RBS Junior Associates 2024

[Minniewilder]

You mean the lower body 12cm longer than upper body ? 

[Colman]

26 minutes ago, Minniewilder said:

You mean the lower body 12cm longer than upper body ? 

I've never investigated the details. 

[Dancing_Mae]

It’s June! Hopefully get those results this month 👌 I wish I had applied for more associates than RBS and NBS though. Been looking at other options but seems I have missed the deadline for any close to us. 

[DaintyBallerinaMum]

Yes, it’s June finally! I feel like I’ve been waiting for this month for ages! Our audition day was the 1st of May 🙌🏻 Good luck to everyone 🤞🏻

[Legseleven]

1 hour ago, Dancing_Mae said:

It’s June! Hopefully get those results this month 👌 I wish I had applied for more associates than RBS and NBS though. Been looking at other options but seems I have missed the deadline for any close to us. 

It may be worth asking whether a late application could be made? The worst they can say is no, and you wouldn’t lose anything if so. 

[Minniewilder]

Other associate is like age 12+ 

we are a few days to age 8 . 

[Dancing_Mae]

My daughter is 10. There are quite a few options in Yorkshire area but we’ve missed the deadline for most.

[Dancing_Mae]

I have sent a video audition to ballet boost. The auditions for my centre have closed but they said they would accept a video, as they still have one more centre before auditions close.

[Minniewilder]

Which centre I may ask ? London ? Good to know thanks 

[Dancing_Mae]

Manchester

[Dancing unicorn]

Loved Manchester JA’s with Miss Agar - is she still there 🩷 they were the happiest time of our lives in this crazy journey 🩷

Edited June 2 by Dancing unicorn

[Ruby Foo]

1 hour ago, Dancing unicorn said:

Loved Manchester JA’s with Miss Agar - is she still there 🩷 they were the happiest time of our lives in this crazy journey 🩷

My daughter has such fond memories of Miss Agar. Such a gem.

[Jellybean]

@Dancing_Maemy daughter does Ballet Boost in Manchester. They accept kids all year round. In juniors there were new children every time she attended. It was previously once a month. 

I would definitely contact Elmhurst YDs. I know they have accepted after the deadline as there is a Girl in my daughter's YD class who got in after the audition when her teacher sent a video.

[Minniewilder]

you ladies talk about Birmingham Machester London venue as if you drive or fly like a piece of cake ….. 

hats off to you . 
in a nice way I meant . 

[Dancing_Mae]

@Dancing unicorn @Ruby Foo Are you talking about ballet boost? My daughters dance teacher doesn’t actually know we’ve applied, because she only puts kids forward for RBS and NBS, so I feel like I’m taking a risk but my daughter is really keen to do an associates, as she loves ballet.

[Dancing_Mae]

@Jellybean Is ballet boost worth doing in your opinion? Manchester is farer than the other associates we have applied for, so would like it to be worthwhile. I will contact Elmhurst thank you.

[Dancing_Mae]

@Minniewilder Honestly we think about travel a lot more than it probably sounds like on here. I do have a limit, so we wouldn’t do more than 2 hours unless it’s a one off type thing. We’ve applied for Leeds for RBS and Manchester for ballet boost, because it’s the closest centre with not having Leeds option. We are in South Yorkshire. My husband complains abit but he knows that the pros outweigh the cons and we want the best for our daughter and she loves to dance, but holidays and other things have been put on the back burner a lot due to dance.

[Pixiewoo]

Depending where you are in South Yorkshire, Ballet Boost is in Hull on a Sunday. 

[Ruby Foo]

2 hours ago, Dancing_Mae said:

@Dancing unicorn @Ruby Foo Are you talking about ballet boost? My daughters dance teacher doesn’t actually know we’ve applied, because she only puts kids forward for RBS and NBS, so I feel like I’m taking a risk but my daughter is really keen to do an associates, as she loves ballet.

Miss Agar was the RBS Associate teacher in Manchester and Newcastle when our kids were there. No idea if she still teaches. Apologies as we totally hijacked the thread in our desire to applaud both her kindness and incredible dedication and talent as a teacher.

