Auditioning for 2021 entry

[icantdance]

Hello everyone.

We’re in the lucky position now of having all my daughters results so I haven’t been reading this for the last week or so. Congratulations on all the recent offers x

My daughter withdrew from Laine purely for financial reasons before she even received her audition outcome. We discussed it last year and she knew that as soon as had a degree offer for anywhere she had to withdraw from any diplomas. It really is a shame that students have to make these decisions based on how much their parents can afford to support them!

I just wanted to ask if anyone has managed to visit bird or performers yet? Even just to see it from the outside? Did you find it helpful. It’s a long journey for us so it would be easier to go once the hotels are able to open.
My daughters teacher is slightly swaying towards recommending bird. But performers is much more active on social media so it’s easier to get a bit of an insight. People keep telling her she’s very lucky to be in this position (and she really does know that’s true) but she is struggling to make a choice.

Morning Grace03, congratulations to your DD for having the two offers!! We visited both 2 years ago but went back to Bird 2 weeks ago (on the hot day!!) and spent an hour chatting to Naomi outside. You should be able to have a look from the outside and wander round and look through windows if you give Naomi or Tanya a shout first. Performers is an amazing facility, although you won't get the whole experience from outside alone but just driving and having a look would be great and presumably you can peer through windows there. Performers is more out in the sticks, Bird is close to the town centre and it depends which you'd prefer. Best of luck on choosing!!

[Jackie1917]

MygirlsloveMT is this for single room do you know or do they have to share?

[Grace03]

Hello everyone.

We’re in the lucky position now of having all my daughters results so I haven’t been reading this for the last week or so. Congratulations on all the recent offers x

My daughter withdrew from Laine purely for financial reasons before she even received her audition outcome. We discussed it last year and she knew that as soon as had a degree offer for anywhere she had to withdraw from any diplomas. It really is a shame that students have to make these decisions based on how much their parents can afford to support them!

I just wanted to ask if anyone has managed to visit bird or performers yet? Even just to see it from the outside? Did you find it helpful. It’s a long journey for us so it would be easier to go once the hotels are able to open.
My daughters teacher is slightly swaying towards recommending bird. But performers is much more active on social media so it’s easier to get a bit of an insight. People keep telling her she’s very lucky to be in this position (and she really does know that’s true) but she is struggling to make a choice.

Morning Grace03, congratulations to your DD for having the two offers!! We visited both 2 years ago but went back to Bird 2 weeks ago (on the hot day!!) and spent an hour chatting to Naomi outside. You should be able to have a look from the outside and wander round and look through windows if you give Naomi or Tanya a shout first. Performers is an amazing facility, although you won't get the whole experience from outside alone but just driving and having a look would be great and presumably you can peer through windows there. Performers is more out in the sticks, Bird is close to the town centre and it depends which you'd prefer. Best of luck on choosing!!

Thank you! I think we’re going to have to give it a try. She likes bird for the location and its reputation but is lacking the personal experience due to the virtual auditions. She has never been to performers either but just feels more able to get an idea of what it’s like. She also has a contact of a ‘friend of a friend’ at performers which has helped.

[Icklemom3]

Hi - this is my first post but I have been following the thread with great interest! After receiving her degree offer from Bird my DD was ‘absolutely certain’ that’s where she was going. She has since received an offer from Laine and it’s thrown a huge, unexpected spanner in the works. We’ve tried doing the pros and cons lists - they end up equal...So I’m now following this Laine discussion hoping to find something to sway us! One thing we did wonder was how the accommodation works at Laine. Is it just shared houses or is there official ‘Student Accommodation’? And once you’ve decided you’re going there is the accommodation easy to sort out? We have some info on Bird and what might be available once they send out accommodation packs in July but we still feel a little in the dark when it comes to what happens at Laine. Any info from any of you who might know would be gratefully received!

Hi, my DS is going to Bird (but a DaDA from Laine would confuse him) and he already has a place in a student flat reserved. I can't speak for Laine as I have no idea, but for Bird I would suggest that your DD joins the snapchat groups if she hasn't already. I think 'degree birdies' might be the best one. They all talk about accommodation and all sorts on there (and have regular Zoom chats and quizzes and stuff), but the accommodation is almost gone close by to Bird already. DS has space in his flat for 2 more 1st year girls if she is interested (so PM me) but it's a strange setup and those in the student flats get to 'choose' their flatmates so he struggled a bit as mostly the girls wanted other girls with them. The other accommodation is over at Greenwich University at Avery Hill halls although I guess some students will just rent flats or houses together.

