Dancemum23

Hi, does anyone have experience of the junior conservatoire at Guildford School of Acting? Specifically the musical theatre course? It looks great - an hour each of ballet, jazz, acting and singing every week, alongside current classes, for age 11+. My dd loves ballet but is keen to train in MT. Thank you.

Sym dance in Tunbridge Wells have a summer intensive from 12th-15th August. It would probably be commutable from Sussex (depending which part!).

Thank you, she is really keen so I’ll speak to her teachers and see what they suggest. I think she’d love to enter as a group with dance friends but loves performing and would just like to give festivals a go if possible!

This is all really helpful, thank you for taking the time to reply.

My daughter attends a dance school which does not enter festivals/competitions. They do a show every other year and offer other smaller performance opportunities as well as ballet exams (but not exams in the other styles of dance like tap, modern etc). Through other dance classes and workshops my daughter has become aware of the world of competitions and festivals and would like to do these, but as this isn’t something her dance school do I don’t know how we would enter? And I get the impression that they don’t approve of festivals, but don’t know why this is? Can anyone enlighten me? Why do some dance schools enter competitions and others don’t? Are they worth looking into for my daughter? She is happy dancing where she is and wouldn’t want to change dance schools!

My daughter is an associate at Elite Ballet Project and loves it. Her ballet has come on so much since she started. The guest teachers have been great and the pianists are fantastic too. We are only about 25 minutes from the dance studio which is handy but I think others travel quite far for it. Would definitely recommend.

Hi all. I’m looking for suggestions of intensives/holiday courses/workshops for my DD aged 11. How do people find out about these opportunities? Is there a comprehensive list somewhere? I have spent quite a long time on Google and reading this forum and have come across a lot of good ideas. Her ballet teacher has also sent me some suggestions. But every time I look I seem to find something new/different! I’d like to book her in for something at Easter but imagine it’s too late now? Can anyone point me in the right direction or send some recommendations? Thank you.

My daughter recently did an ‘advanced’ kids workshop at Pineapple which she loved - it included ballet but also other styles of dance. It was aimed at children who do 5 hours or more of dancing a week and aged between 8-16. I think there is another one coming up in October.

She did the insight day today and loved it 🥰

Thank you! We will go along and hopefully she will have a good experience.

Really helpful question, thank you! My dd is the same age and her dance teacher only made me aware of/suggested the summer intensives this year. Her teacher’s opinion was that they are good for younger children planning on vocational training at a young age but otherwise something to think about when she’s a bit older (11+). I’m looking into them for next year but she won’t be doing them all summer.

Hi all I’ve only recently found this forum and been reading old threads about RBS associates insight days and have a few questions… I have booked my 10 year old dd into the RBS insight day in London in September but am now worried it’s a bad idea! She will be one of the youngest in the group (just starting Year 6 when it goes up to Year 8) and hasn’t done much ballet this summer. I had thought the class would just give her (and me!) an insight into being an Associate, but I don’t want it to affect her confidence if everyone there is older/more experienced than her. Has anyone’s child done the insight day for the experience and not applied for the associates? Will it be an enjoyable experience in itself? Any thoughts appreciated! Thank you.

My daughter was at this audition too! For anyone reading this in the future, I think what really helped my daughter get in was her ‘performance’ - she smiled and presented herself well and hid the nerves well! She picked up the routine quickly and showed improvement from the first time she did it to when she did it again (she told me she had been practising hard in the wings whilst she was waiting her turn!). Whilst it was nerve wracking to watch as a parent it was also lovely to see the children perform. Hope your student enjoys it @MissEmily

Thank you for this Harwel! The junior conservatoire in musical theatre looks ideal for her and she could apply next year for a Sept 2024 start when she will be in Year 7. I’ll keep an eye out for when the audition registration opens.

Thank you everyone, this is so helpful. We are in Surrey so will definitely look into Guildford School of Acting. The Tring short courses look great too. It is all a bit overwhelming so I really appreciate the advice and insights! I’ll look into associate class options for next year too. Please do keep suggestions coming!

Hello, I’m new here! I’ve been reading the forum and found it so informative. I am looking for advice for my daughter - she is 10 and about to start Year 6. She attends our local dance school where she does ballet twice a week, as well as tap, acro, modern and musical theatre. She absolutely loves dancing. She recently successfully auditioned for the English Youth Ballet. I have been looking into options for extra training for her, alongside her regular classes. Her dance school offered extra associate type classes for some students until earlier this year but those have stopped for now. I’ve been looking at the various associate classes (we are in the South East) and I’ve booked her into the RBS insight day in September. At 10 is she already too old for me to be looking into this? Her current aim is to train in musical theatre not ballet specifically, but she loves ballet and wants to continue to a high level. Are associate programmes only for those who plan to apply for vocational ballet training? I would also appreciate any suggestions for holiday courses. She did some local dance school summer camps this year but she was too old for them really. Thank you from a newbie trying to navigate this world!