siana

On 15/07/2019 at 19:44, glowlight said:

And on the non-ballet front.  I hope she has a wonderful time at Imperial.  I did my degree there many years ago and loved it.

Thanks glowlight, she is really looking forward to it. She has already signed upto the ROH student membership !

She will probably end up lodging somewhere in West Kensington/Earls Court area.

Thanks for all the replies, I will have a good look at all the suggestions and discuss it with my DD. There's an awful lot to do before she starts in October, finding somewhere to live, sorting out transport, moving in as well as the academic stuff .So she would like to have organised or at least know what she has to organise on the dance front sooner rather than later.

Thanks Anna C.

I've just had a quick look and I couldn't see those classes. It looks like they are just running inter-found and inter classes ?

Hi

My daughter has now graduated from Durham , she had a great time there both socially and academically and with  her dance. She danced for a number of the DU dance teams, choreographed and danced in the Advanced Ballet team and also danced in the University Ballet Company. I would highly recommend Durham for those who want to still dance but for whatever reason don't end up  pursuing it as a career.

She is going to Imperial College in October to do her Masters so will be looking into her options for dance in London. There are dance societies at Imperial and shes aware RAD do run some external dance classes. Can anyone help with any further info or details,she is especially interested in doing her Advanced Ballet cert having passed Intermediate 3 years ago.

Thanks.

On 26/06/2018 at 12:53, TabbyCool said:

I went to see their performance of Snow White last week, which part did she play? They were really good! The teacher who choreographed it for them was my first ballet teacher! 

Wow, its a small world! Did you go because  of your connection with the teacher? Sorry for the late reply but I don't check on here much anymore. My daughter played one of the  Queens two attendants. She really enjoys doing the company classes and says the teacher is fantastic.

My daughter choreographed the Advanced Ballet competition  team that year as well, which placed first in all the inter university dance comps. Its given her a whole new interest and could be something dance related she takes further.

Good luck and I hope your daughter enjoys university. My DD is in her second year of a geophysics degree at Durham and is really enjoying her time there because she is still dancing. First year she just joined the ballet dance team who compete against other universities while this year she has also joined the Ballet Company who do 1 production a year - maybe this is something that may be avalable at your daughters university?  My DD says the outlet to still dance provides a big relief from the high work  pressures on her course and she wouldn't do as well without it.

If you're sure your daughter won't be dancing as a career why doesn't she just do some other degree at a university where there is plenty of dance classes/performances available.

My daughter is going to Durham Uni next week doing this, the university have a number of dance societies running classes and performances of a high standard. My daughter is lookking at joining the ballet company which rehearses 3 times a week.Apatr from this there are normal ballet classes for grades from intermediate to advvanced as well as other dance styles.

Attending unis in Manchester , Birmingham , Leeds or London would also give her this option

You're correct in what you know about ENB and RAD. ENB holds classes for external students from beginner to advanced/professional level and RAD runs syllabus classes as well as pointe classes for extra pointe work and body conditioning classes. They also host master classes and workshops from time to time. Imperial is only a short walk away from ENB (approx. 5min) and RAD is around 20-30 min away. (Depends on the traffic)

I'm a student at the RAD BA program, so feel free to PM me if you need any information about the classes they offer.

Thanks for confirming this.

KNT dance works in Manchester offer adult classes up to advanced

Thanks for the reply. We knew about the Northern ballet school there but didn't know there were evening classes being run there.

Hello Siana, we had a topic a while ago about dance facilities in or near universities that may be useful to read:

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/11185-ballet-at-university/?hl=university

 

Good luck to your DD.  Do let us know how she gets on.

Thank you. I notice you're in Liverpool. You don't have any recommendations for good ballet schools there or nearby?

Siana - I had to read your post twice and check the date as it could so have been written by one of DD's friends a few years ago. Same level of ballet and same choice (bar Liverpool) of universities!

 

DD's friend is now in her 2nd year at Imperial College, London with academic studies, ballet and tap all going strong.

