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Auditioning overseas


Jaylou62

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Hi,

 

I know there have been a few threads recently about UK dancers training abroad and wondered if anyone has any information on American schools such as Kirov Ballet Academy and New York City Ballet School. Of course, any advice about other schools elsewhere would also be good :)

My dd's dance teachers have suggested applying for ballet schools here in the UK but to also apply for overseas. I was just wondering what the audition process is like, how old you have to be (a dance teacher told me yesterday that she'll need to be 18 as children in America don't finish High School till 18 and they won't take anyone younger than this), funding and accommodation.

Obviously we don't want to rule anything out but money obviously plays a big part in where she'll be able to go.

At the moment, dd is 14 and in Year 10 so we're looking ahead :)

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The Kirov Academy in New York certainly does take students younger than 16 years of age, and I think they do offer some support with funding. My friends dd was offered a place at this school but chose to go to Russia instead. There is also another boy on this forum who is studiying at the school and I am sure he is only 15.

Regards adutioning, dont listen to hearsay, contact the schools directly. Some will accept a dvd intitially and then a final audition. All schools are different. I hear that there are also some very good schools in Germany. The best bit of advise I can give you is to do your own research and dont assume things just because somebody else has said different.

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There are excellent schools in Germany, Hamburg, Stuttgart (John Cranko) and Munich (Heinz Bosel) just to name a few. The Viennese State Ballet school is also very good. But agree loads of research. There are people on here who can give alot of help with Russia. I'm afraid I don't know anything about USA. Hope someone else can help.

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Jaylou62, someone on this forum has experience of what I think is called the Harrid Conservatory in Florida. There is a previous thread called British Students Training Abroad which you may care to look at. What was very interesting to learn was that, depending on family financial circumstances and other factors, it was not always more expensive training abroad.

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See:

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/473-british-ballet-students-training-abroad/page__hl__abroad

 

and:

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/891-ballet-schools-abroad/page__hl__abroad

 

It may be wise to keep discussion to one of these so that people can find useful information together in the same place, however if you want to start a new thread on a specific subject, like "Ballet schools in the USA", then my all means go ahead :)

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My DS is at Kirov (is actually in Washington DC). I have probably posted in the threads above - moderators do feel free to move if that's better.

 

Kirov generally offers to places on the basis of participation in their summer school- and this is clearly the best way also to be considered for a scholarship. They may also offer places on the basis of a DVD audition (similar to the one you have to make for the SI application).

 

They take children from 11 and most students will be enrolled in the american school programme (DS will take the american high school diploma). However if you are post 16 and have already done GCSEs in the UK you can just do extra ballet and no academics (and the cost is therefore reduced as they charge in 3 parts: ballet/boarding/academics)- this was offered to a british girl this year (she didn't take up the place as couldn't afford it without a full scholarship). The total cost is around $45,000 per year but as well as offering artistic scholarships the rest (boarding and academics) is means tested so is often less than the full amount (your other children and their costs are taken into account). The school is completely self contained - similar to RBS/Elmhurst (good for DS as he can fall out of bed at 6.30, get breakfast and still be in the classroom by 7).

 

DS applied for the summer school the year he was 13 (almost 14- he is an August birthday), was offered a scholarship to the SI so decided to go there instead of RBS, ABT, Houston, Bolshoi (New York) or San Fransisco (all of whom had accepted him for their summer schools). He was offered a scholarship after attending and has been there since then (he has just turned 15 so is in his 4th term).

 

A useful source of info for the american schools is the american counterpart of this forum ballettalkfordancers at http://dancers.invisionzone.com/

 

Happy to answer any other questions about Kirov. Their most recent school performance (Act 2 of Giselle) is on youtube if anyone interested. The girl dancing Giselle is DS's classmate (she is 14). The boy dancing the Count has just graduated- he is the son of two former priniciples at the Bolshoi (I figured if it's good enough for them......)

 

NB Harid is also vaganova style teaching but academic classes are at the local school, whereas Kirov is all on site (more like the RBS model) but I have heard very positive things about their teaching...

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Hi just to clarify Harids academics are all on site now in a classroom with mentors as the schooling is 'on line'.

My daughter is in her 2nd year there and it is a fantastic school especially as it is so small, the pastoral care is excellent and the ballet is just amazing.

We love it!

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Oh that's interesting- and do they teach vaganova (I think I read on the US forum that they do)? I know Kirov in DC has a formal affiliation to the Vaganova Institute but thought they were the only school outside Russia to have such an affililiation? (I'm not implying by this that it makes any difference to the quality of teaching- just curious...). How old is your daughter now? And did she come from the UK? I would be really interested to know what was behind your decision to go to Harid as I often feel like people view us as rather odd to send DS all the way to Washington when there are 'perfectly good' schools in the UK....

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