audition legat at bedes

[Bean73]

Has anyone been to an audition at the legat dance school in Hailsham?Any advise?

Thanks

[porthesia]

DD auditioned and was accepted into the 6th form in 2010.  Head of both academic and ballet changed and I'm not sure what the processes are now,  Can only say that Elaine Holland is an amazing teacher and Head of Dancet She was there in DD's final year

[dramascientist]

Hi Bean73 my DD auditioned there for entry Sept 2014. The audition consisted of an interview with the head of academics, very informal and I sat in on it. The lady was lovely and put DD at ease straight away. We then had a tour round the school, amazing facilities, lovely boarding houses, we then had an interview with Elaine Holland, again a lovely lady, a physio with their own dance physiotherapist then the girls left to have lunch with other students and we were sent away and asked to return by 4.00pm. After lunch there was a ballet class, a contemporary class and then the girls did their solos( this was optional they were asked if they wanted to do them and sinceDD had one prepared for other places she chose to do it). We met at the end of the day and were told straight away that DD would be offered a place (Elaine Holland said that she hated to make people wait if she was sure there and then, which I thought was very nice). DD was invited to audition for a scholarship but didn't get it and unfortunately there are no bursaries available and it was way out of our price range, in fact even if she had got the scholarship it was too small to make it affordable. Having said this if we could have afforded it DD would have liked to have accepted the place because the facilitiies and opportunities for music and other things were amazing. It was a truly lovely school and if you can afford it I am sure it would be fantastic training.

 

Good luck,

Dramascientist

[Bean73]

Hi thanks for your reply it's very informative.Slightly worried as I was under the impression that bursaries were available. We could only afford it with a funded place.I an sure it will be an worthwhile experience whatever the outcome.

[Bean73]

Hi dramascientist. Please can you let me know how experienced your daughter was at dance and where she continued her training.I am very new to this and am only just realising how competitive / expensive dance training is. Thanks

[dramascientist]

Dear Bean73 my DD had been at an eastern European ballet school for 5 years before she auditioned for 6th form in the UK because the ballet school did not offer any academic qualification only dance and she wanted to have something to fall back on just in case of injury etc. She is at Ballet West now in her second year, the advantage of places like Ballet West is that you can get student finance though it does not cover all the fees but it makes it affordable. The situation at Legat might be different now but we thought there were bursaries too but we were informed when she got her offer of a place that there were not any available for that year, its worth contacting them to see if this is still the case. It is competative but nothing ventured nothing gained and its all good experience. My DD did not have any RAD/ISTD etc. exams because they did not do any of these at her school but this did not matter to the schools she auditioned at they just go on the potential they see at the audition, she had offers from all the schools she auditioned at and she said there were all sorts of standards at the auditions, obviously for most people she did not know who,had offers and who didn't but there are lots of options in the UK it just depends on what your DS is looking for and what you can afford.

 

Hope this helps

DRSC

[Guest]

Have been looking at Legat for possible 6th form entry for dd. As it is part of Bedes school did wonder whether there is a 'pool' of scholarships and bursaries that are available across the board for academic, music and sporting ability as well as dance, i.e. if you applied to Legat would that rule you out of an academic scholarship? Also they seem to offer an all round training in most dance genres - does anyone know how much importance is placed on classical ballet, as compared to e.g. Ballet West? Thanks!

[Pas de Quatre]

A few years ago one of my pupils wanted to audition for Yr 10 at Legat, but her parents found to their dismay that they had missed the boat for scholarships.  The school is structured like a traditional Public School and senior school starts at Yr 9, which is when bursaries/scholarships are allocated.  I don't know if many of these are then carried forward into 6th form, and the impact that would have on people applying for 6th form entry.

 

Also I had a junior pupil who wanted to join the Legat Associates.  She was awarded a place, but the distance was rather too far for weekly attendance.  Elaine Holland took the trouble to telephone me so we could discuss the situation and see whether it might work going less frequently.  I was very impressed with her friendliness and professionalism, and would urge anyone with questions to approach her/the school direct.  (In the end it wasn't feasible for the dancer to attend.)

 

Dance students who have completed 6th form there usually seem to go onto further training elsewhere either for a degree course (various genres) or I do know of one who went straight into 3rd year at Elmhurst and then gained a classical contract abroad.

[Guest]

Thanks Pas de Quatre! I had a closer look and they do indeed offer scholarships at year 9 and year 12 entry.