English Youth Ballet (EYB) - Frequently asked questions

[Anna C]

Hello all,

 

Gathering together all the previous EYB threads it occurred to me that we often get asked the same sorts of questions about EYB, so I thought I would post links all together in one thread. If you have questions about English Youth Ballet, please browse through the linked threads first, as there is a strong chance your question may already have been answered there.

 

If it hasn't - ask away! :-)

 

Kind regards,

 

Spanner

 

Previous EYB threads:

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/3898-english-youth-ballet/

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/2765-english-youth-ballet/

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/2674-english-youth-ballet-rehearsal-times/

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/2348-english-youth-ballet-senior-audition/

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/509-english-youth-ballet-auditions/

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/197-eyb-productions/#entry1947

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/4194-eyb-in-2014-when-and-where/#entry51080

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/1566-english-youth-ballet-nottingham/

[Kitschqueen_1]

Brilliant idea S&P. I was thinking exactly the same myself but don't have the technical know how! :-)

[Anna C]

Thank you! No problem. :-)

[Anna C]

Just bumping so the thread stays visible to any new members. :-)

[Lisa O`Brien]

Spanner,Hope you don`t mind,but i`ve been meaning to ask you this for ages and keep forgetting. What does the Spanish [?] mean at the end of your posts?Thanks. 

[Anna C]

It's one of my favourite film quotes - from Strictly Ballroom. Loosely translated as "To live in fear is to half-live" or to live half a life. :-)

[Lisa O`Brien]

Excellent.Thanks.!!

[dancing10]

I hope no one has asked this question before, if they have please accept my apologies.

 

My daughter has a place with English Youth Ballet to do Swan Lake.  We were just wondering what parts there are for a 14 year old 5ft 4" girl?

 

We are extremely excited as this is our first time

[taxi4ballet]

Swans, lots of them!!!

 

There are several solo parts, also Marinsky dancers and and plenty of others, depending on whether people are on pointe or not.

 

EYB are very good at making sure everyone gets plenty of time on stage, no matter what parts they have I'm sure she will have a great time.

[Pups_mum]

My DD was a Swan at a similar age, and most of the teenagers were in that group, but there were also some older girls in the courtiers group, plus the Marinsky dancers, princesses etc.

One thing to bear in mind is that the casting can depend quite a lot on who else is in the cast as well as on the individual child. For example, at the venue where my DD participated the "little" Marinsky dancers were mainly about 12 years old, but when a friend did it in another part of the country that group was a little older.At the casting they are looking for groups of similarly aged/sized/ability students who will work well together.

The key thing to remember is that there are no "bad" parts with EYB. As the previous poster said, everyone gets plenty of time on stage and appears in 2 acts.

[lillydog]

Hello any idea about roles for boys in Swan Lake.....we are very excited. Our first time too !!

[annaliesey]

Great, thanks for grouping all these threads.... I'm off to have a read through now   My daughter is doing EYB in March, Swan Lake in Norwich and v excited.

[dancing10]

My granddaughter is a marinsky soloist in the EYB production in our area ....does this mean she will do a small solo

[w445403]

Hi,

does anyone know what roles there are for senior boys in Nutcracker please?

[annaliesey]

Dancing10, you must be so proud

 

I watched the 'parents show' on Sunday at the high school and the Big Mariinsky's were absolutely stunning to watch and there's still a lot of practise for them to do yet so it shows how well they must have picked things up and been so talented. 

 

There was one dancer who was out through injury and hope that wasn't your granddaughter. (I can't remember if she was a Mariinsky)... poor girl must be gutted

[dancing10]

Thankyou for those lovely words, my granddaughter was the marinsky in the burgundy leotard.  The marinsky that was out injured managed to do the last dance on the parents showing day so that was lovely for her and her parents.

[dancing10]

 

 

By the way annaliesey, what is your daughter?

[Liquorice]

My DD is in it too.  Good luck to all for the weekend.... lots of nerves (and trying to break new shoes in) going on here!

[annaliesey]

My daughter was a little tsar's niece and loved her whole time there. She says she would have liked to have got a "taller part" or more challenging choreography but I think it suited her just right

 

I think I remember burgundy leotard from parents show (will message you) but then I ended up watching all 3 performances (not original plan) and can probably remember people better from their costumes and stage performances now.

 

My daughter mad keen to do it again and wants to audition with her friend for Nottingham Nutcracker on Monday but I'm thinking it would be better to wait until next year to have a gap between auditioning again... Don't know.

 

How did your daughter get on Liquorice? There were certainly lots of tears when it was over but all the performances were fantastic!

 

Will your girls go for EYB again?

