BalletBliss

Same here. We are one of this year's WL finals 'no's. Although never a JA, I felt my dd would still stand a chance, based on potential and being considered one of the best in her ballet class of pre-selected girls. (Although all of it basically ended last March, when the school closed and hasn't reopened to children's classes. They tried their best by still keeping at it by giving a couple of weekly classes via zoom until summer holidays, but then closed completely.) We are not part of a social world. Through all these lockdowns and schools' struggles, I assumed the situation was the same for all ballet students. Especially as all we hear is how different this year is in terms of fallen (!!!) standards. Those like me, who don't use social media and just get all their info from BBC or local radio, just took it at face value. When then, at the end of November, I learnt of WL and their auditions, I actually exclaimed to my dd, what a fantastic opportunity it is, now of all years (!) to try to audition for such a demanding institution. What, with all the 'lowered' standards, dd would surely have a fair chance, as everyone else would have suffered lack of practice as much as she has! How pathetically naive :)! So all of December she practised herself alone in her bedroom, trying to remember all the routines they did in class and trying to work out, what exactly the auditioning list of exercises involved, as she learnt it somewhat differently. I told her not to worry and just do whatever she knew how to, and that the auditioning panel would surely take it into account that all entrants are underpractised and are understandably below expected standard... I then filmed her at home on the last day before the deadline and, miraculously, she got through to the finals. This reinforced my believe that this year must indeed be different in 'lowered standards' sense (I didn't realise of this forum's existence yet or had any contacts with the ballet community to be guided in any way), and dd just continued on whatever she could do to herself, going over routines she still remembered. Then a few zoom ballet classes were added to her already busy academic/extra-curricular schedule, when by chance we found one of her former teachers doing it online to groups of 8-10 girls, but that was that. Now, from finding this forum and this thread in particular, I do begin to learn of a completely different world out there that I had no idea about. It is so very interesting and enlightening! Were I aware of all the issues highlighted in this thread, I would probably never had entered WL auditions at all, realising that dd would probably never stand a chance in the first place in light of such high quality, intense training happening backstage that we had not only no access to, but not a clue about. But then again, were we to have a glimpse of it all beforehand, it would totally paralise us to even try as, being a low-income family, we could never afford such training anyhow. Whatever it is worth for, it must have been for a good reason that we were so totally blind and super naive at the time, and went for it with open minds and brave hearts. It gave dd a great experience of auditioning, of the historic WL - an absolutely gorgeous place, breathtaking nature of the Richmond Park, flocks of stunning deer. Ignorance is indeed bliss!

Sadly, a 'no' for DD. Haven't spoken to her yet (she wouldn't expect an answer till next week or so anyway). Just need time to process it myself first, grieve over it in a way, so that not to become emotional when breaking the disappointing news to her... It was just this one shot for her. We couldn't apply anywhere else, as she can't be a boarding student. Neither can we afford a self-funded route to vocational training. Oh, well...

Thanks also BalletBoyMumma and The Red Shoes for describing what happens on the day. My DD really needs to know in advance as much as possible to have a peace of mind

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply, that's really helpful! We will be walking (don't have a car :)).

Thanks, Lara! Would someone please also confirm: was it just the class and physio, nothing else (e.g. writing a short essay about themselves, etc.)? Thx

So great to hear of such positive experiences boys just had. Wishing them all every success!! It's been mentioned that a permit would be required to enter the park. Is it for all, even those coming on foot, or just for those arriving by car?

Thanks, Lara, that is ever so helpful! Really puts our mind at ease if it is only dancing to think about...

Hi, everyone! This is my first post here. Congrats to all the finalists! I searched for more information on the final auditions as we are not in any way part of the crowd. My daughter was never a JA (in fact, until this forum I've never even heard of JA or any other RB schemes). She attended regular ballet classes. Still, this year my daughter learnt about White Lodge and decided to try with the video audition, which somehow got us to this stage... I hope someone more experienced with the RB auditioning process here could kindly help me understand, what is actually happening on the day of the Year 7 finals. In the email, we were told to come 8:30-9:00 and leave at 12:55. So, basically, they are going to be there for four hours. But then, the actual ballet class is only for an hour to an hour and a half, whilst, I would assume, the physio will take another hour or so (for all of them by rotation, probably). So, what happens for the other two hours? Do they have any more tests? Perhaps, something academic? We just wish to be prepared, so that there will be no surprises... Many thanks, xx