Lusodancer

That's probably a good guide. But it is a minefield, isn't it? However, after all this discussion, it is good news about BRB2, and we wish them well.

Well, ocasionally I dip into the audition sites and follow through to see audition proceedure, crtieria and curriculum, fees, etc just to be more informed ( in case my DD comes asking for a loan). Some are quite upfront and others say more details on request, which is where I stop. But on the continent, a years course may be somewhere like 2000-3000€ , similar to the course fees for universities or Masters programmes (some countries charge nothing of course for official courses) but I spotted a 12 month free- standing junior company advertised today in South London for £12,000 a year. So this is why I am interested and watch carefully for the trends, trying to keep track of who's where of my DD's friends and colleagues and how's it going. I think the pre-profesional course of Ballet Cymru for example is also £3,000ish for the year, which is competitive to the European ones. Elephant in the Black Box, Madrid or Pau, would probably represent similar value for money and experience, and has certainly benefitted those that I know have gone. Rosella Hightower has a scheme too I believe, which would also be an excellent experience. I have no idea how much that was , but one parent thought it expensive but it served her son well. Other that I have seen but don't know fees: Arles, DiA( Holland), The Hague Conservatoire, Nacho Duato(a new one in Madrid), Area Jeune Ballet, Europaballet, Junior Ballet Antwerp, Nevada Ballet II, and that's just a quick trawl of auditions now. As regards, the criteria for entry to companies, judging by the listings on audition sites the world over, junior companies are normally listed as 17-22 years, and professional as frequently listed as a minimum of so many years practice or over 22. Some outstanding youngsters obviously can catch the eye earlier if exposed at major competitions, but as is so frequently discussed in Doing Dance, so few of the British pupils go anywhere near YAGP or PdL and direct entry from Royal, Elmhurst, or any other classical pathway is not guaranteed. Even a knowledgeable Australian, commented in a feed of Doing Dance, that similar issues occur there too with the transition from academy to leading Australian companies, or lack of... I am not necessarily saying that second companies are not useful. In fact, they could be very good for many companies as a vehicle for developing new works with a more minimalist investment for maximum output. A way to use small more intimate spaces to reach different audiences. It depends how directors view such a project, as a training ground only or an extension of the main company for alternative programmes. So if they create wealth and turnover for the company through tours like this, should they have to pay for the privilege, or should they receive an appearance fee? Are they assisted with material, like pointe shoes as company dancers would be? These are all valid points for the dancer to consider when weighing up the value of one against the other before enrolling. And there is sometimes little information about the rewards of the programme on which to base a judgement of choice of where to apply. And before you then point out how much it costs to hire and mount a show for companies, I am more conversant than I care to be with the prices of theatre spaces and conference hall across Europe (some would make your hair curl), touring vinyl, costumes, the licenses for live or recorded music, the difference between the cost of public domain music and newer works, and the costs of musician and choreographers. At least the amatuer orchestra I play in managed to get municipal sponsorship for a concert space, advertising, licenses so that we were able to contribute to the Rotary effort to buy a piece of equipment for the surgical block of our local hospital. Otherwise it would have been a very expensive concert to mount in the space we were given. It is good to ask the questions and have a debate. Someone somewhere is always more knowledgeable or more experienced and can help with answers. So let's wait to see what others think or have discovered. I love the wealth of knowledge and diversity on this forum. However I think we would generally all like to see more dance, more funding, and more success stories, however it arises.

There are many second companies attached to European companies these days. Some, though, are vehicles for charging for the 'education' of a two year program that then supports other parts of the main company activities, and many other two year free standing professional training programs are designed on a similar scheme, with occasional appearance fees for shows. I would be interested to know how this particular venture is funded, ie. is BRB supporting the dancers, or are the dancers supporting themselves? Many of my DD's friends are scattered across Europe and have chosen this route after finishing vocational study because it seems to be the only way to acheive that magical ingedient of getting the ' 2 years minumum professional experience' by '22 years old' that seems to open the door into a company these days. Luckily some of the old eastern block companies still take younger and less experienced dancers from vocational schools that don't do the competition route to fame and fortune but have a solid technique to cut the mustard at audition. It's not easy for these dancers, but then was it ever?

On the Subject of the Nutcracker My eldest daughter now 34, was taken to experience the Nutcracker at about 4.5-5 years old, having just started ballet herself. It was the Mayflower of Southampton, with its stalls, cirlce and the 'Gods' of the balcony. I duly booked the last row of the balcony with another mother and her daughter, ready for a discreet exit if necessary. Well my daughter was entranced, but recognized all the music having been entertained for years by the video of the original Disney Fantasia . So for the entire show she amused all the people round us, by her pirouettes between the rows of seats and her exclaims to each melody, 'This is from Fantasia!' 'And this is in Fantasia too!' No -one minded a bit because they were jusr so amazed that someone so tiny had been exposed to all that Tchaikovsky and knew their way round an arabesque, sautés and pirouettes in 5th. 42nd Street didn't have the same effect though Grandad insisted we went.

