west end kids

[farfallarocks]

Does anyone have any experience of their Saturday schools or Associate programmes?

My daughter passed the audition but I think everyone does?

Keen to here any recent experiences!

Hi,

I can't speak for parents experiences, but I can confirm that we don't take everybody, otherwise we wouldn't go to the trouble of holding auditions. Acceptances rates into Saturday programs etc are approx 30%. Acceptance rates into the West End Kids Troupe are significantly less than 1%.

the audition process does not allow a child to show their potential

They are literally looking for potential. That's what the audition process is specifically designed for. What format did the audition take, were they seen individually or as a group, and were they asked to dance as well as sing?

No organisation is ever going to be perfect but for a good example of how to run really good auditions that bring out a young person's potential, but is highly competitive, you need look no further than NYMT.

Most of these kind of auditions (we have done lots) ask you to bring 1 minute of a song acappella, a short poem/monologue and then take part in a group dance class.

I've NEVER seen a training school audition with only an unknown song before.

Even in WE auditions it's always bring your own song and monologue. DD has only ever done one audition with new singing material on the day, and that was at semi final stage - they spent 20 minutes teaching them the song as a group, sent them off for an hour over lunch with a copy and only then were they asked to sing individually.

Have you looked at Spirit Young Performers, Stagebox or MX Masterclass? You might find one of those is a better fit for you.

Sounds good - where is this? Anywhere would be better than what we experienced with West End Kids 😊

Thank you everyone for your recommendations. I shall certainly look into these. When dealing with young people at the beginning of their MT journey it is important to help and encourage them or their confidence can be knocked. We all know not every audition will be successful but at least make it a fair format. My daughter spent a lot of time beforehand practising but it was difficult going into an audition not knowing what they want and expect. My daughter knows a wide variety of songs but she had never heard of this one. Another child who auditioned in July said she didn't know it either. Their whole setup is off. I really hope this company will either close down or readdress their structure. When my daughter auctioned another girl actually walked out midway before it ended so they are obviously doing something wrong.
Thank you for giving suggestions, really appreciate it and will look into alternative clubs.

The reports I have had from someone I know whose dc trained and performed with West End Kids was that it was fantastic, but very demanding in both time and commitment. It was also very difficult to get into unless you were outstanding in both singing and dance. Not the potential to become outstanding in the future after some training, but who already are. It isn't quite the same sort of thing as a weekend school like Stagecoach (and others).

I have also heard that there is at least one other organisation with a very similar name (about which I know nothing other than that people have confused them before) and been both misled and disappointed.

Spirit and MXM are both in London.

Stagebox has various different locations around the country.

Spirit and Stagebox both have two strands - elite and development depending on where the child sits in terms of dance/singing. Both are more high level dance focused than MXM which is more singing/acting. Spirit also has a performance company and a separate dance company (performance is dance/singing/acting so you don't have to do dance company too).

Lots of kids that I know at high level do a combo of more than one of these.

Coming back to this, DD has been doing WEK for 5 months now and really enjoying it. Today there was a cast member from Six teaching them and she came out beaming ( and tired!) Sorry to hear other’s negative experience of the audition but just wanted to update as Dd is having a very positive time there albeit it’s hard work!

That would have been Esme, one of our Alumni 🤩 - glad she enjoyed the session, whoever you are! 🤣

My daughter has been in Troupe at WestendKids for nearly 4 years now and can only say that the training, opportunities and support given by the team is amazing a TRUE insight into the professional world that my daughter hopes to step into one day. It’s not easy and takes lots of hard work and commitment, she loves every minute and lives for Saturdays and training with her Westendkids family .

I also have personal experience with West End Kids. They provide extremely high end training and so naturally, like any elite training provider, they uphold high expectations and standards.

Its certainly not for everyone, however for those who have a passion for; and wish to secure a professional career in the performing arts, they are absolutely exceptional at what they do and they really do work hard for their students to provide all the groundwork needed.

I've always found them to be extremely supportive and encouraging, they genuinely do care about their students. Their in-depth indivualised feedback and communication to both students and parents is second to none.

They don't expect perfection, and the kids who join are most definitely not judged on that, and again I speak from personal experience. They look for potential and passion, determination and hardwork, which in my experience is always encouraged, respected and rewarded and celebrated.

The bona-fide West End Kids is excellent, the standard is outstanding, the auditions rigorous, and friends' dc's took part for a number of years. They then went into full-time training, and on to careers in the performing arts.

There are other west-end style schemes also, but I have no idea what they are like.

WEST END KIDS? Exists?

Hello everyone,

I am trying to contact West End Kids for my child. I emailed them several times, and they never responded. Their phone number doesn't seem to work, and on Google, I am getting a message saying that some users had reported that the business doesn't exist.

Could anyone help with this? Does it exist? If so, where are they based? How can I contact them, please?

Anyone with experience training with them willing to share it? :)

Thank you so very much 🙏