Bunny

30 minutes ago, Crazylifecrazykids said:

We have an idea what would suit our DC best too and that's what its all about 😊 

It’s so hard! I feel a bit like we are in limbo at the moment with not knowing if they’ve made finals at the other two schools. And it’s hard to know which school is the right fit when we haven’t been able to visit. My DS knows where he wants to go, he has from the very start, but I wonder if had he visited the schools would he still think the same? It’s hard to know!

I hadn’t actually filled the registration form in! I have literally just done it now (thanks for the reminder!) but won’t be in a position to pay the £160 until the end of the month although I did explain this to the registrar who said that was okay. Yes we’ve been told funding final is the 17th. Tring’s is the 13th (and WL have said boys finals are the 11th or 12th so if DS was lucky enough to get to those it’s three in a week!) I haven’t looked at hotels or transport yet, I think we’re just on tenterhooks waiting to hear back from RBS and Elmhurst for now before we make decisions! 

1 minute ago, The red shoes said:

I really doubt any of them will happen in March annoyingly ☹️

I am surprised that they’ve announced them today whilst we still await and update from Boris but I honestly think if schools do go back on 8th March then finals will be able to go ahead.

So funding finals for Tring are the 13th March, and WL boys final auditions are the 11th or 12th! Very close together! x

I think there’s no definite times that you won’t hear! I’m sure I read at some point a few years ago that people received emails for JA places at 7pm which I definitely wouldn’t have expected! I hope we hear soon but I suspect it will be after the 22nd when Boris outlines the plan for re-opening the country. I hope it’s before! 

Just now, Raquelle said:

Thanks all the posters so far. Watching this thread with interest as another prospective year 7...we can only afford it if DD gets MDS so we are going in with low expectations. She didn't dance competitively at all last year and only joined JAs this year so I suppose I feel we are quite late to the table. We have gone into the process with low expectations, but having said that, it is already a bit of en emotional rollercoaster! Thanks for everyone's honesty and to @cotes du rhone !I have been reading your life after ballet thread too and think it is important that we all go into the process with eyes wide open. Xx

I have often worried about this too in the past. My DS had never set foot in a dance studio until 3 years ago. He did start JA’s in Y5 but definitely doesn’t have the long years of experience some children have by 11. All they can do is their best and I’m sure your DD is really talented  I think they’re all amazing kids to be so hardworking and determined!

This all makes for really interesting reading, thanks for posting this thread! I wish there was a way we could tell, but I agree in that I don’t think there is and all we can do is see what happens! At least it’s only a few weeks now until we know if our DDs and DSs have made finals at RBS and Elmhurst. Then hopefully we can all move on to stressing about final auditions! 😂🤞🏻

11 hours ago, BalletBoyMumma said:

Same. We can evict the dog from the living room but not our two cats - they generally stay out of the way but occasionally decide they want to join in too, or worse, want to check out the camera. Oops!  I’ve had to jump in a few times to remove a cat. 🤭 Will definitely try harder after receiving that email. 😬😅

I agree the attention to detail has been fantastic but we can’t wait for Zoom lessons to be over. DS definitely prefers Zoom over the recorded lessons from the first lockdown though. And our JA teacher is fantastic too. ☺️ 

Zoom (or Teams for school) seems to be on constantly here (our two DDs dance too). The hiding and trying to stay quiet all day and most evenings is really grating on us now. Thankful for it though as I know a few DCs were unable to get on zoom at all which must be incredibly frustrating and very unfair. ☹️

 

Hopefully not too much longer and it’ll be safe to head back into studios. ❤️ 

The email did make me chuckle! It’s really difficult when everybody is at home isn’t it. I know exactly what you mean with the zoom frequency, I feel like I’m always tiptoeing about in the next room and planning my whole days around avoiding a camera pointing at me! Ha! Fingers crossed brighter days (in the studio!) are coming! x

17 minutes ago, Asta said:

Maybe it’s not a suitable place to ask but how all of you choose between the schools after getting offers? As I am a foreigner I know little about UK vocational dance schools. We applied for RBS, Elmhurst, Tring and Moorland and got offers from the last two. Of course, I understand that WL is on top of the schools, we attended finals there last year. But how to choose between Tring and Elmhurst, for example? My daughter is absolutely classical ballerina, taught after Vaganova method. 

