Ballet Schools in Australia - Sydney

[moostachiojoe]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows of any pre-professional ballet schools in Sydney. Thanks.

[Redbookish]

There are some absolutely excellent schools: for starters, have look at Tanya Pearson's studio, and the McDonald College.

[moostachiojoe]

Thanks, I have heard of both and will do some more research on them, however I don't think that the McDonald College will be an available option to me unless a scholarship is involved as it is not purely a dance school/studio but t is a private school which means scaryily big fees

[wembley]

If you buy the 'Dance Australia' magazine, there are ads for numerous ballet schools in there.

Other things to consider- are you moving to Sydney? Do you live in a particular area? Sydney commuting can take a long time from certain areas. How much experience do you have? Tanya Pearson's requires an audition to be accepted.

[moostachiojoe]

I only started ballet at the beginning of this term, however since I was dancing other styles before, I have already caught up on a lot of work. I am doing RAD intermediate foundation at the moment. I was looking into Ecole Ballet and Dance Theatre, has anyone heard of that or know anything about it?

[moostachiojoe]

And yes wembley, I know that there are plenty of dance and ballet schools in Sydney but I'm trying to pick out one that will put me on a more preprofessional route

[Thyme]

hi- I live near Sydney and have no direct experience with any of the studios but certainly Tanya Pearson and MacDonald College have the biggest reputations for pre-professional training. Perhaps one of the Sydney based members can give you tips on lesser known names.

[Miss Persistent]

It depends what exactly you are looking for, and VERY MUCH where you live. a 25+ year veteran of Sydney, location is going to be a huge factor. There's no point picking a great school in Neutral Bay if you live in Penrith - you'll be traveling 4 hours a day!

 

There is actually a glut of schools in Sydney, and I can think of atleast half a dozen off the top of my head that offer pre-professional training. As wembly said, grab Dance Australia and start looking - I think you are going to need to need to narrow down geography first.

 

Ecole is a good school. They have just revamped their full-time course, but I from memory you used to need to be at Advanced Foundation (RAD) level to enter it. How old are you currently? Most Sydney full-time schools wont take students below year 10, perhaps year 9 depending. McDonald College is not full-time classical training unless you are in Year 11-12 in the AIBA stream and opt not to take any academic studies. There's also Academy Ballet, Alegria Dance, Brent Street if you don't want just classical.... the list goes on.

[moostachiojoe]

Aha yes it does depend very much on location. Places on the north shore/ northern beaches would be good travel wise. Also, I am 14 and in Year 9 for reference.

 

Since I have only started very recently, I probably wont go straight into full-time next year but I probably will the year after. So for 2014, I'm looking for a good school that can offer me a substantial part time schedule (i.e. around 10 - 15 hrs). Then for 2015, I will most likely do a full time course somewhere.

 

At the moment I'm not doing just classical, but for next year I think I might (not sure which is more beneficial though).

[Guest Blossoming ballerina]

Do you live in Sydney?

I know of a great ballet school a couple of hours north ?? It's fairly new. Still getting its name out there but excellent trainng and definitely as Part time hours and more.

[moostachiojoe]

Yes, in Sydney. Do you mind telling me the name of the school? Because it may be a possibility if there is residence but otherwise a couple hours is a very long commute :/

[Guest Blossoming ballerina]

No residence. But a couple of Girls rented in a group house. - mostly uni students

[moostachiojoe]

That sounds like it might work for the future. May I ask what the name of the school is?

[Guest Blossoming ballerina]

Am I allowed to say! It's not the norm to discuss schools openly.

 

The school I am talking about is newcastle ballet theatre. Look up there website.

 

Moderators. Sorry if I have done the wrong thing. Delete if necessary

[moostachiojoe]

Thank you rosepetals! I will do.