Brussels International Ballet School

[Oakley]

Would any members please have any reviews or opinions of this school?  I have been offered a place there but I can't find anything online from people's personal experiences - if you'd rather message directly thats no problem at all, I just really need some opinions good or bad!

Thanks

[Oakley]

Please, anyone?

[Lifeafterballet]

I have no experience of this school but if you go into the results page on their website and see their past pupils competition wins there maybe someone listed who could help you. I recognise a couple of past pupils on that list who are open on social media x

[Oakley]

Thank you so much for that suggestion Cotes du rhone !  I will do that, in the meantime, I hope someone will contact me with their experiences.

[Pas de Quatre]

There was a member of this board whose DD went there after graduating in UK.  She thought it sounded very good, but the DD returned after only a few weeks, somewhat disappointed and went elsewhere.  As this was a few years ago she only drops in here from time to time.

[Allwrong]

I can give some first-hand information, as my daughter is currently there. I'm happy to DM if you have specific questions, but I found it frustrating not to have some more public information before she left, so here goes.

This year, it has been a fantastic decision, as she has done so much dancing, and Belgium has had a lighter lockdown than many places so they are yet to miss a day's class. The staff are very committed to the students and have a fine eye for detail, and work them very hard. Compliments are hard to come by, but there is a constant stream of energetic corrections. The emphasis is very strongly on classical ballet, though character and contemporary are also taught once a week. The teaching is Vaganova, and you will need to adapt if you come from a different tradition, but the staff understand this. My DD has made enormous progress, but that may be because she was non-vocational before, so the sheer number of hours has had an impact. They dance six days a week, with a short day on Wednesday giving the students a mostly free afternoon, and a half day on Saturday. There are 2 groups, in theory ages 15-17 and 18 - 21, but there are some 18 year-olds in group B and a couple of 17 year-olds in group A, according to stage of training. At 18 and non-vocational, my daughter was surprised to be placed in group A, where she is dancing with students who are auditioning for contracts (such as there are at the moment). This is a fantastic opportunity for her, and has been very challenging in a good way, with exercises pitched at a demanding level. One of the boys has just been successful with getting a contract, so has just left, meaning pas de deux is stretched rather thin, but they do nonetheless have a class two or three times a week. Most of the students come from vocational backgrounds, and it is truly international, with only two or three Belgian students. Teaching is in varying forms of English (!) and some is in French, but there is no automatic assumption that you will understand French.

There are a large number of hours given to repertoire, both solos, usually for competitions, and corps de ballet for regular performances. Since the annual December performance was not possible, the school prepared a professionally filmed and slickly produced video of repertoire extracts as a Christmas present/ compensation, which was sent out to parents for free, which was a nice touch and an acknowledgement of the students' disappointment. Theatres have been re-booked for March, though this may also be problematic. The director, Anderson, is absolutely determined to get the students on stage this year to give a full-length ballet performance. We'll see.

The pluses: real commitment from the staff; excellent value for money; really positive and supportive relationships between the students; being a small independent set-up, there is a lot of room for manoeuvre and flexibility in decision-making, which is being vital this year.

The minuses: because it is a small, independent set-up, you rarely know what the decisions are until the last minute, but this is what protects the room for manoeuvre; you need to be ready to accept quirks; you need to be resilient as praise is scant and corrections freely given.

For my DD, who is taking a very unconventional dance path, it is perfect. For those who have come through a more conventional vocational route, it may be a bit of a culture shock.

For practicalities: Brussels is a great city to live in, and very international. Accommodation is not provided by the school, but can be had cheaply through a fabulous organisation called 'un toit deux ages' (my daughter is paying 2000 euros for the entire year's rent), though many of the students share flats locally. Do feel free to DM me for details.

[Oakley]

Allwrong, I can't thank you enough for coming on here and sharing your DD's experiences, it really is invaluable to people like me just starting out.  Your review sounds just great to be honest!  I do have some specific questions and will dm you.  Thanks again

[alison]

Welcome to the forum, Allwrong, and thank you for that very informative post.