My only issue with Laine is financial. Even with a full DaDA you would have to pay for everything else yourself - no maintenance grant at all, and that really and truly puts it out of our reach (and he wouldn't get a full DaDA). Their fees are about £18k so even an 80% DaDA makes it £3600 a year plus accommodation and living expenses.

Hi - thanks for all that info. My DD is on the Bird group chats and ,until the Laine offer, was 100% decided it was Bird where she would be going. We’ve sent off the DaDa form for Laine so I guess the outcome of that will help someway to making a decision. Would love to forge ahead and make plans for accommodation right now but suppose we’ll just have to be patient - we’ve all become quite good at that by now I guess - or at least pretending to be...

[MygirlsloveMT]

MygirlsloveMT is this for single room do you know or do they have to share?

They can choose to stay in ‘Halls’ which is an old hotel they bought years ago and I think there are some shared rooms in there which are cheaper (don’t know the cost, was around £80 cheaper this year I think). The £500 is for a double room to themselves either in Halls or in a house share, my dd is in a 3 bed house with 2 housemates/friends to themselves, some are in 4/5 bed houses and they all pay £500 I believe unless there are significantly different sized rooms then one may pay more, one less not sure, but £500 as a ball mark figure is good to go on. I do know some of dd’s friends have gone with a private landlord and this year pay around £520 so you don’t have to go through the agency if you don’t want to, it’s Chris James Accommodation and has all the rooms listed on there (although they are currently doing a new website so don’t think you can look right now).

[icantdance]

Hi - this is my first post but I have been following the thread with great interest! After receiving her degree offer from Bird my DD was ‘absolutely certain’ that’s where she was going. She has since received an offer from Laine and it’s thrown a huge, unexpected spanner in the works. We’ve tried doing the pros and cons lists - they end up equal...So I’m now following this Laine discussion hoping to find something to sway us! One thing we did wonder was how the accommodation works at Laine. Is it just shared houses or is there official ‘Student Accommodation’? And once you’ve decided you’re going there is the accommodation easy to sort out? We have some info on Bird and what might be available once they send out accommodation packs in July but we still feel a little in the dark when it comes to what happens at Laine. Any info from any of you who might know would be gratefully received!

Hi, my DS is going to Bird (but a DaDA from Laine would confuse him) and he already has a place in a student flat reserved. I can't speak for Laine as I have no idea, but for Bird I would suggest that your DD joins the snapchat groups if she hasn't already. I think 'degree birdies' might be the best one. They all talk about accommodation and all sorts on there (and have regular Zoom chats and quizzes and stuff), but the accommodation is almost gone close by to Bird already. DS has space in his flat for 2 more 1st year girls if she is interested (so PM me) but it's a strange setup and those in the student flats get to 'choose' their flatmates so he struggled a bit as mostly the girls wanted other girls with them. The other accommodation is over at Greenwich University at Avery Hill halls although I guess some students will just rent flats or houses together.

My only issue with Laine is financial. Even with a full DaDA you would have to pay for everything else yourself - no maintenance grant at all, and that really and truly puts it out of our reach (and he wouldn't get a full DaDA). Their fees are about £18k so even an 80% DaDA makes it £3600 a year plus accommodation and living expenses.

Hi - thanks for all that info. My DD is on the Bird group chats and ,until the Laine offer, was 100% decided it was Bird where she would be going. We’ve sent off the DaDa form for Laine so I guess the outcome of that will help someway to making a decision. Would love to forge ahead and make plans for accommodation right now but suppose we’ll just have to be patient - we’ve all become quite good at that by now I guess - or at least pretending to be...

Ditto to Bird and Laine for DS. But no funding makes it easy as the fees really are £18k for self funding at Laine. I might lose my £500 deposit but at this point it's definitely Bird.... Until he gets a DaDA from Laine, if he does.... In which case it could be either.....

[anastasia79]

Hello everyone.

We’re in the lucky position now of having all my daughters results so I haven’t been reading this for the last week or so. Congratulations on all the recent offers x

My daughter withdrew from Laine purely for financial reasons before she even received her audition outcome. We discussed it last year and she knew that as soon as had a degree offer for anywhere she had to withdraw from any diplomas. It really is a shame that students have to make these decisions based on how much their parents can afford to support them!