[Ruby Foo]

2 hours ago, Dancing_Mae said:

@Dancing unicorn @Ruby Foo Are you talking about ballet boost? My daughters dance teacher doesn’t actually know we’ve applied, because she only puts kids forward for RBS and NBS, so I feel like I’m taking a risk but my daughter is really keen to do an associates, as she loves ballet.

I can't help you with Ballet Boost I'm afraid but like every associate scheme the quality of teaching often depends on the teacher. That can be very changeable in all associate scheme's.

I have only experience in two schemes and from that, I would determine it's the teacher who makes the difference.

[Dancing_Mae]

@Pixiewoo @Ruby Foo She’s been offered a place on the mids in Manchester. Got the email about half hour ago 🎉 The teacher for mids is called Martin if you know anything about him? 

[Ruby Foo]

I've looked at the teachers involved on their website. Some of these teachers I'm familiar with and some not. They are all well established and qualified teachers. However, I would say some are possibly more suited to older students. Hopefully this has all been accounted for in their decisions as to who teaches what.

As an ex ballet teacher, it's easy for me to know if something is a good fit for my  student. I know where my student is at, and what they need. For example, going slowly and carefully has always been my mantra because it's easier to get it right first time than to have to go back and correct things, especially essential building blocks. Teachers who are primarily ex dancers and haven't had so much experience in teaching, especially at the younger ages can sometimes be less of a benefit. I say sometimes,  definitely not always.

However, there are students who benefit in classes that develop confidence and who do something other than syllabus work/ exams.Theres also enjoyment factor!! I would be led by your teacher. Ask her why she only puts forward students for those particular associates. She will have her reasons.

[Minniewilder]

We tried some old famous teachers .
 

So far it is all alike : 

Good figure . Good flex . Not mature enough . Discipline discipline . Too young . Not ready for my group lessons . 
here u go . I have someone I reckon . You go with her 1-1 ££££ for a few months / year . Then come back to me . (£100 a hour minimum sale 3 sessions with some 19 years old ballerina ) 
While I am trying not to be cynical to think this is scam …. Is above the norm ? 
for some 7 years  old boys .

 

or they just not been trained to teach boys . Or anti boys? Or no experience with boys . 
 

if any boys mums here .thanks 

above is what happened to me with some serious famous ballet teacher in London . 

Edited June 3 by Minniewilder

[Dancing_Mae]

@Ruby Foo Thank you for the great advice. I decided to be honest with my daughters dance teacher and after having a look she’s supporting my daughter with ballet boost ☺️ I’m still going to wait until the results for RBS are out first before I make any decisions, but the most important thing is this is what my daughter wants and I’m happy her teacher is supporting her. She admitted she is wary of other associates, as she thinks some are just put together by dance schools. She trusts RBS and NBS as obviously they are well known and she’s had students in both. 

[Ruby Foo]

59 minutes ago, Dancing_Mae said:

@Ruby Foo Thank you for the great advice. I decided to be honest with my daughters dance teacher and after having a look she’s supporting my daughter with ballet boost ☺️ I’m still going to wait until the results for RBS are out first before I make any decisions, but the most important thing is this is what my daughter wants and I’m happy her teacher is supporting her. She admitted she is wary of other associates, as she thinks some are just put together by dance schools. She trusts RBS and NBS as obviously they are well known and she’s had students in both. 

Great news! Good luck to your daughter whatever she chooses to do.

[Pixiewoo]

My DD never did Ballet Boost, but we know plenty who did and do attend. It was started by Emma Northmore, and has a decent reputation.

 

My DD attended Renaissance Arts Scholars in Leeds, and now Martin Howland who taught ballet there, is setting up his own training scheme called Project Resurgence. I believe it is based in Bradford. 

[Minniewilder]

Wow she covers teaching in RBJA …..

I am reading her profile …. 

