MissEmily

@kimsballet https://www.click-dancewear.com/products/silky-brand-essential-ballet-dance-socks Is anyone here auditioning in Eastleigh on Monday? I have a little JUST 8 year-old pupil auditioning.

They will need to show bare feet for parts of the audition so if going with tights, they need to be convertible. The JAs wear socks for Year 4 and 5 and, as of last year, tights for Year 6.

My (ex-) student is currently in Year 7. The standard of dance teaching is excellent, at least for the girls. I can’t comment on the boys with any authority. Feedback is also regular and useful both to the students and parents. I am under the impression that academic class sizes at WL are similar, as boys and girls are taught their academic subjects together, just like at Elmhurst. Please correct that if you’ve heard differently. Academics are taken seriously at Elmhurst and my student, who has EAL, has been given outstanding support. If you have any more questions, do PM me.

@B.wightman1 I’d be very surprised if they let you apply late but she can apply next year and there are other associate programmes she could be applying for in the meantime.

It depends on your family circumstances. As many people on this forum know, my (ex-)pupil started at vocational school in September and it was absolutely the right thing for her. Her parents’ working hours and arrangements, and the fact she has a much younger sibling, mean that they would have been unable to drive her here, there and everywhere for classes etc. and she would not have been able to reach her potential as a result. Her personality lends itself very well to being in that environment and she is thriving and very happy. But all children and their circumstances are different.

My student reports having about six pieces of homework a week at Elmhurst…

Sorry, I forgot to answer the weekend situation. Normally, from January, they have Saturday morning RAD ballet lessons making going home for the weekend impractical for most. This year, for uninteresting reasons, these will start after Easter. They have "leave out" weekends or a holiday every three weeks. It seems very roughly to be a 50/50 split of those who stay for weekends and those who go home at the moment. Weekend activities range from the very simple (going to Aldi and the park, which they love) to exciting trips to water parks/ the cinema/ bonfire night displays etc., and in-house activities like pizza-making, face mask-making and talent shows.

Elmhurst Year 7 They have a two hour ballet lesson every day Monday to Friday. They also have a 90 minute lesson in another discipline such as contemporary (Rambert grades), choreography, conditoning, pointework, character... most days They study: Maths, English, Italian, Science, History, Geography, Music (private lessons are also included in their MDS funding), Drama, Art Lessons finish at 6pm most days and earlier one day a week. The last lesson of the day is the 90 minute dance lesson, but never ballet, which is earlier in the day. They then have dinner and have between 18:30 and 19:45 to have showers, do any homework sort their rooms out etc. They also have their phones to speak to family during that time. "Family time" is at 19:45-20:15. This is time spent together in the common room catching up on the day, without phones 20:15-20:29 (!) is their main window for phoning home, then they have to hand their phones in and get ready for bed before lights out at 9. Any more questions, feel free to ask. I have an ex-student in the current Year 7.

My old ballet teacher (who is sadly no longer alive) used to ban it. She said the standard of training she could offer was equivalent and that the JA lessons would interfere with their lessons with her, rehearsals and performances. She did not seek the “glory” of having a child successfully audition. She was absolutely right, but I think there are few schools which truly can offer an equivalently special experience of ballet training. She lost students because of it, but always stood by her policy.

@RachH So pleased for her!!!

Does anyone know if children on the Short Waiting List will be offered the online course this year?

@Ballet_dancer2020 A big YES! My (ex- and now very happily at full-time vocational ballet school) pupil got straight nos for JAs for Years 4 and 5 and a straight yes for Year 6. At her centre (Eastleigh) there's a separate class for Year 6s, so a few more spaces are available for entry in that year. She was chosen for some amazing opportunities during her year there, including being the only girl asked to demonstrate for a talk their teacher was giving, so there was no feeling of her being the underdog either, although she had a lot of catching up to do. Go for it, as @AllAboutTheJourneysaid, the audition is a wonderful experience in itself.

I have a Year 3 pupil auditioning this year. She has everything going for her...except turnout...so sadly I don't rate her chances, but the audition is an experience in itself!

@SophoifeSo funny! I’m a teacher of French and took a school trip to the Opéra Garnier a few weeks ago. We booked a private tour just for our group and I asked if we could have the tour in French, but slowly. I was told the only options were French or English. So we had a tour in slow, stilted English 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️

Wait list again here too. Third year running. It was very exciting the first time… Now it’s just a bit frustrating! 😔 Think we’re going to go for Malvern instead.

@RubyM This was last year's Day 2 schedule, but the "contemporary" mentioned was definitely jazz. 9.00am – 11.00am Ballet Class & Contemporary Class 11.00am – 11.15am Students Change 10.45am – 11.15am Refreshments in Foyer for Parents 11.15pm – 12.15pm Tour with Parents 12.15pm – 12.45pm SLT Presentation

1) Turning skips, the “flick” referring to the spotting head 2) I’m afraid I’m not sure how serious that would be! Something for her to practise between now and then?! I’m only referring to front splits. 3) If the jazz hasn’t been mentioned then I would have thought that means it’s not happening. I’m afraid I can’t remember which day it was on. I THINK the first though.

@RubyM and @Balletmum92 I can answer your questions based on last year. My pupil is now in Year 7 there and thriving. The content of the second round audition class was much the same: Simple barre Skip and flick Relevé in 5th, pirouette Simple jumps Grand battement in 4 counts in centre They also did a jazz class. My pupil had never done this style before and it sounds like it was pretty disastrous, but she was offered a place straight away so don’t despair if that’s you! She also was not an Elmhurst YD though she was an RBS JA. In the interview, she was asked about her favourite and least favourite school subjects, how long she’d been dancing and why she loves it, and about her heritage. It was informal and friendly and she was also given the opportunity to ask questions. In the physio screening, they asked her to completely relax her foot and circled the ankle and pointed her foot for her. On her back, they looked at how far her hamstrings went and rotated her hips in the socket. I believe that was it. In the class though, they had to stand facing every direction so the panel could check for symmetry and proportions and they had to slide into the splits with no hands. Hope that helps!

The "volume of applications" does not bode well 😰 Just put us out of our misery! 😅

@lanczievamuzsa We’re all still waiting… 😰

I would dearly love to know how they select. I.e. Is there one photo they start with and shortlist from, before looking at the other photos to make their final selection? Is it one group of people (or one person?!) who does it and do they do it in one day? What's the first thing they're looking for: feet, turnout, proportions, muscle tone, leg shape...? I would love to be a fly on the wall...

I think it’s more likely to be next week, but I’d be delighted to be proved wrong!

Sander Blommaert is running a Swan Lake based weekend for adults in Birmingham over the Easter weekend.

All now sold!

Elevé leotard now sold too.