Tring sixth form dance course

[Siconne50]

Hi dd has a sixth form dance course audition soon, does anyone know how Tring compares to other schools such as Elmhurst, Central etc? Dd is probably more classical focused so was wondering if  Tring is more focused on contemporary, jazz? What is the standard of teaching of classical ballet at Tring & graduate employment etc? Thankyou! 

[arabesque1]

Also interested in the replies as my dd also auditioning there.

[Harwel]

If your child wants purely classical focus then Tring is not probably the school for them.  You would be more interested in Elmhurst, central, Enbs and RBS. The Tring students are streamed into classical and dance after a common first year and I would say the majority of 6th form dancers want to be dancers, not classical dancers. There will always be a handful of classical dancers in a year group and they will be very good, strong, versatile and gain employment in a classically focussed company.  But there won’t be 25 classical dancers in a year group at Tring. The dancers at Tring are very versatile and highly employable as evidenced by alumni in every ballet company, dance company and west end show going etc.   Every year group is different, with a different mix and there are always some that don’t gain dance employment - true of every school. 

 

There are some excellent teachers at Tring, as there are at all the major schools.  The trick is finding the school that your dc will thrive at. My recommendation would be to go to the audition, keep an open mind, look at all the extra things that make up a school - pastoral care, injury care, on site medical care, safe environment, enough dance training without burnout.  The actual dance training is only one aspect of a successful full time training.  Don’t be swayed by other people’s opinions but know your child’s needs. 

[Siconne50]

It appears Tring doesn’t offer dada’s anymore? Only school scholarship up to 10% of the termly fees? 

[Pas de Quatre]

Tring are very proud of the fact that they offer strong academics for those who wish to take A levels, and there are a number of pupils who change tack during 6th form and apply to top universities. Of course this also means that dancers who don't want to do the third year of the Dance course can also apply to take  Dance degree courses elsewhere.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

About a year ish ago there was an administrative error which led to Tring losing the Dada's.  There was some speculation on here that this might only be for a year but the usual procedure with Dada is that institutions re-apply after 3 years. 

 

The school replaced this funding with their own bursary scheme which I am led to believe is run along similar lines to the Dada income brackets although I have no first hand knowledge of whether that is correct or not.

[Harwel]

The present 6th form funding is not subject to the DaDa funding cut off point. 

[BumbleBallerina]

I think they still do ballet class every day and pointe pas de deux and specified ballet class (might specify on allegro or repertoire) when on the more classical route but also do 2 contemporary classes a week 1/2 jazz classes and 1 commercial class each week. Don’t know all of the exact classes but would say the ballet standard had been high from what I’ve seen.

[Shellz]

On 1/11/2018 at 14:41, Pas de Quatre said:

Tring are very proud of the fact that they offer strong academics for those who wish to take A levels, and there are a number of pupils who change tack during 6th form and apply to top universities. Of course this also means that dancers who don't want to do the third year of the Dance course can also apply to take  Dance degree courses elsewhere.

Please can you explain what you mean that they don’t have to do the last year. Does that mean they don’t get the level 6 diploma? Thank you 

[Harwel]

The dance course is 3 years long and gives you the level 6 diploma.  If a student decides not to peruse dance as a career they may decide to go to university after A levels as any other 6th former does.  This would obviously mean they don’t get a level 6 diploma, they may have passed enough points to get a level 5 though.  

 

Some dance students may also decide to do  a graduate -3rd year at another dance school, or even do a full 3 year dance degree course elsewhere at 18.  Many options, many paths and many questions regarding funding if can’t self fund.