[glowlight]

7 hours ago, Dancing_Mae said:

Thank you for the great advice. I decided to be honest with my daughters dance teacher and after having a look she’s supporting my daughter with ballet boost ☺️ I’m still going to wait until the results for RBS are out first before I make any decisions, but the most important thing is this is what my daughter wants and I’m happy her teacher is supporting her. She admitted she is wary of other associates, as she thinks some are just put together by dance schools. She trusts RBS and NBS as obviously they are well known and she’s had students in both. 

 

Congratulations to your DD on her place with Ballet Boost. I'm very pleased you've told your teacher. It's really important to have their support with all the training your child has. I don't have any experience of Ballet Boost myself but it seems to get very positive feedback here, so maybe this will open up your dd's teacher to another associate opportunity for her students. Also you have shown your teacher how passionate your child is and how committed you are as a parent.

[Dancing_Mae]

@glowlight Thankyou! Shes taught my daughter for 6 years and didn’t feel right she wouldn’t know and my daughter feels even more excited to have her support. 

[glowlight]

And well done you @Dancing_Mae for being brave and having that conversation. It can't have been easy, but was definitely the right thing to do. 

[Jellybean]

14 hours ago, Minniewilder said:

you ladies talk about Birmingham Machester London venue as if you drive or fly like a piece of cake ….. 

hats off to you . 
in a nice way I meant . 

I live in Manchester so not exactly miles away.  If we lived elsewhere, I wouldn't be able to commit to driving every weekend as my DD wouldn't be able to attend her regular school. Luckily for us, Elmhurst and Ballet Boost are less than 10 miles away. 

[Jellybean]

14 hours ago, Dancing_Mae said:

@Jellybean Is ballet boost worth doing in your opinion? Manchester is farer than the other associates we have applied for, so would like it to be worthwhile. I will contact Elmhurst thank you.

I think it depends what you're looking for. For me, initially when my DD auditioned she was in a small school that did not push her. She had no experience of performing at the school didn't do competitions or a school show. She only ever experienced syllabus work. This gave her the chance to experience unfamiliar ballet exercises and helped broaden her experience with picking up new steps and learning ballet in a different way to her syllabus classes. After a year of BB she had progressed alot but this was due to moving dance schools. BB did help however so we continued. Now she is in mids, it isn't good value for money and she hasn't made much progress. They often did ballet far too advanced for her ability, with little focus on the technique required. She would often be doing extravagant ballet and executing it really badly! It seemed she was never taught how to do certain moves from scratch which led to bad technique and me feeling like it was a waste of time. They had cameras in the studio on a screen so you could see the lesson. 

 

She does Elmhurst YD and did RB online JAs this last year. She auditioned 1st time last year for JAs. She has a great school now for her training and has made masses of progress so BB isn't something we will continue because I don't feel she is getting anything from it anymore. 

 

I think it depends on your situation whether you think it will be beneficial. It is more of a money making associate programme and I think because of this, the threshold for getting in isn't particularly high. They regularly accepted new children throughout the year and often there was a wide range of abilities in class. Elmhurst on the other hand is much more selective because they have far less children per session, (some BB classes had 30 plus children at the start of term but it just drop as the year goes on and children attend other commitments) and I feel the quality of their lessons is incomparable with BB. Much more focused on correct, accurate technique with an understanding of how to use the body correctly. She doesn't like the fact there are different children every lesson so has struggled to build friendships. She knows odd people who go but with competitions, it means she doesn't always see people she knows. 

 

We loved her Juniors teacher, Susi.  They used to have termly viewing classes and I could see how she was getting on but now it's an end of year viewing class only. It does very much depend on the teacher. Her current teacher clearly has a very comprehensive and successful history as a ballet dancer but I don't think isn't as good as her previous teacher.  She is in Mids at Manchester now with a lady but hasn't been for a while because of other commitments.

 

 

Edited June 3 by Jellybean

[Dancing_Mae]

@Jellybean This is concerning to us! Doing more advanced ballet without the right technique is the last thing I want. My daughters in Y5 so I’m not sure why she’s been offered mids instead of Junior either… My daughter competes and is on the performance team but wants to do more ballet. We have a lot to think about it seems.