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Facilities
The main dance facilities at RCS are located within the Wallace Studios at Speirs Locks, designed by the award-winning Malcolm Fraser Architects. The Wallace Studios are a short walk away from the Renfrew Street building and houses four large high-specification dance studios, dressing rooms, showers and a fitness room complete with Gyrotonics® equipment.
Within the dance studios, students benefit from physiotherapy sessions, Pilates, TRX classes and massage. All four of the dance studios come with a piano, a playback system and have access to dressing rooms and showers with fully accessible toilets.
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Class of 2021
- Student Showcase Class of 2021 Modal Controls:
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- Student Showcase Class of 2021 Modal Controls:
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- Student Showcase Class of 2021 Modal Controls:
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- Student Showcase Class of 2021 Modal Controls:
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- Student Showcase Class of 2021 Modal Controls:
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- Student Showcase Class of 2021 Modal Controls:
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- Student Showcase Class of 2021 Modal Controls:
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- Class of 2021 Modals
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Olivia Beirne
Image: Andy Ross
Born and raised in the Hawkesbury region of North West Sydney, Australia, Olivia started her dance career at the age of 4. She trained recreationally at the ‘Greater Western Sydney Academy of Classical Ballet’ under ex Moulin Rouge and Lido Paris dancer, Katrina Pritchard Stutz for 10 years where she enjoyed performing main roles and truly discovered her love for the arts. She was then accepted for full time at ‘Alegria Dance Studios’ and trained for 18 months under Hilary Kaplan and Archibald Mackenzie. In 2018 she successfully auditioned for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, so moved overseas at the age of 17 to follow her dreams.
Olivia has completed, with honours and distinctions her Cecchetti and RAD ballet examinations. She was nominated 3 times as a Cecchetti scholar and was selected to perform in the National Cecchetti Conference in Sydney.
During the RCS BA Modern Ballet programme, Olivia has performed in the annual graduation ceremonies, travelled to Amsterdam to learn choreography from John McFall and performed excerpts from ‘The Nutcracker’ at Gleneagles. She has also created choreography and danced for the RCS Piano and Dance festival. She is now auditioning for neoclassical, jazz and contemporary companies to further follow her passion after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts – Modern Ballet.
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Mika George Evans
Image: Andy Ross
Mika is from New Zealand where she began her training in ballet and contemporary dance at Alys Hughes School of Dance, Kapiti Dance Centre and on the Scholars programme at New Zealand School of Dance. When her family moved to England, Mika then trained under Yoko Ichino on the CAT programme at Northern Ballet Academy. At 16, Mika moved to Scotland to undertake vocational ballet training on the BA Modern Ballet programme at RCS where she has particularly enjoyed the opportunities to learn from industry leading professionals and develop her choreographic skills. Mika has decided to pursue a career in contemporary dance and, after graduation, will be moving to Wales to take up the offer of an apprenticeship with National Dance Company Wales as part of the MA in Contemporary Dance at NSCD. Mika would like to thank all those, both personal and professional, who have supported and challenged her as she has pursued a career in dance.
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Mila Evans
Image: Andy Ross
Born in Co. Kildare, Ireland, Mila began taking ballet classes at the age of three. She has trained at various summer programmes across the United Kingdom and Europe and has performed with Ballet Ireland. Mila was a member of the Irish National Youth Ballet Company for several years and performed in various shows before successfully applying for a place on the BA Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Mila has enjoyed her time at RCS and is particularly grateful for the opportunity to work with many professional dancers, world class guest teachers and choreographers. She has enjoyed training in partnership with Scottish Ballet over the past three years and looks forward to pursuing a career in dance.
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Isobel Fisher
Born in Reading, England, Isobel began her training with her local ballet school at the age of 3. In 2018, she started her vocational training with Ballet West in Scotland. Over her 2 years at the school, Isobel performed roles in touring productions with their semiprofessional company and competed in the Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto.
In 2020, Isobel successfully auditioned for third year entry to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Since joining RCS, Isobel has had countless opportunities to explore new pieces and dance genres, working with renowned choreographers and guest teachers from Scottish Ballet.
