Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could advise about the audition taking place on 30th June at the palais garnier. My daughter who is 16 sent her CV and photos and has received an invitation in the post but I would like to know if anyone has experience of this, i.e does everyone who applies get an audition? If that's the case, I envisage thousands turning up at 8am and I'm not sure if it's really worth going (we live in London) She has been told there will be a class followed by a set dance which she has to watch and learn from the opera website. Also, do the pupils from the Opera school audition at the same time and how many places are there usually available for corps de ballet each year?
ps...you can answer in French, I speak it but my grammar is terrible

Dear Aude!
Not everyone who apply is invited to the audition : the body and his morphologic suitability for ballet is taken in consideration on the pictures!!!
I think the experience is worth doing it, although they are only 4 places available (girls AND boy) in the ballet! and the day before the public audition is the private audition only for the school students, who will probably already take 2 places...so 2 left!
But, there are also some "surnuméraire" places...those dancers do not belong the ballet, but they dance with when more dancers are needed, or they someone is injured!
Yes, they will be a lot of dancers in the audition.
Very often, only the ballet school students will stay until the end, and get one place, or one surnuméraire place, but they are always some lucky ones!
and making auditions is good for making progress anyway!
So, I would encourage you to let your daughter go!
even if she only do the class, and can't dance her variation, she will probably learn a lot!
and she can only have a good surprise!
I Wish her luck!!!

Dear pte fille!

Thank you so much for replying and giving so much info, are you connected to the company or school? you seem to know all about the audition process which is great!. My daughter is lucky as she has great proportions and facility for dance and looks very good on the photos, however, she's not terribly strong and doesn't want to make a fool of herself if everyone else auditioning is fantastic!. Her fear is that she'll be expected to do a really tough class and won't cope so she's reluctant to go and said she'd rather wait a year until she's had further training as she's only 16 now. The audition is soon and she only watched the variation yesterday so not much chance to practice either. Do you know who will watch the class and does everyone have to do the variation in from of all the other candidates by themselves? so many questions...sorry!

I also think she should do it! You don't know what will happen next year, maybe she will be sick or injured...
I think it is not a problem if she takes the audition this year and take it again next year.
As concerns everyone else auditioning, they will be exactly like her: if she has been selected to take the audition, that means she is able to do it!

Give us news!

Dear Aude!
sorry for this very late reply!
far from any dancer will be able to dance the variation anyway! So, the better is that she does not put so much stain about it! (it has to be rehearsaled of course, but with 16, I do not think she has a lot of chances to go to the end of the audition!)
I would say, she should no worry about her dance level right now, but just go and give her best!
anyway, she doesn't have to care about what the others will think!
but she will mabye better understand where she has to progress!
She is very young, she must be prepeared that the majority of the other dancers will me more experienced than her...but all of them also had a first experience! Then, when she is 18, this experience will do the difference with the other dancers...the earlier the auditions, the better for the future!
and we are never ridiculous when we do our best, anyway!
the whole think (of what I wrote) seems not to be positive for the end result, I think, it is also quite realistic...but now she has to go and think that she will get the job...there is always a chance!
so, much luck to her!

Hi again pte fille and many thanks for your reply, she didn't go in the end as she wasn't feeling on top form and has decided to try next year. from the results I see that all the girls in the top twelve were mostly current or former POB school pupils and the ones that weren't are already dancing in companies. The experience would have been good but as she's only 16 she has a lot of years ahead to try!