SpideyDad

@Elly94

This is so lovely to read: I don't have much to add to what @Anna C has written; but my DD and her classmates were in the My First show and I'll be letting her know about your post. As well as it being their first chance to perform in a 'Professional' show, the students had the time of their lives with the whole process: they love the feedback and hearing of the impression it made will only reinforce this.

In terms of what to do next, my advice is to find a local school and just let your DD enjoy it for now: the love for Ballet will probably never go now, but whether it's something she should pursue will become obvious as time goes by. 

Good luck!

2 hours ago, MAX said:

https://www.enbschool.org.uk/news.php?ref=lynne-charles-appointed-as-artistic-director-of-english-national-ballet-school

Was Lynne the candidate that you mentioned in the Viviana thread @MAX?

Great news, by the way! From the reading I've done, the direction will be clear!

@Swanwings If our experience is anything to go by, students can have multiple offers and have a short amount of time to make their decision.

I'm not sure what your situation is, but best of luck with it all! Such an exciting time, but I'm not sure whether we'd choose to go through it again!😵‍💫

10 hours ago, Viviangrace said:

Where have the past recent graduates received employment contracts?  Is there any movement into the main ENB company from the school?  It doesn't appear that there is any sort of apprentice level within ENB.  

There's no automatic movement from ENBS to ENB, but it's not unheard of and I can think of a few dancers that have done this.

ENB are certainly getting a very close look at the 2nd years at the moment (rehearsing for My First Ballet).

You might find this document useful, which lists where last year's graduates went: https://www.enbschool.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Our-Year-2022-2023.pdf

16 hours ago, Diagon said:

Congrats everyone. 
 

My daughter was offered a place in level 2. Just waiting on her JA assessment and we’ll decide which way to go. Exciting stuff. I hadn’t realised the classes would be Monday and Wednesday though, which means she’ll be unable to do all her other classes at her local dance school, so food for thought. 

@Diagon & @Dancenewbie

Firstly, congratulations!

It can be difficult to decide the best thing to do. Our DD did the JA and went through the whole programme (at ENBS now).

The training in either programme is excellent, but their regular teacher and, not least, their drive to succeed will also have a huge bearing on where they go with it all. It has to fit in with other lives and commitments as well.

Enjoy the ride! It's a roller-coaster, for sure!

On 20/03/2024 at 17:32, Ann said:

Does anyone have tickets for "My First Ballet - Swan Lake" next month? My friend(I am her guardian), who is a ENBS student, will be performing as the lead role on the 5th at 2 p.m., the 6th at 10:30 a.m., and the 7th at 11 a.m., but we couldn't get tickets.
We have very good seats (Row C Stalls) for the 4th at 5:30 p.m., and that day features professional dancers from ENB as the leads, instead of students.
Would anyone be willing to exchange or sell tickets please?

Hi Ann,

Did you have any luck? It looks like a couple of four-ticket blocks have appeared on Friday 5th at 2pm.

If it's either of the young women I'm thinking of (one of whom shares a room with my DD), you'll definitely want to be there! 

Good luck!

1 hour ago, WhereToNow said:

Hi, just a quick question regarding the course at ENB.  From the timetable there is no time to do distance learning for A levels.  My DD is looking at plan B, post career options - possibly physio/sprts injury etc, which would need probably need biology.  I saw on the website the diploma course includes Anatomy - can anyone give me an idea of what this entails?

Consulting with DD and DW, they have quite a bit of focus on it in year 1. DD quite enjoyed it but didn't find it too taxing, having done Biology and PE at GCSE. A lot of naming bones and muscles, but possibly not enough to mean that other qualifications aren't needed, should plan B need to come into play. I understand that it's something some dancers look at later.

It's probably worth talking to the school and a careers advisor.

Best of luck with it all! We remember it well:  it's such a roller-coaster ride until you know what's happening!🍀🩰

5 minutes ago, MAX said:

A bit sceptical ?  You can't be sceptical when you have the honor of working with an artist and ballerina like Viviana Durante !

 

There are some incredible things happening with this new generation....

Exactly this! Exciting times!

32 minutes ago, LinMM said:

That will be a blow for ENBS though. 
She seemed to be doing such a great job there.

One shouldn’t speculate but if there is a move to another well known Ballet establishment at least you know  they will be in a very good pair of hands!! 
 

I really hope ENBS can find a replacement equal to Viviane but won’t be easy. 
 