[Kanangra]

There was a girl from DD's dance school in Australia who went there but she only lasted about 10 days. This would have been perhaps 6 or 7  years ago. I believe she was very homesick and they were not happy about her weight so she felt bullied and returned to Australia. It was a very strange situation and may be more a reflection of the girl's readiness to leave home and move to the other side of the world rather than the school itself.

[Oakley]

Oh Kanangra I really do feel for that girl, it really is such a gigantic step to move that far away.  I hope she found happiness and her place closer to home.

[Kanangra]

10 hours ago, Oakley said:

Oh Kanangra I really do feel for that girl, it really is such a gigantic step to move that far away.  I hope she found happiness and her place closer to home.

Yes,.it was awful, because of course everyone was talking about it too. I think she is now a dance teacher and fitness trainer

[Liliya]

Dear Allwrong,

thanks for many details about BIBS. My daughter got a place there from September 2021. May she contact your daughter for some info. especially about housing. 

 

I have some questions and will be happy if you could respond on some of them:

 

What is your daughters opinion about teachers there? 

Do all students get an offer to participate in competitions? 

Could your daughter do academics at the same time or just ballet?

Are there any free French classes in Brussel?

Are there many other expenses a part from ballet education? 

Does your daughter lives alone and cooks for her self?

Do students have any social activities after the ballet classes? 

Does the final diploma after the 3 years of education have some value? I mean international recognised. I think not. 

 

Thank you in advance 

Liliya 

 

 

 

 

(Janet says:  For security, please use the DM system rather than using your own email addresses on the public forum)

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Jan McNulty
Edited to remove member's email address.

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Lyliya and welcome to the Forum!

[Allwrong]

So in response to Lilya's questions:

 

Teachers: DD is very impressed with the teachers at BIBS. Their dedication to the students is second to none. One example: the school had to shut for 2 weeks while they all had Covid, and as a result the staff have cancelled the Easter break (one day only!!) to make sure that the students don't miss a single day's training. But more than that, they give plenty of personal corrections and are very demanding. DD feels they have an excellent eye for detail, and her progress has been great. Not all the teachers are gentle all of the time. In fact, compliments are quite sparing but they do exist! You need to be a bit robust, and realise that if teachers can sound a bit negative it is actually because they really want you to improve as much and as quickly as possible. And the school has produced some really lovely dancers with gorgeous technique.

 

Re competitions, DD can answer that better but it is hard to judge this year as Covid has disrupted this. I will say that when DD, greatly daring, suggested entering an online/video competition she had found herself, they couldn't have been more supportive, fitting in 5 hours of private preparation and time to film her entry in the week they re-opened post-Covid (despite her convalescent wobbly legs!). They are now encouraging her to prepare for competitions next year.

 

Academics: some students do complete academics on the side, the younger students in particular (DD started at 18 with A Levels completed). One girl is completing a part-time degree. The school is perfectly happy for this, but makes few concessions, I believe.

 

French classes: this is encouraged. There are cheap evening classes available in the building opposite the school, and the school helps you arrange these. Not free, but highly subsidised.

 

Other costs: so far, none, apart from uniform (2 leotards and 2 skirts and much washing!) and pointe shoes. The school tries to keep costs down as much as possible. They paid for DD's competition entry, and provided costume. We have EHIC card but no other insurance (that may horrify more savvy dance parents!). Normally the school performs in the theatre opposite and also tours to other towns with productions, but no costs for students for either. This year they hope to perform a full ballet on stage, but if theatres aren't open, they will live-stream the performance to give students live performance experience, also at no extra cost. However, in a normal year, I don't know whether there might be extras such as travel to competitions.

 

Accommodation: my daughter lives with a lovely host family but cooks for herself. We found this for her. It is very cheap. Others share flats and cater for themselves. Others live with host families who cook for them, and the school offers to arrange this for you. Several youngers students have moved to Brussels with their families! A big family adventure. Most live very close to the school and walk to class,  but you can get a student travel card to get around Brussels for 50 euros for the entire year.

 

Social activities: officially not this year!!! Well, covid rules do allow up to 4 to meet outside. My DD is not a party girl, so she loves the fact that socialising this year is trips to museums or trips to the park (there are lots of really beautiful parks in Brussels). But in a normal year there are frequent parties. The atmosphere is lovely at the dance school, and the students meet up a lot, although they dance 6 days a week, so get pretty tired. 

