Neverdancedjustamum

Yes, it is. Her school in the US (ICSB) posted about it.

Just saw an announcement on Instagram about one of the prize winners at the Prix de Lausanne, from America, has accepted an offer of apprenticeship with the Royal Ballet. I guess she is this year’s RB PdL apprentice? Apart from this one announcement, I don’t think I’ve seen the list of choices by the other prize winners yet.

It depends where you live and how much time and finances you can realistically commit. Not speaking from close personal experience (my own DD only attends classes during the weekend), but I have witnessed and personally seen young dancers who attend dance schools who are able to offer quality, high level ballet training with hours almost at par with full time vocational schools. They also have more flexibility in choosing coaches, physios, mentors, summer intensives, international competitions to participate in etc without being limited by or having to ask permission from a vocational school. I have seen beautiful, exquisitely trained dancers following this route and some of them have more success than full time vocational students in securing upper school places in top ballet schools here and overseas. The costs can be staggering and the amount of travelling around can be eye watering. It would also depend on where you live, some places have more options (ie London) and some places you’ll struggle to find any schools that offer anything beyond recreational dance classes. A good gauge of how competitive and intense the training would need to be is quite easy to see especially in the age of social media. Look at the dancers offered places in the top vocational schools recently. A lot of them are very public about their training regime and you can quickly and easily approximate how much time and finances you need these days. The higher up the years you go, the more resources you need and the bigger the ‘competition pool’ will be. You would then need to weigh this against the well known stats relating to the number of dancers who progress successfully through their training and secure jobs afterwards. If you have the time and resources, why not? But also be willing to subscribe to the school of thought that the experience itself will provide invaluable life lessons on resilience, hardwork etc etc should the end mean the DC eventually ends up in a non-dance related endeavour or profession. But I think the most important thing is to make sure it is what your DC wants whilst also bearing in mind that what an 11/12/13/14 year old think they want right now might not be what they want a few months or years down the line and be ready for that.

The ones I have seen are lower school age, definitely no older than Year 11.

Definitely. I always did wonder who can actually take up these places if you’re from the U.K. and in full time education. Perhaps it is easier for home schooled students.

I’ve heard really good things. My DD wasn’t able to go the year she was offered but I’ve seen on social media British students getting offered 3-month internships off the back of their summer intensives.

I think the threads where this was discussed have all been locked.

For those who have done Masterclasses in Prague - I would be grateful for accommodation recommendations. Preferably within walking distance to the studios please. We received a list of suggested hotels but would love to hear personal recommendations. It will be our first time in Prague.

Payment deadline is 28 March. I’m not sure if that’s the same deadline to accept.

Agreed. I remember there were some stats quoted and links to articles that could have been of interest to those auditioning this year. I thought for the most part it was a very thoughtful discussion and one that clearly caught the attention of a lot of members. I am sure a lot of posters were disappointed to find the entire thread locked, with no posts at all visible. Based on previously locked threads, I very much doubt it will be re-opened. I did have a feeling it would be locked at some point as it was mainly about the RBS (which was the focus of the OP’s original post).

I did wonder why that previous discussion thread was locked in its entirety with none of the comments visible, when only a few comments could be considered contentious. Surely the specific posts could have been hidden. I do recall a similar thread a few months ago which was also locked and I don’t think it was ever re-opened. That older post was locked as tempers appeared to be flaring and so to get some posters to cool down. I think this is often what happens when the RBS is discussed. It’s clearly very much a dividing topic…I hope this one doesn’t go that way too.

Oslo KHIO and TAZ (Zurich) has/had British trained students although I can’t be certain if they are studying there under a different nationality/passport. I know that friends with children who have dual citizenship, one of which is EU, have lots more choices in terms of schools they want to go to full time.

I once saw a class photo of around that age/year group at Hamburg and I counted approximately 22 girls (slightly less boys, maybe 16). I personally know someone (not British) who joined when she was 14. I also think there’s a British girl there (if still there) who joined after Year 11 from Elmhurst. I am guessing entry at 16 will be the most popular out of all age groups.

I too loved Ana Luisa’s performances. Her contemporary was simply stunning.

