Reply to Audition for Washington Ballet next year (1B level, 9-10 yrs old)

Forum Index » Classes, Workshops, Camps, and Playgroups

Reply to "Audition for Washington Ballet next year (1B level, 9-10 yrs old) - how hard is it?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I can offer up my recommendation for Akhmedova in terms of seriousness of training. We moved from TWSB after 1B but have another who wants to stay at TWSB because she loves dancing The nutcracker and eventually her competitive gymnastics will take over her schedule. But Akhmedova is Vagonava technique so your dancer will go right to PTP 1 regardless of age and you’ll move up as fast as you’re demonstrating skill. Any slowness in Vagonava has to do with a sharp attention to detail and body strength. Part of what they do in PTP 1 fixing errors in kids from other schools as well as flexibility. Classes are 90 min 3 times a week in ballet technique, contemporary, character, and pilates/conditioning. It’s recommended to have a home practice as well.

These are the flaws I see in TWSB: 
There needs to be strong leadership. When Julie came Julie also over, saw the school, and there were people who were partly in charge of the school, and partly in Company roles. The school really got ignored and I think this is why it’s struggling today. Of course, it’s not struggling on enrollment. I think it’s struggling on the inside.

The school needs to have a serious commitment to quality, not just recruiting, and paying all the teachers well but holding the teachers accountable to excellent instruction and feedback on the student. The portal feedback has always been extremely brief and impersonal, and therefore unhelpful.

I think there is someway to figure out how to have a more serious track in the school once you get out of pre-ballet. Whether it’s optional registration for additional classes, so that the more work and practice you put in your skills continue to improve, or some type of audition placement. That includes specific instruction more classes., almost like a school within the school. This could be based on skill and should not be based on parents ability to pay. This could be part of where the philanthropy goes in terms of scholarships.

Finally, I think throughout the school there should be more performance opportunities. I am grateful for the nutcracker and grateful for the spring showcase. I just think that there has to be some way to have more performance opportunities for kids, big and small. These could be showcases at additional locations doing the showcase dances. I believe dance is truly joyful, and is meant to be shared with the world. So if our kids already know these showcase routines, why not take them more places? And for the “small ideas” I wonder why they don’t integrate it more with dance for all with the Washington ballet as well as involved parents. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics