RBS and Elmhurst JA auditions

[OBface]

Does anyone have any experience of RBS and Elmhurst JA auditions?

My DD is auditioning for a year 5 place and it would be great to know the sort of thing she'll be asked to do.

Understand how competitive they are so not really expecting anything to come from it

Thanks

Hi OB... my DD is a y5 RBS JA. At the audition they spend a significant time standing and being “inspected”, they spend a fair while at the barre, some very basic centre work, some creative “be a tree/snowflake” type thing and some flexibility exercises. They look at turnout in various ways, frogs, box splits etc. It’s all pitched at around g1 standard and was all very fun, friendly and accessible. We’ve not been to an elmhurst JA audition. If you go on balletcoforum, the doing dance bit, there’s lots of helpful threads too.
Good luck to your DD!

Both auditions will be a lovely opportunity to dance in stunning studios with a real pianist and a fantastic teacher. Keep focusing on this and try not to get drawn until the craziness! There will be competitive stretching in the waiting room, but there is no need, as they warm the children up when they start the audition class. It takes the format of a normal ballet lesson with some extra stretching as they assess for flexibility and turnout. There will be a bit of improvisation, and they are looking for musicality not use of ballet steps. DD was a RBS JA and now boards at Elmhurst. They are both fantastic schools. Good luck!

Thank you so much - really helpful!

And what talented children you must have

There are several current threads about auditions running on the 'Doing Dance' section of balletcoforum.com and loads of posters who will be able to advise.

Both auditions are really simple classes, they won’t be asked to do anything difficult. Elmhurst are more interested in seeing them ‘dance’ than RBS are, who spend longer looking at flexibility and physical suitability. I agree with the pp about the competitive stretching. There is no need and it’s actually really bad practice to stretch before a class too.

All great advice - will tell DD to ignore any competitive stretching!

Had thought RBS would be looking out for a particular physique, DD is tiny on top but has quite prominent leg muscles that will likely go against her

Thanks again

You see quite a variety of physiques at JA level, so try not to over-analyse. Most students have good turnout, though not all have 180 degrees and many don’t have the strength to use it at that age. Most have good flexibility, although some far less so. All have that magical ‘sparkle’ when they dance. Don’t try to guess whether your DD has what they are looking for, but instead enjoy the audition process and remember that not all professional dancers were JAs, and not all JAs will become professional dancers!

My DD has definite muscles to her legs, though they are long with it. She’s not the skinniest of children, though she’s certainly slim. I would say she looks strong, rather than sylph-like. In her JA class there are children slimmer than her and children slightly bigger than her. She’s got a place on the RBS summer course. So don’t write her off because she looks strong....!

I agree about turnout being one factor that seems to be (though not definitely) a characteristic most of them share, along with good feet - but again, I have seen JAs with quite average feet....

The RBS are something of a law unto themselves that people haven’t figured out! Wish we could....!