Marianne

Joseph Aumeer also started at Elmhurst, now at Royal. A good night for the old Elmhurst boys! And I believe Scott was a 'Billy' before he went to WL.

You have to be aged 15 to 17 on first weekend of the competition, I think Hfbrew. So there are some Y10 pupils who won't be eligible yet (all the spring and summer babies who are still 14), however, they will still be 17 during the March of their 6.2 year (while everyone who has already turned 18 will be not be eligible in 6.2).

Congrats to your DD, Angel! Any idea about others who got through? Ratio of boys to girls? Any non-vocational students?

I wouldn't focus on this year, Susyszoo, parents and children will be still be coming to terms with the news and some of them may read this forum. My understanding is that in general, only 1 or 2 children are assessed out of WL in Y7 (and sometimes none!); then a couple in Y8 and then 5 or so from Y9. Plus, it is not uncommon for children to leave of their own accord for various reasons - the realisation that ballet is a hobby but not their vocation; homesickness; seeing the 'writing on the wall' re. appraisals.

I know of at least one who did not audition anywhere else - as painful as it was to be asked to leave, both student and family ultimately recognised that WL were right: ballet was not a vocation.

Fingers crossed for all parents and students. Especially those in Year 7, who will have only just 'settled in' to life at WL. Hope there are fewer farewells this year.

I think if you look at the rising stars of the Royal Ballet Company - Francesca Hayward, Tierney Heap, Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Yasmine Naghdi, all British, all trained at RBS, then it seems that British training *is* fit for purpose. And Shiori Kase - an absolutely lovely dancer - may have been fast-tracked into the Upper School, but in 2009 it was Ruth Bailey (graduate of White Lodge & RBS Upper School) who gained a contract with the Royal Ballet Company. Shiori went to ENB and she is flourishing there. Really, I think we're so lucky that our schools and companies train and employ the 'Best of British,' alongside wonderful dancers from around the world. It's fantastic that so many dancers choose to pursue their careers here - it enriches our schools, our companies, our culture. And of course, the schools aren't perfect, the training doesn't work for everyone, but to suggest that they are failing seems a huge overstatement.

Hi Spanner - I know of someone who auditioned there last year at 16 and was offered a scholarship (privately funded, I think). She ended up going to one of the 'Big 4' but was impressed with KS. Definitely worth further investigation!

I think that it might be David Makhateli's father? I agree with Aileen - you should take the old teacher's criticisms with a pinch of salt; he is leaving with a keen (and sounds like justified) sense of grievance, which is bound to colour how he feels about any successor. And his earlier dire warnings about an unqualified, untested, un-Russian teacher seem to have been far off the mark. You are doing the right thing by waiting for summer school and your son's own take on the new teacher - which he must try to gauge setting aside any loyalty to his old teacher (not an easy task, but necessary if you are to get along in the ballet world - Ballet Masters, Artistic Directors, Choreographers will all come and go, often for unfair, political reasons, and dancers need to be able to go with it.) Putting out feelers to other schools, just in case, is a smart move too. Fingers crossed all will work out for the best.

5ft 9ins definitely not "small" by average male standards - very much in the average range for young men in both Australia and UK (and a lot of other places in the world, as the chart on this page reveals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height#Average_height_around_the_world) Indeed, seems that it would only be considered significantly below average in the Scandinavian/Germanic north of Europe. But I suppose that partner matching must be an intricate science - taking into account not only their "standing" heights, but the inches she gains on pointe (which must vary considerably depending on foot length) and their relative proportions (i.e. if he has long legs, while Partner A has short legs and a long torso, he might have to awkwardly lean down to reach her waist; whereas Partner B might be exactly the same standing height, but with long legs that bring her waist exactly where he wants it!) This interview with Iohna Loots offers a glimpse of the travails of a petite dancer (http://www.balletassociation.co.uk/reports/2008/loots08.html ) and suggests that the Royal Ballet require a minimum of 5ft 1in (or did under Monica Mason, at least).

I saw the Laines grad show a couple of years ago and the contemporary pieces were excellent. If you are on the dance course there, I believe it is an integral part of the training. To get into Laines at 16 is an achievement indeed! I heard that one of the boys from White Lodge has turned down top classical ballet school to go there - a brave decision but best for him I'm sure.

Hi Piglet, Are you just asking about reauditioning for WL in Y8 or are you casting the net wider - Elmhurst, Hammond, Tring, YDA etc? If WL is the goal, it is worth bearing in mind that there are very few places available in Y8 (as they tend not to assess out in Y7 - thank goodness - although I think one poor soul did lose their place this year) - so might be better making a 2-3 year game plan as there are more spaces available in Y9 & 10. Good luck to your DD!

Are you interested in schools that provide 11-16 or 16-19 training? Or both? And is it only schools with a classical ballet focus or ballet + other forms of dance?

Gosh Taxi - was going to ask if you were close enough to consider a day pupil place. But just looked up the fees and it's still £19,000 a year!!! Is London a commutable distance? Because the London day schools seem to cost less (ie Arts Ed Chiswick £12,000 & YDA £11,000) - although that's still out of reach for many households, I know.

