried for the dedicated staff across all areas of a school (teachers, house parents, cooks etc etc ) & how this impacts on them & the long term running & viability of a school...
Such desperately sad & worrying times on so many levels 😟

I don’t think the fees refund scheme covers this anyway. The wording deals with illness and injury, and if the school is closed because they have a case of an infectious disease, but not because of government instructions or a global pandemic! School staff will still need paying, so I’m expecting we will get a bill next month to cover the summer term. Even with MDS it’s going to be a difficult one to receive. I worry for parents that have been forced to take unpaid leave or the self employed 😢

54 minutes ago, Rocco said:

That would be a good compromise Millicent. I think so much of it is about physique at this stage that video/ photos could suffice if it absolutely came to it. 

Oh my word the poor panel! Imagine watching every video individually. I can’t imagine they would do this. Hopefully it will all be back to some sort of normal by May, though.

I think the link between MDS and classical dance may account for the disparity. WL and Elmhurst are specialist ballet schools, whereas the courses at Tring and Hammond are dance. The MDS descriptors target classical ballet, so the higher level of funding at schools where students have chosen to specialise down this route makes sense.

Depending on the age of your daughter, the Royal Ballet School have junior associates in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle for Years 4-6. Applications are open at the moment, I think.

There will always be people who judge. It starts with feeding and sleeping patterns and what type of nappies we use, and continues far beyond our children reaching adulthood! Your DD has found a job she loves, that her training has enabled her to access. You don’t need to explain or justify her decision to anyone, just glow with pride that she is in gainful employment in a field that is scarily hard to break into, seeing the world, and doing something that makes her happy. There is no such thing as a waste of training, as the skills gained will serve her far beyond the classical ballet world. Huge congratulations to your DD!

9 minutes ago, Charliesmum said:

Results are out for year 7 boys x

How did you get on? It’s such a rollercoaster getting results!

1 hour ago, Waitingmum said:

No preference given to own students, the only benefit is guarantee of an actual audition. Often it is foreign students brought into year 10 that get offers for upper school.  If you are successful then you may only complete 2 years and be assessed out before the 3rd and final year and from the 3rd year only a few will get offers for the company apprenticeship scheme. Each year this equates to only 1 or 2 Original JAs in upper school. 

I suppose in a way it’s like an internal promotion at work... you have more time to prove that you are what they want, but also more time to prove that you are not! I think at some schools their own lower school students go directly through to finals, but they will take the dancers they want from the auditions without any priority given to their own.

Do lower school students receive tailored audition preparation in the same way that JAs do for WL auditions? Or do they go in blind like all the other candidates?

24 minutes ago, sunrise81 said:

We are in our third year......never had any written homework from Leeda JAs!!!!

We had all sorts when DD was a JA. Labelling anatomy diagrams, annotating ballet photos, writing about the emotion in a piece of music... a really wide variety that got her thinking beyond the studio. She loved it! 

Metatarsal exercises and conditioning, plus regular written assignments at our centre.

4 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

I’d add to the online issue.... is she feeling ever more negative or inadequate or not talented enough based on all the Instagram dance ‘stars’?? Note these are usually social media savvy over posters NOT pro dancers in companies with proper jobs. These maybe same age, with thousands of followers & be ‘influencers’ even monetising their ‘fame’ with free stuff (very rarely is it proper hard cash...) & they are only worth their following today.... as likely to be replaced tomorrow by the next new ‘star’.

And who are these stars? Ones with parents who take it on to ‘manage’ their kids media image...or teachers...or photographers..competitions.... All trying to get some reflected glory/money....Or rather self obsessed individuals....

And what are the posts? The image they want to portray; how many takes to get that one perfect pirouette of umpteen turns? Not every time was ‘perfect’ or off the charts! In years gone by that flook multiple turn was just self satisfying & proof to oneself you could do it.... great if witnessed in class or by an audience, but it was none the less valuable for not having had 1000’s of likes & worse, the innane comments like your rock’ ‘yaaazzzz’ ‘go gurrlll’ & then the more troublesome ‘how did you get to be so good?’ ‘Why can’t I be you?’ etc etc.... a troubling picture can emerge....

Best advice I was ever given in life was ‘never see someone else’s success as your failure’ (& conversely ‘never see your success as someone else’s failure’

A grounding ethos.... keeps optimism levels up & ensures one remains humble & kind....

I am rambling & did actually say very similar things in another thread.... one in reference to marketing actually from a leading institution that in my opinion is rather skewed in its aim...& rather potentially damaging as it represents an image of ‘perfection’ few can emulate.... without the help of studio photographer shoot, video trickery, digital enhancement & retouching....Actually, that’s just it, with trickery & editing we can all look like that.... but we don’t when there living & breathing in front of an audience. Do we want real reality or Instagram ‘reality’ ???

I suspect it has also created much annoyance amongst peers & parents of that institution also....

I think this time is immensely stressful & overfilled with important stuff (GCSE’s, auditions, recalls, interviews, decisions) 

And social media does seem to mean they make snap decisions & snap comments.... far too much living in the brief snippet of Snapchat of other such video....

If I could I invent special media I so would....hypocritical I know as I sit typing on here 🤣

Some aspects here that I agree wholeheartedly with, especially your reference to not viewing someone else’s success as your failure. The world would be a much nicer place if we could learn to celebrate everyone’s successes without feeling that they somehow threaten us. 
However, the criticism of a photo campaign from a vocational school for portraying perfection seems rather silly. If our country’s top institutions use stunning images to represent what can be, and indeed is achieved by the students there, surely that is fair enough. As for digital trickery, the images show students who consistently perform to that standard. We need to remind ourselves of the original comment about celebrating success.