Isobel’s most grateful for the training provided by the outstanding lecturers at RCS, who have allowed us to dance in the studios all year, despite the global pandemic. Training during this time, that so many others have sadly missed, has helped support and mould her into the dancer she is today.
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Emily Hawkins
Emily is from Eastbourne, East Sussex. She started dancing in baby ballet aged 3 and continued at her local dance school completing RAD grades and free classes in all styles.
Aged 11, she successfully auditioned for The Legat School of Dance and continued onto the senior programme school until age 16. Whilst at Legat, Emily was delighted to be chosen to join Central School of Ballet’s Associate programme aged 14. She continued in this programme for two years whilst also completing many summer schools, including the National Youth Ballet’s summer school where she had the opportunity to dance at Sadler’s Wells and also participate in their regional shows, just outside London.
At 16 Emily joined Ballet West Scotland, where she completed her Foundation Degree and had the opportunity to tour Scotland each year in full length ballets.
Emily joined The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2020 to complete her BA Modern Ballet and has very much enjoyed her time there. She has felt very welcomed and grateful for the training she has received. She is looking forward to performing in the upcoming end of year show where the students are able to showcase various pieces choreographed for them by outstanding choreographers.
Emily was thrilled to be selected to join Northern Ballet’s Professional Graduate Programme to further her training..
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Casey Holdsworth
Casey was born in Sydney, Australia and began dancing when she was three years old. She danced at Precision Dance Academy and at the age of eleven she moved to Houston, Texas and trained at Payne Academy of Ballet. At the age of fifteen, she moved back to Sydney to join Alegria School of Dance as a full-time student. After a year of intense training and coaching from Hilary Kaplan and Archibald McKenzie, she was accepted to be a part of the BA Modern Ballet programme and started in second year in September 2019.
Some of her most memorable times at RCS have been having the opportunity to travel to Amsterdam and being included in a new piece created by a renowned choreographer and being a part of solo’s evening in both 2019 and 2020. Casey is very grateful for the experiences and opportunities she has had since training here. After graduating from RCS, Casey is hoping to get a job of any kind in the dance world.
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Noa Izuka
Image: Andy Ross
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Noa began dancing at age 7 at her local studio in Tokyo, and developed a passion for ballet. In 2014, she joined summer school at Royal Ballet School of Antwerp in Belgium, and she discovered the interests in ballet schools in Europe.
In 2016, she successfully auditioned for ‘Tokyo Metropolitan Art High School’ in Japan, and she learned classical ballet at the high school as well as the other subjects.
In 2018 Noa successfully auditioned for the BA Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to train professionally for the next three years, and she developed her passion for both classical ballet and contemporary. During these three years, she had a lot of chances to work with amazing teachers, choreographers, and guest dancers. Also, she has had many precious opportunities at RCS, such as performance of ‘Nutcracker’ at Gleneagles Hotel, solos evening performance, and piano and dance collaboration performance at the hall in the campus.
Noa is delighted and honoured to be joining Ètoile Ballet Theatre in Italy as a trainee in September 2021.
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Caroline Jones
Image: Andy Ross
Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, Caroline discovered her love for dancing at The Linda Lowry School of Ballet where she took her first class aged four. In 2015, Caroline auditioned for the Scottish Ballet Senior Associate Programme where she trained for three years which provided a thorough understanding of classical and contemporary technique.
In 2018, Caroline successfully gained a place at The Royal Conservatoire on the BA Modern Ballet course. During her time at RCS, Caroline was fortunate enough to travel to Amsterdam to work with John McFall, she also performed an excerpt from the Nutcracker at The Gleneagles Hotel. Caroline has had numerous opportunities to work with guest teachers and choreographers during her time and is very thankful for all the support her lecturers have provided throughout her training.
Caroline is excited to perform in the graduation performance alongside her peers and looks forward to seeing where her career takes her next.
