Dance and Drama award

[jasmine2]

need some advice...DD has been accepted on a 3 year diploma course and is shortlisted for a dada...we need to send a registration fee to secure her place..but wont find out about the dada until late spring..
If she does not get the dada there is no way we can send her to the college, but if we dont send the registration fee she loses her place...what do we do?? Any advice would be great..thanks

[songbird]

Firstly congratulations to your dd - where has she been accepted ? and how much is the holding deposit ? does she have any other colleges to audition at still -

i think the advice i would give might differ depending to answers on the above ...

been through something similar with dd recently did she accept a place at one course in time to be considered for funding and therefore not bother doing a recall at another or await the outcome on a reserve for the other so hard with all these decisions again well done to your dd

[funnygirl]

Tricky one! How much does your daughter want to go to this college? I would say that if it is what she really wants then you have to bite the bullet and pay up. I think you will find all the schools run a similar sort of system at this age. I would also talk to the college and explain the situation as it may be that the deposit is refundable under some circumstances. I went through a similar situation with lower schools and we paid a deposit for one school and she ended up going to another. We were lucky and got the full deposit returned to us. Good luck!

[jasmine2]

Really wants to go..so we have decided to go for it..and take a chance...fingers crossed....

[proudmum]

Glad to hear that Jasmine,these places are hard to come by so I would say pay and pray well done to your daughter

[jasmine2]

Thanks guys..I sent the cheque today..so now its a waiting game..

[shortguy]

Good luck, fingers crossed for the DADA

[pixiebelle]

Well done for being offered a place, which college is it? My Daughter was offered a place at Laine, Italia Conti & Performers last year. So expensive sending off cheques to secure places & I think so unfair. Unfortunately didn't secure a DaDa at any of colleges so couldn't go, but you have to take the risk or you don't know.
Busy with auditions again Fingers crossed again & good luck to everyone else auditioning.

x

[songbird]

This was posted on GSA web site : Dance and Drama Awards 2011

Dance and Drama Awards

The Department for Education is currently considering arrangements for the financial support of young people over the age of 16 in full-time education. Once discussions have been concluded the position regarding the provision of Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) for 2011 will be announced. The timescale for a decision is unknown. In the meantime all DaDA training providers have been instructed not to allocate any Dance and Drama Awards for 2011 nor to make any provisional offers of awards. An announcement will be posted on this website immediately further information becomes available.

are we going back to days when people only train if they have money rathe than talent

[Hecouldshine]

That is disastrous for people applying this year songbird Thanks for posting the warning.

Do you think it means you have to confirm or turn down places assuming you get no funding, and then it is possible some may get funds, but not know until they start?

[GEORGIEROSE]

I think it is wrong asking for deposit knowing full well some,well lots can't go without dada, everyone could be on shortlist and they will be getting all the deposits and some people won't go in the end.
Especially as dada is up in air anyway,but understand you had no choice to keep place Jasmine-nightmare let us hope dada stays how else will many pay the vast amounts training costs

[GEORGIEROSE]

Would make people cross if only auditioned with hope of dada paid your £35 audition fee plus travelling for nothing, wonder if they will refund there was no warning of this on applications!

[igloobabe]

This was posted on GSA web site : Dance and Drama Awards 2011

Dance and Drama Awards

The Department for Education is currently considering arrangements for the financial support of young people over the age of 16 in full-time education. Once discussions have been concluded the position regarding the provision of Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) for 2011 will be announced. The timescale for a decision is unknown. In the meantime all DaDA training providers have been instructed not to allocate any Dance and Drama Awards for 2011 nor to make any provisional offers of awards. An announcement will be posted on this website immediately further information becomes available.

are we going back to days when people only train if they have money rathe than talent

Sorry, I don't think we have ever moved away from those days!
I have seen plenty of children less talented than my dd get scholarships to such schools, but even with a scholarship there is some to pay, plus uniforms, extra classes, books, equipment, costumes etc! Forgive me if I'm wrong, but there are NO free state theatre schools. And if there are, I'll bet they are in affluent areas too expensive for anyone on a low income to live in or travel to!
This is my real bugbear, and it makes me seethe. Why does having money make you a better actor, singer, dancer?

[Golightly]

This was posted on GSA web site : Dance and Drama Awards 2011

Dance and Drama Awards

The Department for Education is currently considering arrangements for the financial support of young people over the age of 16 in full-time education.

This is so worrying, not only for the students that will no longer be able to afford to go to drama school or dance college but for the institutions themselves. With the rise in tuition fees, the potential removal of DaDas and the present government saying it only guarantees to carry on subsidising universities that offer science or research, performing arts subjects are really going to suffer if all public funding is removed which now seems likely. Some drama schools have said that they would need to charge £12000 tuition fees if their government subsidy is cut. I think in reality many will struggle to survive.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... brunt.html

The scrapping of EMAs and now DaDas means poorer students will really stand no chance post-16.

(Although hopefully they won't scrap DaDas!)

[pg]

I understand that this news will cause concern, but I don't think anyone should panic about it for this year at least - the uncertainty is horrible for everyone though. There are a number of schools that have very high numbers of DaDA funded places and it would be most unlikely that the rug would be pulled completely without giving the schools time to adjust (and perhaps to consider doing what many other drama schools have done, which is to go down the "maintained" funding route). Drama schools definitely WANT to be able to offer places to a diverse range of applicants so I am quite certain that there will be stiff opposition from schools to any suggestion that DaDAs will be withdrawn completely - especially at such short notice. It would so clearly be unfairly advantageous to those with substantial private means that I think it would be political madness to drop the scheme completely without warning (though I suppose we might have to prepare for uncomfortable changes in the years ahead). All the points made by posters on this forum (about audition fees, deposits etc) will be made by the schools too. At least that's my hope!

In terms of access to quality vocational training for families with very little money: I do think it is getting more and more difficult (and it was pretty dreadful in time gone by too), but I DO think there are openings and possibilites. There are specialist schools like Chethams in Manchester which have a sliding scale of fees (which even have zero fees and help towards uniform and other costs for the poorest families). Although there may be no specialist acting schools that are free for school age children (I suppose the BRIT school comes closest), there are certainly possibilities for those aged 18 plus. It is recognised that to have a career in classical music and ballet, that children will benefit from training at an early age - there are provisions for this - even if they're not as widespread or as generous as we might like. To have a career as an actor you don't need to have specialised training from an early age, so I can see why this would be fairly low down as a priority for state support.