Pas de Quatre Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 alwaysbroke, sometimes what people say is the unfortunate truth, not that they are trying to be horrid. As far as I know, dancers from Northern Ballet School tend to go into commercial work such as cruise ships rather than ballet, no matter which course they are on. There was a member who posted here a couple of years ago about the reality of her dd's audition journey looking for jobs. If you do a search - probably under Northern Ballet School you might find it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 When I was at Northern,a million years ago,I distinctly remember how they loved the tall,long legged girls. A lot of their girls get into the Moulin Rouge [as I did]and Lido. For the Moulin you have to be at least 5FT 8IN tall [in my day I was the shortest at 5 7] and for the Lido [bluebell Girls] you have to be at least 5 FT 9 IN. Right from back in my day ,every year there seemed to be girls from Northern going to dance in Paris and an awful lot of others going to dance on cruise ships. Both are a nice way to see a bit of the world and get paid for it.! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzpaws Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 What an unfair thing to say about Northern! Fact is that even those at the "top" purely classical schools will struggle to get work "just" doing Ballet. You only have to look at the audition pages of DanceEurope or Network dance to see how the vast majority of companies want versatile dancers rathet than those purely classically trained. And I personally think getting a cruiseship job is not a bad achievement at all. Ive no direct recent experience of Northern but have heard only positives about it. Please dont let others negative opinions influence you, especially if they havent direct experience of the places they are talking about themselves. And please, all you students out there, if you really want to be paid to dance, prepare to be versatile! At this stage, the girls aren't thinking of cruise ship work, but I have also heard that it's very competitive to get into. Two girls DD and I know are on cruise ships at the moment - we follow their progress on facebook. They are having a fantastic time ! Lots of happy smiley pictures from all over the world. Plus, I think they can save a lot of their salaries while working. One girl is doing this to get the 'dancing bug' out of her body before setting up her own dance school, and she will have the savings to do this by the time she's finished. Certainly not a bad achievement at all 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double trouble Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 My two DDs wouldn't mind dancing on cruise ship at least you are getting paid and doing something you love and also travelling the world. Lets face it we can't all be at Royal Opera Hse. Alwaysbroke love the name. There are other choices as well Ballet Theatre Uk, Ballet West and London Russian are holding auditions in June. Best of luck 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 When my DD auditioned at Northern, existing students were in the café with us and I can honestly say we saw both the shortest and the tallest dancers there from any school we visited. And I agree that whilst most of us look at graduate destinations for our classical ballet dancers, the reality is that dancers need to be versatile and not all end up in classical companies. Remember also that this can be from choice. A lot can change in the space of three years as children become adults and assess and reassess themselves and their expectations. A cruise ship would not be my DDs first choice, but ultimately she would rather be dancing than not and she does know of someone who danced on pointe in ballet shows on a cruise ship (or at least she did 3 years ago). As for me, I just want her to be happy and earning enough money to live off from doing something she enjoys. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 My ex dd knows a boy who was given a scholarship to a ballet company in Australia who is working on a cruise ship and having a great time. He is doing what he always wanted to do and is being paid for it whilst travelling the world, which can't be bad! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Has anyone heard from Central today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzpaws Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Has anyone heard from Central today? From Saturdays audition ? Wasn't really expecting anything for a few days as finals aren't till end of March. Perhaps I should start stalking our sleazy postman again lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Good question. I heard from a friend who got a no today but don't think it was from the weekend! Our poor postmen should get danger money at this time of year :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katymac Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Our postman knocks on the door with them when they have a college return address or frank 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lala Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 When my daughter auditioned on the Saturday in December, her letter turned up on the following Thursday. I remember the day clearly as I was waiting for the plumber to turn up lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Autumn days Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Ooh julie, you have us all wondering now! The last London audition was ages ago but Central did hold an audition in Leeds (I think) the weekend before last. Did your friend audition there? If tose results are nly just coming out the London ones will probably be some time yet! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moneypenny Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I think it was the Leeds letters that landed today, as I know of someone who has a yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutugirl Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Yes it's Leeds results out - I know of 2 yes and 1 no . ( just in case anyone's worried that yes are out first ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumofballetmaddaughter Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 On the subject of NBS, my daughter went there from 2006 - 2009 but was fully aware that a career with RBS/BRB/ENB wasn't going to be a possibility. The majority of graduates went onto cruise ships. My daughter auditioned for ballet companies in Spain and Germany but was unsuccessful and after spending a small fortune on flights and hotels etc , decided to audition for a cruise contract instead. She was successful and has never looked back. She really enjoys the life and has been around the world several times. She successfully auditioned for another production company just over a week ago for a cruise contract and is just waiting to find out when and which ship she will be going to. This will be her 6th contract and the previous 2 have involved a fair amount of ballet and pointe work. The latter can be a little challenging however! She has also added ballroom, Latin, swing and lindyhop to her repertoire as this was a requirement on the last 2 ships and has loved doing these. She is currently taking ballroom/latin lessons in London each week to improve her technique. In addition to this, she does a couple of professional ballet classes to make the most of the 2 days she spends there. The height range at NBS went from just over 5' to 5' 10" in my daughter's year. As has been said before, dancers need to be versatile and pragmatic as competition for contracts is fierce. Not only are new graduates competing against each other, they are also up against experienced professionals. At my daughter's audition, there were approx. 270 auditionees. 80 were put through to the final and another 50 put through from an agents call. Out of the 130 finalists, 40 were successful. Apologies to the mods if I've gone off on a tangent! Best of luck to everyone for now and in the future. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 A slight tangent is fine ;-) And yes, it was the Leeds audition for Central now you come to mention it :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Autumn days Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Out of interest, we're the Leeds auditions as busy as the London ones? Didn't they do a day in Scotland too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysbroke Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Has anyone who was at the audition on the 15th Feb heard anything from Central? I know it is early days and we really are not going to hold our breath. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad house Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 No nothing here either. Although we are thinking along the same lines as you . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzpaws Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Central results are out from 15th audition. DD's friend has just had a yes Our postman is nowhere to be seen - as we are a bit rural our post can be late. Oh well, carry on sweating 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzpaws Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 It's a yes for DD - very happy house, I can feel the wine coming out later 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad house Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Congratulations to your dd jazz paws Brilliant news 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 That's terrific news, Jazzpaws! Very well done to your dd! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie4dancin Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 It's a yes for DD - very happy house, I can feel the wine coming out later Lovely news jazzpaws enjoy your wine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katymac Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 That's really great 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Congratulations! I presume you mean a yes for an invite to finals :-) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzpaws Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I do Julie - another wait it's not till the end of March ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad house Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 It's a no here for us !! This has certainly been a Really good experience for dd she's totally enjoyed doing the auditions . But now she's ready to work hard on A levels and try again at 18. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Autumn days Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Central finals here. So sorry for those that didn't make it, we know how you feel! Does anyone know how they split the two days? I thought it ws just overseas finals on the Saturday? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Sorry to hear that Mad House but your DDs positive attitude is to be applauded. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramascientist Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Sorry to hear your news Madhouse but I agree it is great experience, certainly my DD didn't want some of her audition classes to end, onwards and upwards as my mum always says! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophika9899 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 It's a yes for finals at Central. Very happy household here, finals for Elmhurst and ENBS too. Sooo proud!!!!! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastel Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Great news!! Congratulations to all those with 'yes's' and sorry for those who didn't make it to the final for Central. We have heard nothing - not sure if the reply will come by snail mail or if there is a later date for O/S students to find out if they made the finals. I'm thinking of emailing to see if they can tell me when we are likely to find out. The suspense is killing us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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