BalletBoysDad

5 minutes ago, Spamcat said:

Thanks for the info @BalletBoysDad and @Balletmumlife. That is great, I was worried we would only get a few days, I'm quite happy with 2 and a half weeks.

So I wonder if group 2 will be sent out on 1st Sept after group one is finished and so on. That would be a long wait until group 4 but they will have so many videos to get through.

I read on an earlier email that candidates who are 8 or 9 will be auditioned in autumn term with a view to successful candidates starting in January 2021. I’m not sure if this is still the plan, but we could be in for a very long wait.... 

2 minutes ago, Balletmumlife said:

London had the email on the 12th Aug and has to be submitted my 1st September. X

Thanks for the info. Gosh, that really is quite a short amount of time. 

1 minute ago, Spamcat said:

I was wondering the same @BalletBoysDad because we are also Birmingham group 4.

 

Has anyone from later groups had video emails yet or is it still only group 1? How long do they give you between the email arriving and submission deadline? I have to go away for a week in September and sods law the email will arrive then!

It says in the email:

You will be sent the details of the video class and the form through which you will submit your video links approximately two and a half weeks in advance of the deadline for your group.

Which makes me wonder if there is, say, 4 week to submit. In the hope that applications are staggered, and not all submitted on the deadline day.
 

On 12/08/2020 at 10:04, Raquelle said:

Yes I agree white duvet. Our dd got in off the swl so I got a lovely phone call last week! She is slim with nice feet and flexible. She wore a red leotard which was flattering and we couldn't find her ballet shoes so the ones she ended up wearing were too small! However her feet looked lovely when she pointed! It wasnt a perfect audition but obviously they saw something in her x 

Congratulations to your DD! That must have been a wonderful call. My DS had the nervous anxiety of a SWL for Y4 and the disappointment that it never materialised into a space. May I ask, from submission deadline, did you have to wait long to get your result? 

I also wonder how long results will take to arrive from submission deadline for each group? I think in ‘normal’ years, it takes a month. But with individual submissions, I’m wondering if they understandably take

much longer... Talk about an agonising wait. 😬 Although purely hypothetical, children might already be accepted and enrolled on other associate programmes that have already asked for, or are shortly about to request signed confirmation of acceptance.... makes me wonder if there will be a bit more movement and opportunity on SWL’s this year.

I’m wondering when Group 4 Birmingham Y5 application update/links will be sent out, and what the submission deadline will be? Looks like they have a lot of applications to get through before they get to Birmingham.
 

(Cut and pasted from the July email update):

On 15/08/2020 at 23:50, The red shoes said:

My DS is starting year 6 Birmingham and wondered if boys have their own class in year 6? 

I was wondering if they separate the boys And girls or if it’s mixed. My DS is starting Y5 Birmingham.

11 minutes ago, Crazylifecrazykids said:

Couldn't agree more.. we spent the whole week testing, buying LAN cables, sorting a suitable place etc etc but when it came to audition day it was so hot and my DD seemed to forget she was on Zoom at times! She kept taking out loud 🙄 looking at me, got on the wrong foot so many times... I just don't think after so much prep her head was quite where it should be, so she has learnt a few valuable lessons 🤣🤣 one being to remain focussed and remember she's in an audition for even though she's at home! 🤣 strange times we live in but all forms the great tapestry of life! Congratulations to you DS hope he enjoys every minute 😊

That’s very kind. Thank you! And best of luck to you DD for her academic year in ballet 😊 🩰 Though he had his fair share of problems also, and enough went ‘wrong’ for him to feel it didn’t go well. He started nearly everything on the wrong foot. His brain seemed to see left but hear right, and confused him the whole time. It felt more like The Krypton Factor at times.

