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AllAboutTheJourney

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  1. There was a very helpful and active thread last year - linked above. It’s been a bit quieter this year (perhaps not surprising given the way some discussions went) which is a shame as it’s helpful to be able to discuss all options. If anyone has any questions about the audition process for Y7 entry at WL then feel free to DM. I’m not familiar with the other schools really other than what I’ve heard from friends/read on here.
  2. Ps - I could be wrong but I believe RBS Dundee associates is on a Sunday rather than a Saturday. Just mentioning as I know most other centres are a Saturday so depending on where you’re coming from it may be a different day than you’re used to. With Scottish Ballet you have the option to go weekly or monthly - most kids from the area you’re looking at would be monthly JA’s. This year it’s the first Sunday of each month.
  3. Another school in that area would be Yvonne Gray Dance Studios - no direct experience but it’s a well established RAD school who seem to have a few kids doing associates etc. I
  4. I'd agree, think it's pretty hard to get a place although there are three weeks of it and classes aren't very small so there's a fair chance. In the younger group there were quite a few at vocational school but also some y5/6, most of whom were associates and several of whom were about to start vocational after the summer. There were also a few, however, who perhaps hadn't done quite as much but still seemed to be having a happy and beneficial week.
  5. I saw Magri and Hirano, yes. They were stunning, although that is the first time I have seen the RB Nutcracker live so my frame of reference is limited. Magri was strong yet delicate and her performance quality was, in my opinion, excellent. Hirano I felt was fantastic technically but I didn’t get as much from him in terms of emotion or performance. Nitpicking though - he was very impressive. Magri slipped a tiny bit but recovered well - it felt like the kind of issue Nunez had which was discussed above. Not as bad as the poor female dancer in the Spanish who went straight down at one point but impressively jumped back up within a split second! Overall I just loved it - it was a pretty special night seeing one of my DC on that stage and aside from that the whole ballet is just beautiful of course. The second act in particular was just mesmerising.
  6. My DD went last summer at 10 (almost 11) and loved it. A good mix of classes and down time and the campus is lovely. The younger students were in rooms of 3/4 across two floors I believe. There were some fairly casual activities arranged in the evenings from memory but they were optional, I think DD ended up joining in sometimes but also liked relaxing in the evenings either all piled into one of the rooms or out in the grounds (it was a very hot week!). On the final morning there was a demonstration which was a lovely chance to see what they had got up to. I can't really comment on the pastoral care if there was any homesickness or other upset as we didn't have any issues and DD is very self-sufficient but I'd imagine it's good - DD thought all the house parents were friendly and approachable.
  7. I don't think this is a generational issue at all and would agree with @JNC. I'm slightly older (millennial, though at the upper end of it) and things like filming in the theatre (or acting in a disruptive way generally) are not age-specific in my experience. Children can be disruptive, yes, as can filming or taking photos or generally just talking and rustling. Usually I'm fairly tolerant but filming tips me over the edge and I would likely say something if it was happening around me. I use Instagram a lot and enjoy keeping up with the dancers and seeing backstage insights etc, but I don't think there is an argument at all that it would be nice to see more (terrible) clips from the audience. At the Theatre Royal in Glasgow last week I was actually shocked by how many people just arrived late. There were perhaps 30 around me who were ushered in during the first scene change and it was hugely distracting. I understand that things happen en route but this was more than I've ever seen before. Two people (not together) in the row in front of me started filming in the second act and were quickly stopped by an usher. Irritating but dealt with at least. More annoying was the group of women (in an older age bracket, not younger I have to say) who had perhaps enjoyed some pre-theatre and interval drinks - by the time the second act came they were fairly loud in their discussions about how good the dancers were (I guess at least it was positive but it might have better to save it for the train home!)
  8. What an interesting thread - thank you for sharing those thoughts and experiences! I don't tend to post in this section really as I don't really feel expert enough but I am a fairly regular poster in Doing Dance (as I have children involved at various stages in the ballet world). I saw a couple of performances this year that haven't been mentioned above, however, so thought I would share some thoughts. In the summer I watched the opening night of Scottish Ballet's Coppelia, which premiered as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. This isn’t going to be for everyone but I absolutely loved it. It’s a very contemporary re-working of the original story and features live on-stage filming which is projected onto various screens at different points in the performance. I was in two minds about how it would work beforehand – whether it would be distracting etc – but it added a lot and was very cleverly done. Dr Coppelius was played by Bruno Micchiardi and his technique and sense of performance (of a fairly cocky Silicon Valley inventor) were both impressive. Constance Deverney-Lawrence was equally excellent as Swanhilda. As I say, I am fairly sure many will not enjoy it (and will know that based on the trailer) but I would highly recommend catching it at Sadler’s Wells if it sounds like it might be up your street. Onto the winter and I was able to attend another opening night at Scottish Ballet, this time to see their festive production of The Snow Queen in Edinburgh. To be honest I did not think I was a massive fan of this particular ballet, having first seen it a few years ago, though there are scenes within it that are really beautiful. It’s a perfect family festive treat though and a good introduction in many ways to ballet. The travelling circus in the first act is fun but the dancing gets better in the second act, especially in the beautifully staged travellers’ camp at dusk – all flowing skirts and powerful jumps. There is a beautiful snowy scene as Gerda travels to the Snow Queen’s palace – although the first night I saw it the snow did seem to cause a few issues for the dancers especially in their turns. On opening