London Children’s Ballet: Ballet Shoes

[Flora11]

Morning all! 

Registration seems to be open for LCB’s autumn auditions for their 2018 production of Ballet Shoes. It’s taking place in early July. Excitement in this house as DS is old enough to audition this year, but sadness too as DD is too old this year. 

[Confuddled]

Thanks for the heads up! Is there a page on the website for rehearsal dates? I've only found audition and performance dates so far.

[Jan McNulty]

Auditions page on LCB website:

 

https://www.londonchildrensballet.com/dancers-corner/auditions/

[Canary]

Children selected for the company rehearse every Sunday from January to the performances week, plus a week during Easter school holidays. Depending on the choreographer there may be a Sunday your child is not required but you won’t know that until nearer the time. It’s a huge commitment for all the family but so very very worth it. 

 

 

[PrancingMum]

49 minutes ago, Canary said:

Children selected for the company rehearse every Sunday from January to the performances week, plus a week during Easter school holidays. Depending on the choreographer there may be a Sunday your child is not required but you won’t know that until nearer the time. It’s a huge commitment for all the family but so very very worth it. 

 

 

 

I understand that they are changing the rehearsal schedule this year.  Does anyone have details?

[Paleblueleotard]

Will be interested to see what the rehearsal schedule looks like as we have associates some Sundays so there would be a potential clash sadly.

[margarite]

So exciting. DD loved dancing in The Canterville Ghost and will be sad not to audition again this year. It’s such an amazing experience. The rehearsals are not at a set time every week for each child,  so possible to do associates etc around them. Sometimes DD was needed from 1-3 or 4-6 or the whole afternoon. I think she had one Sunday off from January - April.

Anyway, audition if you can, it’s so worth it!

[junedancer]

I was speaking with someone at Sadler's Wells a few months back and had heard from them that they were making changes and understood that it had been felt that the concentrated Sundays had been challenging.  I am not clear if this was a personal viewpoint or not.  If they still start in January it becomes a longer rehearsal period and as @margarite notes the times vary from week to week so more likely to clash with weekend associates.  Definitely a juggling act between the technical training at associates and performance experience, and a DM's sanity!  Hopefully we will hear more about rehearsal details before we need to apply for to audition.

[scoobydoo]

Rehearsal dates are on their website, under current season, click on ballet shoes, then it’s in the audition section, there’s a highlighted-rehearsal schedule and audition dates link. 

My DD did the ‘tour’ this year-loved it, so worth the DM effort! 

[margarite]

The good thing is that the rehearsals are later, starting in March so the vocational auditions are pretty much over by then. DD had to do all her Lower School auditions, LCB rehearsals, plus keep up with associates and RAD lessons - it was an incredibly busy spring!

[PrancingMum]

2 hours ago, scoobydoo said:

Rehearsal dates are on their website, under current season, click on ballet shoes, then it’s in the audition section, there’s a highlighted-rehearsal schedule and audition dates link. 

My DD did the ‘tour’ this year-loved it, so worth the DM effort! 

 

Thank you - I must have missed this link.  Have they increased the number of tours this year?  I thought they did two groups and it is now four.  Do they rehearse at the same time?  Also is 60 a smaller main company?  I know it was different in 2017 when they didn't use the Peacock so maybe I am just losing track.  Sorry for all the questions but DD really keen to try this year as we couldn't make the audition dates before.  It doesn't say which age group is which date but going on previous years I think we can do it!

[margarite]

There were 56 in the 2018 main company and 48 doing the tour. 

[Hazel]

I might be missing it but can anyone tell me where the auditions or rehearsals are held. No idea if it’s practical for DD to try for this!!

 

thanks!

[Confuddled]

On 20/07/2018 at 00:36, Hazel said:

I might be missing it but can anyone tell me where the auditions or rehearsals are held. No idea if it’s practical for DD to try for this!!

 

thanks!

I was looking for that info, too! Previous threads say auditions were at Herbal Hill (which is East Central London), but I haven't seen anything about rehearsals. It really makes a difference to the logistics, how near it is to a tube station and which side of London.

[Nicola H]

2 hours ago, Confuddled said:

I was looking for that info, too! Previous threads say auditions were at Herbal Hill (which is East Central London), but I haven't seen anything about rehearsals. It really makes a difference to the logistics, how near it is to a tube station and which side of London.

Herbal hill  - would likely be  Central School of Ballet, not aware of any other  studio premises  near by , which is  close to Farringdon tube / thameslink  ( and  when it is finished  Cross rail / Elizabeth Line )  ,  however i'm unsure when CSB  is meant to be moving to Paris Gardens ... 

[margarite]

Last year Sunday rehearsals were at Herbal Hill, but the rehearsals during half term/ Easter hols were all over the place! Wayne McGregor in Stratford, pineapple in  Covent Garden, Rambert and Jerwood on the Southbank. 

[Nicola H]

16 minutes ago, margarite said:

Last year Sunday rehearsals were at Herbal Hill, but the rehearsals during half term/ Easter hols were all over the place! Wayne McGregor in Stratford, pineapple in  Covent Garden, Rambert and Jerwood on the Southbank. 

presumably  driven by  availability of studio space ...  does CSB's advertised half term  coincide with school ones  ( certainly  reading weeks  at the HEIs i went to  didn't coincide with school half terms  by  design)  and   Easter presumably there are different pressures as well  including Central's own associates   and intensives ... 

IIRC there are 6 ? studios at  herbal hill   if you include the smaller one up in the gods  , of which 3 are in use for  the Sunday  bit of 'central nights'   1 studio for  Kate Webster's RAD vocational drop ins, 1 studio is David Kierce *3 90 minute classes  plus any extras he  sometimes runs) and the third the other three  ballet  classes that run on a Sunday ...

