Hours in the studio

[aileen]

At many studios there are a lot of classes at the lower grades but once you reach the higher grades there may be only one, or two at best. I don't know where betterankles is, but I live in London and as far as I can tell very few classes at most studios last longer than an hour even at the higher grades. I wonder whether betterankles is talking about one of the 'Russian' schools. I'm not saying that there aren't schools that can provide the number of hours which s/he mentions but I think that they are few and far between. It's a matter of economics. There are far more children at the lower end of the grades and it's not financially prudent to have too many sparsely populated classes; time is money in a business providing a service and ballet schools are businesses.

[Lilac]

Doing Associate classes is how we increase the hours.still not th same as being at vocational school but also can achieve some different/higher level teaching. DD who is 17 does an extra 7 hours per week that way.

[PJW]

Hi ballet bean

 

Going back to your original question, I thought I'd give you an idea of hours spent in the studio at our dance school.

 

Most students are dancing purely as a hobby and those who audition for collefes are usually auditioning for more general dance courses e.g bird, urdang...

 

So a typical 14/15 year old who was taking their dance fairly seriously and considering auditioning at 16/18 would do something like this;

 

1 hour grade ballet class

1 hour additional ballet class

30 mins-1 hour pointe depending on experience

1.5 hours technique class including flexibility, conditioning, turns etc

1 hour jazz

1 hour tap

1 hour contemporary

1 hour musical theatre

1 hour competition team rehearsal

 

In addition some students might do a weekend associate programme which adds another 3 or 4 hours per week.

 

Certainly not claiming this is the 'right' amount to do but just wanted to give you an idea of what is happening in other schools!

[ParentTaxi]

PJW, our studio sounds very similar to yours, and as I have posted on other threads, her hours sound similar to that. A little more ballet - 2 classes at current grade, 1 at the grade above + pointe, and more team rehearsals (2 hours per age group, 4 in total for her as at the moment she dances in 2 different age groups) - and no classes specifically for contemporary or jazz. A private lesson too, and 30 mins - 1 hour 'exam preparation' lesson in any genre she is taking an exam in that term.

 

So 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week, often with extras at the weekend - but certainly not 1.5 hours of classical class every day. As aileen says, there simply aren't the classes.

 

Anyone really aiming for a pure ballet career has gone to vocational school at some point between 11 and 13, but the school really aims at 18+, at which point it sends between 2 and 8 pupils per year off the the major dance colleges in our experience..

[BlueLou]

My dd is 14 and also hoping to go to vocational upper school in 2018 ballet bean. She does around 16-17 hours a week, mainly ballet but also including tap, modern jazz, contemporary and festival work, and pilates. She does IDTA grades at the village dance school, which I think are probably fairly pointless, but she’s in Adv1 Ballet, Adv1 Modern, and Inter Tap. 

 

Just to clarify - my dd manages to do so much ballet (4 or 5 times a week, 12+ hours) without going to voc school because she is on a ballet CAT programme.

[PJW]

Ah yes I forgot about doing your grade plus the grade above so I guess that adds another hour per week! That usually happens from grade 6 up.

 

I agree ParentTaxi that if you're looking specifically for a ballet career then you probably need to be in vocational school before 16. Our school has just had their first student get into vocational ballet school for y7. She was doing just 2 hours per week at the school plus JAs for the last year. I think that what is 'enough' can vary a lot depending on the child.

[balletbean]

 she is on a ballet CAT programme.

Hi, What is a ballet CAT programme? Thank you

[balletbean]

Hi ballet bean

 

Going back to your original question, I thought I'd give you an idea of hours spent in the studio at our dance school.

 

Most students are dancing purely as a hobby and those who audition for collefes are usually auditioning for more general dance courses e.g bird, urdang...

 

So a typical 14/15 year old who was taking their dance fairly seriously and considering auditioning at 16/18 would do something like this;

 

1 hour grade ballet class

1 hour additional ballet class

30 mins-1 hour pointe depending on experience

1.5 hours technique class including flexibility, conditioning, turns etc

1 hour jazz

1 hour tap

1 hour contemporary

1 hour musical theatre

1 hour competition team rehearsal

 

In addition some students might do a weekend associate programme which adds another 3 or 4 hours per week.

 

Certainly not claiming this is the 'right' amount to do but just wanted to give you an idea of what is happening in other schools!

Thanks PJW, 

 

The breakdown was most helpful. 

My daughter can tick most of those but replacing Musical Theatre with classical Greek and no associate programme. 

From reading the numerous posts, it all boils down to quality of the teaching rather than the quantity of hours spent in the studio. With a hint of Luck on the day at auditions by the sound of things. 

It does feel though she spends more time at the studio than at home on occasions, especially in preparation for a show or festival in in full swing.  

Bless 'em 

[BlueLou]

Hi, What is a ballet CAT programme? Thank you

 

There are several dance CAT (Centre for Advanced Training) programmes around the country, but I believe that the one at Northern Ballet in Leeds is the only one to focus on classical. You have to audition, and if successful the training is excellent and the fees are means-tested.

https://northernballet.com/academy/training-programmes/centre-for-advanced-training

[balletbean]

Thank you BlueLou, 

 

I'm learning all the time.............