Friends

Good luck to your dd Hairbelles. Just sitting on the train now.

D-Day has finally arrived. It's 6.30am and it's started snowing so hopefully not too much to prevent us from travelling. My nerves have kicked in, so I can't imagine how my dd is feeling. There is going to be a lot of nervous tension at Central today as so many girls are counting on this audition. Go for it girls show them what you can do and ENJOY. Good luck everyone!

Good luck to everyone auditioning this weekend especially to all the RBS SA's attending.

My dd has her Central final audition this Sunday. Unfortunately I feel we have naively underestimated the actual numbers of hours training required in order to compete with the vocational students. You never know a miracle may happen!

Results are out for both We know of one RBS SA being offered a place so far at ENBS. Fantastic news !

It must feel like you've won the lottery! Fantastic news

When my dd was in JA's we had dd's that travelled from Geneva and Madeira. Now that is what I call commitment!

Its does make me smile at the speculation of what qualities are they looking for? As from another thread you will realise after 8 years I am none the wiser. The associate schemes are a big commitment with regards to time, money and effort. They may often not produce the results you were expecting. Don't feel it's necessary to go to weekly classes in order to secure a place in the Mids. Enjoy the scheme for everything it can offer which includes dancing in state of the art studios, lovely teachers, rare opportunities (if the timing is right) to perform at the ROH, lessons accompanied by a pianist, learning how to travel to & from London, use of the Underground, learning your way around the West End, parents spending lots of money shopping whilst waiting for dd. I've enjoyed going to London for the last 8 years ( apart from when it rains and it gets dark early!) I've never bored of it. Would I do it again? Probably but I would go with realistic expections.

My dd did fortnightly classes for her JA's then went to weekly from Mid's. It's not too bad if the classes are in the afternoon. The 9am start was a bit tough to start with when it meant leaving home by 7am, but the great thing was we would be home by 2pm, so we had the rest of the day free.

Do the international students come on full scholarships or do they pay?

My dd was accepted in yr 4, she's into the last few weeks of her 8th year.

I just came across the article and tried to search for it through previous forums but couldn't find a link. Now you have provided the link I can visit it thank you.

http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/opinion-what-ballet-school

Perhaps it's time to have transparency in the audition process. Forgot P.C and lets get some productive feedback so the dc's and parents can accept why they weren't considered for a particular school. It could be similar to an exam assessment. Each dc would receive a score and then they could see if there is any possibility of improvement or whether it is time to choose another direction. Include height, weight , degree of turnout, core strength etc.

http://www.trespassmag.com/the-body-of-ballet/ Not sure if this article has been posted before?

The words I suggested are synonyms of Encouraged

How about Optimistic, Hopeful, Upbeat, Sunny, Idealistic, Merry?

Good idea Just Ballet. Any suggestions?

Very impressed with Central's speed at putting us out of our misery. Audition 24th Feb results via email 26th Feb. Perhaps other schools should take a leaf out of their book. One step closer at last!

My dd has taught herself via youtube. She doesn't read the music but has learned various chords. If you enter a song you would like to learn to play along with piano tutorial then a number of videos appear for selection.

Dear Marianne, If they know they are not quite what they want then why take our money and let them audition in the first place?

The implication is that you need to have attended a vocational school in order to get into one of the top ballet schools?

What amazes me is that no one seems to know what they are looking for. The teachers don't know. If there is specific physical criteria then this should be published so that we don't waste our money auditioning if our DC's don't fulfil the requirements. I am still dumb founded only ONE RBS SA got through to finals. That says a lot re the associate programme.

Sorry to hear about your no's Pointytoes22. We know how it feels. Keep going. We're off to Central this Sunday then plan B kicks in.

Unfortunately not. Only one SA made it through to the finals!