I guess that it's the timings that lead us to that speculation: all will be revealed in time.

Viviana is doing an incredible job at ENBS and will be sorely missed. 

Before their Winter Showcase, this year, she gave all the Students some performance polishing from her unique perspective: my DD was fortunate enough to have some help from her, with a solo she performed. Admittedly, DD was a bit sceptical as she was given a tweak here, a timing change there: but on reviewing the videos, the difference was like day and night. Trusting her excellent teaching staff, hands on where needed.

I'm sure that all the students can tell a similar story.

Of course, thoughts move on to who might be the next AD...

54 minutes ago, Dancenewbie said:

We are newish to dance world. We went along to see what it was all about and  our DC was spotted? We had an email on Monday encouraging to apply for cat. Any experiences  of norther ballet associate and CAT  would be appreciated as we are new to this dance world. DC is just turned 12. Thanks

Our DD did the Associate programme: CAT, with its weekday attendance and a decent distance to travel would have been too much to commit to. This, in conjunction with some excellent training from her local school and some sessions with a couple of other schools, has stood her in good stead (she's in her 2nd year at ENBS, now).

She loved the programme and there was never any doubt that Ballet was what she wanted to do.

As parents, we loved watching her dancing develop and also enjoyed a bit of weekend time in Leeds.

We'd say, go for it! Best of luck!

That brings back memories: would've been us eight years ago! Best of luck with it all, you never know where it might take you and your DC!

1 hour ago, Kerfuffle said:

There is a new royal ballet senior associates in Leeds for year 10/11 with a wonderful teacher which I really recommend once your daughter is old enough. I guess she’s year 9? 

@Kerfuffle: making the same point that I would, again! I would also recommend either of the Northern Ballet programmes, but it can be difficult to get in if you don't climb aboard at the start. It's probably worth having a discussion with them.

Best of luck!

14 minutes ago, Kerfuffle said:

Good question! I think that logically the diploma/degree is a higher level if qualification (level 5 or 6) than A Levels (level 3). I am only guessing here but usually if you already have a degree you would be looking at a post graduate qualification (MA for example). My daughter would have chosen art and English (and probably history) too. I think if you wanted to study history of theatre at MA level or something related there would probably be no need for A Levels - you would have proved yourself of being capable to write already. If you were educated here and have a good set of GCSEs that would back you up too. I have even heard of someone who went to Cambridge to study English literature after finishing at Royal Ballet upper school and her dancing record helped her get in ! If you decide to retrain in medical areas and computer science you also are able to get student loans for degrees. Hope that helps ! 
 

 

It's probably worth a conversation with a careers advisor to see what can be done with the Academic credit you get from the schools (if it's outside of their experience, they should know someone who can help)..

My understanding is that Unis and Employers understand the discipline, drive, talent and sheer bloody-mindedness it takes to get to a dance graduate level: this translates to Academia or the workplace really well.

2 minutes ago, ThatDancingGirl said:

Hello there. I am new to this forum but I was hoping to ask those of you with knowledge of ENBS or other upper schools how it works as my dd(currently in year 10 at a normal secondary) would like to apply to upper schools in ballet after finishing GCSEs but I would love her to be able to continue with a levels some how so she can have her plan B available to apply to uni should it not pan out with a ballet career. Looking on ENBS website it seems there aren't options for online learning to do such thing? And it seems upon graduating they'd still need to do 18 months of learning to get a degree is that right? But CSB and RBS for example skip A levels all together and once finished the 3 years gain a BA? But from what I gather RBS also offers options for students to do online a levels instead if they wanted? I'd love any insight into this from those of you ahead of me. Thanks so much 

@ThatDancingGirl

It's probably worth a discussion with the school. In our experience ENBS don't specifically offer A Levels, but they don't discourage students from doing them in their own time and these can be arranged on line.

We did consider our DD doing one, but the schedule is very full and, after a couple of months we felt it would be too much.

Bear in mind that the Diploma does carry an Academic Level 5 or 6 at graduation, so your DC shouldn't lose any ground, unless they find themselves wishing to do something completely different.

Info at https://www.enbschool.org.uk/editorial.php?ref=academic

3 hours ago, BattementBatty said:

What are the timetabled hours like?  I am wondering if it is commutable. 

@BattementBatty as @Kerfuffle says, many do commute: stating the obvious, it depends on where you are - it'd be a stretch from Yorkshire, though!

