Whiteduvet

RBS is all about potential and physique. Which are things you either have or don’t, really, and practising the exercises over and over won’t make any difference if your body proportions are all wrong, for example. This may be slightly different for eg Elmhurst who I think ask for more technical knowledge at this age, but if you don’t have the right RBS attributes there’s little you can do unfortunately. I would have thought they’d also look negatively at videos where the child clearly knows what’s coming next: Ballet is all about following instructions!

From memory it was on their knees but DD and I disagree about whether she got to hear it first or not!

Oh one bit I missed was that they had to do a short improvisation. It didn’t have to be classical steps, just a chance to show their musicality and love of dance.

No problem-good luck!

Year 6 audition was around 35 mins long. A nice teacher leading the class and the children followed, with you filming them. Only meant to go through it once so no practice allowed. Simple exercises and combinations plus quite a few points where they were asked to stand in a certain position (nothing complicated: just to see their proportions) or hold a particular stretch. They took their socks off too at one point. All very straightforward and nothing really you can do to prepare. The most complicated part is uploading the video...!

My DD is the same. She really didn’t like the live zoom aspect, couldn’t hear the teacher or the music properly at times (especially when she (the teacher) took off her microphone), and found it quite off putting that there were different age groups in the same class. I could see her getting increasingly wound up and couldn’t do anything about it!!

Plus we’re all left to guess at which schools are good and which aren’t which doesn’t help anyone.

Is this desire for athletes being fed through to companies? Because that’s where the demand comes from so those attitudes also need to change. and FWIW I see no need to weigh anyone. Numbers on a scale are often meaningless and just cause concern and obsession. Losing weight to a worrying extent is obvious visually and those with other issues (eg bulimia) won’t necessarily lose weight.

JA audition had a piece of music to improvise to. Can’t honestly remember if it was played once to just listen to and then again to dance to. Just upper body though: they had to kneel during it. I think the link could be used more than once. I also wondered about this: how many people would cheat. I reckon though they’d be able to tell: little ones probably aren’t good enough actors to pretend to respond to instructions as though it was the first time they’d heard them. Not worth it anyway: you need to be successful by playing by the rules or it doesn’t count in my book.

Hi Does anyone know anything about the Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater in Munich? Specifically in relation to the future destinations of graduates and the standard of training? Thanks

And with regard to weight, the Paris Opera Ballet School has accepted heights and weights for auditionees on its website. Presumably these limits remain throughout the school. There are lower limits which offers some reassurance but I strongly feel adolescent girls should never be tracking their weight: it can lead to hugely disordered thinking. Things like energy levels and other markers of health (hair, eyes, healthy menstrual cycle etc) should be used instead.

Thank you. This is very helpful and reassuring.

As a parent of a DD who is dreaming of vocational school from year 7, how can we be sure our children are safe? Reading this and some previous threads on this Forum have made genuinely quite concerned about allowing her to even audition.

Oh I was so hoping you’d have the magic answer...! DD says she’d love to go go WL and be a dancer but she has no real idea of the reality of a dancer’s life, including the many, many rejections and sacrifices it entails. And I want to support her but also ensure she knows the truth. Such a difficult balance.

Just wondering - how do you know if a ten year old really wants to be a dancer? My DD is keen for WL but I’m not sure she wants the end goal!

Have sent you a PM X

I saw that. Great news but does make it hard in terms of accepting other (non vocational offers); the deadlines for some acceptances for senior schools where I am is before eg WL finals even take place. What a lovely position it would be to have the possibility of both, but very tricky!

Yes the balance of power there is very one sided and parents must be hugely conflicted. Well done for standing up for health and the right approach. My 9 year old is already commenting on how she’ll need a ‘ballet body’ if she’s to succeed, and it’s so hard: all I can do is keep stressing the need to be healthy and able to enjoy dancing as a result (dancing when malnourished and underweight can’t be pleasurable).

Surely the change has to come from the top. Dance schools exist to train dancers who will be employable: if companies demand a certain size and shape, dance schools will follow suit. Not that this is necessarily the right thing to do, but they’re a business at the end of the day.. On the plus side I was so heartened at my last visit to watch the BRB: there was a much wider range of body shapes than I’d noticed before. All stunningly beautiful!

Thanks. Mustn’t forget to do that or I’ll be in lots of trouble!!

Hello all. Newbie mum here for a year 6 JA come September. A question-do we still have to apply for WL like non-JA’s or is it assumed that all JA’s will want to apply and so preliminary assessments are done in class?

Oh no! That’s the same as BB. Do they run Friday classes still also?

DD has had a yes for JA’s year 6! She’s also got a ballet boost place so it’s going to be a busy year for us!! Sorry to hear all the no’s. DD got a no from RBS in year 4 (we didn’t try year 5) so things can and do change!!

Does anyone know what time the year 6 JA classes are in Manchester? DD has just been offered a place in both RBS and BB and I’m praying we can make it work!!

I agree. At this age it’s hugely about the ‘right’ body shape for their training and they’ll be able to tell that within minutes with most, if not seconds.