Laine and Rambert

[BlueLou]

Dd is faced with a decision between Laine and Rambert. She slightly preferred Rambert, but employment prospects seem to be better for Laine (although mostly non-classical, they do have 3 graduates in the current run of Bourne’s Cinderella, including the lovely Cordelia Braithwaite).

Does anyone on here have any experiences of Laine that they could share?

Does anyone have any knowledge of Rambert graduate destinations in 2017? 

We are yet to hear from RCS - which may muddy the waters even further! 

 

[hoglett]

Can't help but I just wanted to say a huge congratulations and I'm really excited to see what she chooses.

[HAIRBELLES]

Well done to your dd Bluelou

I don't know a lot about Rambert but maybe ask herself what type of job she would ideally prefer and which place is most likely to prepare her for that.

If it were my dd I would be asking her questions along the lines of 

Is she going to enjoy the other aspects of Laine  ie singing, tap, commercial jazz etc , does she want the high level of Contempory on offer at  Rambert and what is drawing her slightly more toward there.

Good Luck 

 

[BlueLou]

21 minutes ago, HAIRBELLES said:

Well done to your dd Bluelou

I don't know a lot about Rambert but maybe ask herself what type of job she would ideally prefer and which place is most likely to prepare her for that.

If it were my dd I would be asking her questions along the lines of 

Is she going to enjoy the other aspects of Laine  ie singing, tap, commercial jazz etc , does she want the high level of Contempory on offer at  Rambert and what is drawing her slightly more toward there.

Good Luck 

 

 

Her ideal careers would be, in this order - 1) dancing for Matthew Bourne, 2) dancing classically anywhere else, 3) dancing any style anywhere!  Laine has more success stories in the Bourne direction, it seems that neither Rambert nor Laine get many/any other classical contracts, Laine seems a clear winner in category 3!

She is drawn to Rambert because ballet and contemporary are her favourite styles, although she does enjoy all styles and singing too. In my humble opinion she is better suited as a dancer to Laine though because her real strength (as a potential employee) is in her diversity. At the moment she is thinking mainly about the next 3 years, but I’m older and more pragmatic so I am thinking about the ‘what comes next’ rather than just the joys of the 3 year course - I think she will be more employable coming out of Laine.

 

[meadowblythe]

 

Congratulations to your daughter !

 

Other questions - more boring and practical but worth considering .

 

Environment - does she want to be near London>

Buildings/Facilities - what is the campus like?

Accommodation - what's on offer, how much does it cost, how close is it to site?

Funding - obvs.

 

I suspect Hairbelles has asked the most important question - what does she want to do when she graduates?  No point spending umpteen thousand pounds to prepare yourself for a career, in your heart, you don't want to follow. 

 

 

 

[JulieW]

Congratulations to her. 

 

I have a blunt question.... Has she been offered a good scholarship for Laine? (You don't actually have to answer in a public forum.) I only ask because it seems to me that the favourites who do well there are the ones offered good scholarships/bursaries.

 

[BlueLou]

48 minutes ago, JulieW said:

Congratulations to her. 

 

I have a blunt question.... Has she been offered a good scholarship for Laine? (You don't actually have to answer in a public forum.) I only ask because it seems to me that the favourites who do well there are the ones offered good scholarships/bursaries.

 

 

She was offered a Dada from the first audition ‘with no requirement to attend the funding audition’  .  Sadly we can’t accept it as we are above the threshold  

[Nana Lily]

Congratulations on your daughter being offered both places! 

 

Both myself and three other responders to your question (all lovely friends 'met' partially through the forum) have had children at a number of vocational schools simultaneously from Year 7 through to and upper school (and employed professionally) and they have given good advice.

I have two DC's gone through the vocational route from year 7 to sixth form and beyond. 

I have a couple of thoughts, as asked previously what does your daughter want to do when she graduates? Joining Mathew Bourne is a great goal, but there's is only one MB NA so ask her to think beyond one conpany. 