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Hannah Leong
Image: Andy Ross
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Hannah discovered her passion for dance at Triple Menace Studios at the age of 7. She then decided to pursue ballet more seriously at Alegria School of dance under the direction of Hilary Kaplan and Archibald Mckenzie. She started in part-time classes from 2016 and then joined the full-time course from 2018. Hannah then moved to Glasgow to study at RCS in 2019 at age 17, and commenced the BA Modern Ballet course in second year. During her time at RCS, she was given the opportunities to perform at the Gleneagles hotel, work closely with a renowned choreographer in Amsterdam and to be taught by artists of Scottish ballet. After graduation, Hannah hopes to further her dance career in either ballet or contemporary.
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Lili Marin-Curtoud
Image: Andy Ross
Lili was born in 2001 in Paris and started dancing aged five at Balletissimo in Fontenay-Sous-Bois where she fell completely in love with the beauty and discipline of ballet. When her family moved to Sydney, Australia she continued ballet classes with Nicholina Kuner and Sinead Vidler at Academy Ballet where she was invited to train under the guidance of former Australian Ballet principal, Vicky Attard.
At the age of 15, Lili finished her academic studies at the French School of Sydney leaving with a high distinction in her Diplôme National du Brevet.
She continued her dance training full-time at Algeria Dance Studios in Sydney’s city centre, directed by renowned teacher Hilary Kaplan. Lili trained in both the RAD and Cecchetti syllabuses and achieved high distinctions in all vocational examinations.
After training at Alegria for three years, she successfully auditioned for 11 dance schools and universities across Europe. She was delighted to join Royal Conservatoire of Scotland as a direct entrant into second year BA Modern Ballet. Following graduation, Lili plans to do a further year of pre-professional contemporary training and hopes to one day perform for Rafael Bonachela’s, Sydney Dance Company.
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Ava McEvoy
Image: Andy Ross
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Mao Miyaguchi
Image: Andy Ross
Born and raised in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. She began ballet at age 5, at the local ballet studio. In 2012, she appeared ‘Festival Giappons Della Cultura di Ishikawa’ and performed at Verme Theater in Milan, Italy. By the scalar ship of the Japan Ballet Competition, she had been to St. Petersburg and joined Gala performances in 2016 and 2019.
In 2018 she successfully auditioned for the BA Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and trained professionally for the next 3 years. She performed Waltz of Flower at Gleneagles in Glasgow. Also, she joined Amsterdam Exchange Trip 2020 and worked to create a piece choreographed by John McFall. Support of all of the teachers throughout her training has allowed her to become the artist she is today.
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Jessica Neilson
Image: Andy Ross
Born and raised in Inverness, Scotland, Jessica’s love for dance started when she enrolled at ‘Elvet Ballet School’ in Dingwall. In 2010 she successfully auditioned for the Scottish Ballet Junior Associate program which lasts for two years. After commencing the program, Jessica was asked to audition for the Mid Associates a year early where she continued to training there through to Senior Associates. During this time, she was took up the opportunity to perform with Scottish Ballet in 2013, on their first ever tour of the production ‘Hansel and Gretel’ as one of the school children.
In 2017 Jessica successfully auditioned for the BA Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Whilst there she has had many opportunities including performing at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in ‘MesDame’ choreographed by Scottish Ballet dancer Constant Vigier. Additionally, in her second year of training in 2019, Jessica took part in an exchange with the dancers at Ballet Divertimento, allowing her year group the opportunity to perform in Montreal, Canada. Later in 2019, first the end of her second year and then again at start of her third year, she took part in Scottish Ballet’s production of ‘Wee Hansel and Gretel’ where she alternated between performing the roles of ‘Sweet Treat’ and ‘Ragdoll’.
Jessica has highly valued her time and training at RCS and is extremely thankful for the exceptional standard of training provided by the lecturers.
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Ashton Parker
Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ashton began her dance training aged 3. She trained with the highly prestigious ‘Art of Motion South Africa’ for three years before being accepted onto the BA (Hons) degree program at Ballet West Scotland.
During her two years there, Ashton performed in many of the Touring Company’s productions and was awarded the Contemporary Medal At the 2019 Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto, Canada.
Joining RCS for her third year in 2020, Ashton has recieved countless opportunities to be involved in new dance pieces and has worked with numerous renowned choreographers, guest teachers and Scottish Ballet Company members.