10 minutes ago, Mum of unicorn dancer said:

Oh sorry to hear that, but you have a right positive attitude. It is really hard to do audition in limited space and being at mercy your internet upload speed. There might be as well factor of social distancing, so maybe not so many places available. EYB is great. My DD is  doing it past 2 weeks as Tchaikovsky Gala - in fact the first live classes 😊 and she really enjoys every moment of that. Hoping for real show next year. Good luck with all dancing adventures and for vocational auditions. 🤞

I thought along similar lines. It’s great that Elmhurst did actually run auditions, but there are so many factors that made this different to a ‘normal’ audition. Same with the way RBS are running their JA auditions via video.... In a normal audition, they all disappear off into the same room, and are exposed to exactly the same conditions, and its all very equal and fair (except maybe when they separate the older children and the younger ones within the same year group). But this year, there are a million different factors every child will be exposed to. My DS has to dance on carpet for the first time, we had to close all the windows so he could hear properly, but it was ridiculously hot in the house. There were space issues, and so many distractions out of his control. Not to mention poor internet speed and broken sound. Every child who auditioned should feel incredibly proud for doing so under very unique and challenging conditions.

41 minutes ago, LilyLongLegs said:

Also a not yet for DD for Y5 Birmingham. Disappointed as she has loved attending some workshops there but she has been offered and accepted a place on Ballet Boost Junior Associates so is thrilled to be starting that. The fact her new kit for there had arrived today felt a bit like fate when the no arrived. Well done to all the yes DC, and keep trying to the Not yets. Xx

Great that she has Ballet Boost to look forward to, that’s a great achievement in itself! 

35 minutes ago, BalletmumH said:

Unfortunately it's a no for my DD Yr 5 Manchester. She's feeling really disappointed. We are very proud of her regardless of the outcome. Onwards and upwards. 

 

Congrats to all those who have got a place! 

Sorry to hear of your DD’s disappointment. I do feel bad for all those who don’t get the outcome they hoped and worked hard for. My son was in that situation last year. For Y4, he wasn’t that fussed. It was nothing a trip to the Lego shop couldn’t resolve. But what a difference a year makes, as their emotions develop. Hope she feels better about it soon. 

31 minutes ago, Mum of unicorn dancer said:

Congratulations to all yes dancers. My DD as typically as usual is on reserve list (oh yes 🤣 3 years in row on SWL for JA RBS) and now in Elmhurst. I do not expect that the place will become available, so at least she still can continue with her Ballet Boost and CBA.  

I can imagine the sense of frustration, but it’s still an achievement. My son’s ballet teacher from ENB said she taught some of the BBA students over zoom in lockdown and was amazed with how good the Ballet Boost students are, and the results they achieve. As Candycakes said, I’m sure there’s truth in ‘all in good time’. My son will do the RBS and Tring CBA audition just for experience, he got SWL on his first audition for JA’s last year and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same this year, maybe even a no.... But I’ve prepared the motto for my son that I learned from a Chinese friend; ‘slow and steady wins the race’.

1 hour ago, Dancingsantosisters said:

We've just had year 6 result for Manchester and unfortunately it's a no. She's already been offered and accepted Moorland so all just experience. Well done everyone 👏xx

Congratulations for Moorland. There’s so many places the children can thrive, and they’re still so young. I’m sure she’ll have an amazing year of dance.

13 minutes ago, Dancemum100 said:

We’ve just had a yes! 

Congratulations 🥳 

15 minutes ago, glowlight said:

I'm actually quite glad I wasn't on this forum when my DD was doing associate auditions.  Knowing that some results are on their way must be particularly nerve racking.

 

Congratulations to those who have good news.

 

Commiserations to those who don't have good news this time.

 

Good luck to those still waiting.

I had very mixed feelings about participating in this forum this year. I used it for the first time last year when applying for RBS JA’s. My son got SWL and it came to nothing. It’s a strange mix of successes and disappointments. But I also appreciate most people are having a shared experience of anticipation and anxiety. After disappointment last year, it’s great to have some good news. But I also share the disappointment of those who don’t get the outcome they would have preferred. 

15 minutes ago, BellaF said:

It’s a yes for year 5 Birmingham for us too! Very surprised after the audition catastrophe 😊

 

Fingers crossed those waiting for year 6 results hear soon! 