night Gerda was played by Roseanna Leney (promoted on stage to principal later in the run) and Kai by Jerome Anthony Barnes. The Snow Queen was Constance Deverney-Lawrence, again, who really suits this particular role. I then saw it again in Glasgow between Christmas and New Year and I actually preferred the second cast to be honest, with Anna Williams (Artist) incredibly good as Gerda. I just felt that she brought something so youthful and expressive to the role and was moved by her dedication to finding her new fiancé despite the Snow Queen’s spell. Bethany Kingsley-Garner (not too long back from maternity leave) was a beautiful yet edgy Snow Queen and Bruno Micchiardi as Kai was, again, excellent. I would also highlight Thomas Edwards whose flair and technique, especially in the turns, as Ringmaster was spot on. Something just worked better for me on the second viewing - maybe the cast, maybe the whole company had just settled into it the run. The production has grown on me for whatever reason. Full disclosure – I also had a parental interest in this particular ballet (hence seeing it twice!) December turned out to be a very busy month for ballet as I then made my first visit to the ROH in years (the one and only time I had watched a performance there before was around 2007 and I had been given an excellent seat in the stalls to watch Sleeping Beauty when a colleague couldn’t make it at the last minute – sadly lost on me at the time as I was a new, work-obsessed graduate in the city and had not yet re-discovered my childhood love of ballet, preferring to spend my evenings in the office or in bars of East London rather than at Covent Garden… I am annoyed at myself to this day for not appreciating it!) Anyway, a DM from a very kind forum member alerted to me to the fact that some standing tickets had been released for The Nutcracker on a night I was in London and so instead of hanging around in the cafe I was able to watch the first act before parental duties called me to the Stage Door. Wow – it’s just so beautiful and so festive and so wonderfully sparkly! I won’t add to the many lovely descriptions people have already written here other than to say I am hugely looking forward to watching the whole performance (and not just the first act) in the next few days. It was very hard to leave at the interval, though there was no other option this particular evening sadly. I finished the year with a trip to Sadler’s Wells to see Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty. This was the first time I had seen a MB production and I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I think my tastes lie in a more classical vein ideally. It was a wonderful evening though and the woman who played Aurora in particular (apologies I can’t remember her name) was a stand-out to me. The (weird, slightly creepy!) baby was cleverly done and I’d love to see more of this company in the future (starting with their Nutcracker which I have set up on iplayer ready to go!). So - not as many as most but at the moment my time (and money!) are more focussed on doing dance (through my children) than on watching dance. Hopefully in the future this will reverse somewhat... I currently find myself in London more than I used to so I'm hoping to join the ROH stalls circle standing crowd as and when I can in 2023 – what a fabulous view you get there for a remarkable price.
  9. Merry Christmas to the team! And as above, thanks for everything you all do to make this a helpful, fascinating, informative and entertaining little corner of the internet!
  10. The main page of the ROH website has slightly different wording and refers to the ongoing industrial action on the railways.
  11. Have you discounted YBSS? Seems the obvious residential one but the class sizes are not tiny.
  12. Absolutely loved watching this and thank you for helping me put names to some faces who we weren’t familiar with. I was with my DD who is at vocational school - she recognised a lot of the younger dancers in particular from various events/rehearsals and also their social media profiles. In addition to the names mentioned already above, two who really stood out to us were Viola Pantuso and Katharina Nikelski - will be interested to watch them over the next few years.
  13. That Fred Step video is lovely - thanks for sharing! Very excited to see some of the Nutcracker this evening. I've been working in the ROH cafe for some of the afternoon and it was lovely to see the schools' matinee come out - hundreds of excited kids. A fab school trip for them!
  14. Was just posting the exact same as @MissEmily - it's a lovely experience taking class at the Upper School, hopefully your daughter enjoys it. Milk Train or Amorino is lovely for a celebratory ice cream afterwards!
  15. They are staying closer to the theatre now that term has ended but yes, they still have the option to board. There are two teams and the team of children who live closer to London do the performances closest to Christmas Day so that the other team can travel home for a decent period of time.
  16. Reading this thread brings such anticipation and excitement! I will be going to see my first RB Nutcracker next week (with a personal interest and great deal of pride in one of the very smallest dancers on the stage). How lucky the WL kids are to be involved in such a well-loved production.
  17. Will now be in London on 14th December and looking for any cheapish ticket to the performance that evening, if anyone is selling...
  18. Now sorted thanks to a kind message from a forum member highlighting that more tickets had just been released - thanks again.
  19. Apologies - I should have caveated my post and said it was about the schools I am most familiar with. Good to know they are not all the same.
  20. That must have been very hard for both of you. My post was just to point out that it’s not just an hour a day that they have their phones now, for anyone wondering about how that works currently.
  21. Without trying to take anything away from the experiences described above, it’s probably worth mentioning that now students at vocational schools do not have restricted access to phones or family communication. They are able to communicate as much as they want to through the day, around class time etc, but in some schools their phones are handed in at lights out. There are also options for weekly or part time boarding if you live close enough - which works well for some people.
  22. Looking for one (cheap) ticket to the matinee on 21st December if anyone is selling - standing is fine. Many thanks in advance.
  23. They will say if they have a preference at the first session, yes. Different teachers prefer different hairstyles and in some centres it varies by year group as well. At the centre we were at, the teacher preferred the crossed plaits and did a demonstration for anyone who wasn’t sure how to do it.
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