Snape Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 The letters usually come out in the order of the auditions, i.e. Newcastle first, then Manchester, who was next Leeds? with London being last, but if they are e-mailing who knows. I had my bets on this Thursday for Manchester (just a random guess!!!!) They like to keep you guessing, so you never know it could be July. ooo, It's like the lottery. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bou Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 In that case I guess we can stop letter box watching until Newcastle letter are out at least 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I'm pleased I'm not the only one to be feeling anxious about the wait! I know they see thousands of children but they offer so few places and must have such specific things they're looking for, I can't help thinking they must have a fairly good idea straight away!? Ah well, I guess it adds to the excitement of the whole experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Does anyone know roughly how many places are on offer for each year group? Or does it change each year? When my daughter auditioned they told us there were 900 girls auditioning this year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletsister Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 No idea re numbers I'm afraid. I was wandering if they look for perfect flat turnout or is that unusual in a child so young? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I heard they auditioned 75 a day in London over 3 days but it wasn't clear if this was across all year groups or just one. Â Nobody seems to have a definitive answer on how many places they offer or how the places are distributed across year groups etc. I'm assuming they don't have a set number and take the 'few' who fit their criteria - whatever they may be (another mystery). Can't help feeling that all the uncertainty adds to the appeal of it somehow though! They are RBS after all so they can pretty much call the shots! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Hi all, they do have a very particular look for the girls. Very thin, long legs- in my dc's group they all looked the same. I think it is important to know this because lots of fabulous girls will not be accepted because of this. It is frustrating for those who do not fit the template but remember there are lots of other ballet opportunities. ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletsister Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 When you say very thin do you mean generally thin all over or legs in particular? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 All over. .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celb Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 If you want to see what the odds are each year the royal ballet school publishes details of the numbers of students auditioning for each centre and the numbers selected for full time and associate training in their annual report.I'm sure one of the moderators will be able to add a link to the currently available report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Balletsister, what do you mean by flat turnout? I've heard of turnout but not flat? Sorry if being a little dumb lol x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletsister Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I am no ballet expert so I've probably used the wrong terminology! What I mean is when they lie on their backs and do froggies can their legs turn right out with knees to the floor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 My daughters friend in the senior associates did not have flat turnout, to add further not everyone was very thin either, some were some were not. In fact there were some tall willowy dancers and some strong muscley powerful dancers. Who knows what The Royal are looking for regarding physique, however all of them have potential and have good musicality. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Ahhh I see thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 That's interesting that the SAs vary so much. We used to find when on JA courses we couldn't recognise our own daughters as they were all identical. .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I've definitely heard there is a type - willowy, short body, long legs, long neck and small head. My dd fits this description but I do wonder whether she's too tall. I don't really think that just having the right body shape can be enough on it's own either - especially if there are examples of classes having a mixture of shapes and sizes. Interestingly not many in dd's audition fitted that description either. Â I have been told they look at their turnout, arch of feet and their jump as well as general musicality. Dd certainly said she'd had to do 16 jumps straight in her audition - and that they'd got them to get their knees as close to the floor as possible in froggy legs. Ultimately only they know what they're looking for - I guess it's probably a magic combination of all of the above, hence why so few are successful - but also why we can all hold out some hope!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I think the Royal associates are looking at children that have potential to become classical dancers. And yes it is difficult to find you own daughter due to the fact they are all wearing buns, they all have long legs and arms, long necks a and small shoulders etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I find it fascinating. I hadn't thought about it being that strong a look but sounds like it must be if it's hard to spot your own dd amongst other JAs! Mind you I was told that they're even looking at the placement of the ears on side of head, which I guess is pretty specific! Were all the girls similar heights as well as shape in your experience tulip and sarahw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snape Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 In dd's JA's they are all quite different, some very tall, some very small, some muscular, some bird like, some have a stronger build, but they all move beautifully, all have good turn out and they all like to work hard.  The year above look more similar.  Who knows what they are looking for, I still don't know, it's probably best that way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 As in vocational schools we had tallest to smallest on the bar. Yes the tallest was about. 