2015 Genée International Ballet Competition Finalists

[FLOSS]

In my experience most people find it incredibly easy to say one thing and do the opposite. They find it so easy that they are totally convinced that they always act in accordance with their stated principles and are often genuinely surprised to learn that they rarely apply those principles in daily life.As it is part of being human it is hardly surprising that institutions do the same thing.The inconsistency of the school towards competitions might be attributable to the recent change in director and the very different state of the school when each took over.

 

As I understand it Miss Stock's appointment was the result of a request made to her rather than the usual bureaucratic recruitment procedure.She appears to have done a great deal to improve the teaching and restore the school's reputation.As an Australian she probably felt that competitions were a normal part of a trainee dancer's life and that success in them enhanced the school's reputation.It is quite possible that competitions play a large part in explaining the number of dancers that Australia produces. Perhaps they help sustain both a young dancer's interest in training at a time when they might otherwise abandon it completely and a family's support for the student.

 

Mr Powney comes from a different background but more importantly he has taken over a school which appears to be in rude health. Perhaps  he feels that the current state of the school makes it possible to shift the emphasis towards the artistic application of technique rather than simply displaying it.Perhaps he is doing what he says he is doing perhaps he merely believes that he is.We shall have to see what happens at the school and in the company in the next few years.

Edited September 21, 2015 by FLOSS

[Legseleven]

I don't think it is necessarily fair to say that the RBS is 'scared that their training/teaching may be exposed on the world stage', as RBS students were very successful at high profile competitions when they entered in the past.

 

I would understand if an RBS pupil who joined the school when these competitions were still entered by the RBS felt put out/annoyed/upset when the change in the rules was made. However, as the RBS policy change is now widely known, I would not expect a student fortunate enough to have a place at the RBS to voice concerns about the fact that they may not enter competitions - every student must accept and abide by the rules of the institution they chose to attend. As was previously said, many RBS students have already 'won the prize' that many competition entrants may wish to win, by already being a student at the school. Furthermore, I am sure that RBS students all have maximum exposure to company ADs - again, simply by already being a student at the school.

 

I imagine that students from countries where there are fewer - if any - vocational upper school places such as Australia/New Zealand/South Africa may well want to enter high profile competitions so that they have the opportunity of winning a place or catching the eye of an AD or two. 

[Lucinda]

Although dance competitions are very popular in Australia I don't think that is the main reason why Australian students are successful when auditioning for upper schools abroad.

There are a high number of schools in Australia that offer excellent training although the majority are in metropolitan areas and more to the point a student can reach a high standard at a young age (e.g. 12) because they are training 10-15 hours per week.

I am not saying this is good, in fact I feel that prior and during puberty, training greater than 10 hours per week is detrimental, but this would explain why Australian candidates are ahead of other candidates when auditioning for European ballet schools. For an indication of the ballet level students are at, if they are aiming for a professional ballet career they usually would have passed RAD Advanced 2 with distinction (or equivalent) before the age of 16, a few even RAD solo seal. 

Competition participation is in addition to the already excellent training and it is usual for students to train 20+ hours per week from the age of 14 years onwards. Most of these students satisfy the education requirements by studying via distance education so do not attend mainstream schooling. Again something else I do not necessarily agree with as I feel it does not build a well rounded balanced young adult.

Most of the Australian students who do gain places at European Ballet Schools (such as the Prix de Lausanne affiliated schools) do so by audition and not by participation in competitions. A minority of students may have participated in international competitions and be noticed but they also auditioned along with everyone else or sometimes in a private audition.

In regards to gaining the elusive contract with a ballet company, I think the main factors are excellent training, desired physique (by that AD/company), persistence and a dose of good luck. 

[Myth Australia]

I agree with what Lucinda has written above.  To add to this many of the dance students that travel to competitions abroad, dance at eisteddfods in Australia competing in several solos e.g. classical ballet, contemporary and groups/troupes mostly from a very young age. The eisteddfods (competitions) are often every weekend for about 6 months of the year. The students are coached 1:1 for these solos frequently more than an hour a week.  It is not uncommon in Australia for a 10 year old to spend several afternoons in a dance studio and every Saturday throughout the school terms in training. Most dance schools offer holiday programs and some have compulsory holiday classes for either competition training or exam technique.

