Part 1 of this piece Dance schools page School fees and funding

It seems ages ago that we got the letter from Central. (Just to re-cap about 2 months ago my daughter got a call back to the final audition for Central after being turned down by both English National and The Royal Ballet Schools)

We will never know if she got a place at Central

Ballet life went on as 'normal'. Two awards (competitions) to prepare for and travel to. At 15 years old, my daughter was there just to see what it was like and to learn, she wasn't expected to win and she didn't. But a girl from Central did. I couldn't help but wonder whether that could be my daughter in three years time ?

She also got a big part in her school show where she could act and would dance with professionals. The show must go on but it clashed with the Central final audition. They understood her circumstances and arranged an alternative date for her to audition.

...an offer we could not refuse

She withdrew from the audition and we will never know whether she would have been offered a place. It is not widely known but there are 2 types of ballet school offer, a place and a place with funding. Everyone is after a place with funding but there are only so many at each school and they are given to the best UK students. Following her school show, she was offered a privately funded place at an independent ballet school which, as yet, does not offer funded places.

'Small is beautiful' and it works for my daughter

Her school is small and run by a former ballerina. She has progressed very well, gets individual attention and lots of opportunities for pas de deux work which I doubt she would automatically get elsewhere in her first year. She isn't loud and pushy and could be so easily overlooked for roles in the larger schools. It is essential to evaluate her progress against her peer group by continuing with competitions, seminars and summer schools locally and abroad. A good teacher is hard to find but most important - she is happy where she is.

I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, the funding had been sorted, I was worried about her going to London so young, whether she would adapt to a new school and a big city.

Auditions- Are the schools getting it right?

'A ballet audition is like a biscuit selection. You open the lid of the tin of biscuits, and attracted by the shiny wrapper, reach for the foil covered biscuit first -even if it never tastes as good as it looks. Only after, do you look carefully at what is left, and sometimes the plain old shortbread turns out to be the one you like best!'

Based on one audition, Ballet schools have to make almost instant decisions - but do they always get it right? How many 'Foil wrapped' students are assessed out after the first year, leaving the 'shortbreads' to fight it out in the job market one year later with varying degrees of success.

Why don't we do it like ABT?

In my opinion, School of American Ballet have the right formula for success. They hold an 8 week summer school where every student is assessed over that period and some lucky ones are offered funded places. The majority of these students have trained elsewhere for one or two years and spend only 1 year with SAB, before moving into the company (either ABT or NYCB). It is not surprising that their summer school got over 2,000 applications this year.

She has got a place- but will she get a job?

A place at a well known ballet school does not guarantee a job. Not all students who leave English National Ballet and The Royal Ballet School have a contract at graduation. Despite often being a very undeserved 'third choice', Central students have an amazing track record at getting work.

She has got a place- but will she get a job ? Sadly her classmates will in time turn into her competition when it comes to getting a contract. The uncertainty doesn't go away and I know it is just being put off for a few years before she has the opportunity to audition for a place as a third year somewhere else.

The experience has toughened her up

The audition experience has toughened her up but thankfully not made her hard. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security by brilliant exam results and good assessments- unless you experience the competition first hand you will have no idea what it is like. Hopefully this piece will give you a flavour.