RBS London Auditions

[expatballetmom]

This is my DD first time doing an in person audition at RBS, age 13. Would anyone have insight into what to expect. My daughter is a vocational student and not new to RBS style having been to the summer intensive, but more curious about how many typically in a room and anything that we should take note of ahead of the day. Also, any ideas on how many move onto the final round? Do they choose students for associates from that pool only? Good luck to everyone this audition season!! 

[Ruby Foo]

I can’t tell you about the audition format as everything has changed with the new programme of re auditioning for the final years. In the old days there were around 20/25 candidates in an audition. I guess it’s all the usual things to think about such as leaving plenty time for travel ( especially with the strike situation), taking snacks and water, spare dance clothes and shoes in case of disaster. Wearing a leotard that’s not cut so low at the back, in case your number is pinned to your bum rather than your back. Don’t pin the number too high either.  Keep warm up clothes on till the last minute as stretching often used to be near the beginning of the audition. Staying calm and focused and try not to pay too much attention to others except to make friends!

A strong sense of performance would be my tip for moving on. Moving fluidly and musically, fully using the given space and performing with confidence and a great sense of joy from the very beginning to end. Smiling always helps. Good Luck.

[Beezie]

My daughter tried out for an Associates program.  They had an impromptu dance section, which surprised her and (as a result) made her a bit nervous.  But I love the idea!  
 

They set-up a story, and then asked that the children dance-out the story in any style of their choosing to a recognizable tune.  How great is that?  It was refreshing to see some testing of creativity and expression.

[Neverdancedjustamum]

I think the numbers are quite variable and the process has changed in the last few years. I don’t know much about it from personal experience but my DC is an associate in London. There are very few in the class who weren’t previously JAs (I’d say less than a quarter), but those who weren’t were all in the finals for White Lodge.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Neverdancedjustamum

[DD Driver]

It is interesting that in the International auditions, White Lodge held video or in person auditions.  Success in this lead to an invitation to Finals.

In contrast the RBS Upper School auditions involved a Preliminary audition (video or in person), then Semi-Finals (video) leading up to Finals.

 

I think the Semi Finals hurdle is a good idea as it is a large cost and commitment for an international student to travel to London for Finals. 

The more filtering the better!

 

 

[Beezie]

1 hour ago, Neverdancedjustamum said:

There are very few in the class who weren’t previously JAs (I’d say less than a quarter), but those who weren’t were all in the finals for White Lodge.

Haha, that may not be a great sign for us.  We  only had Mid-Associates interest, so weren’t trying for White Lodge. 

[Kerfuffle]

48 minutes ago, DD Driver said:

It is interesting that in the International auditions, White Lodge held video or in person auditions.  Success in this lead to an invitation to Finals.

In contrast the RBS Upper School auditions involved a Preliminary audition (video or in person), then Semi-Finals (video) leading up to Finals.

 

I think the Semi Finals hurdle is a good idea as it is a large cost and commitment for an international student to travel to London for Finals. 

The more filtering the better!

 

 

Personally I think it’s really hard to stand out in videos and the expenses mount up quickly when the dance schools all want different things, it’s a considerable hidden cost that might be beyond a lot of people 😢 . I think initial screening is ok though as it stops people wasting money if they really aren’t in with a chance. 

[Neverdancedjustamum]

2 minutes ago, Beezie said:

Haha, that may not be a great sign for us.  We  only had Mid-Associates interest, so weren’t trying for White Lodge. 

I’m sure it will be fine as they’re all assessed/ looked at during the same audition class. I remember the year we applied we only applied because a lot of those in DDs school were applying so thought we might as well just for the experience of being able to dance in such lovely studios. The group she was with on the day had amazingly lovely and formidable looking young dancers, most in their RBS associates tracksuits. My DD had a cheap leotard on, no belt, with a low bun. After the class we had completely forgotten about the application until a few months later when my friend told me results were out. There was no one more shocked than my daughter when she was offered an MA place, not ever being in the RBS system previously. Up until her uniform arrived, she thought I was pranking her. 

[Surreycitric]

On 09/01/2023 at 17:36, expatballetmom said:

This is my DD first time doing an in person audition at RBS, age 13. Would anyone have insight into what to expect. My daughter is a vocational student and not new to RBS style having been to the summer intensive, but more curious about how many typically in a room and anything that we should take note of ahead of the day. Also, any ideas on how many move onto the final round? Do they choose students for associates from that pool only? Good luck to everyone this audition season!! 

Best of luck to your daughter. Assume she is looking for a year 10 place ? The numbers in studio vary round the country. Outside of London they mix the years because there are sometimes only a few for the years older than seven but I know there are at least three, possibly four full classes in London. In Covid the classes shrunk but previously there were up to 40 so perhaps assume the same again? In any case, last year they only took three British girls to finals for year 10. Two were from Elmhurst and one was an MA. No British/British trained girls got in though. Not a single new one from year 8 upwards got a place though, including into upper school… 

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Surreycitric and welcome to the Forum!

