Margate Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 (edited) Hello! First time poster. Not exactly sure how this forum works. Please bear with me. 🙂 I am a dance student from Northern Ireland and I recently applied to Roehampton, Arts Bournemouth, Trinity Laban and London contemporary dance school. I’ve had offers from all of my choices, which has been incredible! During my audition at Laban I didn’t get much of a feel for the school. Could anyone touch on what the differences are between Laban and LCDS? Are they as good as each-other etc. I have a few weeks to make a decision and right now I am finding it difficult to find information which clearly outlines what makes each conservatoire different. I am a relatively new starter to the dance world. (Began dancing at 18, now 23) and am not really sure how to navigate narrowing down my choices. Thank you ever so much to whoever takes the time to read this! Edited April 6, 2023 by Margate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 Hello @Margate and welcome to the Forum! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowlight Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 @Margate - Whilst I have no experience of the schools in question which will help you, I want to congratulate you on your amazing achievement of having offers from all of your choices. If you are new to the forum you may not realise how awesome that is. Good luck with making your decision. If all else fails..go with your gut instinct. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margate Posted April 6, 2023 Author Share Posted April 6, 2023 @glowlight Woah! Thank you so much for the lovely comment. It means a lot as I have worked so hard for this. My gut is telling me LCDS but I just want to be 100% ✨ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 I second what glowlight said! Huge congratulations & good luck with decisions & ongoing training! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanangra Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Congratulations! I found this forum when my DD was making a similar decision - NSCD or Laban. She chose NSCD and has never regretted it. She also tried out for LCDS, made the finals but not the final selection - that would have been her first choice so I would recommend going with your gut and choosing LCDS. It is a smaller cohort I believe than Laban. Both have beautiful facilities though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margate Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 @Kanangra Thank you for your lovely comment! ☺️ May I ask how much ballet your DD gets to do at NSCD? Ballet is something important to me and I just hope I am not giving up too much of that when I go off in September. I am hoping to find extra pointe classes as well. I definitely think I prefer that LCDS is smaller than Laban! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Hi Marget - congratulations on your offers, it can be hard to make a decision so I will add what I know. I have a pupil at NSCD (she was offered Laban & LCDS) but chose NSCD as they still do a lot of ballet. Another pupil graduated from Laban last year and loved every moment. Now doing a post-graduate year at DARTS in Berlin which she is also enjoying. She didn't mention pointework. However a previous student I had studying at Laban said the top classical group were given the choice and decided they would like pointework. This was some years ago so may no longer apply. Laban is a much bigger intake and therefore divide classes into different levels catering to ability/prior training. Also there are the music students from the Trinity part of the establishment and there are various collaborative projects. They are also in the same blocks of student housing for the first year. After that everyone goes into flatshares. A student of a close friend Teacher swapped from LCDS to Rambert mid degree. This student comes back to help with joint performances and the two of us had a chat in the Autumn while selling programmes together. The reason they moved is that LCDS have reduced the amount of ballet they do and this student wanted more ballet than was going to be offered. It might be worth trying to investgate timetables at the two establishments to see what classes are currently being offered. There may also be student groups on social media who could give a better picture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margate Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 @Pas de Quatre Thank you for the insight! I will have a look and see if I can gather any more information on these schools regarding timetabling. I recently attended an offers holder day for Laban and asked if pointework was available and they said no. They suggested I find a class for this outside of college. Which should hopefully be pretty accessible in London. I would have loved to of gone to Rambert although I felt my ballet was not at the level they would want and opted not to audition. Thanks again for the response, it has been very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowblythe Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 It sounds like a bit of a head vs heart dilemma going on - heart every time, gut instinct every time .... Just a word of caution about finding pointework classes outside of your college. Although it may be available, it isn't necessarily available at the times which will suit you. Also assuming you've been dancing all day, and the class isn't on your doorstep, you may not wish to traipse an hour or two across London to take an extra class. I'd also be seriously worried about the possibility of injury if it isn't part of your college timetable. Let us know what you decide! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 You're welcome Margate. As meadowblythe says, be careful not to overdo it. However there are lots of classes at the weekends, Danceworks and Pineapple are both easily accessible. Central also has a variety classes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margate Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 @meadowblythe Thank you ever so much for the advice. Yes, it is definitely a head vs heart situation. I am very sad that contemporary schools don’t usually offer the option for pointe. It is something I have worked really hard to get and want to maintain and evolve further. But you’re right, they say during the first year of full-time training that injury is expected and I don’t want to load that possibility. Hoping I can figure something out. I do know there is a very good ballet teacher who uses LCDS premise weekly after college hours which might be a good option. Thanks again for the food for thought! 