Well done to your DD, Discouraged! And well done to Central for getting the news out swiftly. Best of luck for finals.

From the Royal Ballet School website http://www.royal-ballet-school.org.uk/personnel.php?s=4 seems it would be: Antonio Castilla Jessica Clarke Tania Fairbairn Nicola Katrak Hope Keelan Diane van Schoor (Ballet Principal of Lower School) David Yow Plus Gailene Stock and Jay Jolley?

Discouraged - I don't think RBS run first-round auditions as a cynical money-making exercise... I think that they have a set of qualities that they desire and are faced with huge numbers of talented candidates who have those qualities to varying degrees. It must be so difficult to weigh candidates you know against those who you have only seen in a crowded room for a few hours. Plus they are comparing apples and oranges - those who have been at White Lodge for five years, those who have only ever taken syllabus lessons after-school a few hours a week, those trained abroad in another style etc etc etc. I imagine that until they see them together, they can't decide who is closest to what they desire. Millie3 - with difficulty!!! Classes with a good local school 6 days a week, associate classes, private lessons + GCSE Dance at school. Then summer schools, workshops, masterclasses... it is a massive effort (in terms of time and money), but she has been the quintessential ballet-mad girl for years and even if she does not get to her dream school/company, I don't think she will ever see this as time wasted. Friend's DD is at a non-vocational school, but for her ballet is still absolutely a vocation. I wish luck to all those in her position.

Of course it is hugely discouraging when 'no' letters arrive and natural to feel disappointment and frustration with the system. But there are only a dozen or so places at available for Y12. And hundreds of talented candidates from all around the world vying for places - most of whom will have shown great potential, most of whom will be training 15 - 25 hours a week to maximise that potential. They have to be ruthless in whittling down candidates for finals. RBS know the White Lodge Year 11s inside out (strengths & weaknesses) and have been training them for 2-5 years to be the dancers they want, yet they only pick around half of them for Upper School. Many of the other WLers tend to gain places at Elmhurst/ENB/Central or other ballet schools further afield - so they clearly still have the potential to be classical dancers, they are just not quite what RBS want. The same goes for the associates - while they have obviously been picked for the associate course because they have shown the most potential to benefit from RBS training, the school will already have a good idea of their strengths and weaknesses, so if they know they are not quite what they want, it makes sense that they don't invite them to finals. A dear friend's daughter is currently going through this gruelling process, so you have my sympathies. She is non-vocational and has been balancing a full academic load with 20 or so hours per week of ballet. No RBS finals for her - although she does have finals/places at other schools. It is tough at the top.

Yes - hope they all had a good day. I've often enjoyed West London School of Dance/YDA productions, especially their Nutcracker. Can't find any clips online but this video gives a flavour of what makes their performances so special http://www.wlsd.org/charity.html I expect we will see some of today's auditionees take starring roles in the future!

Oh, good luck for Year 11! It's unusual because it's difficult to transfer in the middle of GCSEs - and WL don't assess out at the end of Y10. That said they took a French girl from YDA into Year 11 this year (Year 10 age, but pushed on a year) + another girl from overseas. where are you up to with your academics?

Have heard good things about the LCB summer school, which is for 8+ and based in Barnes. http://www.londonchildrensballet.com/workshops%20-%20summer%20school.htm No details on dates yet, but might be worth a call to find out more.

Sorry Swanprincess, I think it varies year to year. Not sure how many Y10 London SAs there are at the moment - 10 maybe? Although it does sound like there will be places available at Birmingham next year! Sometimes places aren't filled in Y10, sometimes students move, or lose interest or can't do the travelling anymore. And I've heard that occasionally people lose places due to poor attendance (thus opening up a space for someone else in Y11). As far as I know, all SA applicants audition together - so it would be a mixture of Y9 & 10s at the audition. But please someone correct me if I'm wrong!

As far as I know, the only students likely to be auditioning for Y11 places are international students who aren't already in the middle of GCSEs...so I'm not sure the audition process would bear much resemblance to the large auditions held for Upper School places. It perhaps might be better to do the ENB audition course in January http://www.enbschool.org.uk/short-courses/ - it will give a taste of auditioning for a top upper school and it's aimed at the 14-16 year olds your DD will be auditioning alongside. I think Central have done something similar in the past, but can't find anything similar on their website this year. Is your DD an SA? If not then it would be worth auditioning for London SAs, there are Y11 places available and it would familiarise her with the Upper School building in Floral Street.

Sometimes RBS associates are invited to White Lodge finals without applying/having done prelims - I guess if their associate teacher recommends them.

As I understand it, Anna's WLSD Saturday class takes place at Danceworks - so unlike Mon - Fri open classes, you have to sign up through WLSD. Most participants 14-16 year old "serious" dancers. But not sure if this is still the case now Anna has renovated huge new studio in Shepherd's Bush...