Wow, thats amazing. Is your DD's friend going to ENB or RAD? And if so what are her thoughts?

Speaking as an academic, your daughter really needs to choose the university course which is best fit for her. There is always a way to dance.

 

And as an adult dancer, which is what she'll be, she might like to discover a whole new world of dance beyond RAD. I don't know Durham well (although it's my father's university!) but there is an excellent dance culture in Newcastle so that might be the fix there.

 

In London, there are various places where she can pursue RAD syllabus work, but as an adult, I always wonder why getting grades and qualifications is such a thing, unless there's a career aspect to it. At Advanced RAD level, your daughter should be ok in the advanced level classes at Danceworks (which in my opinion has a better range of serious ballet classes than, say, Pineapple) and could probably try the a professional level classes there. Doing daily class outside of a syllabus gives you a lot of experience in picking up choreography, making an exercise work quickly for you, and making a style of your own. And you learn from watching actual professionals which is almost reason enough to go to that sort of class!

 

And then there are all sorts of other dance forms. As an adult student dancer, I think it's important to widen horizons and learn about all sorts of other forms - I've just done my first Bollywood dance workshop and am going to another in a couple of weeks.

 

What I see with a lot of adult dancers who've done fairly intensive training but haven't made a career of it is a period of adjustment when they start to wonder what they dance for. It can be quite tough, but I always hope that they come to realise is that it's the pleasure of dance and moving, a well as the challenge of mastering an insanely difficult art form, that is the daily challenge, not the grades and qualifications.

 

Good luck to your daughter - it's great she's in the position of choosing between two absolutely top notch universities (neither is mine, btw, so no bias!)

Thanks for the reply, you've brought up some the things she has been thinking about. Although she would really have loved a career in classical ballet she had accepted by the time she was 14/15 that probably wasn't going to happen because of her height but she loves her dancing so much she still continued and will continue I think.

Hi

Thanks all for your comments and advice. They have been very helpful. With regards to picking a university , there is very little to academically to choose between Imperial College and Durham for the subject my daughter has chosen(Geophysics) - so the decision comes down to accommodation, surroundings and dance .

She liked the accommodation at both and they both have pluses and minuses for surroundings so opportunities for dance will influence her decision. WE've since found out Durham does have its own dance company as well as a dancesoc that provides training and teams that enter competitions. We weren't aware of or had thought about the opportunities in Newcastle so that is something to consider. My daughter will be staying over in Castle College on Monday night and has Monday and Tuesday to look round Durham in more detail so this will help.

With regards to doing exams - she really enjoys the challenge and had thought that it would enable her at some time to do some teaching so she would like to continue with her Advanced ballet.

At the moment Durham is ahead because of the surroundings but she keeps going back to Imperial because of its accessibility to ENB and RAD  - I think she has till May to make up her mind.

The only thing she still needs info is Liverpool, does anyone have any suggestions for good ballet schools there? At a push she could travel home from there for classes but its not really a good option.

Thanks again for your input everyone.

Hi all

My daughter is off to university in September and is in the processing of making her choice for First and backup picks. She is a very keen dancer and has just passed intermediate tap with distinction and is working on her RAD Advanced ballet(she has completed her grades) - ballet is her first love but I she would like to be able to carry on with the tap as well. As a consequence her choices for university will be influenced slightly by whether she can carry on with her dancing while there.

Her first pick is between Imperial College , London and Durham Unversity. Obviously RAD and the ENB run classes for external students so London would be good. SHe has read that Durham have a ballet company on campus but doesn't know what the standard is - and has no idea of whether there are any good schools in the area? Can anyone help with information either to confirm what she thins she knows about london(do the RAD and ENB do external classes?) or about the Ballet at Durham University or schools in the area.

Her backup pick (which it isn't likely she will have to use , but I believe in always being prepared) is between Manchester or Liverpool Universities. We know there is a Ballet school on Oxford rd as she went to summer school there once but we don't know whether they do external classes . We know nothing about the ballet  in Liverpool so again any information would be much appreciated.