Ashton will forever be grateful to the lecturers at RCS who mentored, trained and nurtured her through the global pandemic and allowed her the opportunity to grow into the dancer she is today.
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Rafael Pedro
Image: Amber Hunt
Rafael begun his training under the direction of Heather Murray at The Fine Arts Centre of Excellence, where he had the opportunity to perform roles such as Laurie (Little Women), Rum Tum Tugger (Cats), Clyde (The Witches of Eastwick) and Daniel (Once on This Island), as well performing in a charity fundraising event for Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children and also performing several choreographic pieces at Disneyland Paris.
At the end of his studies for the Fine Arts Centre of Excellence, Rafael had the opportunity to successfully audition for The Bathgate Regal’s production of the pantomime Cinderella, where he played the role of Dandini.
Joining The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2018, Rafael had the opportunity to collaborate with the Opera department on their production of Trouble in Tahiti, under the direction of Maxine Graham. Upon graduation, he is performing alongside 8 of his peers in Jamiel Lawrence’s most recent project, Workforce.
Rafael is currently complementing his training by working towards teaching qualifications, also under the direction and support of Heather Murray, Rafael is undergoing Associate training for the British Association of Teachers of Dancing.
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Tadhg Quigley Brennan
Image: Andy Ross
Tadhg was born and raised in Donegal, Ireland and began his training aged 10 at Zona Dance Company. He successfully auditioned for the Irish National Youth Ballet in 2014 and spent 4 seasons training and performing under the directorship of Katherine Lewis. During his time at INYB, Tadhg performed principal roles in performances of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘The Nutcracker’ and ‘The Prince and the Pauper’.
In 2018, Tadhg gained a place on the BA Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. During his time here, he has enjoyed the opportunities given to collaborate with his peers who are studying in different disciplines. In second year, he discovered a love for choreography and has most recently been asked to choreograph a piece for this years online graduation ceremony.
Tadhg looks forward to his future in dance and already has professional choreography works in the early stages of planning.
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Daisuke Sakai
Daisuke Sakai was born and raised in Osaka, Japan in 2002. He began dancing at local dance school since 4 years old. He started to participate in some ballet competitions were in Japan from the age of fourteen years old also he sometimes received a prize in some of them.
In the winter of 2016, he took an audition for the summer school in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and received the scholarship. Then, he joined the summer school of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2017.
Daisuke had taken audition to enter to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland BA Morden Ballet(RCS) in the winter of 2017 and he passed it. Therefore, he entered to there since 2018. He had a lot of various opportunities during training in RCS. He performed Trepak at Gleneagles Performance at the Gleneagles Hotel. He and his year students travelled to Amsterdam for learn choreography of a piece from John Mcfall.
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Meryem Sengun
Image: Andy Ross
Of Turkish/English ancestry, but born and raised in Glasgow, Meryem began dancing at the age of 4 and made her debut performance as a Rabbit at the SECC.
After attending The Performers Dance Academy, where she studied; Tap, Modern, Ballet, Jazz and Character, Meryem also auditioned successfully for Scottish Ballet’s Junior Associate Programme in 2010 and was there for two years. This then gave Meryem the skills and opportunity to audition for the Dance School of Scotland, where she gained her scholarship in 2012 and stayed for five years.
Before joining the BA Modern Ballet course at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2017, Meryem was involved in several projects including; Paragon, Ydance and Scottish Ballet’s Hot House levels 1 and 2. During her time at RCS, Meryem has had the opportunity to attend workshops and performances from many of Britain’s leading Dance Companies including, Rambert, Scottish Ballet, Richard Alston and Scottish Dance Theatre, which has helped broaden her experience and expand her style. In 2018 Meryem also had the privilege of working with Constant Vigier (dancer at Scottish Ballet) on the premiere of his show ‘Mes Dames’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She would also like to thank the teachers at RCS for their support over the years.
Meryem has also danced in music videos and modelled in a commercial for The House of Gods. She is excited for the future and wishes the best for her peers.
