RBS junior associates

[ThisMintOtter]

I know this has been discussed before but wanted to get fresh thoughts. DD just restarted ballet lessons. She did her pre primary and primary RAD grades and then we moved and were busy. She's just started at a different school and the opportunity to audition has come up. She wants to try, while I'm sitting on the fence with it. Should we wait till next year and give her more time? Some people had written in this forum that it's about potential rather than form? Grateful for advice

My daughter is in year 6 JA class. She was waitlisted in her first year and did online lessons. The audition is a fun one with no great expectations except for potential. Having said that, many kids will practice the exercises which are covered in early grades.

If your teacher has said she suitable and has potential for JA's then she will have some quality that they look for. My daughter is talented at ballet, very flexible but not the body proportions that are typical for the classes but obviously something caught their eye.

I'd treat it like a fun class and not put too much focus on the audition. Other associates are good - like ballet boost as an alternative and my daughter has done both.

Go for it! My DD auditioned for junior associates with the RBS when she was in primary. She didn't get it, but then they only take a small proportion of the children auditioning, so we didn't have any expectations beyond it being a fun experience in itself. It was really well organised and an incredibly positive experience. Although DD wasn't successful with RBS, she did successfully audition for another associates programme. If your DD doesn't get it, don't feel that there aren't other options or opportunities.

Thank you so much for the replies! We are planning on telling her it's just a class rather than an audition and to have fun.

@ilovesushi what other associate programmes are there? X

There are other associate programmes around the country, whereabouts are you?

Was it her teacher who suggested she give the audition a go?

Does anyone know of associate programmes in or around South Oxfordshire? My daughter's ballet teachers have suggested applying to the RBS but I'd rather not have to trek into London for it!

Hi, I am an pianist for many things, and I play for royal ballet associate classes and auditions.
I also.play for national youth ballet auditions. I played for their auditions last year and am going to play again this year.
Might that be worth looking into as well? The audition itself is fun and informal.

Some of the ones that I know of are Ballet Boost, Elmhurst Young Dancers, Cecchetti Associates, Northern Ballet Associates and various CAT schemes (centre for advanced training). English Youth Ballet also puts on various productions around the country and looks for a large company of young ballet dancers. We've never done it but it looks like a fun experience. Maybe ask her dance teacher for some recommendations.

Just to add, I'm in the southwest

Thanks so much! We are based in London. Her teacher was encouraging, yes. We know it's super competitive so will just position it as a fun day out and look into the other associate schemes too. This has been incredibly helpful.

The closest one to you would probably be the Classical Ballet Academy (CBA) at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. Entry is by audition.

They also do workshops and holiday courses.

@ThisMintOtter, nobody can tell you exactly what the panel are looking for but physique and potential are definitely very important, and current level of attainment far less so. There is no harm auditioning this year - it doesn't stop her having another try in the future even if she is unsuccessful first time.
I would advise you put a fair bit of effort into expectation management though. It's a long time (nearly 20 years) since I was in your shoes but I dont think things have changed dramatically and the vast majority of children who apply for JAs are unsuccessful. You used to be able to get the data from the RBS annual report and there was something like a 10:1 chance of rejection for girls in my DD's time. Have a look on the RBS website and see if you can find recent data. It's worth bearing in mind that more or less every child who auditions is someone who their teacher feels has potential and is probably one of the best in their age group at their local dance school. They are all good* *and this may well be the first time they have been judged against a bigger pool of dancers, and for many, the first time they've been disappointed.
The problem is, especially on the Internet, you can get a bit of a skewed perspective regarding how many children get in. On forums where this kind of thing is discussed, parents of successful children tend to report back a lot more often than those who were unsuccessful. That is completely understandable and I am not suggesting that anyone should be forced to broadcast their child's disappointment or to keep successes quiet but if your child is not selected it can lead to you feeling like you the only one, when in fact you're in a large majority. I think it I helpful to let your child know that out of every 10 little girls who go to the audition 9 (or whatever it currently is) won't asked to go back to the classes. Treat it as a lovely day out and if anything more comes of it it is a bonus. If she's successful then great, but if not, remember that there is more to ballet than the RBS, more to dance than ballet and a lot more to life than dance!

Thank you so much @MrsAvocet for the lovely and wise words! I will definately make it light and absolutely agree there is more to dance than ballet! X

You could also look at London Ballet Compamy associates, 2 of my dds have done this. It’s just omce a month and not super competitive to get a place. Performance opportunities too.

www.thelondonballetcompany.com/young-dancers/associates-programme

@ThisMintOtter you could also look at London Studio Centre associates in Finchley, North London. Dd1 was a full time student here and dd3 did the associate programme for a while.

Did any ones little ones audition this year and any idea when results should be out?

thanks

We applied the last 2 years and it’s always been about 2 weeks or just under following the London auditions finishing. GL!

my daughter auditioned in May and we have had the results this morning

Has anyone been offered waitlist and online programme?

Hi my daughter has been offered wait list and online lessons .. still really happy with this as realistically wasnt expecting a place at all!**

That’s amazing congratulations! We are really happy too!! Do you mind if I ask which city you applied for? Would be really interested to hear if anyone from waitlist gets offered a place at some point

My daughter got short waitlist in year 4. Short waitlist is literally that - 1 or 2 depending on centre. Online lessons were good but took back to basics but RBS style - massively helpful for reapplying. Saying this, she didn’t get a place in year 5 as very few kids get a year 5 spot due to few numbers coming up. She reapplied year 6 and got a spot.

People do come off waitlist - more so in mid associates and senior associates as people also use it as an option alongside vocational applications. In all the years we’ve applied we’ve seen probably, and realistically, just one or two come off waitlist for JA.

Enjoy the online lessons - it’s a lovely option without the need to travel! Congratulations to your kids!

Thank you! Congratulations to your daughter too! We applied for London as we live near Kent. Where did you apply? It's exciting as at least she'll get online lessons.. (tbh we weren't sure what to do if she actually got offered a place as the fees are sp expensive!

Hi sorry posted separately by mistake! Congratulations it's lovely to know they'll get online classes. My daughter is 10 and year 5. We might audition again for the mid associates as she'll be older and year 6.
How old is your daughter? X

Thanks for the info! That's useful to know. My daughter will be in year 6 in Sept so I think we can apply for mid associates in the autumn.