Congratulations 🥳 I really did think it was a challenging audition, especially in the home environment. I don’t envy any of the children going through this zoom audition process. 

10 minutes ago, Candycakes82 said:

Mine is for a DD and I totally agree that it wasn't an easy audition at all! Great news for them both ☺️😊☺️

Thrilled for you and your DD! See you in Edgbaston 😊

Just now, Dancingsantosisters said:

Congratulations to you all 👏🎊... no news yet on y6 😔. I'm thinking tomorrow now xx

Thank you, so kind. I did read someone say Y7 and Y8 had been announced, so I was very surprised to see Y5 announced before Y6. Hoping everyone hears this side of the weekend. 

Just now, Candycakes82 said:

It is a yes for us too!! See you at Elmhurst 👏🥳🎉

Congratulations! 🥳 Is this for a DS or DD? I’m so pleased, because my son got SWL for RBS London last year, and felt really disappointed when it turned into nothing. This audition wasn’t particularly easy. I know it sounds strange, it was the first time he had to dance on carpet, the sound wasn’t great, and we didn’t have the hugest space. Was expecting a no so it’s a really pleasant surprise! 

Just this second received the email, surprised to get one this side of the weekend. It was a yes for my DS, auditioned for Birmingham Y5

4 minutes ago, Candycakes82 said:

Same here! We only moved here in July from the South so sounds like we are in a similar boat! 

Fingers crossed they come through soon 🤞

Parallel lives 😂 

6 minutes ago, Candycakes82 said:

Nope I cannot say I am enjoying the waiting game 😂

We are assuming a no as it's first time but doesn't stop me constantly refreshing my emails!!

This was also the first Elmhurst audition for my DS as we’ve only just relocated to the Midlands, so we didn’t apply for Y4. Wether there are many spaces available is probably anyone’s guess. I just hope we get to know he outcome this side of the weekend. 

2 minutes ago, Candycakes82 said:

Oooh good luck! I have no idea how many applicants there were or how many places there might be but certainly seems like there were quite a few auditioning! 

Good luck too! Yes, I got the sense there were quite a lot auditioning, and no idea I’d the statistics involved. I’ve always presumed RBS JA’s hover around a 1-in-10 chance for the bigger centres, but have never really asked or researched the Elmhurst statistics. Regardless of the outcome, the waiting is never particularly a pleasure is it 😬

8 minutes ago, Candycakes82 said:

Another Year 5 Birmingham awaiting results here! 😳

And another 🤞

@DreamChaser thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts and long term experience, it’s genuinely appreciated. 
 

I do agree, quality over quantity, and it’s a marathon rather than a sprint. I note quite a lot of the associate programmes start from age 7, but other than one RBS JA application last year, we avoided any other applications until now as my son was (and still is) really enjoying his ENB juniors class. The only thing that’s ashame with that programme is that it ends next year and doesn’t ‘rise’ into high school years. 

He has an amazing connection with his ENB tutor that has turned into ongoing 1-on-1 tuition that’s a joy to watch.
 

Regardless of what happens, we will try and keep that up as it’s what fuels his love of ballet. 
 

We’ve applied to programmes recommended by his tutor, and will see what is or isn’t an option when it’s revealed. (I’m encouraging the mindset that it’s an audition experience and nothing to lose sleep over). 
 

Infact, part of our reasoning to leave London is to make a better balance between work/school/ballet time and family time. It’s so easy to get sucked into doing too much here and like the article you sent says, it probably results in over-exposure and a sense of fatigue. 
 

It will also bring us closer to family, which can only be an emotional plus. 
 

I feel a touch nervous that it’s easy on these kind of forums to come across as a ‘pushy parent’, applying to all and hoping for my son to do all. Even in that unlikely scenario, we wouldn’t push to do more than is realistic. And at this young age, I personally think pleasure is key. When/if the pleasure goes, it just becomes a chore.
 

But it’s genuinely appreciated to have these kind of conversations to reflect upon what you’re applying to, why you’re applying and what you aim to achieve by applying