Well, for all those who have musicians and dancers in the family, my news is that my bassoonist daughter(22) has combined a final degree project at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire into her first production with her dancing sister as artistic director(19) and created their first professional production, the Knight's Move, which you will find listed on another link under Ballet/ Dance news. The principle choreographer is Jamie Carter of the Capital Ballet, London. He has designed a piece especially for the suite of music chosen by my musician for her wind quintet, and then suggested another suite, which has had to be adapted by her from the original arrangement, and using all her musical skills to analyse , decompose and then transpose accordingly. The dancers will then have fun to show off some of their favourite solos without the constraints of assessments or curriculum, just dancing for the sheer love of the art. Does it get any better than that for dancers and musicians? So there is hope for you all out there wondering how far vocational studies will take your offspring. And some reward for the patience of us parents. This performance will be the first time our two have shared a stage for 10 years, since the ballerina went to vocational training in another city and the musician stayed behind until she too moved away for her studies. Too often we have not had chance to see them perform, but this we won't miss. At present, every one of those tutus that served my daughter for YAGP and other competitions, and a few new ones, some made professionally and some borrowed, are being brought into service and redressed, by my daughter and I, to suit the roles, for use by the small company of professional(LSC alumni) and final year students from London Studio Centre that make up the Kinetic Ballet Ensemble. It has been rewarding for all concerned to collaborate outside of college on a stand-alone event and gives another experience for the curriculum vitae for all. If any of you are in or around Birmingham on the 14th February, we would love to see you at the Crescent Theatre , Birmingham at 19.00. Tickets are on sale via the theatre website or box office. But please feel free to follow events via the social media links. If we can offer some encouragement to others it will make us happy. For those talking about the cost of instruments, they don't get much more expensive than a bassoon. My daughter has spent years working for months every summer trying to pay hers off. I won't tell you what it costs, because it would make your hair curl. Although a bassoonist is always a popular player, for the shortage of them, there are still not so many places in orchestras as violins for example. As parents, we had to encourage the girls to pursue their talents as far as they could go with them, because you may not get the chance later, whereas other careers can come later if necessary. In fact my daughter dedicates her event, the Knight's Move to her grandfather, who gave up his scholarship to study violin at the Northern School of Music, 70 years ago after a lack of support by his father, swapped pathway, and spent his life in the NHS dental service for 40 years . There are many patients who were very grateful he never became leader of the LSO or such, but it was him who encouraged her to try the bassoon. He never acheived the artistic heights he had been destined to reach, and had to content himself to amateur orchestras. I didn't appreciate his sacrifice till many years later. Unfortunately he died before my daughter had even taken Grade 1, and he never saw the ballerina dance on stage. So this is special for us, particularly the bassoonist.

The Knight’s Move is an evening of classical ballet to live music, curated by a final year music student from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The dancers of the Kinetic Ballet Ensemble are professional dancers and final years students of the London Studio Centre, who have united for this performance to present some new choreographies composed for this project by Jamie Carter, director of Capital Ballet of London, and other notable classical solos and duets. The music of some familiar works , arranged where necessary, is played by the Hedwig quintet, a wind quintet of senior students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and a pianist. The musical leader of the project has joined with her ballerina sister to create a unique event of a mixed program, that is the culmination of years of dedication to their crafts and possibly the beginnings of future artistic collaborations. 'As Schlovsky put it in 1923 “There are many reasons for the strangeness of the knight’s move, the main one being the conventionally of art, […] The second reason lies in the fact that the knight is not free… it moves in an L-shaped manner because it is forbidden to take the straight road.” Life rarely follows a linear path, and art may have its conventions and traditions that encourage compliance, but these also need challenging. Obstacles need to sidestepped, or we can be led off a continuous path by luck, choice, or things beyond our control, or even defiance of the expected rules. The L-shaped Knight’s move, whether forwards, backward or sideways, as a metaphor for the unexpected and illogical connections can represent life’s compromises or those occasions where we need to tarry a while on a square with a different perspective in order to plan the next advance. In the context of this project, it signifies the serendipity of chance meetings and positive opportunities that have culminated in the creation of the show with this team, and the countless alterations of the programme list since conception.' (notes from the program) Although the project stems from a degree assignment, this is very much a public performance to be enjoyed by all. Tickets are available online or in person through the Crescent Theatre box office in Birmingham. The performance starts at 19.00 hours. The program consists of: Brian Boru’s March Baroque Suite, Purcell and Marcello Cupid from Don Quixote, Minkus String Quartet No. 2, Nocturne, Borodin Paquita, Minkus Aurora, Tchaikovsky Jazz Medley, Gershwin Bluebird from Sleeping Beauty, Tchaikovsky Morceaux de fantaisie, Elégie, Rachmaninov Spanish variation from Coppélia, Delibes Corridinho Algarvio Interval Concerto de Aranjuez, Rodrigo Salle de Danse, Françaix Libertango, Piazzolla New York, New York, Lukas Foss Jewels from Sleeping Beauty, Tchaikovsky Sheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov Walpurgisnacht, Gounod Marco Spada, Auber Oceans and Pearls from The Little Humpbacked Horse, Shchedrin Tico-Tico no Fúba, de Abreu Details can be found on the theatre page at: https://www.crescent-theatre.co.uk Plus, under the name, The Knight’s Move, on the usual social media sites, and the website is https://theknightsmove.godaddysites.com

