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Hammond 6th form audition


Millie3

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DD is currently looking at her options for 6th form. It appears that Hammond have changed their course, with all students undertaking a common 1st year consisting of both dance and musical theatre and then specialising in one strand in the second year.

 

The audition asks for 2 prepared musical theatre songs and 2 monologues - has this always been the case or is the musical theatre element now being viewed as more important in the selection process? DD's strength lies in ballet and other forms of dance. As she's trying to short list where she is going to apply, we're wondering if this is one to strike off the list - which would be a shame as initially it was somewhere she had wanted to audition for.

 

Good luck to everyone else trying to decide where to apply to - it's a nightmare -if only we had an unlimited pot of cash and time! (and knew the future of DADAs and funding)

 

Millie

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Not sure where you are getting this information. On the Hammond web page under post 16 dance it tells you the format of the audition. In the morning there is a ballet class, contemporary class and jazz class. In the afternoon the auditions continue with dance solos, vocal section and monologues. Not everyone progresses through to the afternoon as candidates must meet the dance standards to continue through the audition process. If you look at the calendar (or news section - can't remember which) there is also a taster day in early December which might give the opportunity for your DD to get a feel for the school and for you to ask questions.

 

Edited to add: we were certainly under the impression that the ballet is of utmost importance and that the new audition format is a combination of the 2 previous separate auditions but the dance section must be passed first.

Edited by 2dancersmum
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2dancersmum - our information was also from the website. We were just surprised that vocal was part of the am section (surely this must be a consideration in selecting those who stay for pm), also monologues and more vocal were required in the pm.

 

My question was whether or not this has always been the case or if a student's drama/singing was now more of a deciding factor than in previous years - as the website states that staying for the pm does not mean an offer of a place.

 

Unfortunately we haven't the funds to attend open days - dd is having to read carefully and decide where she wants to apply - hence the original posting.

 

Millie

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Is there any funding for this new course if a student is successful ? does anyone know if busaries are available or other Government funding available?

The Drama course has bursaries but no mention of bursaries for the the Dance / Musical theatre course.

 

J x

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I think for the dance course it's more about the ability to give the singing a go and the potential to act through a song ad you also have to act through dance

 

If someone is unwilling to sing all they will find the common 1st year difficult. It's all a bit new and everyone will have a clearer idea of how it will all work once the new academic year starts.

 

 

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Hi Millie3

 

Maybe they are wanting to make sure that the students for MT have a good standard of dance.

 

When I questioned my DD about the new style course she said it was like NBS in that you specialise in yrs 2 & 3.

She said that the MT students are currently not doing enough dance.

 

All the students at Hammond sing in the choirs and even in Lower School singing is a requirement at audition.

 

I await the announcement regarding funding with baited breath as this could impact where my daughter can apply to.

 

A very stressful few months ahead..... hopefully some of the parents on here will be able to guide us through the post 16 stage!

 

Good Luck

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The singing is so strong at Hammond. It's noticeable that the dancers are often really gifted at singing and funnily enough the best singers in my daughter's year seem to be on the dance course! The Christmas service in the Cathedral was just breathtaking. Obviously this was the whole school but lots of the amazing solos were by dancers.

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sorry Millie - my mistake I didn't read it properly. My DD did the dance audition this year and will thus be in the first intake of the new common year in September. I can confirm that she did have to sing at the dance audition - in the morning before the point of them letting some students go. They were only told just before the audition started, just before they left their parents. DD ended up singing a few rounds of happy birthday as the pianist did not know any of the songs she knew (songs from the charts - she is not a singer) We were told that it was about voice potential as many dancers could sing but were unaware of it as their focus had always been dance. The monologues and the second vocal are new to the dance audition. However, this year students auditioned for either dance or musical theatre (with many doing both auditions) and I suspect these were part of the musical theatre audition. This year also, some students left after the morning session and reaching the end of the day did not necessarily mean the offer of a place. Re the common year - we were told that there will be very little difference to the dance course, just a few classes added for acting and vocal training and DDs induction booklet supports the fact that the focus seems to be on dance. Funding is a whole new issue - Hammond had a good number of DADAs and bursaries availalbe also so hopefully it will fare well with whatever system replaces DADAs.

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Thank you everyone for all the information. It's good to hear that the focus will still be very much on dance. Up to dd now if she wants to apply and put herself through the singing and drama audition (don't think it's quite in her comfort zone!)

 

Millie

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My DD would like to go to the open day but we need some help from those who know the area. We would probably have to travel by train and stay over the night before. Any help on location for hotels and the train station in relation to Hammond's location thanks.

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Hi janice and ellen

 

The Travelodge at Mickle Trafford, a short ride from the station, is situated at the bottom of the country lane leading up to the school.

Its also a Toby Carvery so good for Dinner.

 

The Hilton Doubletree is also in the same area and there are plenty of small hotels and guest houses in an area called Hoole a stones throw from school.

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I auditioned for the sixth form for entry 2012 on the dance course and we were told on the day of the audition they wanted to "have a listen to us singing individually" , everyone's faces fell but it was fine most of us just sang Happy Birthday and a few sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow!

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