MissEmily

Update: after much refreshing the tickets came back! 🥳 They must have still been “in my cyber basket” despite having disappeared in reality. So I now have exactly what I wanted an hour and two minutes ago. Thank goodness I’m not at work today 🤷🏻‍♀️ Thank you @oncnp for offering to help me out!

I am SO upset. With my baby due mid-November my mum and I were going to have one last hoorah watching Don Q in our usual seats (W58 and 59 Upper Amphi) on 16th Oct. Like members above, I had the tickets in my basket and when I turned down the kind offer to donate, everything disappeared. I immediately went back in but of course was told I’d exceeded my ticket limit. Now they’ve gone and we’re looking at spending triple for no improvement in view, which I refuse to do. How can an institution like the ROH not have sorted something as fundamental as their booking system?

@thelittleswans My pupil auditioned for WL, Elmhurst, Tring, Moorland and YDA last year so I can answer any questions you have about any of them. She missed the preliminary audition for YDA because she had Covid but they put her straight through to finals so they could still have a look at her. The class was more similar to the Tring one, so had more challenging content. They also performed their solo. We had lovely, personal feedback from them after the audition and I felt it would have been a good option if we’d been able to find accommodation for her in London, but she had her heart set on Elmhurst by then anyway!

@Thelittleswans A jazz/ contemporary lesson is indeed part of the Elmhurst audition. My student (current Year 7) had never done either so found the class quite hard but I think they just like to see how they move. The Elmhurst audition ballet class consisted of: Simple barre Skip and flick Relevé in 5th, pirouette Simple jumps Grand battement in 4 counts in centre There was also a physio assessment which involved a look at their feet, spines, hips and general flexibility. The Tring audition classes were much more challenging in content, comprising: Pliés, tendus, grands battements and developpés at barre Pirouettes from the corner (doubles if poss) Developpés and arabesques in the centre Tendus, relevés and pirouettes in the centre Various petit allegro exercises The physio just checked turnout and feet The jazz class was learning a routine rather than exercises. In the academic test they had to write about their life. They also did online VR tests. They had to perform a pre-prepared solo and afterwards they asked my pupil two questions: where she was from and how long she’d been dancing. Hope that’s helpful!

Thanks everyone! She's in!!! One very happy girly!

Moorland International Ballet Academy is also excellent.

Thank you everyone! This is all so helpful! My class sizes are small so we don't normally rotate lines, but will practise doing that beautifully in preparation! She has a quick brain and a lovely sense of performance so hopefully those things will stand her in good stead, even though I think she'll be at the lower end of the technical spectrum, having only just taken her Grade 5 exam and not having any desires to pursue ballet professionally! I feel like EYB is the right sort of standard for her; even if her audition isn't successful I'm optimistic she won't feel totally the underdog at the audition!

Hello! I have a 13 year-old student auditioning for English Youth Ballet next month, which is a first for my ballet school. Is anyone able to tell me what sort of thing they are likely to be asked to do in the audition/ what they're looking for? Thank you!

@DanceMum82 That’s very exciting news! I bet you can’t wait for the end of school!!! Good to know it does happen, even if not for my pupil this time. She is very happy with her online lessons though.

Assuming all the "no" emails say they'd like to see them again in the future?

Results just in and as predicted, it's a no.

Was there more than one audition day I wonder? My student auditioned on 3rd June.

@The red shoesNo, still haven’t heard anything. @Silver do always try again. My pupil got a no for Tring CBA, followed by an offer of a place at the full time school a couple of years later! She also had two straight nos for JAs, followed by a yes. She is now finishing her first year at Elmhurst, where she is thriving. Don’t give up after one no!

@dance5678 I wouldn't move your child only for that reason. There is a lot more to be said for loyalty and sticking with a teacher who knows and has nurtured your child's love of dance up until now. First of all, I would speak to your child's current teacher about your aspirations as they will be best placed to advise you.

No such luck unfortunately. My pupil is also just 8. It's a bit cruel spreading the results out so much! Still nothing... She has the online JA lessons on Sundays to look forward to though so all is not lost!

Nothing yet… Can’t help feeling that doesn’t bode well…

@dance5678 There are a couple of schools and locations you could be referring to. Both are phenomenal teachers, but also the more students you prepare for auditions and the more experience you have of seeing who is successful and who isn't, the better you get at putting the "right" children forward and making sure they show themselves in the best light. There is also an element of auditioning being part of the culture of a school. Some excellent schools don't allow students to audition; others encourage it. Also, the more children you advertise as being JAs, the more it attracts the kind of families who want to audition. And sometimes a school just gets lucky with a particular generation of gifted students! Lots of factors at play.

Thank you! Receiving a letter would have been so special...if it had been sent to the correct address...! It was torture knowing everyone else already had their answers!

Hello! Has anyone else's child auditioned for Tring Classical Ballet Academy this year? Do you know whether results will come via email or letter? I ask because the results for their full-time school still come via post! Thank you!

@kimsballet The Short Waiting List is really short, unlike the Summer Intensive one 🤣 but I can’t think of MANY situations in which you’d audition, be successful and not take up your place, so whilst it does happen (see above success stories!) I would assume it’s online classes for this year and be super proud of what is already a spectacular achievement!

@Ballet_dancer2020 I am so happy to hear that! Congratulations!!! My little Year 3 pupil is on the SWL and will receive online lessons! She doesn't know yet (I'm calling her at 6 to tell her!) but I am overjoyed!

My pupil has applied for JAs (in Eastleigh) and Tring CBA. She loved both auditions but actually enjoyed Tring the most. She's a beautiful little dancer with an incredible brain, but limited turn-out which I think will be her downfall 😞 Both sets of results could come any day now...as well as her Grade 2 ballet exam result...!

In my experience as a teacher, remote exam results are far, far lower and more random than in person. So long as she keeps up home practice/ conditioning exercises throughout the summer, I'd go for August.

Can anyone tell me when casting is likely to be announced for Nutcracker and Don Quixote?

@Tendu_mum My little Year 3 pupil loved it!