Jump to content

hfbrew

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,327

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by hfbrew

  1. hfbrew
    All students at RBS eligible for funding are on MDS. Rbs do not do DaDas. What I dont know is whether 3rd seniors are classed as day boarders (ie have to fund and find their own accomodation) as they do at Tring.
  2. hfbrew
    I agree with katymacs teacher.At the schools I teach at we refer to those students taking the vocational grades with a view to going into full time training as our vocational students- that is those with a vocation, in this case dance. There are many very serious students out there who are working every bit as hard if not more so than their full time counterparts! And this work pays off, our schools two most senior students have received offers for full time training in September! They are working hard for advanced 2 RAD at the moment so would not be happy with the term recreational!
  3. hfbrew
    Dont honestly know but its the term he used at the Royal Ballet School!
  4. hfbrew
    Ds just says entrelace!
  5. hfbrew
    What an unfair thing to say about Northern! Fact is that even those at the "top" purely classical schools will struggle to get work "just" doing Ballet. You only have to look at the audition pages of DanceEurope or Network dance to see how the vast majority of companies want versatile dancers rathet than those purely classically trained. And I personally think getting a cruiseship job is not a bad achievement at all. Ive no direct recent experience of Northern but have heard only positives about it. Please dont let others negative opinions influence you, especially if they havent direct experience of the places they are talking about themselves. And please, all you students out there, if you really want to be paid to dance, prepare to be versatile!
  6. hfbrew
    Yes but only for the first two years. The third years have to find their own accomodation regardless and fund it themselves. At least this was the case 2 years ago! Im talking about Tring by the way, I dont know how it works for Upper School and I am not aware of any other places that let the mds go into 6th form although they may very well exist!
  7. hfbrew
    If I was doing things all over again I would think exactly the same way! Its always risky being the first set of pupils anywhere and it doesnt help instil confidence if emails are not responded too. Such a shame because if the teaching staff is going to be the same as for the associates then Id be happy to have a student go. And there is the very real opportunity to be involved with the company's work and performance which will be invaluable experience for their future students.
  8. hfbrew
    Please dont be swayed by other peoples opinions both good or bad! Be informed yes but then make up your own mind. How can anyone say a school is behind the times when it is not yet actually running is beyond me! The company is only 5 years old and has already been well received by critics and audiences alike. As mentioned above there is a thread on their summer school. I have a very happy pupil on their associate scheme and am pleased with with her progress. I know some people including myself have had trouble getting some sort of communication from them though, maybe the person talking to your dd had experienced this? Hopefully this side of things will improve but I can vouch for how nice the company is!
  9. hfbrew
    So true. My heart goes out to any who find themselves in this situation, not such a nice half term for them. I just hope that they and their families get proper support. Its bittersweet for the friends too who whilst being successful themselves have to then cope with the prospect of those who they have got close to having to leave.
  10. hfbrew
    Good for you! I wish some of my students and their parents had the reverse mentality and actually go and see Ballet performances in order to enhance their learning. Some seem to think that a one off trip to see Nutcracker when they were little is sufficient...
  11. hfbrew
    Go for it, you have just as much right to give it a try as anyone else!
  12. hfbrew
    Ive had 4 students aged from 7 to 12 all arrive in tears to their classes today and an unusual number of absences to illness. Its half term blues so I think all we can do is listen and cuddle. (And have hot chocolate...)
  13. hfbrew
    At RBS and Tring we were sent letters asking if we wished ds to have flu jab. We always said yes! And I remember having to fill in medical forms for both schools which I think included asking about innoculation history. Dont remember it being a compulsory requirement but its a long time ago now!
  14. hfbrew
    Wow! Possibly some sort of record, congratulations to them all and I hope they are not suffering too much in our soggy climate!
  15. hfbrew
    Wonderful post Zacharovitti and a timely reminder to us in the UK how lucky we are when it comes to facilities to train dancers. Good luck to you and your dd. Who knows she may take a place at the Royal Ballet School one day. Not sure if there were any new Italians in this years intake but last year there were 5 Italian students out of the 90 students at Upper School. (Am talking over all 3 years.) I think its great that the best students train together regardless of nationality!
  16. hfbrew
    And unless things have changed it is very unlikely that the RBS associates will have been observed frequently by the panel. Certainly pupils of mine who were RBS associates were very lucky to see the head of associates once a term, if at all and of course the Upper School staff are quite separate from associates and unlikely to have seen most of them before. Id be interested to know if there is indeed now more interaction between the departments at mid and senior level. Doesnt excuse the panel for appearing disinterested though! Unfortunately Ive observed teachers looking very grim on watching days (without meaning to, they are actually very interested). Examiners can be the same. Can be very off putting so I always tell students not to be put off by this.
  17. hfbrew
    I was right back in the amphitheatre and Lauras performance translated very easily for me, every ounce of her being was Giselle.And yes the corps were magnificently scary, the diagonal lines nigh on perfect thus adding to the effect. One humorous moment though was when the lilies were thrown off stage and it sounded as if one hit a fire bucket..
  18. hfbrew
    She really lived the role didnt she? For me her descent into madness from initial shock and bewilderment was quite terrifying.Bonelli was such a sympathetic partner and I thought he danced particularly well in the 2nd act, as did Miss Morera but then she always does. Why the hell has she not been given this role in previous years? Am off to hopefully dream blissfully now, its gone midnight.
  19. hfbrew
    Jay Jolley has been at the school in a senior capacity for years and certainly knows what he is doing. As do Paul Lewis (great teacher according to my ds) and Mark Annear. And lucky students to get a class with Anita Young! She is wonderful and definitely worth an audition fee. So sorry you were disappointed with the experience balletmadmom good luck to your dd with her finals. And if she does get a call back from the Royal then you now know perhaps it wont be first choice? incidentally I've known of auditions at other vocational schools when there was only one person on the panel! And auditioning for companies much, much tougher still as its quite common to fly hundreds of miles only to be asked to leave after 15 mins.... One of my students has already had offers and was undecided whether to go to another audition that she had already paid for. As its not too far away we decided she might at least go and get a days worth of classes!
  20. hfbrew