From first hand experience of one of those schools and close friends of DD's at the other the only thing that Laine and Rambert have in common is neither have their own accommodation and use home stay or the students rent flats. Then comparisons end. The courses, content, environment, qualification and end point are very different. 

Key considerations are what does your DD love the most and what does she feel she will do best at?

 

At Rambet she will do ballet and contemporary only (add in Pilates and conditioning). Days are long and to anticipate adding other genres apart from holidays isn't realistic. Most of the students are over 18 and often beyond.  How will she feel about this? If ballet is key, Laine is dance/MT ask how much ballet is there on a daily/weekly basis? 

 

For you, which environment will your DD survive (yes survive) and thrive in? Your DC can have all the potential, training and performance in the world, but if the environment is not right for them the reality of sixth form vocational training and living can end those dreams for a multitude of reasons. 

 

Dig deep, both be honest with yourselves. 

 

Good luck with her decision

 

NL 

[HAIRBELLES]

Hi BlueLou 

I'm sure you know that Laine offer their own Betty Laine Scholarships. When dd auditioned ,albeit a few years ago, there were 6 on offer , I'm not sure if you have to attend the funding auditions to be considered .

At audition they said there is a daily ballet class taken with your own grade .

From what I could gather your timetable is personalised to your weaknesses. 

 

[BlueLou]

17 minutes ago, HAIRBELLES said:

Hi BlueLou 

I'm sure you know that Laine offer their own Betty Laine Scholarships. When dd auditioned ,albeit a few years ago, there were 6 on offer , I'm not sure if you have to attend the funding auditions to be considered .

At audition they said there is a daily ballet class taken with your own grade .

From what I could gather your timetable is personalised to your weaknesses. 

 

 

Scholarships - dd didn’t have to attend the funding auditions to be considered, we just have to send off a form. It will be in today’s post, but I don’t hold out much hope as it asked for income details. I couldn’t return the form any sooner as it required year end figures, and we need to reply to Rambert by 11th April (with £500 deposit), so fingers crossed that Laine deal with admin quickly! The number on offer varies each year. 

Miss Laine seemed very keen on ballet as ‘the basis of all dance’ and stressed that everyone did an ability streamed daily class and that there would be opportunities for the more able to have more ballet in their timetable. Obviously not enough to pursue a classical career, but maybe enough to keep dd happy! 

[hfbrew]

A young family friend went to Laine a few years back and there was plenty of Ballet training then as it was regarded as an essential discipline. There was a student from Laine in the same RAD Advanced 2 exam as ds.

Sorry this information is not that recent but it's within the past 8 years!

( our friend has just finished a stint as a lead singer on a cruise.)

[Harwel]

Completely agree with @Nana Lily.  These 2 schools are so different that I don’t think you can directly compare. Both are brilliant in their own right but offer completely different things. Good luck in your decision  - your dd has done very well to get offers from both and is obviously a very versatile dancer. 

[BlueLou]

10 hours ago, Nana Lily said:

 

Key considerations are what does your DD love the most and what does she feel she will do best at?

 

Dig deep, both be honest with yourselves. 

 

 

Nail on the head! She loves ballet and contemporary the most. She will do best in a multi-disciplinary environment. Therein lies the dilemma, and the need for brutal honesty!

 

3 minutes ago, Harwel said:

Completely agree with @Nana Lily.  These 2 schools are so different that I don’t think you can directly compare. Both are brilliant in their own right but offer completely different things. Good luck in your decision  - your dd has done very well to get offers from both and is obviously a very versatile dancer. 

 

So do I  . If the schools were similar I’d think - it doesn’t really matter which one she chooses. But they are such different options, and attractive for such different reasons. The decision is actually costing me sleep. 

[Harwel]

19 minutes ago, BlueLou said:

 

The decision is actually costing me sleep. 

 

Oh I know that feeling!!! 

[meadowblythe]

Having made some fairly significant "right" and "wrong" decisions over the years, my only not-very-helpful advice is: once the decision is made, don't look back.  It took me a good 8 years to put a decision I made for my DS when he was 11 behind me.  It nagged and nagged away ... and there really is no way of knowing "what if .."