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Hannah Spence
Image: Andy Ross
Hannah was born in Perth, Scotland and began her dance training at the age of 3. She trained at Julie Young Dance studios and joined the Scottish Ballet Associate Programme in 2011 where she completed the Junior, Mid and Senior levels.
Whilst training with Julie Young, Hannah had the opportunity of performing on many well-known stages in the UK including Sadler’s Wells in London.
In 2015, Hannah won the Scottish Junior Ballet and Scottish Junior Modern Championships which also took her to the Champion of Champions event in Fleetwood, Blackpool in 2016.
Hannah successfully gained a place on the BA Modern Ballet programme in 2018 which has allowed her to travel to Amsterdam to work with well-known choreographer John McFall, perform at events in Gleneagles and Edinburgh and had the opportunity to learn repertoire from different workshops and performances including that of Scottish Ballet.
Hannah would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff involved with the BA Modern Ballet programme partnered with Scottish Ballet, in enhancing her knowledge and experience in Ballet, Neo-Classical and Contemporary genres.
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Kyle Symon
Image: Andy Ross
Kyle is from Banknock, Falkirk. Before he started his journey at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland he trained at two schools, Bernadette Sloan’s and Broadway School of Performing Arts. During his time at RCS he has had a lot of performing experience in incredible venues right here in Scotland all the way to Montreal, Canada, working with fantastic choreographers along the way. Now that his time at RCS is coming to an end, he is aiming to join Police Scotland where he believes the lessons and skills, he has learned here will be able to transfer over. He would like to give special thanks to Fabrice Mufrais, Kara Mclaughlin, Louisa Ross, Diana Loosmore and Kerry Livingston as they all provided him with exceptional support. As he closes this chapter of his life to start a new one he hopes to meet new people who are as inspiring, and above all else kind.
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Urara Takata
Image: Andy Ross
Born in Osaka, Japan, Urara began dancing at her local dance school aged 3.
At aged 16 she successfully auditioned for Escola de Dança do Conservatório Nacional in Portugal and Urara developed and progressed for the next 2 years. In 2019 Urara was successfully awarded a position of first soloist on Victoria Ballet Company in Canada. Urara has achieved numerous top prizes in Japanese ballet competition. In 2020, Urara auditioned and transferred for 2nd year of the BA Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where she gained a place to train professionally for the next 2 years.
During the RCS BA Modern Ballet programme, Urara performed Piano and Dance performance, solo from Esmeralda and First Flash choreographed by Jorma Elo at the solos evening. She also performed solo from Esmeralda for school introduction and Sugar Plum Fairy solo from Nutcracker for Christmas short film of RCS, these clips were uploaded on YouTube.
She is looking forward to shortly joining Scottish Ballet’s Nutcracker and is giving her the opportunity to develop her passion for both contemporary and classical ballet.
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Katie Taplin
Image: Andy Ross
Katie grew up in the South of England and started dancing at the age of three progressing into competitions which resulted in her representing England in the Dance World Cup as a tap dancer where she won a silver medal. Having gained a scholarship for prevocational training at Legat school of ballet and contemporary dance aged 13, she performed in many showcases and Gala performances and enjoyed being taught contemporary repertoire by contemporary choreographers such as Paul Libird, Richard Chappell and Lee Smikle. Katie attended several residential summer schools during this time which included 2 seasons at The National Youth Ballet of GB and another at Laban Contemporary school. Notably, she danced under the direction of Wayne Sleep in Cinderella and was able to perform at Sadlers Wells with NYB. Gaining a place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has allowed Katie to continue her training in ballet and contemporary dance and she has enjoyed her time immensely, despite being a long way from home. Gaining a place with the Scottish ballet youth exchange programme in her first year, gave her access to further training and a residency in Italy where she performed in the Torinodanzia festival in Turin. One of the highlights of this programme was working with Sophie Laplane and with Italian dancers and teachers. Katie also auditioned and attended several Mathew Bourne intensives in London and a workshop with NDT in Holland, alongside a Dutch residency through RCS in 2020 under the direction of John McFall. Most recently Katie collaborated with 2 musicians to enter the Scottish Ballet Safe to Be Me film festival, again another experience she was grateful to be involved with.