Mamabear, it must be so hard to see your DD having doubts just as the offers are coming in for upper schools. But if she really has changed her mind, it would be more heartbreaking to start down the vocational route if she knew in her heart of hearts that it wasn’t for her. Hopefully she will feel ready to talk it through properly with you soon.

3 hours ago, Ballet Dad said:

Is there anybody else who attended the London prelimimary audition on 26th January still waiting for a decision regarding final auditions?

Did you definitely request consideration for White Lodge? MA and SA results come out much later.

1 hour ago, RachH said:

It’s Swan Lake 🥰. Does anyone have any ideas on the part a dinky 8 year old may get?

Tsar’s niece... very cute and pretty dresses 😄 or possibly a cygnet as DD was a cygnet as a dinky 9 year old. All the parts are good and have roughly equal time on stage.

23 minutes ago, TinyNEDancer said:

Aargh! We don’t have any ribbon on shoes currently...! That will be new 😀. And tricky?! She has various pairs for her RAD class and her associate programmes, but none of them ask for ribbons. Is this something I have to... sew... accurately?? <faints with panic> 😂

Elastic on shoes is fine for rehearsals, and they will show you how to sew in ribbons for the performance shoes. It’s not difficult... 12 year old DD does her own now!

8 minutes ago, TinyNEDancer said:

Those of you whose children have done EYB before... what ballet shoes do they wear? And what else might they need to provide? 
 

This might seem a bit random, my DD is excited to get started, and as she has a birthday coming up soon I wondered whether, if they need specific items, she could maybe get them as part of her birthday presents. 
 

Thanks in advance all! 

Ballet shoe wise, whatever she normally wears will be fine for rehearsals, although she will need a new (or at least clean) pair with pointe shoe ribbon instead of normal ribbon. I seem to remember that you buy the ribbon from them, as they like everyone to have the same.
 

A few non-uniform leotards are nice, along with the usual wrap skirts or shorts. My DD found warm-up booties and overalls really useful, as the days are long and do involve a bit of waiting. A decent sized lunchbox and water bottle are a must too!

11 hours ago, Millicent said:

I wonder if that applies to RBS? I assume not?

RBS and Elmhurst are able to offer funding to all eligible students, so a different set of circumstances. Finals are linked to the availability of places at the school, not funding. They see around 60 girls (more like 40 at Elmhurst) to allocate the 12-15 or so places that they have. They only offer the places that are available, and operate a reserve list (WL and sometimes Elmhurst) or reopen for an additional round of auditions (Elmhurst) to ensure places are filled in September when school starts.

2 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

Am I alone in finding it odd (even somewhat insulting?) that no true representative of RBS Upper School is present in all auditions for Upper School places? And possibly same for White Lodge places also in some cases? 

It seems for years now there is the same one individual consistently on the panel who choose for training across all courses from  c. age 8 (?) part time JA courses right up to c. age 19 third year Upper School. That seems at odds to me s surely there is a huge difference across the year groups? Sure, I believe they will be extremely experienced with a good eye but I would expect more specialisation in talent spotting for specific year groups for each audition would be beneficial & certainly more respectful of the young people auditioning & of the parents who have paid a large sum of money....Surely at the very least an actual staff member of each of the relevant institutions (WL or US depending on entry age) should attend all full time course auditions? 

The big wigs all seem to be in attendance at auditions held overseas or where they dish out places/ scholarships/ short term international ‘exchange’ style opportunities. I guess Birmingham/Manchester/London not as glam as Asia/USA.....And I imagine the expenses paid trips (& fees to teach masterclasses & judge?) also help tempt their presence where they actually to get to see potential pupils? 

The AD is present at finals, along with a panel of relevant teaching staff from WL or US. With the sheer volume of preliminary auditions that take place, it is amazing that they manage to have even one member of staff that sees every single child, but as far as I know Mr Annear does. The panel is always comprised of associate teachers, who have plenty of experience in knowing what they are looking for. The sum that parents pay covers admin and other fees, such as the teacher’s, pianist’s and panel’s time, rather than being paid as a consumer that is then entitled to a service. I think the majority of dancers come away feeling very positive about the experience, as my DD did, but I am sorry to hear that not everyone has come away feeling that way this year. Hopefully there will be lots more positive experiences to come.

5 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

No

If the audition was for an older year group the candidates would need to be capable of joining an existing cohort with training already underway. The panel may have been able to make a decision very early on with regard to their ability to do this, I suppose. It does sound like a better poker face is required, but the hours of auditions that the panel have sat through by now may be taking their toll. I’m sorry that your DC’s experience was a disappointing one.

16 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

Ditto for London today.... literally his eyes closed!! 🤔🙄 

The male panellist is normally the lovely Mark Annear. He’s usually so positive and attentive. Could the vibe have been misinterpreted by nervous auditionees?

Running! You can’t get much better than that for stamina. Careful with the surface, probably not trail so as to avoid risk to ankles, and not too long a distance. 5k is enough. DD’s vocational school sets this, along with a strengthening workout as summer holiday homework.

(You will probably get more responses if you request for this to be moved off the sale board and over to the main Doing Dance section.)

You can definitely audition at a different centre to the one you are applying for. Lots of people did last year to avoid clashes with All England regionals. Go for whichever is must convenient in terms of travel or accommodation.