I would have thought assessments would be a separate process to auditions or applying for a Year 10 place. I’d expect both processes to have separate outcomes, that is, someone can pass an assessment but not get a place. I don’t know how it works though but know that’s how it works in some academic schools (they pass all subjects but don’t get into the school’s sixth form, for example). Unless they use the same criteria I guess in which case they can use the assessments as a 2-in-1.

Probably a bit related to this but I was wondering, now that RBS has clearly said there are distinctly different stages to their training programme which their own students would need to apply/audition to, would it be the case that after the first three years their WL students would perhaps be included with all other applicants for Year 10 for the finals for example? And maybe the same for their Year 11s auditioning for upper school? Or is it all still done in-house? I would have thought it would be to their benefit to see how their own students fare against others from other schools/overseas/non-vocational. This would seem a more transparent way of auditioning.

I am not sure of the numbers in the last few years but I wouldn’t think it would suggest this. There are actually whole discussions on this forum I believe on how it’s otherwise. I did spot a few finalists and scholarship recipients who look very much like the ‘type’ RBS would offer places to (based on previous years) but often these are the same ones who other schools offer places to as well so it would be interesting to see where these young dancers choose to go.

I can only speak for one centre, but yes, they do ‘assess’ out at MA level. For years the word on the street is that they don’t, but they definitely do. The important thing to keep in mind is that it really is not the end of the world if they aren’t offered another year of training. We have known young dancers who left of their own accord or ‘assessed out’ but are doing amazingly well and I truly believe some of these dancers will fare better (in some way or another) in the long run. Some might actually think that if you’re aiming at auditioning for a later year (not Year 7), there are pros to not being ‘in the system’ beforehand.

Yes, I thought that as well. Really enjoying watching the PdL this year. What an amazing group of young dancers.

I have seen quite a few already - also from Australia, for White Lodge. There have also been quite a few YAGP finalists who did their short term scholarships (one can only assume this is some sort of audition too) at RBS then were off to Cranko the week after…

That’s true, especially at company level but also perhaps the last 1-2 years of training. However, I always found younger students of the Vaganova and POBS quite distinctive in their style and overall look. Perhaps this is because, particularly for the first 5 or so years, students of those schools are predominately from that country (hence probably trained in the same particular way even before they started at the school) and their entry requirements seem more rigid and exacting (less variation in heights, for example).

I find that in YAGP and PdL masterclasses I’ve seen, those who make barre work look like a performance stood out and were immediately noticeable. It truly is lovely to watch barre work that flows, rather than ‘stop/start’, if that makes sense. I have seen some teachers and coaches who have a knack for putting together the most exquisite barre work combinations, such a refreshing change from the more tedious repetitive barre exercises I have seen in class. I know there is a lot of repetition involved in class but from the point of view of someone who’s never danced, I can immediately see which teachers’ classes I love watching as an outside observer with no dance background whatsoever. PdL classes are always a joy to watch, in particular Elisabeth Platel’s.

I was speaking (separately) to a couple of dancers who between them have experience of both vocational school training and company work in top schools and companies in France, Russia, North America and the U.K. (including RBS) and both have mentioned to me and my DD, several times in the context of training and technique, that there are marked difference in the emphasis and focus of the training across countries and styles. Particular schools would tell you to “whack your leg up as high as possible” and some schools would be almost obsessively into the details (precise placement of even the eye line and every finger), some schools make even barre work look like a performance, some would focus on strength and dynamics. The feeling I get from both is that personally, they preferred and enjoyed the French style the most but these are personal preferences from two dancers fortunate enough to experience such vast array of techniques, schools and companies.

I agree with you. I’ve never told and never will tell my DCs that a no could be a ‘not yet’. A ‘no’ is a no for a reason and they will get a lot of ‘nos’ in their lifetime but that’s how it is and it’s their own risk to take should they wish to pursue something repeatedly. I would never want them to overthink things (I do that for them in secret - haha!). What I do tell them is that a ‘no’ is not necessarily a bad thing and could, in fact, be the best thing that could happen. I understand that a ‘no’ can be a hard pill to swallow for a child, or adult for that matter, but I always remind them that some of the most wonderful experiences they’ve had, hobbies and activities they’ve discovered, places they’ve been, have all stemmed from a ‘no’. It helps them not dwell on things, not be fixated on things and overall results in more chilled and relaxed kids. This is of course very much a personal opinion from personal experience and knowledge of my own DCs personalities- but it is an alternative point of view to the use of ‘not yet’.