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Tring CBA Video Audition 2021


Londonballetmum

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Hello everyone! I am new on this forum but have found some threads very helpful so decided to put this question to all the knowledgeable people here.

I have just received the Tring online audition guidelines for March 2021. My daughter is only 7 years old and starting to work on RAD Grade 2. I forwarded the audition requirements (for the video) to her teacher who said that some exercises are more like Grade 4 syllabus. 
Does anyone know if the video requirements are different for different age groups or are they the same for everyone? I am trying to establish if a 7 year old is expected to know such complicated content ... then we might not even try.

Thank you! 

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Hi everyone! Another newbie here! My daughter is also doing the virtual auditions for CBA and like Londonballetmum, I thought the guidelines were rather complicated for my 7 year old too and fear that even the new amended guidelines may still bit a bit too tricky for her. 
I have no ballet knowledge other that what I have learnt through my little girl so I do not know what is and isn’t normal for this age! 
 

Londonballetmum, how do you find the new amended list? 

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What has she been asked to show? We’ve applied for my 10 year old and I think the only thing that is more challenging than we initially expected is the pirouette but I wouldn’t expect a 7 year old to necessarily be able to do the other stuff that’s required. 

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I’d guess that they want to see the kids do their best so I think I’d either email them again and let them know what you think she can do - it’s the only associate application that’s required my 10 year old to do an arabesque en l’air (from what I’ve seen it tends to be 11+ that are asked to do that) so I think it’s a standard list that went to everyone. Either that or film her doing her grade 2 set exercises and when you submit explain then that she’s not covered much allegro etc in class but she’s done her best. We’re pretty new to all of this but I imagine they want to see a love of dance, musicality and potential rather than perfection. 

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My daughter is going to do everything from the list and just give it her best shot. I think they'll be able to tell which content she is secure in and which content she is new at. And if she is not ready for the programme that is fine. She has never auditioned for anything before, as she is 7 yrs old, and given this is on video, there are no nerves that go with it, so there is no downside. @MamaFrostywhat other associates programmes are you applying for? This is all so new to me! I think most programmes start from the age of 8 so I'm just watching what other people's experiences are like with great interest. Good luck to your daughter! 

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Ballet boost, southeast ballet scholars and royal ballet junior associates. She applied for RB junior associates last year and didn’t get in and I wondered whether she’d be put off by that but she’s determined to keep trying! She’s not at all flexible though so I think that may go against her. 
 

Good luck to your daughter too! 

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Someone with more recent experience than I will hopefully pop along but if I remember rightly, there are 6? groups for girls’ at CBA but *not* six audition categories, so when auditioning in person, a student could be with children of the same age but also children 1, 2 or 3 years older (therefore auditioning for a place in Group 1, 2 or 3, OR, in the senior audition classes, for Groups 4, 5 or 6). 

 

As long as the exercises being asked for are ones that students aged 7-10 might have studied, I’d say give them your best shot and explain that your dc hasn’t yet studied these exercises), remembering that for the Junior Groups in particular, they’re looking for potential/facility/flexibility/love of dance, not perfection!

 

If the list of exercises could cover ages 7-16 then I would certainly email Adelia at Tring (if she still deals with auditions) and ask for clarification. 

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@MamaFrostyjust wondering what you mean by "not at all flexible." I've read some very helpful posts on this forum that indicate that flexibility is something you work at for a long time but not a 'target' in and of itself. My daughter does the Vaganova method and I would say they are obsessed with flexibility! Like to the point of wanting contortionists. More recently she started a RAD class as well where they don't event do the splits. By the standard at her Vaganova school, my daughter is in the lower half of her class flexibility wise. 

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She’s not in her splits in any direction, hips are quite tight etc. so her froggy is far from flat. She’s working on it though - and yes it’s a process rather than a destination! But I see other dancers her age who are in oversplits etc and I think that it may immediately rule her out despite her musicality and obvious love of dance. 

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When my 9 year old DD auditioned last September she was doing one RAD grade 2 class a week and hadn't started any other associates - she just had a good go at anything she hadn't already covered so don't be put off! She was put in group 1 which I'm fairly certain is the youngest though there is a spread of ages  (quite a few 12 year olds in there).

 

DD is not super super flexible and it hasn't seemed to have held her back in auditions (so far!). Think associate programmes are looking for potential at this stage.

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My daughter is at Tring CBA, she was 8 when she auditioned and only in grade 1. I think the content of the ‘real life’ audition was slightly harder than other similar Associate schemes, yet there wasn’t an expectation of them all to be able to do everything, more just a willingness to see them have a go was always the impression we were given. She loves it there, the studios are stunning and the faculty all seem lovely. 
 

We have a friend who wants to audition but I can’t see any details on the website, did you guys email them to be sent these details or has the deadline passed now? 

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4 hours ago, MamaFrosty said:

She’s not in her splits in any direction, hips are quite tight etc. so her froggy is far from flat. She’s working on it though - and yes it’s a process rather than a destination! But I see other dancers her age who are in oversplits etc and I think that it may immediately rule her out despite her musicality and obvious love of dance. 

