NotaPushyMum.Com

Hi am very new to all this so please forgive me if I am asking rather silly questions

My DD has shown an interest in pursuing a career in dance/MT but has only recently started having dance lessons. She is 15 and has a background in competitive gymnastics so has good core strength, flexibility and musicality. She picks up choreo quite quickly but has no idea about technique! She would like to apply for the diploma for 2016 so should have about a years experience in jazz and contemporary by then, my question is - do they look for applicants who are already accomplished or will they consider potential. Obviously I don't want her to audition and feel like a duck out of water!

Any help or suggestions welcome as I have no idea what I doing or how best to advise her.

Many thanks

DD started Ballet & Contemporary at the start of year 9, Jazz & Tap in the January after - she took Inter-foundation (I think?) Ballet, Grade 4 Tap & Grade 6 Modern just before last summer

She applied last year & got 2 offers but no funding because her technique wasn't quite good enough

This year after a pre-vocational course things look a bit more positive - but it's very subjective, all about what they 'see'

I would suggest adding Ballet tbh as that is what my DD feels she is being judged on

How is her singing & acting?

I think you should definitely add some ballet classes into the mix. I believe all auditions for dance and MT diplomas will include a ballet class (I may be wrong - a few might not) as ballet is considered to be the backbone of dance. Coming from a strong gymnastics background may well be a great help to her. My DD knows several people at vocational colleges on diplomas whose background was gymnastics and who came to dance as teenagers. They do look at potential as well as accomplishment but your DD still has to do the auditions and she will feel like a duck out of water if she does not understand what she is being asked to do - the vocabulary of ballet. One of DDs gymnastics friends could do advanced steps very well when she started her course but only if she had someone to copy as she did not know the names for anything she was doing and she found it a huge disadvantage when she started.
Katymac started a thread called something like "is there a definite age colleges take from' on page 2 of the training section. In that thread quite a list developed of names of colleges /courses/ types of funding. I would recommend you have a good read through and then research some of the colleges and see for yourself what typical auditions consist of and then your DD will have something more concrete to aim for. Good luck

Thank you so much Katymac and 2dancersmum for the feedback, I feel completely out my depth at the moment and don't really know where to start. DD currently attends the Pinaeapple Arts course on a Sunday which covers musical theatre dance, commercial and contemporary and she has been picking up the odd extra class during the week but this is quite expensive. She is going to audition for the CAT programme at The Place in London which would be a Godsend if she was accepted as it focusses on ballet and contemporary. It's true what you say 2dancersmum, she picks steps and movements up really easily when she is shown but if someone said do a 'blah blah, into a blah followed by blah' she would be completely flummoxed! I am thinking holding out till 18 might give her a better chance of being successful at audition as she has started quite late. This time last year she was dreaming of the Olympics and a college scholarship to America (my how things change!).

After browsing the auditions 2015 thread I can see how competitive the industry is and wish everyone with a DC the best of luck and success leading up to September. You must all be so proud of your little ones

Hello noggin. The CAT scheme is fantastic and there is also a CAT scheme at Trinity Laban, in Greenwich. My dd is in her 3rd year there and loves it. The classes are very similar to those at the Place - Ballet, Contemporary and Creative. Auditioning for both Laban and The Place will double her chances of getting accepted for one of them. Your dd's gymnastics will hold her in good stead for dance. However I agree with Katymac and 2dancers mums about the ballet and the next CAT intake is not until September which is over 6 months away. Is there any local dance schools that your dd could go to in the mean time? Many CAT students keep up their local ballet lessons even once on the scheme. Wishing your dd the best of luck, and if you would like to know anything regarding CAT at Laban, then please fell free to PM me. xxxx

When ds auditioned for MT they were looking for potential they could train. He had done ballet for about six months prior to this but nothing much else. The dance element of the audition was not ballet but more movement/modern/contemporary. He actually commented to the teacher taking the audition how rubbish he felt he had performed to which he teacher laughed and said you are trainable and he got in! That was for Arts Ed and Mountview. Not sure what other colleges do. Ballet is definitely worth taking up though.

Hi guys, just a quick update on dd and ballet (or lack of).

She has recently joined the Hertfordshire Youth Ballet company at EDSA and has been slotted into the junior ballet classes (rather than senior as she knows absolutely nowt!) and gets to train with the senior contemporary company. She has also auditioned for the CAT programme at The Place and Trinity Laban and has a call back for both , so fingers crossed for the next few weeks. Hopefully she will be accomplished enough at ballet toward the end of the auditioning season next year - if only to gain experience. Now just need to find somewhere to continue training over the summer as it appears all her classes shut down from July to September.

Loving reading everyones dc success stories and have everything crossed for those who have not heard about final funding yet

Great news!! Congratulations!!