What to do at 16?

[Pearl]

The only college that my dd went for that you had to prepare a solo dance was Laines, all the others and also Laines you do a ballet class, a jazz class where you are taught a routine.You also have to prepare a solo song and a monologue.

Most also interview them and also a physio checks out their physique to make sure there are no major physical problems.

Glad the dada scale helped

[Maria54]

I can only give information for the colleges that our DS auditioned at . Laine and BIrd, they were pretty much full day auditions. The morning was group ballet class, group jazz class. Laine had an acting workshop were you could do a monologue if you wanted to( our DS chose to do his ) . After lunch all students then performed a dance solo and vocal solo to the panel. Our DS is just 16 we too felt that there were quite a lot of of 18 year olds at the boys audition which we didn't expect. PM if you wish.

[lynne]

Hi Thanks everyone!
The only bit that is really daunting is the dance solo! Do they specify that it has to be ballet? DD is quite used to singing solo's and monologues but has only ever done dance routines that were choreographed and taught to her. She has also done intense all day workshops before. Having done an intensive MT week in Holland with mainly 22 year olds!
Just another thought, if you get a Dada for a foundation for example can you still get another one for a degree or is it one only?
Thank you Katymac, I have been trawling through here and found your thread, very helpful, thank you very much for doing that!
Until I found out on here about the Dada scale I really thought A levels or Btec were our only option, So now I have even more to consider/look through!
But great news on the Dada front!

[Pearl]

Hi Lynne, the dance solo can be any style of her choice.

You can't get a dada for the Foundation course, dada's are only for the 3 year diploma.

[Barb]

Hi Lynne
I would also suggest a trawl through the various college websites, they can give details of what is required for auditions and often what to wear too.
Summer courses are a way of getting a feel for a college and Urdang do a course building up to a mock audition day and provide some written feedback, but these are not cheap and then you have to add accommodation and food. I know Urdang also have an open day.
My DD and her friends all did jazz style routines for their solos.The auditions were for the most part all day and some funding recalls are held weeks/months later.
When auditioning at some of the colleges they may offer the foundation course even if you were auditioning for the diploma if they feel you are not ready for the three year course.
As far as I'm aware there is no funding for a foundation course, the DaDA is for the diploma and a student loan for the degree (doesn't always cover the full cost of the degree though).

[oscar]

Due to des age and the fact foundation courses are 1 year and by nature course Is below higher education therefore there is a good chance you could get housing benefit. The standard at auditions Is very high so audition prep really helps.

[Maria54]

Lynne I have sent you a pm

[Mummyaud]

Hi, my daughter auditioned this year, she is 16 and in Year 11. If your daughter is keen to go for it and you have the energy, money and time then do let her go for it. She will come out of it with a lot of life experience if nothing else. After going through the college audition process and being assessed, tested, questioned, marked, ranked and compared multiple times against huge competition not much scares them! But it is not for the faint heated. Urdang do a very good pre-audition course in October which gives them a good taste of what to expect - would recommend. My daughter auditioned for 5 colleges and got offers from 3 - Urdang and Contis (3 year diploma) and BRIT School (musical theatre strand). She is a strong singer and actress but only started formal ballet, tap and modern training at 13 (currently Grade 4/5). She was not successful in getting DADA for Contis or Urdang so unable to take up either of those places. In reality it can be pretty hard to get DADA funding at the top colleges so do we aware of this especially if their dance is not super strong. A large proportion of the funding goes to boys who are always more desirable/employable due to supply and demand. So much tougher for the girls with a huge amount of competition. Of course it's definitely worth as go as she may strike it lucky. It is tough for them after getting the place to find out at a much later stage they can't go. My DD had to wait 4 months from receiving the offer of a place at Urdang to getting a final (negative) funding decision. Twas painful - from the e-mails I received I think she was close