I just wanted to ask if anyone has managed to visit bird or performers yet? Even just to see it from the outside? Did you find it helpful. It’s a long journey for us so it would be easier to go once the hotels are able to open.
My daughters teacher is slightly swaying towards recommending bird. But performers is much more active on social media so it’s easier to get a bit of an insight. People keep telling her she’s very lucky to be in this position (and she really does know that’s true) but she is struggling to make a choice.

Congrats to your daughter for her offers! We are waiting on one final result before my daughter can make her decision.
I drove up with her a few weeks ago to have a look at Performers from the outside and also a potential house for a house share. It really helped to see the school even if just from the outside and also what her potential walk would be from home to school. The immediate area and houses are nice and she could visualise what life could be like there so it helped.

I believe they are planning on resuming in person tours so if you can arrange one for her that would be good. Even though we didn’t go inside, it was worth the trip. We’re planning to do the same at Bird and we’ll be getting the tube up to Urdang this Thursday to map out her potential journey and see the area. All the best to your DD and whichever school she chooses.

[canadianJo]

Hi Everyone, Dd just found out she's on the wait list for Mountview, we're thrilled that she got that far, but of course it's disappointing to not get a spot- does anyone ever get in from the waitlist? any good news stories to share?
Also, anyone else still waiting to hear back from Artsed?
She did get a spot in the foundation year of Trinity Laban- does anyone have any experience with that program?
Thanks in advance !

[Grace03]

Hello everyone.

We’re in the lucky position now of having all my daughters results so I haven’t been reading this for the last week or so. Congratulations on all the recent offers x

My daughter withdrew from Laine purely for financial reasons before she even received her audition outcome. We discussed it last year and she knew that as soon as had a degree offer for anywhere she had to withdraw from any diplomas. It really is a shame that students have to make these decisions based on how much their parents can afford to support them!

I just wanted to ask if anyone has managed to visit bird or performers yet? Even just to see it from the outside? Did you find it helpful. It’s a long journey for us so it would be easier to go once the hotels are able to open.
My daughters teacher is slightly swaying towards recommending bird. But performers is much more active on social media so it’s easier to get a bit of an insight. People keep telling her she’s very lucky to be in this position (and she really does know that’s true) but she is struggling to make a choice.

Congrats to your daughter for her offers! We are waiting on one final result before my daughter can make her decision.
I drove up with her a few weeks ago to have a look at Performers from the outside and also a potential house for a house share. It really helped to see the school even if just from the outside and also what her potential walk would be from home to school. The immediate area and houses are nice and she could visualise what life could be like there so it helped.

I believe they are planning on resuming in person tours so if you can arrange one for her that would be good. Even though we didn’t go inside, it was worth the trip. We’re planning to do the same at Bird and we’ll be getting the tube up to Urdang this Thursday to map out her potential journey and see the area. All the best to your DD and whichever school she chooses.

Sounds like it’s definitely worth a visit then. She is replying to the performers email to arrange a time with them so we might try to go to bird on the same day.

She’s just told me you can’t be in the performers new starters group until you make a final decision whereas bird will add you as soon as you get an offer.

[Excitingtimes]

Hi Everyone, Dd just found out she's on the wait list for Mountview, we're thrilled that she got that far, but of course it's disappointing to not get a spot- does anyone ever get in from the waitlist? any good news stories to share?
Also, anyone else still waiting to hear back from Artsed?
She did get a spot in the foundation year of Trinity Laban- does anyone have any experience with that program?
Thanks in advance !

Hiya, congratulations to your DD. My DD is also on the reserve list. I can only assume that they only offer out the number of places, but I imagine not everyone will accept due to the fees or not first choice. We did hear some people got a no, so out of the 90 something that got to third round, some got no's, that's got to give the reserves a reasonable chance?? I'd be interested to hear other people views too....you end up 2nd guessing everything!

[Jofitz]

Hi - my daughter is 1st year degree at Performers. It has obviously been a weird year but I cannot praise the college more. Lots of support in these really weird times and still managed a full timetable. In terms of location/accommodation - we were late booking and my daughter is in a flat in central Basildon with one other girl who she found on the freshers page. They love where they are and are staying there next year but lots of the student housing is nearer the college. It is a 15min bus ride to the college from Basildon but within weeks there were car shares sorted. It is only 30 mins on train to central London which is not massively different to Bird. Happy to help with any more specific questions re Performers.

