Balletmumfor2

A lot of dance schools start interfoundation alongside grade 5 ish so if you get the opportunity to put the level she is currently studying on the form, they will realise she is working well above grade 2.

I think the SS at Centre Pointe in Manchester was for grade 2 and above last year. There were 3 groups; the oldest advanced students, the inter and intermediates and the younger ones in grades 2-4. The groups tend to change depending upon who attends. Each group did ballet, contemporary and jazz and there was a short performance of the dances learnt on the last day. I think the hours were 10-4pm.

No, you don't need to wear soft blocks. I would stick to what you are used to. Some girls are used to wearing them in SA classes or for RAD exams. I was talking about pointe work in RBS auditions only since this is what was specified in the thread title. Good luck to all auditioning in Birmingham this week.

Not with my daughter at the moment so can only tell you our experience. My daughter was an MA applying to be an SA. She ticked the box for WL as she thought she had nothing to lose by doing so. Her friend applied for SA place only. They both had their preliminary audition on the same day. Audition times and days depend on numbers and ages of kids applying. They often roughly group by age and often line them up on the barre according to age. My daughter was offered finals for yr 10 entry and her friend (who had only ticked SA's) finals for yr11. The final audition was at WL and was mixed yr groups. There were about 11 girls across both yr groups including many from abroad and a few boys. Both my daughter and her friend got a no for full time (they took 2 girls) but got SA places. So the audition is the same whatever box you tick. The content varies slightly according to the centre you take it at and what the panel asks to see on the day. Experience of successful SA's is very varied so it is all about potential. Good luck to all. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions and we will try to answer.

No, you are correct there is only one audition for SA's. However, some auditionees will also be auditioning for full time training at WL and the audition is the same one. Those successful at the preliminary audition will be invited to a final one held at WL. This can occasionally include children who were auditioning solely for SA's but who they see potential in for full time training. If they are not successful at the final audition or chose not to attend they will still be offered an SA place but it is possible to be invited to a final audition even if that is not what you originally applied for. It is this second audition where they look at the girls on pointe. Hope this makes sense.

Hi Primrose. Have you had experience of anyone being asked to wear their pointe shoes as all the audition letters we have seen have clearly stated that there is no pointe included at preliminary auditions, even for 6th form. Pointe is included at final auditions however. Letters also state no make up although some girls wear a minimal amount.

I have done quite a few royal auditions and did the SA audition two years ago. The class is probably about intermediate standard, but it is not too difficult and the teacher is happy to go over it. The standard is greatly varied and there were some girls who hadn't covered some of the steps like jetes. If you are in grade 5 or Intermediate foundation then you shouldn't have any problems. When you first go in you stand in front of one of the judges and do things such as plies and tendus and standing side on. After that you are given a barre space and just dance through the usual exercises, the teacher says and demonstrates everything and if you are unsure you mustn't worry about asking. After the barre you are sent into the centre and have to go down in right leg split, hold, turn into box, hold and then turn into left leg split. I have never been able to do box and there were many girls unable to do any of the three so don't worry. You then do a port de bras, adage, 1 or 2 pirouette exercises and some allegro. The audition goes very quickly and you dob't do any pointe work (though most people take their shoes anyway). It is up to you what you would like to wear. I would suggest a leotard that you feel comfortable in, they do prefer you to wear a waist elastic, tights and whatever shoes you prefer. You can wear leather, canvas, satin, whichever you like. Don't go in stage make up but just whatever you would normally wear for everyday. Good luck to everyone auditioning and I hope this is useful to you

Thanks for clarifying that Ribbons. At SA classes the girls are split between calamined and uncalamined pointe shoes presumably depending on what their own dance teachers prefer so we have never been sure what RBS likes. Now we know...thankyou!

We always use Boots calamine but you need very little rubbed lightly over the surface to take off the shine and the shoes should dry within seconds. If you put on too much, the shoes go very white and the surface tends to crack once dried out. I expect this could also make the satin 'wet' which could cause the shoes to shrink. A small amount rubbed in well should have no effect on the overall size of the shoe. You can use quite a dry piece of cotton wool with calamine on but still achieve the full effect if you rub it in well. 'Less is more' in this case I think!

Oops, meant 'calamined' not 'coalmined' in earlier post. Not sure what RBS do at the full time school but notices at associate classes before auditions have suggested the children may prefer to wear satin flats rather than the leather shoes they normally wear for weekly classes but have specified that if they do so, then these should be left shiny and not calamined. I am therefore assuming this is what RBS prefer to see.

Our dance teacher insists on shoes (both flat and pointe) being coalmines for exams and festivals. This is to make their legs look longer as the shoes become one with the tights and ribbons. However, royal prefer shiny shoes as this is what they ask their associates to wear for auditions. My daughter keeps new shoes shiny for rbs auditions then coalmines them for regular class after. Calamining also helps to clean up shoes which have got dirty in the studio.