 

The requirements for Distance Education are minimal compared to that of a child in regular school program.  They are not rigorously monitored and many students (not all) fall behind in their school work with little, if any, demand from the educational authorities to ensure the student is meeting a minimum standard.  The class sizes are generally small for ballet once the students require 3 or more classes of dance per week as well as private lessons as it is expensive to pursue beyond the basic years.  It therefore attracts only those who can afford it.  There are dance programs in some schools that offer general training. There are very few boys involved in dance and it is not uncommon for a boy to be the only male in his dance school.  Therefore, once again, receiving continuous 1:1 training from a young age.  Even at vocational level the class sizes for boys are significantly smaller than the girls classes. 

 

A dance school in Australia can run a vocational dance program with as little as two students.  Again, I agree with Lucinda, little thought is given to their social/emotional development and the students learn to connect with other dancers through competitions and social media.  I hope this gives a bit more insight into why Australian dance students generally do well in competitions abroad. 

 

In summary, loads of 1:1 training, many hours on a variety of stages often from an early age, much more exposure to 'Open classes' and the types of classes they have in ballet competitions, loads of training in facial affect, history of the performance piece and how to engage with the audience. 

 

A very interesting discussion and from what I gather, the students training in dance in the UK do not have this kind of exposure. 

[betterankles]

Australian dancers (people), from a very young age, appear to have an innate sense of stagecraft - and lack the inhibitions so often found in British dancers (people).   They are also more overtly ambitious, and don't have the 'be a good loser' attitude of the British...(there are thankfully some exceptions these days).

Those children who wish to become professional classical dancers (and presumably those entering the Genee are not those who dance as a hobby...)  need to put in the hours of work, to gain technical proficiency (and polish these days), before the teenage years, otherwise they spend much of the time in the rehearsals studio trying to increase their technique so as to cope with a ballet's demands,  instead of being able instead to work mainly on the artistic and musical qualities, with only some refining of the technical side.   And they often remain fearful of the technical demands of classical ballet, throughout their career.

I say before the teenage years, because those are usually the awkward years, (even for Australians and South Africans!) - and if virtuoso steps like fouettees have not been acquired (even if 'dirty') when they seem exciting to attempt before the teenage years, not daunting as later, they remain - scary....   It's not for nothing that the Japanese as well as the Australians are the ones who have the strongest technique - check the early training:  no such thing as 'don't try two pirouettes until you have done a perfect single'!!

Indeed, although competitions can seem to glorify technique and virtuosity - they nowadays have great advantages as described by others above.  

And they do mean that students get one to one coaching, so that their individual stagecraft can be encouraged and discussed - something that in technique class of 10 hours a week, there is no time for...

IMO FAR too many dancers nowadays, become such as a result of 'the right physique' and being told they have everything to become ballerinas - so they love the IDEA of being a classical dancer, rather then having the NEED to dance, as necessary as the air they breathe ...   yes this does exist, and my does it show on stage!

[Melody]

I think this "right physique" business is a real problem if it's the reason the schools are turning out cookie-cutter dancers. I mean, some of the world's greatest dancers (particularly thinking of Marie Taglioni, obviously) had the sort of physique that would get them turned down at a Year 7 audition these days.

 

But going back to what Floss said about hypocrisy - it's a shame if the vocational schools are harping on so much about all-round education, but happily taking some of these Australian students who've been letting their academic work slide during distance learning for the sake of an extra 10 hours a week in the studio. That's putting the British kids at a disadvantage from the beginning while claiming not to be.

 

Given our success in the past in ballet, I refuse to believe that this latest trend in the Genée competition - where maybe one British kid shows up in the final 12 - is the natural order of things. A few decades ago we used to compete and perform at the highest level in all sorts of arenas, and now it just seems to be accepted that the British are basically second rate with the occasional shining exception. I'd love to know when and why we became satisfied with being a nation of also-rans.

[taxi4ballet]

When the director of a vocational school is absent from their own upper school audition because they are at the Prix de Lausanne, one does begin to wonder...

[Jan McNulty]

Welcome to the Forum, Myth Australia.  I do hope you will continue to join in!

 

 

As a Friend of BRB, a company which has nurtured a number of Australian-born dancers over the years, I have found the Australian dancers I have met to have a confidence (and perhaps lack of or hidden shyness) that is not necessarily the case with equivalent British dancers.

 

As most people on this board will have realised there is one particular Australian dancer who has been a favourite of mine since he joined BRB (and is now with RB)!

 

I seem to have exceeded my monthly allowance for The Stage but I saw that there is an article about the medal winners in the current edition.

[Legseleven]

Was that a final audition for an upper school, taxi4ballet?