Emil Dale Associates

[Thinkingofthings]

Does anyone have any experience of this? My daughter is very keen to audition for the weekend associates. She is 14 and has performed in a couple of west end musicals - one in the west end and one national tour. I just wondered if anyone could tell me if it is worth it?

Emil Dale didn't have an associates program when my DD was a similar age, but she did do a few sessions at the Wilkes associates. However, it wasn't for her she carried on her local training and still got into professional training without a regular associates program.
If you are using a dance school that regularly gets people into stage and dance schools that should be appropriate training.

If you are close to Emil Dale and it works for you it could be great, but other schools offer similar and maybe closer to you so have a good look round.
HEF have put pressure on the schools that they fund to ensure they have widen participation and with costs rising schools have to look to ways to get their facilities used all week.

Thank you - yes her dance school has got students into professional training who have gone on to have successful careers. Her dance teacher is also an ex- west end pro so knows the business and is very supportive.

We live very rurally so there isn't much of an option for associates anywhere near where we live. I don't mind travelling as have had to do so for my Dds professional jobs. But only really if it's worth it! Thanks for your advice.

It is not necessary to progress further I think is my message. DD is at Conti now and very few of her cohort were in an associates program. Yes some were are full time schools, but many were just going to local classes.
Would she gain something extra ( different dance style, acting classes) by going is what you need to ask yourself. I also had DD do some of the work - summer school she needed to get the train and make her own packed lunch. It really helped with independence and self organisation which they do need as full time training is very full on with complex timetables.

Thank you! I think she wanted to do it more because she just wants to do something extra rather than viewing it as necessary if that makes sense. Professional kids work tends to drop off a bit in their teens (particularly if not close to London or Leeds) and she misses it! She does heaps of amateur stuff as well as acting classes and dance and singing so it's not as if she's not busy enough! But she knows of London friends who have done associates at Urdang and I think that's what prompted this. Many thanks for your advice- really helpful to know! And I did say to her that you don't need to do this for training later. So your advice will back me up if we decide it's too much!

DD did BYMT shows and I think that helped her more as it was total immersion and she got her Trinity Grade 8 Musical Theatre in Production which measured the quality of the production for colleges to see.

@Thinkingofthings I would recommend BYMT or NYMT to bridge that gap of wanting to perform when they get passed the child role age. Both amazing experiences and very positive audition experience.

My son did some online stuff with Emil Dale during Covid times and really enjoyed it and attended a free summer session there which he loved. My daughter is doing it next week but I think it’s 16+.

We are also going for a trial at ED associates. It must be a very new programme because no one seems to know much about it?
Im not sure how hard it is to get into or how good it will be and there is not much to go on online.
DD is similar age OP and has outgrown her normal classes. She does heaps of other dance stuff but there are no MT options near us of much quality for teens / older kids.

Thank you! Yes, we had thought about NYMT but she was going to wait until she was a year older.

Might see you there!

My daughter did associates for two terms from when it first started (Sept 23) - she was in the first cohort. She only gave it up as she was also doing part time at EDA and commuted 2 hours each way so found the very long Sunday with no break too hard as she got the her final GCSE term and rehearsals ramped up for the part time show. She really enjoyed it and felt she learned a lot. She’s now left home to go to Arts1 in Milton Keynes and I think associates cemented her desire to pursue this full time.