Auditioning for 2021 entry

[Dancecrazy]

Both years my dd applied at Performers there were over 3000 applications for less degree places!

Also, a Wilkes charged a fee to secure the place, thankfully we paid and she decided she wanted to go there over Performers anyway so we didn’t lose it, I think the colleges have this notion that all performing arts students are wealthy which is most definitely not the case! I always wonder how many truly amazing performers there are out there who can’t even afford the audition process, I know this happened to one of dd’s friends.

That’s one thing I found out yesterday, that not only do you have to pay to audition, but also to secure your space. That’s one thing that isn’t advertised by those schools that charge thus. I fully agree that there are so many talented dancers that will never get the chance to attend dance college. Some because the audition fee cost is too much, not to mention the travelling, hotel costs etc. But also the cost of paying for the diploma if a DADA isn’t awarded or they aren’t able to do the degree option. It is really unfortunate that an option for a student loan is not available for the Trinity Level 6 Diploma.

Some colleges offer Advanced Learner Loans for the Trinity Level 6 Diploma . It’s only open to aged 18 upwards though . You can borrow up to 22,000 I think . Terms and conditions are the same as the degree loans .

[anastasia79]

Both years my dd applied at Performers there were over 3000 applications for less degree places!

Also, a Wilkes charged a fee to secure the place, thankfully we paid and she decided she wanted to go there over Performers anyway so we didn’t lose it, I think the colleges have this notion that all performing arts students are wealthy which is most definitely not the case! I always wonder how many truly amazing performers there are out there who can’t even afford the audition process, I know this happened to one of dd’s friends.

That’s one thing I found out yesterday, that not only do you have to pay to audition, but also to secure your space. That’s one thing that isn’t advertised by those schools that charge thus. I fully agree that there are so many talented dancers that will never get the chance to attend dance college. Some because the audition fee cost is too much, not to mention the travelling, hotel costs etc. But also the cost of paying for the diploma if a DADA isn’t awarded or they aren’t able to do the degree option. It is really unfortunate that an option for a student loan is not available for the Trinity Level 6 Diploma.

Some colleges offer Advanced Learner Loans for the Trinity Level 6 Diploma . It’s only open to aged 18 upwards though . You can borrow up to 22,000 I think . Terms and conditions are the same as the degree loans .

Thank you . I’ll go and do some research on those now.

[amo185]

Advanced Learner loans are for those aged 19+ and I think three CDMT colleges offer it, including Urdang for their diploma. There is no loan for maintenance or accommodation though, only towards college fees, but worth looking into if DC are older and don't have a degree or DADA option. Shame more colleges don't offer it.

[Moonfaery]

Morning! Hoping Arts Ed upload is sorted now?
And yes youtube made our Bird uploads very grainy, but I think it’s happening to everyone’s tapes. We really had to compress files for Urdang so that was very reduced quality, but it worked out ok.
Yes, you’re right, a long few months ahead!! 🥴🥴

DD emailed them and they said they’re having IT issues and will get back to her....

Oh no, what a pain!! Fingers crossed it’s sorted soon and you can get it crossed off the list. Wishing you lots of luck for all your DD’s submissions

Thank you! Wishing you all the best too with submissions.
She hasn’t heard back from arts Ed yet and I think the Deadline is Sunday....
She’s doing the bird online event as I type and has just come in saying ‘ I so badly want to go to Bird’.
I can’t cope with the waiting!

[icantdance]

Best of luck to your DD, Moonfaery, Bird let you know by Friday next week it seems. It's tough waiting but at least decisions are relatively speedy. DS is now waiting on Urdang (last Thursday) and Italia Conti (this Tuesday).

We got the Laine audition requirements through yesterday. They want the tapes in a week before the audition date and they're doing individual Zoom interviews on the day, then watching the tapes straight after the interview. At least they've said their exercises etc have been designed to be done in a small space, unlike Performers' requirement for a huge dance studio (although they have said that one is "optional")! I think DS's first choice is Laine...

[Moonfaery]

Best of luck to your DD, Moonfaery, Bird let you know by Friday next week it seems. It's tough waiting but at least decisions are relatively speedy. DS is now waiting on Urdang (last Thursday) and Italia Conti (this Tuesday).

We got the Laine audition requirements through yesterday. They want the tapes in a week before the audition date and they're doing individual Zoom interviews on the day, then watching the tapes straight after the interview. At least they've said their exercises etc have been designed to be done in a small space, unlike Performers' requirement for a huge dance studio (although they have said that one is "optional")! I think DS's first choice is Laine...