10 hours ago, Swanwings said:

Does anyone know if ENBS have a waiting list situation after sending out results? I know Central does but Ive never heard of ENBS having a waiting list.

They do: there's always an element of seeing what offers from which schools are accepted at that time.

10 hours ago, sunrise81 said:

If it is per week....thats ENB off our list. No way we can afford that 😫 

There are options for shared rooms that are about half the price, but yikes, That is expensive!

I think we'll be considering a shared flat nearby for next year.

40 minutes ago, WhereToNow said:

Thank you!

 

I had emailed the school to try and find some info.

 

I know there is no accommodation provided, but do they recommend anywhere?  If so what kind of cost would we be looking at?

 

Was there any support towards fees? I know about DADA, but was there any other help available?

 

Are they still at the building in Fulham?

 

Thanks

No problem @WhereToNow:

Accommodation: they pointed us in the direction of Lightfoot Halls, about 10-15 mins walk down the King's Road and DD is there for a second year now. There are options for single and shared rooms. They put ENBS students together. The independence that comes from that has been really good for her - she's grown up fast! Some other students room nearby or commute in.

DaDa was vital for us, but we didn't investigate getting any further help. As you'd expect, the location means the accommodation is expensive, but it is a great place to live, with lots going on and plenty of opportunities to see how the 'other half' lives.

They are still on Hortensia Road in Chelsea/Fulham.

6 minutes ago, Kerfuffle said:

Yes, ask SpideyDad! I am an ENBS parent but DD has just started.

Thanks @Kerfuffle - I hope DD is enjoying it: if I remember correctly, the early weeks are intense!

2 minutes ago, WhereToNow said:

Hi All, I’ve tried the search option but there seems to be very little topics about the school.  Maybe I am searching incorrectly!

 

We have experience of the ENB Junior programme they had, but not much else.

 

If anyone has information they could share or point me to the Threads that already discuss this, that would be lovely.

 

Happy for people to DM too.

 

Thanks!

Hi @WhereToNow,

There are a few ENBS parents on here: is there anything specific that you need to know?

1 hour ago, Allwrong said:

So basically, as a parent you can't win

🤣😬 never a truer word!

55 minutes ago, Kerfuffle said:

I think follow your instincts and try out the associates/CAT schemes. You can always give them up if they don’t work for your child, much easier than removing them from boarding school. All these experiences will give your child a chance to see what works for her, who she clicks with. This is what we have found - my DD has just started upper school after being at a regular school. 

I was about to reply, but I think that @Kerfuffle has said everything that I would have.

Perhaps I could add that I never witnessed or heard of anything to concern me in either the Northern CAP or CAT or at the RBS SA Northern programme in Leeds when our DD attended them.

One man's opinion, but I think that having all of the 11-16 years' changes out of the way, before committing to a vocational school has worked well for her (in terms of personal development) and us (in terms of 'being there', and financially - though it's still tough!)

Best of luck with it all! 🤞

10 hours ago, Kerfuffle said:

My DD is starting at ENBS this autumn and I was just wondering if anyone else here is in the same situation? 

Huge Congratulations! Our DD started in Autumn last year: it's fair to say that she's absolutely loving it: the school and the location. Feel free to let us know if you need any info. 👏👏

11 hours ago, KRBallet said:

Thank you for all of the replies. My DD is our only daughter and, while I'm really excited for her (and really proud!), I've started to get a bit wobbly about her boarding and want to be as supportive as I can because she and I believe 100% that this is the right thing for her.

I think modern communications help a lot too: we can have very long conversations, even video calls, without having to think about the costs.

We got our DD a SIM card with unlimited data, just for this reason.

10 hours ago, MissEmily said:

Thank you everyone! Anything non-residential is a no-go unfortunately. Her parents can’t take a week off work to go with her, nor can they do their jobs remotely. She’d have gone to YBSS if she’d had a scholarship, and I’ve heard nothing but positive things about it, but I know the class sizes are large and I imagine that impacts how personal feedback can be, especially for girls. Great to read good things about the Tring Summer School. She does want to focus on ballet though. I hear lots of great things about Malvern so maybe that’s the one to go for if she doesn’t get WL and we can’t find a host family for Blommaert Ballet School. @SpideyDad I’m completely with you; I know that would be the best one for her to do. I’ve done it myself for the past three years 😉 

Ahhh: I now realise who you are @MissEmily , so you know the benefits better than I do! We have stayed down there for the week, but our DD now has her own room in halls in London and is much more independent these days.