    Too Tall?

    hfbrew replied to w445403's topic in Doing Dance

    Thank you for your kind words, and indeed some of the girls in the company are well matched being quite petite. He does actually carry himself tall if you know what I mean and people are often surprised that he is in reality not as tall as he looks!
  21. hfbrew
    I saw the little touring company associated with the Royal Ballet, Ballet for All. They came to Malvern late 70s or was it early 80s? It was my familys first taste of ballet although I attended lessons. First full length ballet was Swan Lake at Birmingham when my ballet best friend took me as her birthday treat. Must have been early 80s. Desmond Kelly was my first Siegfried and I developed quite a crush on him. Can still see him now running around the stage with cloak billowing behind him!
  22. hfbrew
    Dont worry, the most you will get is a cup of tea and a garibaldi biscuit! Unless Im wrong but I dont remember the children being given lunch but its a long time ago!
  23. hfbrew

    Appraisals

    hfbrew replied to celb's topic in Doing Dance

    I remember it too. What a bittersweet day that was, sheer relief for us then floods of tears over ds best friend and you still had it in your generous heart to congratulate us.No one who hasnt been through the experience can fully understand just how stressful it is. My heart goes out to all parents and pupils undergoing appraisals right now.
  24. hfbrew

    Too Tall?

    hfbrew replied to w445403's topic in Doing Dance

    My ds is 5"10 and had to disregard some European companies as he is just under minimum height. So tall is good!
  25. hfbrew

    Appraisals

    hfbrew replied to celb's topic in Doing Dance

    Settling in depends on the child. Some settle straight away and others never do. The appraisal is stressful regardless but it is something you are aware of right from the start and indeed its one reason why I initially didnt want my ds to go. I still think schools could help ease the situation by having a designated member of staff appointed to help families of those who do get assessed out. I for one would have felt better had I known there was somoene on hand to help advise on the next step. As it is we got a warning letter in year 8 but ulimately ds "survived" and is now dancing professionally. The best year to try and get into is year 10 because then you are safe until year 11, have saved a fortune on fees even with mds, you have a teenager ready to go rather than a young child and most of all you dont have appraisal stress which is awful. I will hasten to add though that for my ds going in yr7 was right for all sorts of reasons!
×
×
  • Create New...