😌 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 I’ve heard - certainly in year 2 anyhow - that there is less ballet than some would hope for at LCDS sp definitely check out timetables & find out likely hours or opportunities to add any extra ballet etc. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margate Posted April 8, 2023 Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 @Peanut68 Hello! Thank you for commenting. Yes I am not quite sure what the ballet situation is at LCDS. Although as far as I am aware it starts off with less ballet and progresses in intensity over the 3 years. Think I am going to send an email and enquire. Hoping there is the option to add on. I really liked it there, but I want to make an informed decision none the less! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 Very wise to research as much as you can. I think it’s so much better to start as you mean to go on & take the position of being a customer with expectations that deserve tk be met. Too often we - parents & pupils - feel so humbled & blessed to be offered places that we feel unable to ask Q’s or make demands that actually our fees justify us tk make! Be bold - they want & need YOU! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanangra Posted April 9, 2023 Share Posted April 9, 2023 I am not 100% sure but I think they start every day with ballet class at NSCD though not pointework. I'm afraid my DD's pointework fell by the wayside. I would guess that Rambert is the only contemporary (ish) school where you would still do pointework. At the end of the day only you can decide which one is right for you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amum/Cathy Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Congratulations Margate! You don’t mention what level your ballet is already at. I’ll echo Pas de Quatre and meadowblythe; my son did the Masters in dance performance at Laban and had to traipse from Greenwich into the centre of London for any extra classes at his level (he had Advanced 1&2 ballet). Professional level classes were daytime and clashed with Laban classes so he was limited to the weekends. In the end he found a convenient Intermediate class with a sympathetic teacher who would give him extra teaching during the class so he was working at a higher level. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margate Posted April 18, 2023 Author Share Posted April 18, 2023 (edited) @amum/Cathy Hello, thanks for sharing! I would say my ballet is somewhere between intermediate and advanced. Since I began dancing considerably late I take a range of levelled classes although now I am better at picking up ballet terminology my ballet has began to improve fast enough that I can keep up with an advanced classes in introspect to just a few years ago. I also take pointe classes. There is lots to consider, my decision for LCDS has to be submitted by Thursday so I’m really now trying to weigh everything out. May I ask what made your son specifically chose Laban and where he trained before? Thank you again for taking the time to comment ☺️ Edited April 18, 2023 by Margate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancing unicorn Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 One of my students is at NSCD and we were talking about her timetable today! Including ballet! I’ll get her to comment here tomorrow (she’s still at home on Easter leave atm!) which is nice for me! 💗 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amum/Cathy Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 7 hours ago, Margate said: @amum/Cathy Hello, thanks for sharing! I would say my ballet is somewhere between intermediate and advanced. Since I began dancing considerably late I take a range of levelled classes although now I am better at picking up ballet terminology my ballet has began to improve fast enough that I can keep up with an advanced classes in introspect to just a few years ago. I also take pointe classes. There is lots to consider, my decision for LCDS has to be submitted by Thursday so I’m really now trying to weigh everything out. May I ask what made your son specifically chose Laban and where he trained before? Thank you again for taking the time to comment ☺️ Hi Margate, Good luck with your decision. My son was unusual in that he went to university to do a humanities degree (having completed his ballet etc exams while at a normal school) but danced intensively in his spare time, then did the postgraduate diploma at Laban, and then successfully auditioned for the Masters. One or two people from the dance societies at his university (Warwick) had successfully gone down this route. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margate Posted May 1, 2023 Author Share Posted May 1, 2023 Hello everyone! Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I was very grateful for the input and information provided. I have since accepted my place at LCDS and I will be starting in September. I came to this decision because of the internal feeling I get when I think of my experience at the audition there in comparison to Laban. This was a difficult choice as ballet is my one love, but I realised that my environment meant more to me than just an extra ballet class. Hoping I made the right choice. Thanks again to all the lovely people who took the time to comment on my post! ♥️ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowlight Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Congratulations @Margate - I think it's really important to listen to those sort of gut feelings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewel Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Congratulations. For what it’s worth I think you have made the right choice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanangra Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 Congratulations and all the best for your future! I think you have made the right choice also 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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