Well done DD of Balletbean. Good news indeed

To add my twopenneth to this debate, my DD started two A levels staggered over the three years of a ballet diploma and successfully pulled off good grades over all disciplines in and out of the studio. She has now been accepted onto a part-time degree at an academic university in a highy academic subject with 2 A levels and her Level 6 dance diploma. This will allow her to compliment a dance career with a transition later into other areas. Part -time study has prepared her for multi-tasking and time management as well as feeding her intellectual needs. Infact it changed her direction and helped her discover other depths,which was precisely what she expressed in her personal statement to the university and they had no hesitation in accepting her, having a proven track record in success on a non-conventional route. So best to go for quality not quantity, in my opinion. She spent the first year with face to face study with her tutor on a Sunday morning and the last two years working remotely because of Covid and a physical move away from the area. Despite that lessons were never interrupted. If you need recomendation for a tutoring service, I would really recommend her very keen, highly organised teacher, with clear lesson plans and goals and a good pass rate. Always supportive, fun and encouraging, despite having a young family to look after and finishing her own doctorate. Hope this helps. You have time to find solutions.

Portugal and we have Ensino Articulado which is a Ministry of Education funded route for combined artistic studies with academic education in certain institutions. But virtually every major city has one public school and conservatory combining to give music or dance or both . So its a baccalaureate- style academic selection of general studies with general music or art missing for music and Physical education and music replaced for dance, though the artisitc students end up doing more hours overall than the average school week. There are specific rules over which sorts of dance institution can apply, because it is tax payers. money. That is the course structure, the hours dedicated in strict units for Ballet, Creative dance, leading to Contemporary when old enough, Historiuc dances, character dances, and other supplementary physical preparation, these are all laid down in law. The curriculums of instructors are a factor and the school facilities, ie number of studios equipped appropriately, classrooms for theory, teachers common room , students common room, girls and boys changing rooms. So its not a free for all but its certainly enlightened compared to modern UK. I remember my youth in Hertfordshire with similar projects in music for which my brother, I and countless others were the grateful recipients. However the local school did not have this , but it did have two teachers who qualified in the Vaganova Academy and the Moscow Theatre Arts University. who applied the same Russian rules and discipline as they had experienced to some lapsidaisical portuguese kids and their families, with the result that the determination of these kids and supporters ramped up and notch or two. They learned how to fundraise Uk-style from yours truly and others to send their kids round Europe in competitions, that paid off dividends in school results. It wasn't just ballet they learned. It was a discipline for life and a gratefulness for the generosity of others that put them on international stages periodically. As another contributor has stated, schools can sometimes measure progress by exams, others by artistic performance in shows, others by particiaption in competitions and festivals. I would suggest a balance. Competitions showed my DD what could be achieved by hard work and dedication in an artisitc direction, she then followed to strict vocational school with few artistic outlets,more the concentration on technique and no competitions just internal evaluations, then later she had to relearn how to let go artistically and develop a personna on stage. Now she is old enough to appreciate that the laying down of a strong technique is designed to free the artist in order to feel secure on stage to assume the role. But from that golden start to a straight-jacket class, she passed through a period of doubt ,then blossomed later. So at 7.5 your DD is just starting out ,as are you to support her, and you will find a wealth of honest and heartfelt opinions and experiences on this forum to help you, as you have had on this feed. I wish I had found it ten years ago. I am still learning now, and my DD is more able to express more about those early days and what she felt then and with hindsight considers important now. Listen to your teachers and experiment short courses in holidays to hear other opinions- Keep training light but productive. What we have not had here are associate programmes until now, though I have contacts who are due to start that concept here, but this seems to me a rather high pressured experience for precious family weekend hours, what with auditions and the have they, haven't they. So maybe at 7 try to stay local and save your and her energy for later. So what is important, IMHO , is not to take on more than the family can cope with as a social unit or financially( we lived luckily 10-12 mins drive from ballet school and music academy ), what the school work and timetable allows(ours was simple) , choose the best instruction and results over hours, measured by quality of presentation, diversity and general sense of artistry/ inventiveness at shows, exams and frequency, or particiaption in festivals and comps. We had one town school that did shows where parents paid for each costume whcih could limit participation of their DC, and exams (expensive with external examiners ), and the other did internal assessments but national and international competitions and shows , with limited parental financial contribution but massive fundraising that united the school body into the effort. The two major schools still attract different social groups, interestingly. Overall at 7 , it should be fun, instructive and develop a sense of discipline,selfworth and positive social interaction. If they end up continuing it ten years later then so be it. How come I always write too much? Someone tell me to be quiet!

