Graduate/pre professional schemes and Junior companies

[Anon2]

These schemes have flourished in recent years with the lack of paid contracts being available to new graduates. Schools are listing them as graduate destinations when in fact they are partly doing what the 3rd year of sixth form was designed to do - prepare the students for company roles. 

 

They all come with a cost and we have noted that some students do consecutive years at different schemes in the hope of gaining paid employment. Dd completed one recently, enjoyed the teaching and got plenty of performance opportunities as part of the main company. 

 

It would be interesting to hear other’s experiences of these schemes as despite her positive experiences my dd feels they are predominantly a money making scheme for the companies and a way to fill the gaps in the cast without having to pay a wage. 

[Anna C]

Hi Jane, interesting question.  I've added the tags "Postgrad training" and "graduate" because I know we've had some threads on postgrad courses before.  Here's a list of threads that came up:  http://www.balletcoforum.com/tags/Postgrad training/

 

In terms of one year courses affiliated with UK Companies, Northern Ballet's scheme seems to be popular.  Ballet Cymru also have "Pre-professional" apprenticeships.  Anyone know of any others? 

 

In terms of schools/colleges:

 

Some schools like Rambert and Central offer an MA (often in Choreography), Elmhurst now looks as if it has a post-grad year:  https://www.elmhurstdance.co.uk/Post-graduate-Dance.html as does London Studio Centre:  http://londonstudiocentre.org/courses/one-year-professional-diploma/classical-ballet

 

I suppose all of these can reasonably and truthfully be listed as "Graduate Destinations" but it would be interesting to know where people go afterwards.

[Anon2]

A school/company we can’t mention on the forum also started one last year!! 

I think Rambert are also starting a junior type company scheme. Dd was offered an audition but there was no notice, a very early in the morning audition so logistically she couldn’t get there and confusing information about funding. 

I always think apprenticeship comes with some remuneration, the Ballet Wales program is fully funded by parents. They initially ran it as a trial one term basis but have said will plan to offer next year as full academic year course. 

[Jan McNulty]

As well as the pre-professional course run by Northern Ballet the company also lists some dancers as apprentices (which I would assume are paid positions).

[CeliB]

The Dutch National Ballet Junior company is definitely a serious feeder to the main company and not a money making scheme. I have heard Ernst and Ted state that they will always look at recruiting from the junior company first and then then look outside the junior company if they still have gaps. Equally they have said they try and fill JC from the NBA before looking outside (so worth going there for US equivalent training if you are interested in the company).They sometimes offer a place in the junior company if a dancer is too young to join the main company but they want to retain them (this happened to DSs friend who joined JC - she was rising 17 as I recall). JC members are paid (not handsomely but certainly adequately to live- and I think they get help with accommodation too, at least DSs friend certainly did...).

 

I think ABTII operates similarly and there are several other European companies that have a junior company (DS got offered a few after Lausanne which is why I know they exist but he didn't take them up so I don't know many of the details)- most pay a wage as far as I know.

 

In Russia if students are not considered company ready for whatever reason (injury sometimes in the Russian dancers, or change of school, or perhaps like DS international students who arrive late) they just do an extra year but it isn't really considered a different course. So if this is what the above are offering I guess it makes more sense...

 

[Lisa O`Brien]

CeliB, am I right in thinking your son has been given more soloist roles with the Bolshoi, other than his first [Bluebird] ? [ Sorry for the off-topic comment].

[CeliB]

Hi Lisa, so far he's done French Dolls (Nutcracker), Chevalier at the ball (R&J- the livestreamed one), Bluebird, Peasant PDD (Giselle) and is about to rehearse 'James' friend' (Sylphide) (don't think this is a very complex one). Those are all the ones where he is named cast so I think count as soloist or demi soloist. 

He is also first cast for the corps in Anna Karenina (3 different roles) and has been corps in Etudes, Sleeping Beauty, Ivan the Terrible and Flames of Paris (in which he was delighted just to stand around holding a banner and get paid for minimal effort- just shows how much he's been working!)

Pretty good for his first 6 months- he certainly can't complain about being under used!