Despite the pandemic, Katie has received offers from dance companies in Holland and New York and her ultimate career goal remains to dance with companies such as Matthew Bourne’s New Adventure, Nederlands Dance Theater or the Sydney Dance Company, to name a few.
Katie will be joining Ajkun Ballet Theatre as a Junior Artist on their trainee programme in October 2021.
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Jasmyne Taylor
Image: Andy Ross
Jasmyne was born and raised in the North West of England, Warrington, Cheshire. She began dancing at age 4 at a local dance school and developed a passion for a multitude of dance genre including classical ballet. Alongside her weekly lessons, Jasmyne would spend her summers attending various summer courses throughout the United Kingdom and attended a number of associate programmes: Northern Cecchetti Ballet associates and Midland associates with Shannon and Peter Parker. Jasmyne trained at KS Dance in Warrington under the guidance of Kate Simmons until the age of 16 and was lucky enough to be entered for, and to win, both the Junior and Senior Cecchetti Mabel Ryan awards at Sadler wells.
In 2018, Jasmyne was successfully awarded a position on the BA Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to train professionally for the next 3 years.
During these 3 years, Jasmyne had the chance to travel to the Netherlands to train with esteemed ballet master and choreographer John McFall, attend workshops with Matthew Bourne Adventures, Scottish Theatre and Scottish Ballet and she also had the pleasure to work with various choreographers such as Sophie La Plane and artistic director of Scottish Ballet, Christopher Hampson.
Highlights have included the opportunity to liaise with other disciplines in the conservatoire for events such as the annual Piano and Dance Performances; The Nutcracker Performance, at Gleneagles and of course the annual performances. Jasmyne has also loved the opportunities offered to develop her passion for choreography.
Jasmyne is very excited for what the future holds, after a difficult year due to the pandemic; Jasmyne has decided to pursue further studies with the view to apply for her masters in Choreography the following academic year.
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Emma Van Boolen
Image: Andy Ross
Emma began her training in Birmingham, aged 13. She soon gained associate places with the Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School; meanwhile studying with her teachers Annette Nicholson, Ambra Vallo and Julie Felix. Emma also attended summer schools throughout the UK, including English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and National Youth Ballet, where she performed at Sadlers Wells.
During her time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she has had the opportunity to work with a number of guest teachers and choreographers, including John McFall at Chassé Dance Studios, Amsterdam.
Emma is grateful for the support that has surrounded her throughout her training and is looking forward to seeing what the future holds.
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Isabella Vargiu
Image: Andy Ross
Born in London, Isabella discovered her love for dancing at her local dance school aged two and a half.
At aged seven, she attended the Junior Associates at the Royal Ballet School and at eleven, attended Central School of Ballet and Tring Park Associate programs for five years, training in classical ballet, contemporary and character technique. Isabella was also a member of the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain.
In 2018, aged sixteen, Isabella moved to Scotland and began her vocational training – BA in Modern Ballet at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Over her three years at the institution, she has had many opportunities to perform. In her first year, a charity fundraiser held by the Red Cross in Edinburgh and in her second year “Waltz of the Flowers” repertoire from the Nutcracker at Glen Eagles. In January 2019 she also had the opportunity to work with John McFall in Amsterdam; a week of intense training and working on a new piece he was choreographing.
Isabella would like to thank all the teachers and people who have supported her, throughout her time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
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Auditions
For September 2022 entry, we are currently planning for in-person auditions to take place in Glasgow and in London on our BA Modern Ballet programme, as well as continuing to offer auditions in an online format for those who are not able to travel to an in-person audition. We have many years of experience of conducting online auditions and have a well-established format and process in place, so no applicant will be disadvantaged by auditioning in this manner. We will continue to respond to ongoing governmental guidance as to how we can hold in-person auditions in a way that is safe for our applicants as well as staff, and these will be subject to change dependent on alterations in governmental advice.
