Lots of luck to all auditionees! & a place to put results

[carriecrafts]

Hi bop2thetop,
Bird was her top choice before the auditions but she was a little bit thrown by how much she loved the Urdang audition, which she hadn't expected. She said Urdang was really good fun and Bird was the toughest audition she has ever done. The teachers were really harsh with them too, saying things like 'none of you are working hard, you won't get in like this' which clearly wasn't true because one girl got an offer on the day and DD now has an offer too. If it was coming from anyone else I'd probably be thinking they are just not used to that level of training, but she is and has auditioned at other schools (Performers, Urdang and Laine 2 years ago and got offered 3yr diploma at all 3, Laban, Bird, Urdang and LCDS so far this year) so has good comparisons. Despite the harsh attitude she still wants to go there as she feels she'll be pushed hard and the audition was a test to see how tough they are under pressure!
Good luck on 27th When is the Urdang recall?

[carriecrafts]

DD just had the email from Urdang, invited to the BA recall/funding audition too
I'm a bit puzzled though as the email says the fees for the BA are now £12,000 pa. Student finance will only cover £9000 and the remainder may be awarded as a bursary... The degree is validated by UEL and their website still says the fees are £9,000.
DD didn't apply to schools like Arts and Mountview because the fees are more than the student finance available. At this rate even the degrees will be out of reach to less affluent students :-(

[amanda]

That's outrageous! How dare they charge for an audition to a course that appears to be affordable and then move the goal posts. I am afraid that some of these school get away with daylight robbery because they hold our children's dreams to ransom if we dare complain

[Megmar610]

My dd just had email from Urdang offering her a place on the diploma

[amanda]

Sorry for my angry rant - Congratulations to carriecrafts and Megmar's girls They have both done brilliantly

[carriecrafts]

Yay, well done to your DD Megmar.

Amanda, no need to apologise, dh had a rant when I told him. I thought I'd researched it all thoroughly and DD had only applied to those that were affordable (apart from Laine). Oh well, it just means there are 2 hurdles instead of 1, first to get on the degree rather than the diploma and then to get a bursary. Apparently between 30% and 50% will get the top-up bursary.

[suesmith]

Many congratulations to your dds carriecrafts and Megmar610 - I guess at some point we're all going to have to make some decisions!

[Katymac]

So the bursary is a bit like a DaDA then <sigh> poor kids they get sorted then they move the goal posts

They did that to DD in Eng Lang this year she was set for a B then they took out the speaking & listening bit & she dropped to a low C so she had to redo all her coursework/controlled assessments to ensure she does get a C


Edited to add

Sorry I should have said congratulations to everyone first - but I was a bit cross

[JayLou62]

No from Scotland Conservatoire (Dd1) and ENBS (Dd2).
Just GSA and Rambert left and back ups

[amanda]

I'm sorry Jaylou. How are the girls holding up? What are the back ups?
My DD has her first audition tomorrow at Arts ed. Feels weird to start so late.

[carriecrafts]

Sorry to hear that JayLou, good luck for the next ones.

[carriecrafts]

Good luck at ArtsEd tomorrow amanda Lots of DDs friends are there tomorrow and Tuesday too.

[amanda]

Thanks Carrie, Not sure how I will concentrate at work tomorrow! It is going to be a stressful couple of months!

[JayLou62]

Amanda, the back ups are The Big Act's Pre-Professional Course in MT/Acting (Level 4 Diploma) for Dd1 (with training from West End professionals, private singing lessons, dance and body conditioning classes and acting classes) and Dance College South West for Dd2 (she will work towards DDI and DDE teacher training qualifications, plus have classes in ballet, tap, modern, American tap, contemporary, hip hop, MT, singing and drama etc. The college days run from 9am till 5pm with the option of the adult classes/vocational classes until 10pm. She will continue with her Russian Youth Ballet Company and her Russian teacher also teaches at the college. They also have RB trained teachers and workshops with industry professionals so not the end of the road for either of them.
Dd1 is more matter of fact. She didn't expect to get anywhere when auditioning for the first time, judging by everyone's experiences on this forum plus auditioning has helped her decide what she is looking for and where she feels she'll be happiest.
Dd2 has been through a more stressful time. She developed Osgood Schlatters Disease last January and cut back on her classes and only resumed them fully in September. She is now 5ft 8.5ins and her core strength has suffered as a result of her growth spurt. She is working towards 2 performances of Cinderella with 2 principal dancers from ENB dancing as Cinderella and the Prince (Dd2 is a stepsister and gets to dance with Arionel who is playing the Prince - a fantastic opportunity for her). She is going to send a DVD off to overseas ballet schools (Hungary and Germany as she loves the Russian style training and they seem to like taller dancers).
Good luck to everyone still auditioning and well done to those with offers/places

[amanda]

Looks like you have some really good local options as back ups. Gosh your dd2 has some exciting times ahead. Is she doing exams at school too?
Well done for bringing up 2 strong young ladies