[anastasia79]

Hi - my daughter is 1st year degree at Performers. It has obviously been a weird year but I cannot praise the college more. Lots of support in these really weird times and still managed a full timetable. In terms of location/accommodation - we were late booking and my daughter is in a flat in central Basildon with one other girl who she found on the freshers page. They love where they are and are staying there next year but lots of the student housing is nearer the college. It is a 15min bus ride to the college from Basildon but within weeks there were car shares sorted. It is only 30 mins on train to central London which is not massively different to Bird. Happy to help with any more specific questions re Performers.

That’s really good to know, thanks for sharing. Making decisions this year is so tricky compared to previous years. I’ve heard so many positives about Performers, with a few concerns re location (which now that I’ve seen in person, is not an issue) and their upcoming student intake. From what we’ve seen more schools are increasing their intake so where our DC decide to I think will come down lots to gut feeling.

[Jofitz]

I certainly had that gut feeling from Performers at the audition, more so than anywhere else. Can't imagine how hard it has been this year. Good luck - if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask

[dancelifemum]

Second round of Laine offers only came out today so it may be a week before those DADA forms are all returned and the Talent Register compiled.
I'm not sure if they put all 200 offers into the list or just those needing funding or whether they give DADA offers and put the rest in order of audition scoring but I hope it's sorted soon. ArtsEd have said they are sorting DADAs this month - which I find odd as some people are not recalled until May or June but I guess it depends on what "sorting" means! I really hope that everyone who needs funding to train gets what they need.

Some we know had the offer of a dada in their initial offer letter (subject to eligibility) so they know they are top of the list regardless...others just have to wait I guess. This is the part I don't really like as it feels as if you would be starting off feeling inferior and lower down the 'talent list' before even starting. Something you don't have on a degree course.

[dancelifemum]

Hello everyone.

We’re in the lucky position now of having all my daughters results so I haven’t been reading this for the last week or so. Congratulations on all the recent offers x

My daughter withdrew from Laine purely for financial reasons before she even received her audition outcome. We discussed it last year and she knew that as soon as had a degree offer for anywhere she had to withdraw from any diplomas. It really is a shame that students have to make these decisions based on how much their parents can afford to support them!

I just wanted to ask if anyone has managed to visit bird or performers yet? Even just to see it from the outside? Did you find it helpful. It’s a long journey for us so it would be easier to go once the hotels are able to open.
My daughters teacher is slightly swaying towards recommending bird. But performers is much more active on social media so it’s easier to get a bit of an insight. People keep telling her she’s very lucky to be in this position (and she really does know that’s true) but she is struggling to make a choice.

Congrats to your daughter for her offers! We are waiting on one final result before my daughter can make her decision.
I drove up with her a few weeks ago to have a look at Performers from the outside and also a potential house for a house share. It really helped to see the school even if just from the outside and also what her potential walk would be from home to school. The immediate area and houses are nice and she could visualise what life could be like there so it helped.

I believe they are planning on resuming in person tours so if you can arrange one for her that would be good. Even though we didn’t go inside, it was worth the trip. We’re planning to do the same at Bird and we’ll be getting the tube up to Urdang this Thursday to map out her potential journey and see the area. All the best to your DD and whichever school she chooses.

Sounds like it’s definitely worth a visit then. She is replying to the performers email to arrange a time with them so we might try to go to bird on the same day.

She’s just told me you can’t be in the performers new starters group until you make a final decision whereas bird will add you as soon as you get an offer.

No you can't be in the Performers chat until you accept on UCAS so like you we haven't hit that button yet. It was in their last 'touch base' email. We know a current first year who will be vacating their house so we may drive up and get landlords number as a possibility and check what the journey would be.Everyone we know there has a positive experience and can easily jump on a train to London at the weekend if they want to. We have always watched their shows and been impressed too. I think they have scrapped their track system where they decided in the second year if you were MT or dance.
Urdang has a vibe and is in London but living in London will cause us more possible worries and cost...and small things such as being the only college to charge for their taster day £36.00! niggle at me when the others were free. I guess we all know they are businesses at the end of the day, but you get a more nurturing feel from some than others. They still have the track system....so that may suit some but not be right for others.
Bird also do track system and then you are more one thing than the other....we did the open day last year and he said how they are lucky to get 15 mins to eat! I don't know if that was a positive or negative in some eyes either, but good location for high street etc..
Wilkes we know less about...but they seem to be investing heavily to achieve the reputation of longer standing colleges.
Laine we know from past students but I need to justify what they offer more for 18k than the others? I wonder why they can't offer degree....but they have a formula and they stick to it I guess.

We do a pros cons list but get nowhere....lol