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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Does anyone know what qualities they're looking for for the party scene? Dancing ability? Acting? Smile? Height?[/quote]

There was a thread about this a couple years ago (preCOVID) where it was intimated that being the kid of a big donor was the best way to get the coveted party girl role.  [/quote]

My daughter was a party girl three years in a row.  She is an excellent dancer.  She was the best in her level.  And I am a single mom making 56k a year.[/quote]

My daughter was a party girl as a 1A. She is a strong dancer and takes direction well but we definitely are not donors. This year she was cast as little clown/party boy. [/quote]

If your daughter is littlest clown, she’s more than a strong dancer. That role is a show favorite and is in the finale. Your daughter must be a strong dancer, but also acrobatic and she clearly has great stage personality. Congrats. [/quote]

They do get a chance to audition.  But they choose the best ones every year.  If my daughter was the best in her class last year, she will probably be the best in her class the next year.  It’s rigged when kids get the part just to give others a chance or to make it fair.  That’s not how the professional ballet world works

Thanks!  We are really proud of her. She is over the moon at being cast as little clown. She is Level 2. She is really acrobatic and spent the last year watching/rewatching the Nutcracker that streamed last year learning the little clown part. [/quote]

Congratulations! She should be so proud. This is a shining example of a non-“rigged” casting result from a combination of talent, dedication, and hard work. She will have so much fun with this role. [/quote]

Do you really think its ever been "rigged"?[/quote]

I’m the PP. I put rigged in quotations because that’s the prevalent accusation. We were with Washington ballet for 4 years and, aside from Julie Kent’s daughter, I haven’t seen any casting “rigging” at all. In fact, I’ve only seen the opposite. Situations like the little clown poster above. TWBS has a lot of issues and we had our problems with the school, but nutcracker casting was never one of our grievances. [/quote]

I think like with Julie's daughter, the Party Girls being the same girls for 2 and 3 years in a row, it does make it FEEL "rigged" and all the more elusive and exclusive. They're not giving other dancers a chance at the role like other schools do, it's not like the students are given notes as to what they can work on, and I understand they're treating it like a professional production for everyone involved... But they're also a school and nurturing the kids' performance abilities or giving them some hard truth is also part of the process. [/quote][/quote]

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