Thanks

My daughter did Intermediate Foundation in 2011 and got merit, she did grade 7 in 2012 and got merit then as well. However her dance teacher isn't putting her in for any exams this year and has told her you have to leave 2 years between grade 7 and 8 . I am a bit concerned that she is just keeping my daughter back as it wouldn't be convenient for her. My daughter is the only student at the moment who has grade 7 and uptil last year the only intermediate foundation so the senior classes she dances in are all at least a year behind her. Is this length of time between these exams normal? My daughter turned 15 this year and would like to finish her grades and vocational exams before going to college. Is this situation normal when you get to the higher grades?

We have promised our DD tickets for ballet at Covent Garden as part of her Xmas present but never having been are completely at sea as to how to go about buying them ,what they would cost, where to sit and all the other stuff etc. There is no set date for this, it just has to fit in with school and exams .

Could someone please offer some advice. ?

Thanks

I hope they run this as my DD would really enjoy it.

Received this off RAD if anyone is interested:

PERFORMANCE MASTERCLASS – SAT/SUN 15/16 DECEMBER 2012 (Cl date 26

Nov)

B. Jackson School, Fleetwood, Lancs

FOR STUDENTS AGED 12 YEARS AND ABOVE STUDYING INTERMEDIATE AND ABOVE

Create, perfect, perform

Be a part of the creative process for both male and female students.

Participants learn a solo dance, choreographed especially for the

masterclass by Tutor Nathalie Leger. Showing of the work will be seen

by guardians and teachers on the final day. A unique opportunity for

any aspiring dancer to refine their performance skills.

Tutor - Miss Nathalie Isabelle Leger, ARAD, PDTC

Born in France in 1971, Natalie trained at the Academy de la Danse in

Monte Carlo with Russian ballet teacher Marika Besobrasova. Aged 17, she

was invited by director- choreograph Heinz Spoerli to join his company

The Basler Ballet. Starting as Corps de ballet she became

demi-soloiste/soloist in 1990. Here she created roles as Clara, as well

as the ballet Miniaturen and worked with renowned choreographers such as

Hans-Van-Manen, W.Forsythe and M.Béjart. Following Heinz Spoerli, she

joined Deustche Oper Am Rhein, Germany in 1997. Natalie joined Les

Ballets De Monte-Carlo in 2004 where she danced a vast range of

Balanchine, Fokine, as well as Kylian and Lucinda Childs repertoire. In

2004 Nathalie joined Northern Ballet under the direction of David Nixon.

She danced roles from Odette in Swan Lake, Tourvel in Dangerous

Liaisons, Queen Ann in Three Musketeers, Lady Capulet in Romeo & Juliet,

before dancing her last lead role of Gertrude in Hamlet, which was

created on her.

In June 2010, Natalie retired from dancing and is guest Ballet Teacher

with Phoenix Dance Company and with Renaissance Arts, both based in

Leeds.

Please find application form attached.

Kind regards

Debbie

Apparently you can get in touch with them over the phone for an application form to be emailed and return it by email.

Contact is:Maria O'Connor, Training dept, RAD

Phone:02073268024

Email:moconnor@rad.org.uk

I have no direct experience, but one of my DD's friends has done it for the last few years and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think she will be there again this year as she has been offered a full time 6th form place on their classical course for September.

Thanks for the response - glad to know its enjoyable.

Hi Siana, and welcome to the forum! :-)

Thanks - I was at the old forum but took a while to find my way here

MY daughter is 14 and is now working on grade 7 and intermediate, seems she's ahead of some in grades but behind in vocational. Her teacher is rather keen to do plenty of prep work before they do pointe though so she was probably late starting pointe compared to others. As with other schools my daughters teacher invites students to do vocational exams and even then will hold them back a year from doing the next exam if they haven't performed to a good standard in the last exam.

Has anyone had any experience of this. It would be my daughters first summer school and I would like it to be enjoyable. Got to be 14 and at least IF standard.

http://www.northernballetschool.co.uk/en/news_events.php?s=3