Ballet audition to postpone or not

[Whereisthewine]

Long post. Sorry! My 17yr old DD has studied ballet for the last 8yrs and last year was told after an audition her pelvis was out of alignment therefore affecting most of her ballet positions. She has worked hard to improve this but has an audition next week for post school training at a very competitive ballet school and I'm worried she's not improved sufficiently for them to accept her. I've asked her teachers but no reply and asked my daughter and she feels she's ready - she thought she was last year too and didn't get in because of the misalignment. She's also autistic. There is another audition late January I and feel that would give her the extra time she maybe needs, but she's adamant she wants to do this one. Guess I'm looking for guidance do I just let her do the one next week or do I force her to wait? Arrrggh!

Is the alignment issue due largely to incorrect posture and a lack of corrections at her current dance school, or does she have physical limitations regarding turmout or flexibility etc?

How many hours training does she do a week, and what level/grade is she working at currently?

Is the pelvis issue an issue of her training - that she's not getting the cues, not initiating the correct turnout muscles, or not implementing corrections - or is it a structural issue?

This could make a difference - although a friend of mine who's had a very good professional career has a difference of about 2 centimetres in the length of her legs.

Mainly, you can't predict these things. If she's suitable for intense training in her basic physical attributes eg reasonable flexibility, proportioned limbs & torso, excellent passive turnout & good ability to activate turnout in her dancing, then she has a chance. A lot of it is about potential, although at 17 if her training hasn't been what's required, or she hasn't been able to implement all the teaching she's given, then it may still be a No.

It's a tough path.

The vocational schools have many hundreds of candidates auditioning for maybe 15-20 places each year. It is exceptionally tough to get offered a place.

My sil lost a place at a ballet school after an xray revealed a pelvic alignment issue. You need to know more about this quickly to manage her expectations.

I agree - there is a big difference between poor alignment due to ingrained faulty technique, and when the misalignment is due to the body's physique.

@Whereisthewine Just out of interest - did she do a lot of gymnastics when she was younger?

Thank you all, it's the physical limitations that were preventing turn out and alignment but that's improved through gyrotonic sessions and physio according a teacher, just her pointe and allegro that she needs to be aware of her pelvis when doing, It is indeed such a tough path and she's undecided between ballet and a more musical theatre path as she has a brilliant singing voice..think given the insane competition in the ballet field, the MT route might be the better approach. Thank you all again ☺️

Let her audition if she's undecided. If the door closes it will help her be more sure about the alternative path. If she doesn't try, she'll be thinking 'what if....'

Yes, let her audition.

But it doesn't sound as though her body will cope with the intensity of full-time ballet training.

How's her singing and acting?

@Whereisthewine Which dance school is it? That has a bearing on what I'd suggest. Would it be for 18+ entry after A-levels? You can pm me if you prefer.

@taxi4ballet it is for central ballet, my DD will be 18 on entry to the course which I know is also a negative 🙈

Was the issue previously observed in her technique, or identified by medical exams? It will likely still show up in scans even if she can mask it.

Central used to be notorious for harsh treatment, which wouldn’t be great for an autistic student. Might have changed now though!

Good luck to her.

If she's adamant, then it is probably best she does the audition on the date of her choosing.

Hmm, I know a couple of people who have not had good experiences at Central.

It's very likely that any audition process will include a physio examination so if the issue is physical then that will be taken into account. It's not always aboutbeing good enough, but about your body being capable of the demands of proffessional training.