Hi Mum in a spin. My daughter will be in the position that you are talking about. She is also only interested in classical ballet so her choices for schools are restricted in the first place. Despite this, she has decided to apply anyway as, having done RBS associates for years and got to WL finals in year 7 & year 9 she wants to know whether or not she would have been good enough. A personal achievement you might say! If she is turned down for training she will know she tried her best & if offered a place she understands she probably won't be able to accept it. She is lucky to be a straight A* student so will then switch to her academics and a career in medicine. I suppose a worse scenario would be not auditionimg then later hearing of a way she could have accepted a place. Even if she does not become a ballerina, to have made the grade would certainly be an achievement noone could ever take away from her!Sometimes, when looking forward and striving for new goals, it is easy to forget what has already been achieved. Experiences in life are never wasted in my opinion.

Not worried about how heavy it is on her, more worried about the drain on my pocket with all these audition costs! Thanks again, I'll have a look at Argos. It will be cheaper than a cross trainer!!!

A great tip munchkin16. She needs to improve core strength too and anything she can do whilst having a few minutes down time watching tv will go down well. Off to check out the price of a weighted hoop.

Hi Aurora. She will love you for that post! She really hates running and is absolutely useless at it. Her Royal teacher suggested it to improve her stamina but she will love that there is a good reason to avoid it. I did wonder whether it might be stressful on her legs. She dances 5 days a week but obviously needs something more intense.

Great ideas. Thankyou all! Unfortunately she won't be able to try any of these until the holidays and then not sure whether swimming baths/zumba classes will be available although they do appeal to her more. Typically, skipping would be cheap, quick and require nobody to transport her anywhere. I think the mere thought of going out in the cold is filling her with dread at present!!! Have sent her off to look up the blog website recommended. Many thanks.

My daughter has been told to work on her strength/stamina for her auditions in the new year. Her teacher suggested running (which she hates with a passion!) or maybe skipping. Not sure when she's going to fit it into her week so it will probably be over the Christmas holidays. Has anyone got any alternative ideas which may appeal to a non sporty dancer with very little time?

Well, Miss Wright who is the royal mid associate teacher and principal of Centre Pointe thinks the auditions are being held there and I think she would be one of the first to know of any changes to the venue!

At my daughters' school they often go straight into a jazz or contemporary lesson with no time to change. They wear transition tights which they roll up and then put back footless tights over the top and on top of the leotard and a pair of black shorts. Black microfibre shorts knickers from Primark work extremely well as dance shorts and fit little ones as well. They are far less bulky than traditional shorts too! Just an idea. You could also quickly remove the shorts and black tights if the ballet was afterwards. Some auditions ask you to arrive already changed due to space issues.

With regards to the audition, my personal view is that EYB are more interested in performance quality than the very best technique. The steps they do on stage are often quite simple but they need to be performed well to make a good show. So smiling and performing is crucial in the audition. Enjoy it and don't worry if a few steps don't go perfectly. If you look as if you are enjoying it, then other people will probably enjoy watching you. At the end of the audition they pick several children who have danced well to come to the front and remember and dance again one of the exercises. This is to see who will be awarded the scholarship! My daughter was not the best but is confident and smiley as well as being tiny so I'm sure this is why she got the solo. She loves being carried off by Drosselmeir!

My daughter was this age when she did EYB. In the second half the younger ones were all sweets. In the first half the smallest 6/8 were chosen to be the dolls in the workshop and the others were snowflakes. The way it is organised all children, younger or older get equal time on stage. My daughter was one of the youngest but ended up having a 30 second solo and starting off the whole performance before being the last doll to be carried off stage at the end of the scene (upside down!) It is a great experience and definitely worth doing. Good luck at the audition.

Hi Happymum. Yes, they definitely sleep in the dorms which was so exciting for my youngest. Mainly ballet but they also did a contemporary/improv, character and one hip hop class. Most of the free time was their own. They watched TV, played tennis and sat around and chatted. Was a walk round the park one night and a barbecue another night. Usually one activity per evening was organised.

My daughter always wears out one shoe before the other as she often does more pirouettes and arabesques on her favoured leg in her festival dances. I suggested she swapped her shoes to even out the wear but she said that her feet are very different so she would find it difficult to swap them over once the shoes had moulded to her feet and been broken in. She definitely has one ribbon longer than the other and used this to check which shoe is which as suggested above.

When my daughter was in Year 6 ja's she was grade 5 and inter foundation and did an exam every year getting high 80's. She moved schools and slowed right down with her exams but then got marks in the high 90's. Her friend who made WL from her JA class was the lowest in grades at only grade 2 and they were asking if her teacher could fast track her up the grades! She had the musicality and potential however so at that age grades were irrelevant. My DD is now behind some of her friends from other schools in her vocational grades as her teacher likes them to wait and get very high distinctions. She knows however, that many of them just passed or got merits so the exam itself is not always an indicator of ability which is why vocational schools are more interested in solid basic technique, musicality and performance as the rest can easily be taught in the future!

Thanks drdance. Think she did Barre only on pointe ion Tuesday evening, small bit of pointe Wednesday then pointe at end of SA class yesterday. She has been pretty good, staying off pointe totally for as long as possible but now wants to strengthen it up. She doesn't have separate pointe classes but wears her pointe shoes for all non syllabus so I suspect she'll slowly build it up doing a bit more each week. Definitely wouldn't want her to reinjure it again! Thanks again for your advice. much appreciated.