[dancing10]

My granddaughter was a main marinsky and enjoyed every minute. She said the ballet classes were so good and she learnt such a lot. Very sad day Sunday with the sudden realisation that it was all over

[LovetoDance2003]

Sorry to ask but does anyone know what the likely hood of being picked for the show, if you are no 2 on the reserve list?

My DD was so disappointed not to be picked at audition, and now to find we are so close?

Just wondered if anyone else has been in the same position?

[annaliesey]

I honestly would think there would be a very good chance of at least 2 people dropping out for whatever reasons.

 

The rehearsal schedule is not known until after auditions, and quite a few days are likely to be in the half term holidays or summer holidays, some families may have holidays booked other commitments. This is only what I have heard from other parents after we attended Norwich auditions.

 

Also, some people seem to not be aware of the financial contribution needed either so that can sway things with people dropping out too.

 

Fingers and toes crossed for you

[LovetoDance2003]

Thanks Annaliesey, yes we are keeping fingers crossed! I do however already have the rehearsal schedule as that came with the application form, or at least the dates (not times), so would have thought people would have known before coming to audition. Don't want to get too excited! My DD has taken part in 2 professional shows before but would love to take part in a ballet. Although good, she does have a few technical issues but hoping the professional coaching would help her! Fingers crossed!

[annaliesey]

Just wanted to pop by this thread to say that my daughter talked me round and I ended up giving in and taking her to Nottingham auditions last night.  Amazingly, she got through. 

 

So if anyone is wondering (like I was a few weeks ago) whether it is worth going for auditions so soon after doing a previous EYB then the answer is yes! 

 

Miss Lewis did say at her opening talk though that just because you have done it before it doesn't guarantee a place.

[LovetoDance2003]

Well done to your DD Annaliesey! She is clearly very talented!! That's great news, thanks for sharing

[annaliesey]

Thank you Lovetodance2003

 

It's difficult to understand talent I think especially when looking at your own child if you have very limited awareness of what's good or not so good.

 

I can honestly say I sat watching all those children for the whole time wondering what the panel were looking for and I'm still none the wiser! All I remember noticing was that my daughter didn't look nervous and just was trying hard to listen (she had blocked ears so couldn't hear very well).

 

But everyone looked like they were pointing their feet and holding arms nicely and smiling (a few forced smiles) and that's about the extent of my detailed observations

[charlie4dancin]

Based on my dd doing EYB 3 times and twice winning the full scholarship , Our view of EYB is that they are looking for strong technique for their age/grade and they are looking for presentation and children that love to perform enjoy!

[LovetoDance2003]

My DD loves to perform and she loves her ballet but as a parent, I am aware that it's not her strongest area. She is more Musical theatre and a brilliant actress. She just finished early Feb a 10 week run in a professional show so has great stage presence but just needs a bit of help with her technique. We are hoping for the chance that she may be lucky and get a place as some professional input would really help her.

Our audition was a real mixed bag! There were some amazing dancers but clearly some who had very little ballet technique and no idea what they were doing. Clearly out of their depth!

Keep you posted x

[LovetoDance2003]

My DD loves to perform and she loves her ballet but as a parent, I am aware that it's not her strongest area. She is more Musical theatre and a brilliant actress. She just finished early Feb a 10 week run in a professional show so has great stage presence but just needs a bit of help with her technique. We are hoping for the chance that she may be lucky and get a place as some professional input would really help her.

Our audition was a real mixed bag! There were some amazing dancers but clearly some who had very little ballet technique and no idea what they were doing. Clearly out of their depth!

Keep you posted x

[Lou78]

Hi new to this forum , my little DD -8 yrs auditioned in Nottingham for the first time this week. Her first ever audition and got a place , I didn't think she would looking at all the others she is very excited now and can't wait for it all to start .

[JLAEI]

Hi, well done to your daughters. My daughters auditioned at Nottm and both got places. It was a mix, some very strong and some not so. Basic sound technique was what they were after, there were a lot there (130+).  Laughing at the forced smiles, because they would have been mine! Told them to smile, but they did become forced after a while!  One of mine only started dancing last year but she is quite stretched and strong from gym. I could understand why a lot got through and picked out most of scholarship girls, but I danced when I was younger.   I felt sorry for the younger ones attempting full plies in the centre and arabesques, they all had a good go though.

[LovetoDance2003]

Well done Lou78 and to your DD. You must be very proud! Enjoy the experience!

[threeleftfeet]

Hi Lou78

My dd (8) also auditioned and got a place. She is totally over the moon and I am extremely proud (and relieved!). She's really looking forward to the experience and meeting some girls of her own age which share her ballet passion. I took her to see the cinema relay from ROH last night of sleeping beauty which was just awesome. What with that late night, the audition on Monday and with  two late rehearsals this week for her ballet school show coming up, she's exhausted!