How to choose order of auditions

[tomuchtallent]

My dd is only in year 5 so we have over a year left before auditions start. She is keen on auditioning for the big 4.

My question is how to choose the order of auditions?Should you do RB and Elmhurst first as they have finals?What happens if you get into Tring or Hammonds but are still waiting for finals somewhere else?How long do you get before you have to except a place?thanks xxx

[primrose]

Tring and Hammond also have finals if you want to apply for MDS. You can accept a place and if a better offer comes along you can then give the place back. Good luck with the auditions, try to stay as relaxed about it as much as possible as it can really become very stressful if you let it.

[All4dancers]

My dd has decided to do Hammond, Tring and Elmhurst auditions all in November as she feels she will be fitter now than after Christmas. She is also doing panto, and this lasts a month so she will be tired and will not have had very many ballet lessons over this period. She knows she would be extremely lucky to be offered a year nine place and although she has her preferences for schools, would be more than happy to accept any place!

[Pointytoes22]

How many schools do people audition for generally? My parents are limiting me to schools with A levels and boarding which is Elmhurst, Tring and Royal (Is it right that Hammond doesn't have sixth form boarding?) - not sure i'll audition for royal though as its so hard. I'd like to try for ENBS or Central as well because surely the more places you audition the more likely you are to get a place? However neither 'fit the criteria' with parents and i think they'd tell me not to go for too many. Is it best to just stick to 1 or 2?

[taxi4ballet]

A girl from dd's old dance school auditioned for quite a few different places, and got offered two with DaDas, not her top choices, and she said what a good job it was that she auditioned for several. If she had only gone to her favourites she would have missed out altogether.

[HAIRBELLES]

I'd like to try for ENBS or Central as well because surely the more places you audition the more likely you are to get a place? However neither 'fit the criteria' with parents and i think they'd tell me not to go for too many. Is it best to just stick to 1 or 2?

 

Hi Pointytoes22

You are right in thinking that The Hammond does not have boarding facilities for upper school.You board with a landlady or a few students rent together.

 

We have set our own criteria for eliminating certain schools.Adopting a similar approach may help you decide where best to audition.Just a few examples of our criteria:

Purely classical , dance course or MT

Diploma or degree course this will have an impact on funding too.As I understand you don't receive a grant for accomodation on the Diploma course.

If you were awarded a DaDa award can your parents afford the living expenses (london more expensive)

Which A levels do the schools offer

and so on......

 

It costs quite a lot of money just to audition with admin fees,trains hotels etc not to mention the lost days at school leading up to those crucial GCSE's.

We saw very little point of auditioning at places if we could not afford for her to go.

 

Just to mention if you haven't already looked, the direct.gov website lists all the schools that participate in the Dada awards with criteria (my dd not old enough for two of the ones she would like) and links to the actual webpages.....

 

There is also alot of well informed information on past threads.

 

It is a very stressful year ahead for all you young dancers .

Good Luck with your decisions.

[allegro11]

Central School of Ballet offers A level...and you get BA degree ..........

[mimi'smom]

For last year's auditions for current year 7, WL offered their places jist before Elmhurst final audition and Elmhurst offered their places just before the Hammond funding auditions. By just I mean literally a couple of days! Don't know if this is the general pattern each year. Sorry I can't help about Tring x

[hfbrew]

And for those who can afford it there is the Legat school which is run in conjunction with St Bedes thus offering a really good choice of A levels. Always worth a look.

[Pas de Quatre]

Legat have some scholarships too. Unusually they are either from Year 9 or 6th form.

[lisadebs]

I wouldn't stress too much about the order of the auditions. When the time comes, do what fits in best with your other family commitments and what your dd feels happy with. Good luck to all about to embark on the audition process and to those making preparations - try and enjoy it in all its stressfull, exciting, memorable madness !!

[atacrossroads]

If you audition early for Tring, the offers come out within 10 days and then (for year 7 anyway) you have to pay an initial registration fee if you acept the place and a further deposit by the end of December. It might be worth considering leaving Tring until the January auditions if it's not your first choice, so as not to a) have to pay money out to keep the place open and feel guilty for accepting an offer and then turning it down.

[2dancersmum]

I think order of auditions just have to fit in with your own family schedule etc. My DD chose early auditions because of the timing of GCSE exams, mocks and oral exams/coursework deadlines for her GCSes at her academic school. It was simply a matter of trying to spread the missed days off school. We did limit the number of schools DD applied to and that was in part down to cost in financial terms and in time but also because Dh preferred DD to do A levels. The plan was for her to audition at a small number of schools at 16 and then try again for a larger number of schools at 17 or 18 when she would be more ready to cope with independent living and a demanding course. DD hoped for a place at 16 but was expecting auditioning to be more for the experience, a practice run if you like for applying at 17/18. As it happened, she got in at 16 to her favourite school.

[Pointytoes22]

I didn't know that allegro11, does it say on their website?

[2dancersmum]

You can download a copy of their prosectus online from the website I believe and that gives information on A levels etc. I believe but soemone may correct me on this that the top floor of their building has classrooms and that A levels are tuaght there at the end of the dancing day.

[Hambleton]

Wow that is one tough day imho - a full day of dance then A levels after school?

[primrose]

Central do offer students to do A levels, my niece attends there and she was given the opportunity to do some if she so wished.

[wildflowers]

For lower school, the date of the finals are set in stone, it is first auditions where you (may) have choice. I know Elmhurst and tring have more than one date from Nov onwards. RBS your choice of date is determined by venue. On looking at websites, I may be wrong but I beleive for the first time in my memory, Elmhurst are having their final for lowerschool before Whitelodge (yr 7 only). It seems to change from year to year so just keep checking websites and as everyone says, do what suits your family and finances best, especially if you are coming from abroad. Good luck whrn it comes, will feel like a long time away but will be here soon enough!!

[allegro11]

http://www.centralschoolofballet.co.uk/sscourseoutline.php

 

here is the link for Central....for course outline...

[primrose]

I allowed my dd to make a selection of schools that she would be happy to attend. Of course she had her favourites but you have to be open minded. It was interesting after auditioning and offers dadas, were on the table which schools she chose in the end, I was quite shocked that she chose against one of the schools that was my favourite and I thought was one of hers, but turned out it wasnt. She was also adamant that Rambert was not for her which again surprised me. It has to be the young persons decision where they want to go in the end as when they are getting older they have an idea of what suits them best. Sometimes at the start of the journey they think they want one thing when all along they dont.

[Jellybeans]

When my dd auditioned for a yr 7 place, she did them in reverse order of her preference and as offers came in this gave her confidence for the school that she thought she most wanted - ironic as she decided not to accept the place that she was offered there (or anywhere else) in the end! She heard within two weeks after both first and final auditions, sometimes sooner.

[Pointytoes22]

Something that's confusing me is ages when applying to courses. For example sixth form courses say you must be 16 and I assumed it was only 16 year olds that started on the first year of the course but can you audition for the first year of a course when your 18 or 17? Or would you be auditioning for a 3rd or 2nd year place?

[KathyG]

Probably depends on your level of ballet. We know an 18 year old who joined the first year rather than join their peers and this year a 17 year old joined the second year. There was also an 18 year old join DS year this September.

[All4dancers]

Does anybody know are children split into year groups for lower school auditions?

[2dancersmum]

Age depends on ballet level but also of course on the students background. I know of several students who have been offered places but no funding aged 16 and have had to turn places down. They have reapplied aged 17 and got funding to start the course in the first year.