Millicent

I would just add a word of caution that the website may not be up to date for all things. It still says JA auditions are held in the summer term, for example. So it may be that this year they will do preliminary auditions by video and do a short list and then see children in person in May half term as usual. I think they haven't committed to anything either way so far, so I would just be a bit cautious about assuming that the final results will be out in March/April for JA courses that start in September.

Hope it goes well!

In fact my DD had changed so much I was thinking the photos were from Jan 19 but actually they were Jan 20! 😆 Seems like a lifetime ago in any case.

I would agree that there is no need to redo photos taken a few months ago but a year is a long time in terms of a child's body development. My DD did her JA photos in Jan 19 and by the time we fimed the audition in August her legs were massively longer, in proportion to her body, than in Jan. We didn't view or practice the videos beforehand and my DD was so very determined that she did not want to "cheat" that she got really cross with me when I played the beginning of the video for 10 secs just before filming to check that the volume was high enough! She was lucky enough to get into London JAs and has the satisfaction of knowing that she played by the rules. One thing I am confused about is why they want photos and videos? At a JA insight day they said that the photos are not used as part of the selection process but just to identify the dancer, which makes more sense when there is a live audition with lots of children in the studio at once. Not sure how they can maintain this stance when they are auditioning by video. I can only imagine that they are used e.g. if they are choosing between two dancers and want to see their photos side by side.

The website says that dancers shouldn't practice beforehand: Please do not practice the Junior Associates video audition parts before filming. I am surprised though that they have just published it on their website for anyone to view, rather than sending a specific link by email like they did last year.

I wonder how often the classes are? I assume those on the engagement programme still have to audition for JAs next year, although likely to be in with a higher chance?

So do examiners always write comments etc in exams but you can only see what they have written if you pay extra? Seems a very odd system if so. Most of those comments will never get read so the dancers can't benefit from them. It would be much more helpful if comments were included as standard. Festival adjudicators are able to write often quite detailed comments from only seeing each dancer for less than 2 minutes. Why can't an examiner write comments on dancers that they see for about half an hour?

I find it really frustrating and disappointing that no comments are given in exams. A bunch of numbers doesn't seem good enough feedback for exams that dancers work years for. My DD has nearly always been given the same mark out of 10 for all of the different sections and it has made me wonder how this can be an accurate reflection of her abilities when I know that she is stronger in some areas and weaker in others.

Thank you so much, that's really helpful.

Thank you. Is RBS the only school where everyone automatically gets MDS? I've heard people talking about funding auditions for other schools, such as Tring and Hammond I think? Not sure what the position is for Elmhurst.

I've tried to find the answer online but can't find anything that says it clearly. Do all White Lodge students get an MDS grant that covers their tuition fees? I know in some schools they do an additional round of auditions for funding but I can't quite figure out what the position is for White Lodge. Many thanks.

I've seen both sides of this. One girl is very talented and her ability is far above her age group so she is put into classes with girls 5 or more years older than her. Some of the other dancers/parents perceive this as unfair favouritism and other parents ask that their child is moved up classes as well (based on their age and not ability or level of exams taken). Often the teachers cave in and do this, in one case because the parent is friends with the teacher, but in most cases because the head of the school doesn't want to lose their custom, especially in these difficult times. Unfortunately what then happens is that the standard in the more advanced groups drops massively and the teachers end up spending a disproportionate amount of time correcting the new dancers who really aren't yet at that level of class, and the girls who really are that level , and should be taught to that level, miss out on attention/corrections.

Thanks. I know these things are really complicated and I do have some sympathy for government. But, on the other hand, I don't think the government has done a good job in terms of clarity of information and communication. They give out information bit by bit and do not explain it clearly. Perhaps they should set out some FAQs.

Thanks @LinMM that's really helpful. What I'm not clear on is that it says that participants can't travel between tiers. Does this include U18s? We would have to go from Tier 3 to Tier 2 for my DD to attend her associate classes.

DD just means daughter and DS is son. The other thing I like about my DD's Zoom classes is that I get to watch and see what she's learning and have an idea of the corrections she gets. Otherwise I'm just a taxi service and spend hours sitting in cold car parks!

I have to agree with this. I won't mention any names but my DD had a lesson with a professional dancer who, to my knowledge, doesn't have any teaching qualifications, and it really didn't go very well and wasn't tailored properly to her age and experience. In fact, there were some elements that I didn't feel were safe and my DD ended up with a minor injury from pushing herself too hard. On the contrary, her lessons with her local teacher on Zoom have been excellent in the circumstances and I think being able to see herself clearly on screen from every angle has helped her self-correction as well. She gets detailed corrections from the teacher as the class is fairly small and I can see very clearly that she progressed really well over the Zoom period, I think partly due to having, by necessity, to concentrate more on the basics of technique.

Well done to the yeses! @BellaF that makes me wonder if the analytics aren't actually very accurate as I'd be so surprised they would give out a yes after having watched less than 10% of the audition. So pleased for you.

I agree, it seems odd to me to stipulate a particular brand/style of shoes when feet are so different!

Thank you so much. Very relieved! Took me years to find a style that actually fit her!

Thanks, I think the teacher is Miss Krapf. There were no specifics about shoes on the uniform list, just some suggested shoes that you could order but not obligatory. I can't imagine that one brand would fit all students?

Can I ask about ballet shoes please? My DD will start in London JAs in Jan. They just say leather ballet shoes, is split sole with cross-elastics OK or are they very strict? My DD has feet that don't seem to fit most brands so I'd rather not buy the ones they recommend as they are really unlikely to fit her.

Yes she just seemed to have some sort of magic to her when she danced that drew my eye to her every time. Interesting to have discovered that she started as an RBS JA then went to WL then straight into the company. Surprisingly, there don't seem to be many that manage such a direct route.

I missed this and am intrigued! Was the director harsh? I was, perhaps naively, surprised at how humble Nunez was when being coached in the RB pas de deux. There seemed to be a fair amount of self-doubt and humility in her approach. Somehow not what I would expect of one so famous and revered.

My DD is meant to have an exam coming up. It's practically impossible to do anything other than barre work and non-travelling allegro at home. I did think it was interesting that on World Ballet Day one of the RBS teachers said that the company had actually improved their technique over lockdown. Perhaps the necessity of going back to basics/barre work in small spaces does have some advantages...trying to be positive!

According to the government website, dance studios are specifically listed as having to close during the November lockdown 😪 Back to Zoom it is!