dancing10 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Does anyone out there know of the rough Audition months for entry into Vocational schools for 2014 entry. My dd would like to audition for as many as possible but at the moment she is recovering from an injury and it would be good to know what time scale we are working with. Really appreciate anyones help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amber21 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Hi I think if auditions are the same as last year for some schools they will start in November of this year through to April or May next year depending on individual schools. Maybe good idea to keep an eye on the various schools websites. Good luck what year is your dc going for? Ax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing10 Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 Sixth form - is that what they call it? sorry not much use at ballet mum talk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amber21 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Yes it is all bewildering! sounds like you have a lot more choice in terms of schools, I am sure other very helpful members have posted the various schools that apply to your dd's year group in other threads. Ax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAIRBELLES Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Hi dancing10 Yes it is roughly November to around beginning of May. I was unusually organised and had all the forms etc printed out for the summer holidays. Points to bear in mind are that the classical courses will generally have a prelim round then a final audition and it makes life easier if you can stagger the auditions,although some dates you wont be able to choose.Also the cost of each audition was around £30-£40 and all needed different photos and types of info including doctors to fill in forms,train fares and hotels. It isn't an easy time especially as GCSE's and time off school have to all be accounted for. There will be lots of info on previous threads about all the courses. Good Luck to you and your dd hope I haven't made it sound more stressful than it is 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Its her Life Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Auditions for sixth form run right through from Nov - March but they vary from one school to another, so you'd need to look at all their websites from Sept onwards. This year Elmhurst was the first to kick off with prelim auditions running from Nov - Jan (you choose which date to apply for), Central's were either Dec or Feb, ENB Jan or Feb, Tring - loads of dates from Dec - Feb, Rambert Feb - April, Royal Ballet Feb, Northern - whole choice of dates too. Then finals take place from late Feb - late March. Some schools such as Rambert & Northern don't hold finals though. They hold just one audition on one day & cover everything. Best make a list as and when you find each one out. And beware, some end up falling on consecutive days which can be exhaustjng. My daughter ended up at one time having 5 consecutive days of auditions this year! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 As others have said I would suggest looking at the websites of schools you are interested in. We then made a list of all the photos we needed so we could get them done in one go in the summer when her teacher had more time to assist. If timing is important to you because of DDs injury you can then apply for those that allow you to choose an audition date nice and early in order to get the date you want. Other Places like Elmhurst,Northern and Hammond, I think do the audition places in order they receive the application. DDs first audition was Elmhurst in November and her final one was Tring in February. Finals were in March. We got ourselves organised in the summer holidays and talked to DDs school in September so that they were aware what she was doing and that they would be contacted for references. It made it easier for time needed off school and for re-arranging things in school - like some of her mocks that clashed with auditions. Good luck with it all, exciting times ahead. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Oh I remember the photos well. When dd was applying the number of photos a school needed varied from 1 to 8 or 9. But with all the different variations (often arms in a different position, even if the legs were the same) I think there were 19 poses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecarte Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 As someone whose DD did the audition trail in 2013 I would offer the following by way of advice. It is never too soon to get organised. I gathered forms together in the summer hols ( some were not released till later on). I had the photos done first week back at dance school. The main reason I started early is that later on DD was bogged down with school work,mock GCSEs and normal dance lessons. It is a busy and stressful year and it is important to ensure they can still keep all balls in the air! I would also not be too quick to judge each school. I was surprised by the gap between DDs perception of a school and her opinion after the visit. Where she is going we almost did not apply to due to her negative perception of it. After her initial audition her opinion transformed and it became her favourite! Auditions started December and her last one was end of March start of April. Funding is still not confirmed even at the end of June. DD learnt much from the audition process and met some lovely people that she keeps in touch with. It's a tough ride for them, and a nail biter for us. Good luck to those about to embark on the auditions for 2014. Just try to enjoy every audition. There is so much valuable advice to be gained from this forum so check it frequently. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I would add to Ecarte's advice, after each school visit/audition take a deep breath and put it on the back burner. As a family we found that initial impressions matured with a few days reflection, and perceptions changed as it all "settled down". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewayforward Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Book hotels in advance, they are cheaper if you do, travel by train is less stressful than driving, take each audition on face value, dont reflect on it too much, enjoy it for what it is, use it as an opportunity to get a feel for a school, expect it to be a long, expensive process. We started in September and finally found out in late April that she got the scholarship for the school DD wanted. Good luck, enjoy, pack the wine! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pas de chat Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Some really good advice thebutties. Our teacher will often want to assist with photos as she knows what they are looking for. We took over 70 photos before she approved 4. Apparently the photos are very technical and are looked at in great detail. We got into our choice SS so very pleased with her help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I'd also say to only audition for schools you'd actually want to go to (that might sound daft, but there's no point auditioning for somewhere that you'd only turn down - some might say it's all good experience, but at what expense?!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I'd also say to only audition for schools you'd actually want to go to (that might sound daft, but there's no point auditioning for somewhere that you'd only turn down - some might say it's all good experience, but at what expense?!) A girl from dd's old dance school decided to only audition for the schools she had on her 'wish list' and only added another 'Plan B' choice at the last minute, which was somewhere she'd never really considered as an option before. It was just as well she did though, because she didn't get offers from any of her preferred schools bud she did get into the last minute school and absolutely loves it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I suppose for us it was more a case of his "plan B" being something non-dance related. He was only interested in pursuing a ballet career if he was good enough to get into one of the four he chose to audition for (one of them was already his "back-up" to be honest). He was fortunate to gets offers and a choice I suppose. If he hadn't got into one of them at 16 he may well have widened his applications to include others a year or two later.Everyone's different - I'm just telling you how we saw it at the time. Of course it's all different now anyway with the DaDA situation - he couldn't even have considered two of the schools he had offers for if it was like it is now, so he'd've been looking at degree courses. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzpaws Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Need to do new passport photo for DD . RBS SA ask for a passport sized photo for this year, so wondering if the colleges ask for a photo with the application form (wondering how many copies to get) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Its her Life Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Yes, quite a few do. It would be worth having some spares. I'll check through all our applications and let you know which ones ask for them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 We didn't use an official passport photograph where you can't even smile but I easily cropped a photo on the computer that I had taken on holiday to get a head and shoulder of DS looking good! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ribbons Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) I took a head & shoulders photo of my DD on my mobile & used the instant Kodak machine at Boots. You get a 6x4 with 9 passport sized photos for 39p!! - Bargain!! Edited June 28, 2013 by Tippy_Toes 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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