[expatballetmom]

5 minutes ago, Surreycitric said:

Best of luck to your daughter. Assume she is looking for a year 10 place ? The numbers in studio vary round the country. Outside of London they mix the years because there are sometimes only a few for the years older than seven but I know there are at least three, possibly four full classes in London. In Covid the classes shrunk but previously there were up to 40 so perhaps assume the same again? In any case, last year they only took three British girls to finals for year 10. Two were from Elmhurst and one was an MA. No British/British trained girls got in though. Not a single new one from year 8 upwards got a place though, including into upper school… 

DD is hoping for Year 9 and we are from the states originally so the British ballet training system is quite new for us! Thank you for all the insight!

[Surreycitric]

3 minutes ago, expatballetmom said:

DD is hoping for Year 9 and we are from the states originally so the British ballet training system is quite new for us! Thank you for all the insight!

Happy to help. Did you know that RBS now guarantee the dancers starting in year 7 a place until the end of year 9 but that they all have to re-audition to stay on in year10?  Last years year 9 were the first to go through this system. There were 14 girls in the class and only half were invited to stay on. 
Ten new girls arrived in the September of year 10, two into year 9 all from overseas. 
Wishing your daughter the very best for this year but there is much more opportunity for her for next so don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t work out first time . There are several girls at RBS who are there after their second or third try. 
Not being British/ British trained seems like a massive advantage for the school these days! Fingers crossed for your DD. 

[expatballetmom]

7 minutes ago, Surreycitric said:

Happy to help. Did you know that RBS now guarantee the dancers starting in year 7 a place until the end of year 9 but that they all have to re-audition to stay on in year10?  Last years year 9 were the first to go through this system. There were 14 girls in the class and only half were invited to stay on. 
Ten new girls arrived in the September of year 10, two into year 9 all from overseas. 
Wishing your daughter the very best for this year but there is much more opportunity for her for next so don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t work out first time . There are several girls at RBS who are there after their second or third try. 
Not being British/ British trained seems like a massive advantage for the school these days! Fingers crossed for your DD. 

Oh wow, that is so interesting! Thanks again for all the info! Great perspective! 

[Tiaramum]

Can I just clarify. Last years year 9 were the first to go through this new system. Our of the original 14 girls that started in year 7, only 4 were kept on.

 

 

[Neverdancedjustamum]

21 minutes ago, Tiaramum said:

Can I just clarify. Last years year 9 were the first to go through this new system. Our of the original 14 girls that started in year 7, only 4 were kept on.

 

 

Those are quite shocking stats @Tiaramum. I guess with the new system RBS can, in theory, actually replace existing year groups with entirely new cohorts of students. They probably won’t as this won’t reflect well on their training for the first 3 years and I actually think that now a lot of people are aware of the stats you mentioned above, plus the number of British students they invited to finals last year for non-Year 7 places, I’m willing to bet WL will invite more British applicants to finals this year (though I’m not sure if they will care about possible backlash or parent discussions such as this). I also don’t think this will affect the number of applications they receive for Year 7, which seems to be more and more every year, nor would it affect the number of applications they receive for entry into years 8 and 9 even thought technically there won’t be any places in those years if those who start at Year 7 are assured the first 3 years of their training. 
 

Slightly unrelated but I saw a recent Instagram post of an overseas young dancer who is about to embark on a ‘short term’ scholarship at RBS. I do wonder how the attendance of these international dancers, who I assume suddenly just join classes, affect how existing WL students feel especially if they join Year 9 classes when it’s such a crucial year in terms of staying on further with the school.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Neverdancedjustamum

[Tiaramum]

Very shocking stats. It was awful been part of it. If you read the figures quoted in their annual reports you can see clearly how the british students numbers have dropped significantly whereas the international numbers have increased.  However despite the horrendous last 6 months with them WL was an amazing experience and one my daughter holds onto proudly. She (and I) have made friends for life and she is determined to audition for upper school. 

 

I would say to anyone - Go for it, enjoy that experience, treasure every minute but have that back up plan ready. Really think about the options for year 10/11 as many of the other schools won't have boarding places available leaving many dancers stuck. Don't go into it thinking it wont happen to me or that you will get warned if your child isn't likely to get a place. There will be no warnings.  

[Neverdancedjustamum]

5 minutes ago, Tiaramum said:

Very shocking stats. It was awful been part of it. If you read the figures quoted in their annual reports you can see clearly how the british students numbers have dropped significantly whereas the international numbers have increased.  However despite the horrendous last 6 months with them WL was an amazing experience and one my daughter holds onto proudly. She (and I) have made friends for life and she is determined to audition for upper school. 