 

Diploma: you don't get a diploma as such. When you are deemed ready, after 1 or 2 years, the director encourages you to start auditioning for companies, normally your final year. Because of Covid and scarcity of contracts, some are in their 4th year/ auditioning for a second year. Once you are part of the BIBS 'family', you can continue training as long as appropriate/ necessary. There are 2 groups, A and B. Group B are younger, and then move to A, and you need to have done a year in A before you would be ready to audition. As a guide, DD started this year aged 18, straight in to A, and has been invited to start auditioning from September (her second year). There are younger girls on their second year in B, but also some her age who are auditioning this year who started in A last year aged 17.

 

Sorry this is such a long reply!

 

 

[Liliya]

Dear Allwrong

Thank you very much for your long reply, it's what I needed. 

 

May I come back with some questions when I needed? 

 

Best, Liliya 

 

[alison]

Welcome to the forum, Liliya.  I've edited out your email address from your earlier post for security: please use the Private Message system to correspond with people, and then you can give them your email address privately if appropriate.

[glowlight]

18 hours ago, alison said:

Welcome to the forum, Liliya.  I've edited out your email address from your earlier post for security: please use the Private Message system to correspond with people, and then you can give them your email address privately if appropriate.

@alison - I can still see Lillya's email address in her post

[Jan McNulty]

18 hours ago, glowlight said:

@alison - I can still see Lillya's email address in her post

 

Thanks glowlight.  I've edited the post again.

[Liliya]

Thank you! 

 

[Tango Dancer]

I can't comment on the ballet side but I have lived in Brussels before and have also visited on business fairly often and I can confirm it's a really pleasant city to live in, small enough to be walkable but with good public transport and as safe as anywhere else in Europe.  It was the only place I've ever lived where I could walk to work (15 minutes from my flat near Porte de Namur to my office near Place Lux). There's a lot of accommodation available around the city because it has such a lot of incomers and visitors.  There's quite a lot of culture, opera and dance in the city.  

 

It's quite cosmopolitan because of the number of expats and English is reasonably widely spoken.  There shouldn't be any problem finding lessons in French either.  In terms of places to live I think one could do a lot worse.  I also found the standard of living quite good.  Food etc was cheaper than London. 

Edited April 17, 2021 by Tango Dancer

[Allwrong]

I wholeheartedly agree! DD arrived in August and has only known the city in lockdowns of various sorts and still loves it! Much helped by the fact that museums have remained open, and retail open more than here. Throughout the city has tried to keep alive, for example with lavish Christmas decorations across large swathes of the centre as a socially distanced replacement for the Christmas markets etc. Shame she has missed cultural events, but open museums and take away food make sightseeing feel very possible, and life is cheap for a European capital.

[Beezie]

I am an expat in Brussels and have a young daughter who dances.  If any of the older students have thoughts on the children’s program, I’d appreciate it.  

Reviews seem to indicate that Brussels International Ballet really doesn’t cater to younger children (under 13).  (Some parents who left internet reviews seemed upset at last minute decisions to leave young children out of shows or drop a schedule that works with school hours.). Still, BIBs has children’s classes on their internet site....so I assume there still is an active children’s program.
 

Also, with regards to the sparing compliments, wondering if this is a good fit for younger dancers who are enthusiastic but not certain they are interested in pre-pro.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Beezie

[KittyLynn]

@Allwrongmay I know the fees for international student under PTP? 

And do you know Any of the student doing IGCSE virtually after class?

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Kitty-Lynn and welcome to the Forum!

[SplitSoul]

I moved to the UK for uni from abroad. I am English, and was a confident 18 year old. I did not expect to be as homesick as I was!!! But I would say after 2 terms, I had adjusted and loved it. Guess I am just saying that you might get more homesick than you expect, but that it will pass. In those days there was no face time, I didn't have a mobile and emails had only just come in, so I had hardly any contact with my family and friends. That's obvs quite different these days!