Edited July 22, 2018 by Nicola H

[Paleblueleotard]

I emailed LCB last week about the venues both re the auditions and also the rehearsals as it will impact on whether it's practical for us to apply/take part.  I heard back this morning - they are still tbc. but should know the audition venues in a week or so apparently.  

[Confuddled]

On 23/07/2018 at 14:24, Paleblueleotard said:

I emailed LCB last week about the venues both re the auditions and also the rehearsals as it will impact on whether it's practical for us to apply/take part.  I heard back this morning - they are still tbc. but should know the audition venues in a week or so apparently.  

I was wondering you you’d heard back on the audition venue? I’ve just applied for dd. Not knowing which weekend it will be until very close to the time is rather mucking up any possibility of going away at half term...

[MAK]

Unless they change it this year, 9, 11 and 13 year olds (as of 1st Jan 2019) will audition on 28th Oct and 10, 12 and 14 year olds on 4th Nov. Not sure about boys. That is based on previous years though!

[Number11]

I think they may change it this year. Last year they are a lot fewer people in certain age groups auditioning so they may group some age groups together to lessen or shorten the auditioning days. I emailed them to ask as I have 2 children auditioning 2 years apart and would love to only go once not 2 weeks running!!! 😂 Obviously if I have to then of course its fine 🤣

[MAK]

5 minutes ago, Number11 said:

I think they may change it this year. Last year they are a lot fewer people in certain age groups auditioning so they may group some age groups together to lessen or shorten the auditioning days. I emailed them to ask as I have 2 children auditioning 2 years apart and would love to only go once not 2 weeks running!!! 😂 Obviously if I have to then of course its fine 🤣

If they are two years' apart they would go on the same day even with the old system 😊

[Number11]

Yes you are right. Hope they don't change it!! Not sure what I was confused about in the first place actually... 

[MAK]

Fingers crossed 😊

[Confuddled]

Does anyone know how the auditions work? DD did EYB, which was all together on stage then numbers called out that were in, but I presume it can’t be that given LCB has a two stage process.

Edited September 15, 2018 by Confuddled

[Canary]

Might have changed but it use to be

meet and greet, hand child over and make a note of their number. 

 

The children do a warm up - jumps, points etc in a side room with a teacher then go through to the audition room for an audition where a smiley panel will be watching them. 

 

Then the numbers of the children staying are called out to waiting parents, the other children are then free to leave and join you and they come out smiling a couple of minutes later. 

 

The parents of the children still in the warm up room are then given a time to collect and the results are emailed out after that in one go. 

 

Then a second audition is held but all the children present are part of the company this time they are being selected for particular roles. 

 

The atmosphere is great and all children are congratulated for attending and made to feel special. 

 

 

 

 

[margarite]

Just to add to the above - for the last two years at least an invitation to the second (or final) audition doesn't guarantee a place in the company or tour. DD got to finals in 2016 and didn't get a place (but was successful last year).

 

[Confuddled]

18 hours ago, Canary said:

Might have changed but it use to be

meet and greet, hand child over and make a note of their number. 

 

The children do a warm up - jumps, points etc in a side room with a teacher then go through to the audition room for an audition where a smiley panel will be watching them. 

 

Then the numbers of the children staying are called out to waiting parents, the other children are then free to leave and join you and they come out smiling a couple of minutes later. 

 

The parents of the children still in the warm up room are then given a time to collect and the results are emailed out after that in one go. 

 

Then a second audition is held but all the children present are part of the company this time they are being selected for particular roles. 

 

The atmosphere is great and all children are congratulated for attending and made to feel special. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, that’s so helpful!

 

So if they come straight out, is that a definite ‘no’? But if their number is called to stay it’s a ‘got through to the next stage’? I have a dd who likes to know exactly how things will work and gets stressed if she doesn’t...

Edited September 16, 2018 by Confuddled

[margarite]

Yes if their number is not read out they are not through to next stage. There are roughly 30 girls in each initial audition group with only 7-10 recalled.

This recalled group stay to do another audition so the panel can get a better look at them.

A week or so later about half of this recalled group are invited back to finals. About half of those at finals get a place.

As Canary said, it’s a very happy and positive audition process and even the year DD didn’t get a place she still loved it.

[MAK]

Just one addition - it's probably obvious but the Finals invitations have tended to be issued a week or so after the second of the "first" auditions - so if you are in the October audition it will be nearer to two weeks after the audition that you'll hear if your dc has been invited to Finals, whereas only a week if you've been to the November audition (again caveat being this is based on previous years' experience). Plus emails go out in batches so if you have a few auditioning from the same dance school you might not all hear on the same day. (We had this even within our own family last year where both DDs had been recalled on Day One, but did not hear at the same time about whether they were invited to Finals (one was and one wasn't)).

 

 

[MAK]

7 hours ago, Confuddled said:

Thanks, that’s so helpful!

 

So if they come straight out, is that a definite ‘no’? But if their number is called to stay it’s a ‘got through to the next stage’? I have a dd who likes to know exactly how things will work and gets stressed if she doesn’t...

 They all come out of the room, but only some get invited back in! 

[Bellaballerina's mum]

Can anyone who has done this before advise of likely rehearsal times during the Easter holidays? Are they daytime or evening? Bit random but we have Harry Potter tickets booked and I’m wondering if it would be likely to clash or will rehearsals be done during the day??

[margarite]

40 minutes ago, Bellaballerina's mum said:

Can anyone who has done this before advise of likely rehearsal times during the Easter holidays? Are they daytime or evening? Bit random but we have Harry Potter tickets booked and I’m wondering if it would be likely to clash or will rehearsals be done during the day??

They’ve always been during the day - latest I ever picked up DD was 6pm.