 

I thought the decision about conservatoire for my daughter would be easy but it was worse than the dance ones!  As this is more recent I can say two factors that decided where she finally chose:  a prestigious establishment was rejected because she had no connection with the head of department - she felt she couldn't got to him in a crisis.  Additionally, the other students came predominantly from a music school she had rejected at a younger age as it had the wrong  ehtos and "feel for her."  She's going to a place which has a wider range of students - precisely the reason she chose her current school.   Why did your daughter chose her current school?  Are any of the factors that drew her to this place stronger at either Laines or Rambert.

 

The other, less tangible, reason was a simple "feel."  The buildings were incredibly ugly, financially she'd be far better off elsewhere, but the intangibles - the surroundings, accommodation and yes, feel, told her this was where she wanted to be  The fact she was still drawn there made all the difference.  Oh, and having said "I want to go to ...." she then got the first decent night's sleep for months.  

 

 

[Pups_mum]

That is a dilemma. Two excellent but very different schools. I would make a list of the pros and cons of each and score them to see which one comes out on top in a semi scientific way. One may score a lot higher than the other if you put it down on paper.

If that doesn't help, I've used this totally unscientific method before now. Toss a coin let your DD think she has to go with that option (even though she doesn't!). Then see how your DD feels about what the coin has chosen. If her first emotion is disappointment, pick the other one. If it's happiness/relief, you know that that choice is where her heart lies.

Sometimes the harder you think and the more rational you try to be, the more difficult a decision gets. Gut feeling often gives us the answer.

 

[Pointemaid]

My ds graduated from Laine last year. Ballet features very much for everyone and like all the classes is streamed and includes over Advanced. He has a friend in Matthew Bourne, one going to American in Paris, good friend (mentioned here) is a principal In Matthew Bourne, another going into Cats and lots in 42nd Street (some starting off as ballet dancers). All the ballet staff are ex-Royal principals (he says). Contemporary staff trained in Paris plus Alvin Ailey - so high quality staff. DS trained alongside lad from Royal Ballet and several ex-Billys in his year. Betty Laine really does love a good ballet dancer and sees ballet as the bedrock of all dancing. 

It's a great dilemma to have and I wish your dd best of luck on deciding. DS loved his time at Laine and has had two contracts since leaving. His younger sister, a keen ballet dancer too,  now wants to follow in his footsteps. I think the advice to go with your gut feeling is probably the best one!

[BlueLou]

46 minutes ago, Pointemaid said:

My ds graduated from Laine last year. Ballet features very much for everyone and like all the classes is streamed and includes over Advanced. He has a friend in Matthew Bourne, one going to American in Paris, good friend (mentioned here) is a principal In Matthew Bourne, another going into Cats and lots in 42nd Street (some starting off as ballet dancers). All the ballet staff are ex-Royal principals (he says). Contemporary staff trained in Paris plus Alvin Ailey - so high quality staff. DS trained alongside lad from Royal Ballet and several ex-Billys in his year. Betty Laine really does love a good ballet dancer and sees ballet as the bedrock of all dancing. 

It's a great dilemma to have and I wish your dd best of luck on deciding. DS loved his time at Laine and has had two contracts since leaving. His younger sister, a keen ballet dancer too,  now wants to follow in his footsteps. I think the advice to go with your gut feeling is probably the best one!

 

Thankyou so much for this! 

[Kat09]

We know of a recent Laine  graduate now dancing in 42nd street - the more versatile  the dancer , the more chance of work. Classical contracts are like gold dust whichever school you graduate from.All the best and congratulations to your daughter.

[SissonneDoublee]

Laine graduates account for almost a quarter of the current 42nd Street ensemble, so they are clearly very employable!

[HAIRBELLES]

Hi Pointermaid

DD has a place a Laine for this September, although will have to attend funding audition and will not be going unless she gets a dada , which is a feat in itself .

I know they said they get a personalised timetable ,but Could I ask you on the whole ,how much singing and acting they do compared to the dance, also do they do many/any lessons in commercial jazz? 