There are two stages to audition – preliminary and recall. You can audition in-person or online for both stages. Regardless of your choice, you are required to send in a series of photographs for review by our BA Modern Ballet staff team. Please make a profile to support your application on Acceptd, and then use this to provide photographs of the following:
- Demi-plie en face, arms in bras bas or on waist
- A la seconde en l’air, arms in 5th position
- Arabesque en l’air, facing decote (side)
- Female applicants only — 2nd position en pointe
In-Person Auditions
If you decide to audition in-person, you will be invited to choose an audition location chosen on your UCAS Conservatoires profile – we will be holding auditions in Glasgow and in London. In-person preliminary auditions consist of a classical ballet class which will include barre work, centre and allegro. Female candidates will be asked to show some pointe work at the end of the class. The class will last approximately 90 minutes, will be taught by one of the RCS ballet staff and accompanied by a musician. You will be observed in the class by a panel made up of staff from the programme team. There will be short information session either at the start/end of the audition. The in-person recall auditions will be held in Glasgow in March 2022.
Should you be recalled, the ‘final’ audition will be scheduled for March 2022 and is more in-depth. Applicants invited to the final audition will participate in:
– A classical ballet class (barre, centre and allegro) including pointe work for female applicants and lasting approximately 90 minutes.
– A contemporary session which will last approximately 30-45 minutes. This will include some floor work and travelling sequences. No previous experience/training of contemporary dance is required for this session.
– A physiotherapy screening. This session will be carried out individually with one of our qualified physiotherapists and will take around 15 minutes
– An interview with programme staff. You do not need to prepare anything for this interview, which will last between 10-15 minutes
– An Information session with the Head of Modern Ballet, members of the programme team and colleagues from registry. This will give you an overview of our programme, approach to teaching and learning, our facilities, funding, accommodation and student support. It lasts about 1 hour. A parent/carer is welcome to attend and there will be an opportunity to ask any questions following this session.
Please note that the recall audition may take place over two consecutive days, requiring an overnight stay.
Online Auditions
If you decide to audition online, the audition videos and photographs for your online submission do not need to be professionally filmed/taken – your phone or a similar device is suitable. Online applicants will be asked to make a profile to support their application on Acceptd, and then use this to provide footage/photographs (as appropriate) of the following:
1. BARRE WORK
- Plies – on one side only
- Battements Tendus – shown on both sides
- Battements Fondus – shown on both sidesGrands Battements – shown on both sides
2. CENTRE PRACTICE AND ALLEGRO
- Adage – showing both sides
- Pirouette enchainement – can be taken from 5th, 4th and/or 2nd position, shown both en dehors and en dedans. Pirouettes should be performed on both the right and the left side
- Petit Allegro/Warm-up jump – sautes, echappes sautes and changements
- Allegro enchainement
- One grand allegro enchainement
3. STRETCHING (no music required)
Applicants should take care to work within their own range of movement and not force or bounce in the following stretches:
- Spine roll down – facing the back with feet together and arms by sides, slowly roll down through the spine (keeping legs straight) and recover
- Achilles stretch – facing the side with feet together, bend knees with heels remaining on the floor and recover
- Hamstring stretch – facing the side, sitting on the floor with legs fully stretched forward in parallel, reach up and then forward towards toes, keeping backs of knees on the floor
- Splits on right leg – facing right corner
- Box splits – facing front
- Splits on left leg – facing left corner
4. FEMALE APPLICANTS ONLY
In addition to the above, female applicants should show a short example of pointe work, in the centre. Please include:
- Echappes and releves
- Simple pirouette enchainement – shown on both sides
5. MALE APPLICANTS ONLY
In addition to the above, male applicants should show a short example of virtuosity work. Please include:
- Tours en l’air – to both sides
6. ALL APPLICANTS – PHOTOGRAPHS
- Demi-plie en face, arms in bras bas or on waist
- A la seconde en l’air, arms in 2nd position
- Arabesque en l’air, facing decote (side)
- Female applicants only — 2nd position en pointe, arms in 5th position
Should you be recalled after your Acceptd submission, you will be asked to submit additional filmed material (the details of which will be shared in direct correspondence with you) and also attend an online live interview with members of the BA Modern Ballet staff team.