My understanding is that in terms of purely classical ballet training, the order to go in is WL, Elmhurst, Tring, Hammond. However I am happy to be corrected as I have only gleaned that from these forums! For my DS he is Royal Ballet obsessed. He is really excited about the offers from other schools and very grateful for the ones he has so far and keen to go to the funding auditions, but he has his heart set on RBS and is desperate for a WL place. I think it’s a combination of loving London and the ROH and RB company so much, and the fact that he absolutely loves his JA lessons so feels a huge pull towards them! I don’t think he’s quite grasped yet that it is entirely possible to become an excellent dancer outside of Royal. I’ve spent a lot of time explaining how difficult it is to get through to WL finals etc and he says he knows and isn’t expecting to, but I am still sure that he will be heartbroken when/if that ends up being the case. I think also when the children visit the schools they will have a good idea of if it fits them/they fit it! (I hope anyway!) x

41 minutes ago, Flower said:

Wow so are you allowed to go to the Hammond MDA finals without paying extra?

Oh goodness no, we still have to pay! She was just very kind about me

not being able to pay immediately that day.

2 minutes ago, Asta said:

Dear Bunny, thank you for an advice. Yes, she is invited to the funding finals.So perhaps we will do the same as you.

 

That’s wonderful, in that case I don’t think you have to pay until she has attended, unless it is different for international students? I would drop them a quick email and ask. Good luck! ☺️ X

5 minutes ago, Asta said:

Hello. I am new to this group but would like to ask an advise. We are international so it’s so confusing with all these online auditions.. My daughter got an offer for year 8 (dance course) and Tring wants a non refundable deposit in 20 days. As we also auditioned for Elmhurst (no results till next month) we are in a big confusion now. Are here more people in the same situation?

Welcome and congratulations to your DD! Did your daughter get invited to the funding final? If she did then my understanding is there are no fees to pay until they have attended this.  If not, perhaps contact Tring and explain you are still awaiting to hear results from other schools and so could you wait to make the payment until you’ve heard from them all? We are in the same boat, my DS has had an offer for Hammond and Tring but both with funding finals, but we still have to wait to hear from Elmhurst and WL. Hammond asked for £160 but I emailed and explained money is tight due to the pandemic and the very lovey registrar was great about it. We don’t have to pay anything to Tring yet as he will be attending the funding final. I hope you get sorted!

Do you think if we emailed to ask they would tell us? It would be interesting to know how many are going to funding finals just to try and get an idea of the odds? Ha! Wishful thinking I know! x

27 minutes ago, Raquelle said:

My dd only started in year 6 and only made it in person twice this term to her JA class..so I think it might be hard for some of the JA teachers to give feedback based on zoom...unless she assessed her based on the week she made it in December? X 

Yes, I would imagine it would be a bit trickier for those DC who have only just started this year. I meant more for those who have gone through several years where the teacher has seen them every week.  I have to say though I think the Zoom classes have been amazing and the teacher at our centre is absolutely excellent at sitting closely to the screen and observing the children and giving corrections, way more than I thought she would be able to! 

5 minutes ago, Lara Eschler said:

Hi, I was just curious, is there a waitlist after WL finals? 

One of the Newcastle JA boys was definitely on a waitlist last year and then was subsequently offered a place and went, so there was last year  X

Newcastle had two JAs offered a WL place last year, one boy and one girl. Another boy was then accepted from the wait list. 

3 minutes ago, SJBallet said:

We’re not in the round this year, next year for us but good luck to everyone this year. 
 

I’ve often wondered, and your post @Bunnyhas lead me to ask, do JA teachers provide feedback to Royal for those that are applying for WL?  