Wishing your ds lots of luck too.
I wish all the colleges had a ‘core’ audition criteria which meant they only had to tape the main stuff once and submit to each place with a few extra bits perhaps for individual colleges requirements.
My dd is procrastinating with Performers taping! She said it’s a lot to do.
Laine taping this weekend.....the joys!
It’s one of my dd’s top choices too.

[amo185]

Good luck with all the taping everyone. DD is doing her Laine tapes over half term to squeeze in before her deadline. It's a top choice but impossible without funding. Wish they offered the three year degree. Urdang is holding her degree place for two more weeks - not long really when recalls and other auditions have been moved back. A common core for dance exercises would have been great - but it's also interesting to see what different colleges are focussing on - jazz and performance or ballet technique or both. And who wants two songs and who wants just one etc. I take my hat off to all our DC for their resilience and hard work to secure a place at their top college choice. They so much deserve their successes! All the best to everyone!

[icantdance]

Best of luck to your DD, Moonfaery, Bird let you know by Friday next week it seems. It's tough waiting but at least decisions are relatively speedy. DS is now waiting on Urdang (last Thursday) and Italia Conti (this Tuesday).

We got the Laine audition requirements through yesterday. They want the tapes in a week before the audition date and they're doing individual Zoom interviews on the day, then watching the tapes straight after the interview. At least they've said their exercises etc have been designed to be done in a small space, unlike Performers' requirement for a huge dance studio (although they have said that one is "optional")! I think DS's first choice is Laine...

Wishing your ds lots of luck too.
I wish all the colleges had a ‘core’ audition criteria which meant they only had to tape the main stuff once and submit to each place with a few extra bits perhaps for individual colleges requirements.
My dd is procrastinating with Performers taping! She said it’s a lot to do.
Laine taping this weekend.....the joys!
It’s one of my dd’s top choices too.

I agree about Performers. DS might pass on them as that's not till March so if he has offers he would prefer to take (he has one from Bird already) then there's not much point putting himself through the trauma of Performers. Some of the songs and monologues can be duplicated - most of them I think to some extent, but it's annoying when some 32 bars, others want 1 minutes, others want 2 minutes. He managed to record a jazz solo from his own choreography in a dance studio before Christmas and I think he's used that a couple of times. It would be helpful wouldn't it!!! But I guess (hope) that next year it will be back to 'normal' and face to face auditions, and more importantly for us and our DCs, face to face teaching!!

[Moonfaery]

Best of luck to your DD, Moonfaery, Bird let you know by Friday next week it seems. It's tough waiting but at least decisions are relatively speedy. DS is now waiting on Urdang (last Thursday) and Italia Conti (this Tuesday).

We got the Laine audition requirements through yesterday. They want the tapes in a week before the audition date and they're doing individual Zoom interviews on the day, then watching the tapes straight after the interview. At least they've said their exercises etc have been designed to be done in a small space, unlike Performers' requirement for a huge dance studio (although they have said that one is "optional")! I think DS's first choice is Laine...

Wishing your ds lots of luck too.
I wish all the colleges had a ‘core’ audition criteria which meant they only had to tape the main stuff once and submit to each place with a few extra bits perhaps for individual colleges requirements.
My dd is procrastinating with Performers taping! She said it’s a lot to do.
Laine taping this weekend.....the joys!
It’s one of my dd’s top choices too.

I agree about Performers. DS might pass on them as that's not till March so if he has offers he would prefer to take (he has one from Bird already) then there's not much point putting himself through the trauma of Performers. Some of the songs and monologues can be duplicated - most of them I think to some extent, but it's annoying when some 32 bars, others want 1 minutes, others want 2 minutes. He managed to record a jazz solo from his own choreography in a dance studio before Christmas and I think he's used that a couple of times. It would be helpful wouldn't it!!! But I guess (hope) that next year it will be back to 'normal' and face to face auditions, and more importantly for us and our DCs, face to face teaching!!

Congratulations to your DS on his Bird offer!

[Moonfaery]

Good luck with all the taping everyone. DD is doing her Laine tapes over half term to squeeze in before her deadline. It's a top choice but impossible without funding. Wish they offered the three year degree. Urdang is holding her degree place for two more weeks - not long really when recalls and other auditions have been moved back. A common core for dance exercises would have been great - but it's also interesting to see what different colleges are focussing on - jazz and performance or ballet technique or both. And who wants two songs and who wants just one etc. I take my hat off to all our DC for their resilience and hard work to secure a place at their top college choice. They so much deserve their successes! All the best to everyone!