She was on a set special artisitic course, that had one hour instrumental 2x , piano for her, one hour theory, and 1.5 choir. Her sister did the same and is now a MusicD in bassoon on a B Music Performance in a conservatoire. School here is compressed and finishes early with timetable allowance made for special artisitic FREE courses from aged 10 to those with interest and talent. Yes when we had ballet shows and music recitals it got really testing. But I am pleased to say they never missed one, so they always got picked for all the civic events because we never let down any of the teachers. Indeed when they moved away to other schools in the capital, the local mayor commented on their absence from the line up. The fun thing was scheduling, music normally came first , then dance, so they left for school at 08.10 and started music at 15.30/ 1600 and then went to dance at 1800 and arrived home at 2030/ 2100, with home work done over a soup or bifana in a cafe. If you had them going in opposite directions and doing their buns in the car and changing it got fun.I suppose when I read of parent here on this forum doing these weekend associate programs, it reminds me of those days. We got through a tank of fuel a week. Now we use one a month. Ballet parents do not save the planet, but shush don't tell Greta.

At 7 , my DD was training 1.5 hours in ballet 2x per week and 1 hour 3x week in Character dance (and 4.5 hours music lessons)if not more , resulting in a gold medal win in a world competition 8 months later in national dance group dance that set her and one other on the road to vocational studies in the long run plus launched three medical students and three architects students, one into pschychology and another into medical sciences. The value of that world class win that was repeated with other excellent presentations in other years and allowed small town kids from the end of the world to think bigger than working in the local tourist restaurants and changing hotel beds, and with these Covid times, thank goodness. If your DD has the desire and stamina get ready for the ride because it sets them up for anything later.

What a good idea! Gets 10/10 from me.

Hello Jan, I cannot talk about Budapest, but I have some knowledge of Jean Philippe Dury's Elephant in the Black Box. One of my DD'S old class mates had completed her level 3 diploma in Contemporary Dance in Portugal last year and has now spent a highly successful year with the new Junior company in Pau, France. Her talent was quickly spotted and appreciated. Jean Philippe Dury is a delightful mentor,who though classically trained in Paris,values the potential in a dancer more than a classic physical type, curriculum vitae or specific college course/ballet background, so he will look for different things at audition than other AD's and offer opportunitiy or scholarships to some very surprised students from non-conventional places. Indeed my DD won a scholarship with a ballet repertoire competition piece for the summer school but was unable to attend, but another young man we know was also offered for a contemporary piece in a world dance competition where he was adjudicating, and the young man had moved sideways from Ballroom into Contemporary not from ballet. JP will often allow shortened tasters to interested parties . He is well respected by a wide range of industry professionals and the recent expansion from the main and original base Madrid to the setting up of the second unit in France, clearly shows he and his colleagues have a winning and popular formula. Did you note that the new RB choreographer has also worked with him? Dolly Henry has taught jazz for several seasons there too. So dance training is broad and there are frequent guest choreographers. If someone is interested, they should log into the accessible classes online through Instagram for a true feel. I know that I would be very happy for my ballet/ neo-classical loving DD to spend some time there at some stage, whether junior or senior company. It is one of the pre-professional course I would definitely pay for if that was required, because I know that the experience would represent value for money and give a lot of happy, productive learning. Furthermore, both Madrid and Pau, though different, are super places to live.

Another good summer school is the Ballet Cymru in Newport. They have a variety of age groups. They announced a live summer school last week and today was the last day for entries, but its probably still worth enquiring if there are places left or a waiting list. Seniors, 17 plus, get to dance at professional level with their pre-professional and company dancers. My DD really enjoyed this course and even the online one last year.

As someone living on the other, EU , side, we have to fill out a customs form to send anything bigger than a letter or 'small packet', and list the items and value if we are sending to Britain, just as we would to send or receive from China or the U.S.A. So I will not be sending any Christmas , birthday presents and will probably be usisng an online greeting card service and Interflora type transactions. Everyone here that buys on Amazon( and personally I have no intention of making Mr. Bezos any richer) has had to swap to the German or Spanish branches not UK. So leotard -wise and shoes, my DD will buy UK stuff in the Uk , and European in Europe. Brexit, the gift that just keeps giving.