They write a report on the children’s progress every year I believe. (Or at least, that’s what my DS’s JA teacher advised me during my parents evening appointment.) I don’t think it’s specifically written so that the children can be considered for WL, but I think this year they will certainly help if they need any further clarification about a child who is a JA, I think it would make sense to look at them but who knows! My DS’s JA teacher told me though that they will primarily look at the videos. 

10 minutes ago, The red shoes said:

Yes it is optimistic... but I don’t see why they need to wait for guidelines before announcing prelim results. Hammond and Tring have. 
I’m a dance school owner and don’t expect to be back in my studio until June/ July at the earliest. 
I am pretty sure finals will be online again 😞 as much as I hate to admit it 

I am also thinking they might end up on Zoom which is a shame for the kids, but at the same time I would rather they did that and then perhaps offered physio appointments and a look around the school in person to those who were successful, rather than putting off finals indefinitely and waiting until June or July or whenever to hold them, as it’s just not enough time for parents and children to come to terms with their child moving away, prepare etc. I think it will be easier for those children who are JAs as teachers will be able to give some input as to how they are in person. 

13 minutes ago, Whiteduvet said:

It’s not just schools which need to be open though, it’s transport and hotels too. And I fear that 8/3 is optimistic however much I’d like it to be true...!!

 

The Royal follows its own rules I think: doubt it’ll be influenced by other schools! But I agree a yes or no would be good even if it’s only ‘yes with details to follow’!

Hotels and transport are still open  and running for work and education purposes so that’s not a barrier at the moment at least! 🤞🏻 

I am hoping we will hear really soon as train tickets and the like are incredibly hit and miss at the moment and for those of us who would need to come up and stay overnight if our kids were lucky enough to make finals, the more time we have to prepare the better, as I’ll also need to sort childcare arrangements for my other DC, and I’m sure I’m not the only one in that position x

1 minute ago, Whiteduvet said:

At the minute though the finals

cant go ahead as planned (I think-have somewhat lost track of what’s allowed and what isn’t 🤣), so surely they’re waiting until the rules change and they can confirm plans...

 Currently BoJo is planning to open schools 8th March and the first final is 11th March I believe for Y7 boys so at the moment it’s still possible. If Scotland go ahead with opening schools from 22nd February I think England will then definitely reopen 8th March and so finals would in that case be able to go ahead I would have thought?

1 hour ago, ponklemum said:

I know the closing date was the 5th Jan but do you think they’ve been assessing them from when they were given in? Even if it was to start putting them in to piles of yes, no, maybe. 

I think they must have been as my DS’s longer view (although still only short 😬) was December 1st!

36 minutes ago, BalletBoyMumma said:

Oh bless him. I hope we hear soon and it’s good news for your DS. 

 

My DS has written himself out of the competition (as he’s struggled so much with zoom and emotionally and he really knows it) that he doesn’t even ask. This makes me simultaneously sad (for him) and very relieved (that if it’s a no then he’s going to be ok).
 

It doesn’t stop me from checking regularly though. 😬 So stressful! 

Thank you! I hope we all hear soon and it’s good news for all of us! 🥰

Oh bless your son, it’s been such a difficult time for them for the past year and dancing on Zoom is nothing like it is in the studio in person. They are so young and hopefully once he gets back to the studio he will be more confident and happy! And he definitely shouldn’t write himself off because you just never know! I’m keeping my fingers tightly crossed for him! x

10 minutes ago, Bluebird22 said:

Last year the offer for year 7 boys White Lodge came on the 10th March, which I’m sure was earlier than we anticipated

Last year my friends DS was offered his place on March 3rd. His prelim audition was January 19th I think and he found out he got to finals on January 27th. His final audition was on February 27th so different timescales for us this year!

We’ve had two watches, one for 3 and a half minutes at the beginning of December and one for 30 seconds(?!) mid January-ish. DS asks every day if we have heard! I’m starting to think it’s worse now he’s heard back from Tring and Hammond as he seems to think they must all now be due to tell us!