Same for us with Laine - impossible without funding. And even if there was any funding I’m not sure if we could afford it. She just wanted to see if she was offered a place and is aware that if she did it doesn’t mean she can go.
I SO wish it was a degree course (and other colleges that only do diploma).
My other DD will be auditioning next year and originally wanted to do pure ballet. The reality is that it’s not affordable as it seems ballet schools are all dada funded. She’s now looking at a broader dance course but it seems so wrong and sad that if you’re a ‘middle income’ parent and your DC managed to get a dada it’s still unaffordable in most cases.

[islandofsodor]

Good luck with all the taping everyone. DD is doing her Laine tapes over half term to squeeze in before her deadline. It's a top choice but impossible without funding. Wish they offered the three year degree. Urdang is holding her degree place for two more weeks - not long really when recalls and other auditions have been moved back. A common core for dance exercises would have been great - but it's also interesting to see what different colleges are focussing on - jazz and performance or ballet technique or both. And who wants two songs and who wants just one etc. I take my hat off to all our DC for their resilience and hard work to secure a place at their top college choice. They so much deserve their successes! All the best to everyone!

For postgrad one of the places dd is applying to wants four songs!

[islandofsodor]

Good luck with all the taping everyone. DD is doing her Laine tapes over half term to squeeze in before her deadline. It's a top choice but impossible without funding. Wish they offered the three year degree. Urdang is holding her degree place for two more weeks - not long really when recalls and other auditions have been moved back. A common core for dance exercises would have been great - but it's also interesting to see what different colleges are focussing on - jazz and performance or ballet technique or both. And who wants two songs and who wants just one etc. I take my hat off to all our DC for their resilience and hard work to secure a place at their top college choice. They so much deserve their successes! All the best to everyone!

Same for us with Laine - impossible without funding. And even if there was any funding I’m not sure if we could afford it. She just wanted to see if she was offered a place and is aware that if she did it doesn’t mean she can go.
I SO wish it was a degree course (and other colleges that only do diploma).
My other DD will be auditioning next year and originally wanted to do pure ballet. The reality is that it’s not affordable as it seems ballet schools are all dada funded. She’s now looking at a broader dance course but it seems so wrong and sad that if you’re a ‘middle income’ parent and your DC managed to get a dada it’s still unaffordable in most cases.

Central, Rambert & RCS are all degree courses

There is now also Brighton Academy. I have no knowledge of their standards but I believe they have taken on a lot of Ballet West students

[Moonfaery]

Good luck with all the taping everyone. DD is doing her Laine tapes over half term to squeeze in before her deadline. It's a top choice but impossible without funding. Wish they offered the three year degree. Urdang is holding her degree place for two more weeks - not long really when recalls and other auditions have been moved back. A common core for dance exercises would have been great - but it's also interesting to see what different colleges are focussing on - jazz and performance or ballet technique or both. And who wants two songs and who wants just one etc. I take my hat off to all our DC for their resilience and hard work to secure a place at their top college choice. They so much deserve their successes! All the best to everyone!

Same for us with Laine - impossible without funding. And even if there was any funding I’m not sure if we could afford it. She just wanted to see if she was offered a place and is aware that if she did it doesn’t mean she can go.
I SO wish it was a degree course (and other colleges that only do diploma).
My other DD will be auditioning next year and originally wanted to do pure ballet. The reality is that it’s not affordable as it seems ballet schools are all dada funded. She’s now looking at a broader dance course but it seems so wrong and sad that if you’re a ‘middle income’ parent and your DC managed to get a dada it’s still unaffordable in most cases.

Central, Rambert & RCS are all degree courses

There is now also Brighton Academy. I have no knowledge of their standards but I believe they have taken on a lot of Ballet West students

Thank you, that's really helpful, I will have a look into them.
I think I have been so focused on MT courses for DD who's applying this year and not looked properly at ballet schools.

[coxyloulou]

Hi can anyone tell me if Wilkes let dc know if they haven’t got in? My daughter auditioned on January 20th 2021 and hasn’t heard anything. Knowing others that have audition later have heard back already?

[Grace03]

We haven’t heard from Wilkes at all yet. No audition date or details of audition requirements. We heard from everywhere else within a week or two of submitting the ucas form. Even just an email to say they’ve received the application and will be in touch would be helpful.