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

Hello PointeMaid and welcome to the Forum!

 

Thanks for sharing your DS' experiences.

[Legseleven]

How amazing to have a choice of two such fantastic schools! I second the advice to go with your gut and decide which place feels right. Looking back on decisions made in various areas, the ones I ‘just felt were right’ - even if in some cases they were the wrong choice on paper - are indeed the ones I am happiest with. 

[Balletchick]

I know two Rambert graduates - one is dancing with Phoenix Dance in Leeds and the other with National Dance Company of Wales. 

 

I know one Laine graduate - she is working in Dubai as a teacher (I think for the RAD) - but she graduated some years back. 

 

Both are great options!

[Pointemaid]

Thank you for the welcome!

I have messaged ds.  He felt in retrospect there is less drama/acting than some other triple threat courses. There is one acting class per week plus voice and text (monologues, speech technique)  There are private singing lessons plus two group lessons plus MT singing. One commercial jazz class per se but other jazz classes have commercial in them (if that makes sense). Daily ballet plus tap and contemporary. The days are long (as they are everywhere) and packed. Strong ballet dancers can do v well at Laine. It's ISTD based for those still doing Adv exams - and you can get DDI (now DDE) qualification plus emerge as a singer too!

Just to add that I have spent some time now looking at this great forum and it seems wonderfully supportive with amazing insights and advice. As dd is younger and wanting to train vocationally too I am sure I'll find the site extremely useful and may have more to ask or add. Thank you!

 

[Belleballerina]

I know of 5 girls who have graduated from Laine in the last 4 years - all strong ballet girls from Dd's local non vocational school.  All graduated with jobs and are still working in the industry as dancers.  Betty Laine does indeed like her ballet dancers (especially the lads!) Ballet is most definitely considered as a core subject but also lots of jazz/modern/commercial/tap. My dd can't wait to become a Lainey in September.

[HAIRBELLES]

This is very helpful thankyou .

[Belleballerina]

It's a bit like buying a house - you have a special feeling and know it's right if that makes any sense at all !

[balletbean]

On 04/04/2018 at 18:03, Belleballerina said:

It's a bit like buying a house - you have a special feeling and know it's right if that makes any sense at all !

I totally agree. My eldest DD had 3 auditions in a space of 10 days. Researched all 3 but only been to two open days. Well known establishments. Loved them both. Arrived for the audition and I had this ‘gut feeling’ all day but couldn’t put my finger on it. DD walked out of audition flat and said ‘not for me’ even though she enjoyed the open day. Arrived at the last school. Having never visited before. Greeted by 3rd year Student with a wide open smile at the door. I just let out a sigh and it felt like home. DD loved it and accepted the offer made within the week. So the motto is. Don’t be too swayed by prospectus/reputation and expectations of others. Stick to that gut feeling. 😉 after all. It’s a long three years if the ‘shoes don’t fit’. 

[Vonrothbart]

I would personally recommend checking out any particular school, to see if might suit or not. It obviously won't work every time, but neither will gut feelings. It's always a bit of a gamble if you get a few offers like a lot of DC do.

[HAIRBELLES]

Also Establishments can  have a different feel for siblings .With my eldest dd  I had only got as far as Epsom High St when I got a text message to say " I'm not coming here ! " 

With my youngest I could see it being a good fit for her .

[MarkSwann]

I am a Rambert Grad, I loved the school. Class number were low about 15 boys 15 girls. The training was really good the highlight of the year was always guest week. Different teachers from all over the world. Was great.

 

Personally I would go to Rambert but I am bias. 

 

Congrats on the offers tho. 

[BlueLou]

42 minutes ago, MarkSwann said:

I am a Rambert Grad, I loved the school. Class number were low about 15 boys 15 girls. The training was really good the highlight of the year was always guest week. Different teachers from all over the world. Was great.

 

Personally I would go to Rambert but I am bias. 

 

Congrats on the offers tho. 

 

Thanks Mark. She has accepted Rambert and will be there this September. Class numbers have gone up a bit since your day - they now accept about 45, of whom 15 are boys.