Vienna Festival Ballet for DC

[Primaballerina1]

Hi all

Not too important but DD and I just saw a picture on Instagram of a dance school we just came across which said that they had students of theirs performing with Vienna Festival Ballet. Does anyone know if/how DC can get into this and if they need to audition or if the dance school get contacted.

Sorry if that made no sense we are just currently looking for dance opportunities for DD who is 12.

[rowan]

Vienna Festival Ballet is a smallish touring company and I would expect it to take children from a variety of dance schools from places where it tours, though I don't know for sure. For companies such as the Mariinsky coming to London, children in the past have come from a small set of dance schools and outreach programmes, such as the JA programme. They have to audition and will likely be of vocational school standard. For Vienna Festival Ballet, it might be worth contacting the dance schools you know they are working with and asking.

 

You're more likely to get good dance opportunities with the established children's ballet companies, such as London Children's Ballet or EYB. Pantomimes at local theatres often take children from local dance schools as well, of course, if you're looking for performing opportunities. Depending where you live, you could think about the big musical shows such as Billy Elliot or Lion King. I know quite a few children (age 12 is about right) who appeared in both of these. Again, very good dance skills will be needed and it's a big commitment all round.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

I don't know about Vienna Festival ballet but when Ellen Kent Opera & Ballet tour they approach local dance/stage schools direct & send them a DVD for the school to teach the material in advance.

My dd danced in Aida, sang in Tosca & was an extra in Carmen.

[2dancersmum]

to be honest I think you are looking at a bit of a non starter here. I don't think they have children in their performances very often - and I have never seen any auditions for them. It may be that they sometimes talk to local dance schools if they need someone or that a local dance school contacts them but I do not think it happens on a regular basis. Vienna Festival Ballet is a small company and they tour extensively - somewhere different just about every night. I cannot see them having the capacity to accommodate new children every night. In addition, they have 2 seasons each year and run more than one production.

 

I know there is a forum member whose son danced a performance or two with them last year and she may be able to shed some light. When that production came to us, there were no children in it. The part her son played was danced by a regular cast member.

 

Last summer season was their 35th anniversary gala which was excerpts from ballets they have done in the past and this might have meant that last year they might have had children in some of the performances. At the performances local to me they did not.

[Pups_mum]

My DD has done similar to what Picturesinthefirelight describes a few times when touring companies have been in our area. If they just wanted extras it was simply a matter of turning up at the theatre a few hours before the performance and being shown what to do. If any actual dancing was required then her teacher was sent a DVD a couple of months in advance and they learned the dance from that. I would imagine that if this company does use children then they will do something similar, and probably have links with specific dance schools already.

It was quite a fun thing for DD to do, and does give a little bit of insight into the day to day realities of working in a touring company as you get to see behind the scenes a bit, but I wouldn't say she got a huge amount out of it really. I would agree with Rowan, there are more valuable opportunities to be had from working with a youth ballet company. My DD has never done panto etc, though she has several friends who have and they do seem to have enjoyed the experience. It seems like a huge commitment though, and  definitely impacts significantly on the whole family as well as school work etc. (Which is why I never considered it to be honest  - my boys have suffered enough as a result of their sister's dancing I think!)