 

My alarm bells ring LOUDLY when I hear of any young dancers doing oversplits. 😱😱 To be honest, I don’t even like to see professionals doing them but they’re adults and it’s their choice.  

 

A degree of flexibility is obviously desirable, as is the physical facility to turn out in ballet, but assuming that’s there, it can be improved upon gradually and above all *safely*, as the student matures.  “Flat turnout” and/or hypermobility can be both a blessing and a curse but there’s no point having flat turnout if the strength to HOLD the turnout isn’t there.  So strength must be built alongside flexibility and sitting in splits/doing oversplits when young is absolutely not the way to go about it. 

 

Which reminds me - avoid the urge to join in with any “competitive stretching” you might see at auditions, once they are in person again...

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On 07/03/2021 at 16:28, Anna C said:

 

My alarm bells ring LOUDLY when I hear of any young dancers doing oversplits. 😱😱 To be honest, I don’t even like to see professionals doing them but they’re adults and it’s their choice.  

 

A degree of flexibility is obviously desirable, as is the physical facility to turn out in ballet, but assuming that’s there, it can be improved upon gradually and above all *safely*, as the student matures.  “Flat turnout” and/or hypermobility can be both a blessing and a curse but there’s no point having flat turnout if the strength to HOLD the turnout isn’t there.  So strength must be built alongside flexibility and sitting in splits/doing oversplits when young is absolutely not the way to go about it. 

 

Which reminds me - avoid the urge to join in with any “competitive stretching” you might see at auditions, once they are in person again...

Just reading what you said about ‘over stretching’ ... my DS participates in Tring CBA so I can only speak for the boys, but the boys tutor also thoroughly discourages any kind of ‘over stretching’, or any methods or equipment/devices that produce this kind of forced flexibility. Hearing the classes on zoom, I get the impression he thinks flexibility for the sake of flexibility is pointless if you don’t know how to use it to grow as a dancer, and I can’t stress how disparagingly he considers them. 
 

Separately, I think the age spread of the boys is more varied than the girls. My sons class consists of (I think) an 8 year old, a 9 year old, 2 x 10 year old, an 11 year old and a 13 year old. His tutor does an excellent job of allowing them to grow and develop at their own pace within the group. I remember on the day of audition, there were several boys of different ages in his group, so I find it unlikely they were all expected to do the same, just to try their best within their own skills set. 
 

 

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6 hours ago, Dancedreamer said:

we submitted DS yesterday , good luck everyone. we are completely new to all this so do not hold much hope. for any auditions this year, but giving it a go. 

The boys group is rather small, and I think social distancing kept it small last September term too when learning started live in the studio before going back into zoom. A couple of the boys might very well start Y7 vocational school too, so that might open up a couple more places. May I ask what age your DS is? The younger boys are all is a mixed group from ages 8-14 though not sure if that might change. 

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49 minutes ago, BalletBoysDad said:

The boys group is rather small, and I think social distancing kept it small last September term too when learning started live in the studio before going back into zoom. A couple of the boys might very well start Y7 vocational school too, so that might open up a couple more places. May I ask what age your DS is? The younger boys are all is a mixed group from ages 8-14 though not sure if that might change.

 

Hi BalletBoysDad,

 

My son is currently 9 turns 10 in late summer . We will keep our fingers crossed. 

 

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3 hours ago, Dancedreamer said:

Hi BalletBoysDad,

 

My son is currently 9 turns 10 in late summer . We will keep our fingers crossed. 

 

That’s the same age as my son, who will turn 10 in July. When he auditioned (in person), I’m led to believe it was all age-appropriate content. He doesn’t give much away.
 

Will they make a decision purely off the video?
 

My gut feeling is that there will be more places available this time round as (hopefully) social distancing comes to a gradual end and they can accommodate more children in the studios. 

 

Tring CBA is a lovely programme and the tutor is exceptionally kind and motivating. From a boys perspective I think it’s as good as RBS JA’s and Elmhurst YD’s. Good luck to your son, no one has anything to lose in applying! 

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43 minutes ago, BalletBoysDad said:

That’s the same age as my son, who will turn 10 in July. When he auditioned (in person), I’m led to believe it was all age-appropriate content. He doesn’t give much away.
 

Will they make a decision purely off the video?
 

My gut feeling is that there will be more places available this time round as (hopefully) social distancing comes to a gradual end and they can accommodate more children in the studios. 

 

Tring CBA is a lovely programme and the tutor is exceptionally kind and motivating. From a boys perspective I think it’s as good as RBS JA’s and Elmhurst YD’s. Good luck to your son, no one has anything to lose in applying! 

Oh thats cool! my son only started ballet in May last year he has only had about 8 actual studio lessons! but he is capable. What grade is your son if you dont mind me asking, just trying to get an idea of levels but im thinking it might be quite varied

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