 

I would say to anyone - Go for it, enjoy that experience, treasure every minute but have that back up plan ready. Really think about the options for year 10/11 as many of the other schools won't have boarding places available leaving many dancers stuck. Don't go into it thinking it wont happen to me or that you will get warned if your child isn't likely to get a place. There will be no warnings.  

It’s just a shame because if we are to think of RBS and where it is, and when I think of other similarly top ranked vocational schools overseas, for the latter’s case international students seem to normally only join in the final 1-2 years of the training. Not all, but most I have in mind with the exception of Princess Grace whose student body is extremely international but then Monaco is such a small place. This means that their graduating classes are often still predominantly nationals of the country where the school is located. 

[expatballetmom]

Not that this will make anyone feel better but in the states, the leap from lower to upper schools is also not an automatic one- particularly in the top schools. Students are typically re evaluated for upper school or pre pro divisions so really the UK seems to be operating in the same way now. The difference is I guess that there are more vocational options in the U.S. if you want to continue to pursue that route. 

[Summer47]

Has anyone heard of any UK successes for finals for WL year 10? I have seen some Australian successes on Instagram but that’s it. Considering there is only London auditions left for that age group, I thought perhaps we would have heard of some finalists especially on Instagram by now!

[Surreycitric]

What does anyone think the is likelihood is of ANY UK girls going into Royal Ballet School, this September in years 10 and above (eg they into their second and third stages)? 
September ‘22 there were over 20 new girls in those years and not a single one was British or British trained. Can they keep doing this?

[DD Driver]

It seems to me that students at vocational schools (schools associated with companies) do significantly less training hours than students trained privately.  Yes, private training is a very expensive route 

 

Many of the international applicants for RBS have trained long hours, more similar to those in elite sports. 

Also, how they looked at 11 or 12 years old, did not count them out. They had time to grow and 'see what happens'.

Edited January 12, 2023 by DD Driver

[BattementBatty]

15 hours ago, Nutcracker20 said:

Has anyone heard of any UK successes for finals for WL year 10? I have seen some Australian successes on Instagram but that’s it. Considering there is only London auditions left for that age group, I thought perhaps we would have heard of some finalists especially on Instagram by now!

London auditions (for WL and SA ) - which will be the largest group I expect - are on the 29th Jan.

[glowlight]

Not really wanting to open another can of worms, but does this mean that RBS have a lot of unused MDS awards knocking around (presumably overseas students aren't eligible, at least for the first two years of their training?)

[Neverdancedjustamum]

35 minutes ago, glowlight said:

Not really wanting to open another can of worms, but does this mean that RBS have a lot of unused MDS awards knocking around (presumably overseas students aren't eligible, at least for the first two years of their training?)

I wondered about this too because I remember one year I knew quite a lot of those who started were already from private schools and able to afford a lot of training prior to auditioning. Without knowing how it all works, I would assume families like that won’t be eligible for much (if any) MDS funding? In which case there must be some year groups for which not much MDS funding needed. 

[BarbaraH]

My 12 (almost 13) year old daughter went today. She was in the last group of the day. Their group was around 25 Girls and there had been 150 during the day. No idea how many go to the finals... 

[expatballetmom]

5 minutes ago, BarbaraH said:

My 12 (almost 13) year old daughter went today. She was in the last group of the day. Their group was around 25 Girls and there had been 150 during the day. No idea how many go to the finals... 

Wow, 150 in that age group? My 13 yr old must have been in that same group. Best of luck to everyone!!! 

[BarbaraH]

Yes, apparently she was number 131 and the group went above 150. What number was your daughter? My daughter was very positive about the atmosphere. Girls were very helpfull. (She was the one that didn't understand everything as english is not her mother tongue).  

 

According to my daughter we will hear something in 2 weeks time. Fingers crossed for everyone! 

[Dancer20]

My DD auditioned before Christmas and results were back in three working days 🤞

[BarbaraH]

We just received an email. It's a no for her. 

[Evangeline]

Hi, I know it’s hard to tell but does anybody have an insight into how many dancers go to the final round of auditions and how many do they take for year 8? 
My DD got to the final round but I don’t want to keep her hopes up, so looking for some stats…Thank you! 

[BarbaraH]

On the forum I've read there are only 1 or 2 places in year 8/9 most of the time. As children starting in year 7 are guaranteed they can stay until the end of year 9. So not many new places available. 

[Evangeline]

Oh ok, that will definitely put it into perspective for her 😬 Thank you BarbaraH! 

[NotadanceMa]

On 12/01/2023 at 21:08, Surreycitric said:

What does anyone think the is likelihood is of ANY UK girls going into Royal Ballet School, this September in years 10 and above (eg they into their second and third stages)? 
September ‘22 there were over 20 new girls in those years and not a single one was British or British trained. Can they keep doing this?

Really not one U.K. trained  girl? 😱