My DD is enormously grateful for the place at BRIT school where she will study a BTEC in Musical Theatre (equiv 3 A levels) plus History A level She is fairly academic so I am happy she is doing A levels. BRIT is free to attend so for families like us who cannot fund our kids ourselves it's a life saver. She has done well to get the place as we are out of catchment. I am quite happy that she will get to do the Sixth form thing with people her own age and she can commute from home so it works well. She is also strong in rock/pop so BRIT will be a good option for her with a strong network of contacts and opportunities. She is excited that they get to go to the BRIT awards and usually get some fairly high profile performance opportunities as the school is partially funded by the British Record Industry Trust. They also do a New York (Broadway) trip in Year 13. In addition to their core subjects they also get free ISTD extra curricular dance (ballet, modern, tap, jazz) so they can continue to work up the grades. I expect most of the students go on to try for degree or diploma at 18 at one of the big Colleges. My DD hopes to try for degree at Urdang, Mountview and Arts Ed in 2 years time. If Croydon is commutable for you it might be worth looking at BRIT.

Laine and Bird are very strong in dance, we did not secure places there due to level of dance not high enough.

Good luck to her with which ever path she takes.

[lynne]

Hi
Thank you everyone! So much info to take in and digest! Mummyaud, i feel we are in a similar position to you, as my dd is a strong singer but not a strong dancer, so I doubt she would get into Laines on the diploma and we can't afford the foundation fees. However we may try, nothing to loose really! The Brit school is comutable for us , so that may also be an option!
thanks everyone!

[jennifer1972]

Hi Jennifer 1972 and Pearl
Thanks for your reply.
Pearl, firstly I didn't even realise you could do a diploma at 16! Congratulations to your dd, can I ask where she is going? Does that mean she will be studying mainly with 18 year olds? and moving away from home? scarey!!
Jennifer1972, how come your dd is going to finish her A levels a year early? Haven't heard of anyone doing that before, she must be very very clever!What A levels is she doing? and what do you think she will do afterwards?
Also does anyone know if you can get funding at 16 for any of the courses, i.e.) foundation/diploma or even a loan from Finance England?

No, unfortunately she is not an academic genius, it's just we live abroad and the way the academic year works is slightly different, so she'll finish a year earlier than she would in UK. She is going to do a baccalaureate, which is equivalent to A level in performing arts but will continue with singing and dancing after school. If we could afford it (big if) I think that a pre-voc would suit her, just to adjust to life back in UK before embarking upon a 3 year course and from what I've read on various threads, the pre-vocs seem to be worthwhile. That's where we stand now, but with teenagers who knows!!!

[DanceDiva]

Hello lynne
Our advice is to go for it - you just never can tell what is going to happen.
DD is 16 and was desperate to audition this year for the September intake.
She is an all round 'late starter' and although her strength is dance she hadn't done any ballet up to the age of 13.
She auditioned for Laines, Urdang, Millennium, Tring ( for sixth form) , MADD, Bird and Cambridge Bodyworks.
She was offered places for all of them except Bird but funding her would be a major problem for us.

It was during her audition at Cambridge she was asked to contact her parents immediately and meet with the principal.
I was duly dragged from my shopping trip to find daughter in tears convinced she was being asked to leave and return when she was older / more experienced.
What actually happened was she was offered a scholarship on the spot for the Foundation course and is currently making list upon list for her new start in September.
She has been incredibly lucky but my tale illustrates that you never can tell........go for it, enjoy the experience and learn from the ups and downs, twists and turns, tears and joyful moments.
Its a hell of a rollercoaster of emotions but quite looking forward to doing it all again in a years time !!

[lynne]

Thanks for your advice Dancediva.
I think we will just have to go for it and see what happens!

[woody]

It will probably be worth doing some auditions at 16, as it will be a good experience and you will know what to expect when auditioning at 18.

Yes, some degree-level courses funded by student loans are available for 16-year-olds and my dd will be starting hers in Sept. The best way to find out is by looking at the school/college websites, as they all seem to be different!

[lynne]

Thanks everyone for the advice! DD just been offered a BTEC at Italia Conti in Guildford! To say she is excited is an understatement!
Anyone else with DD or DS starting there in September?

[jennifer1972]

Hey, congratulations!! Glad it all worked out for her.