5ft 6 ish the shortest about 5ft 2 ot3 ish. They all definitely had ears though and they were on the side of their heads ha ha, I am only jocking. One thing I would like to say though, when your daughters are in a show at their normal ballet school, can you spot your own child straight off ? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Omg looking at ear placement??! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 They definitely do not look at ear placement. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snape Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 As in vocational schools we had tallest to smallest on the bar. Yes the tallest was about. 5ft 6 ish the shortest about 5ft 2 ot3 ish. They all definitely had ears though and they were on the side of their heads ha ha, I am only jocking. One thing I would like to say though, when your daughters are in a show at their normal ballet school, can you spot your own child straight off ? I can spot my child a mile off, even at the back of the stage, she dances differently to the others. I know what people mean by they look the same, because if you compare them with "normal children" they do look different but when you look at them closely together they are all different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moomin Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I thought it was only me who had to search my child out on stage/ at sports days etc! I have to look for the legs! Aren't most little girls fairly similar looking pre-puberty, the majority being fairly slim, of course they are different but if you're not looking closely? Good luck to all, I'm sure it is the 'package' they are looking for and nobody is perfect in every way x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeaky Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I can spot my child a mile off, even at the back of the stage, she dances differently to the others. I know what people mean by they look the same, because if you compare them with "normal children" they do look different but when you look at them closely together they are all different. Hah - I can spot my child straight off (although I have an advantage!) - he is the only boy dancing!  Sports days - again I can spot him a mile off too - he is the only one doing split leaps over obstacle and running gazelle like!   6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Totally right that it's a 'package' and agree that it's good that we don't know what the actual magic ingredients are. There's no real way of knowing and it's probably best that way. Â I've heard from a couple of sources who know about these things that they look at ear placement though - who knows if it's right or not, but I promise I'm not just making it up!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 And maybe that's it snape - having a 'look' doesn't mean they all have exactly the same body shape. Â I can spot my dd amongst her friends/ballet class - she's taller and whilst they're all generally slim, she's thinner. I wonder if too tall and too slim to make it in to JAs - let alone all the other elements. It's all a mystery though, so I'm going to try and stop speculating!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherbert Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Ear placement!? seriously, listen to what you are saying..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 All I can add is that most of my daughters year at SAs all gained 6th form places at vocational schools. Non got taken into the Royal and that includes both SA centres, actually I think one girl did, she came from Anna De Biosson. Whatever the Royal are looking for, they got one thing right, the associate students did have the potential to be professionally trained due to the students good physique and musicality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcope Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I teach ballet to adults and I have one dancing lady in her 60's who auditioned for the Royal many decades ago. The most memorable part of the audition for her was having the distance from the top of the shoulder to the base of the ear lobe measured ... and being told both side were uneven! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Welcome to the forum, catcope and Sherbert. :-) Â Best of luck to all those waiting to hear about JAs. We've discussed the issue of what RBS and other schools are looking for many times before and are probably no nearer to knowing exactly what it is they want. What I would say though is that if your child doesn't make JAs this time, they may do in a year's time. Or they may not! But if they don't, don't panic! Not being a JA doesn't mean your child is not suitable for ballet training. There are many paths to take - regardless of ear placement. ;-) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Couldn't agree more spannerandpony - very wise words! Â As for the ear placement thing - believe me I know how ridiculous it sounds and I couldn't believe it when it was mentioned to me by 2 separate and knowledgeable people. I didn't mean to provoke a debate. It does seem crazy but the whole thing seems fairly crazy to me! Â Good luck to all those waiting for news. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpybearzuk Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 My dd has auditioned for JA twice now , first time got a straight no for year 4 , year 5 when everyone said not much point as there would be few places she got a short waiting list but didn't get a place and tried again for year 6 and now waiting . No point guessing what they are looking for as I have seen a very big variety of sizes on the ones that got places and all with different abilities , one was very slim and you could say perfect body for royal but has no musicality at all ! So I'm not guessing anymore and to be honest my dd will just take it in her stride as she is very happy as a Elmhurst Associate . One girl I know was a JA for 3 straight years and this year didn't get a place on mids or full time training at white lodge and she has always been one we looked at as having perfect royal body . So my advice is just take it in your stride and it's not the end of the world if they don't get a place there is other opportunities out there which they can enjoy:) good luck to everyone xx 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now