 

 

[GillianG]

@Allwrongi can’t find information regarding fees. My daughter is auditioning for entry this September and this would be helpful to know in advance. Thanks x

[Jan McNulty]

Hello GillianG and welcome to the Forum!

[GillianG]

Thank you x

[ozzy]

On 07/01/2021 at 20:13, Allwrong said:

I can give some first-hand information, as my daughter is currently there. I'm happy to DM if you have specific questions, but I found it frustrating not to have some more public information before she left, so here goes.

This year, it has been a fantastic decision, as she has done so much dancing, and Belgium has had a lighter lockdown than many places so they are yet to miss a day's class. The staff are very committed to the students and have a fine eye for detail, and work them very hard. Compliments are hard to come by, but there is a constant stream of energetic corrections. The emphasis is very strongly on classical ballet, though character and contemporary are also taught once a week. The teaching is Vaganova, and you will need to adapt if you come from a different tradition, but the staff understand this. My DD has made enormous progress, but that may be because she was non-vocational before, so the sheer number of hours has had an impact. They dance six days a week, with a short day on Wednesday giving the students a mostly free afternoon, and a half day on Saturday. There are 2 groups, in theory ages 15-17 and 18 - 21, but there are some 18 year-olds in group B and a couple of 17 year-olds in group A, according to stage of training. At 18 and non-vocational, my daughter was surprised to be placed in group A, where she is dancing with students who are auditioning for contracts (such as there are at the moment). This is a fantastic opportunity for her, and has been very challenging in a good way, with exercises pitched at a demanding level. One of the boys has just been successful with getting a contract, so has just left, meaning pas de deux is stretched rather thin, but they do nonetheless have a class two or three times a week. Most of the students come from vocational backgrounds, and it is truly international, with only two or three Belgian students. Teaching is in varying forms of English (!) and some is in French, but there is no automatic assumption that you will understand French.

There are a large number of hours given to repertoire, both solos, usually for competitions, and corps de ballet for regular performances. Since the annual December performance was not possible, the school prepared a professionally filmed and slickly produced video of repertoire extracts as a Christmas present/ compensation, which was sent out to parents for free, which was a nice touch and an acknowledgement of the students' disappointment. Theatres have been re-booked for March, though this may also be problematic. The director, Anderson, is absolutely determined to get the students on stage this year to give a full-length ballet performance. We'll see.

The pluses: real commitment from the staff; excellent value for money; really positive and supportive relationships between the students; being a small independent set-up, there is a lot of room for manoeuvre and flexibility in decision-making, which is being vital this year.

The minuses: because it is a small, independent set-up, you rarely know what the decisions are until the last minute, but this is what protects the room for manoeuvre; you need to be ready to accept quirks; you need to be resilient as praise is scant and corrections freely given.

For my DD, who is taking a very unconventional dance path, it is perfect. For those who have come through a more conventional vocational route, it may be a bit of a culture shock.

For practicalities: Brussels is a great city to live in, and very international. Accommodation is not provided by the school, but can be had cheaply through a fabulous organisation called 'un toit deux ages' (my daughter is paying 2000 euros for the entire year's rent), though many of the students share flats locally. Do feel free to me for details.

 

[ozzy]

dear allwrong
While I was looking for information about this school, it was very good that you wrote to me.We are currently communicating with the school via e-mail.My daughter will be 15 years old in September.We have to submit our application until June 25. My daughter wants this school very much. The only thing that scares me is that my daughter is young.Since there is no boarding house, I have a shortage of accommodation and fear of security.We haven't even applied yet.What do you think about leaving at the age of 15?Is the environment suitable for this age?Thank you very much for your interest.I wish your daughter a scene full of applause.

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Ozzy and welcome to the Forum.

[ozzy]

thank you Jan  

 

[shawnmcdonald]

Hello Ozzy, I am just looking at all of the reviews for the Brussels International Ballet School and was wondering if your daughter decided to attend this year. We are Canadian and my daughter is really interested in applying for next year. I am looking for some “after covid-(sort of)” 2022 experience. I am looking for info on language in the school, general environment, housing and level of difficulty and partnering opportunities. My daughter(15) is coming from a vocational school.