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How to Apply
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For September 2022 entry, we are currently planning for in-person auditions to take place in Glasgow and in London on our BA Modern Ballet programme, as well as continuing to offer auditions in an online format for those who are not able to travel to an in-person audition. We have many years of experience of conducting online auditions and have a well-established format and process in place, so no applicant will be disadvantaged by auditioning in this manner. We will continue to respond to ongoing governmental guidance as to how we can hold in-person auditions in a way that is safe for our applicants as well as staff, and these will be subject to change dependent on alterations in governmental advice.
There are two stages to audition – preliminary and recall. You can audition in-person or online for both stages. Regardless of your choice, you are required to send in a series of photographs for review by our BA Modern Ballet staff team. Please make a profile to support your application on Acceptd, and then use this to provide photographs of the following:
- Demi-plie en face, arms in bras bas or on waist
- A la seconde en l’air, arms in 5th position
- Arabesque en l’air, facing decote (side)
- Female applicants only — 2nd position en pointe, arms in 5th position
In-Person Auditions
If you decide to audition in-person, you will be invited to choose an audition location chosen on your UCAS Conservatoires profile – we will be holding auditions in Glasgow and in London. In-person preliminary auditions consist of a classical ballet class which will include barre work, centre and allegro. Female candidates will be asked to show some pointe work at the end of the class. The class will last approximately 90 minutes, will be taught by one of the RCS ballet staff and accompanied by a musician. You will be observed in the class by a panel made up of staff from the programme team. There will be short information session either at the start/end of the audition. The in-person recall auditions will be held in Glasgow in March 2022.
Should you be recalled, the ‘final’ audition will be scheduled for March 2022 and is more in-depth. Applicants invited to the final audition will participate in:
– A classical ballet class (barre, centre and allegro) including pointe work for female applicants and lasting approximately 90 minutes.
– A contemporary session which will last approximately 30-45 minutes. This will include some floor work and travelling sequences. No previous experience/training of contemporary dance is required for this session.
– A physiotherapy screening. This session will be carried out individually with one of our qualified physiotherapists and will take around 15 minutes
– An interview with programme staff. You do not need to prepare anything for this interview, which will last between 10-15 minutes
– An Information session with the Head of Modern Ballet, members of the programme team and colleagues from registry. This will give you an overview of our programme, approach to teaching and learning, our facilities, funding, accommodation and student support. It lasts about 1 hour. A parent/carer is welcome to attend and there will be an opportunity to ask any questions following this session.
Please note that the recall audition may take place over two consecutive days, requiring an overnight stay.
Online Auditions
If you decide to audition online, the audition videos and photographs for your online submission do not need to be professionally filmed/taken – your phone or a similar device is suitable. Online applicants will be asked to make a profile to support their application on Acceptd, and then use this to provide footage/photographs (as appropriate) of the following:
1. BARRE WORK
- Plies – on one side only
- Battements Tendus – shown on both sides
- Battements Fondus – shown on both sidesGrands Battements – shown on both sides
2. CENTRE PRACTICE AND ALLEGRO
- Adage – showing both sides
- Pirouette enchainement – can be taken from 5th, 4th and/or 2nd position, shown both en dehors and en dedans. Pirouettes should be performed on both the right and the left side
- Petit Allegro/Warm-up jump – sautes, echappes sautes and changements
- Allegro enchainement
- One grand allegro enchainement
3. STRETCHING (no music required)
Applicants should take care to work within their own range of movement and not force or bounce in the following stretches:
- Spine roll down – facing the back with feet together and arms by sides, slowly roll down through the spine (keeping legs straight) and recover
- Achilles stretch – facing the side with feet together, bend knees with heels remaining on the floor and recover
- Hamstring stretch – facing the side, sitting on the floor with legs fully stretched forward in parallel, reach up and then forward towards toes, keeping backs of knees on the floor
- Splits on right leg – facing right corner
- Box splits – facing front
- Splits on left leg – facing left corner
4. FEMALE APPLICANTS ONLY
In addition to the above, female applicants should show a short example of pointe work, in the centre. Please include:
- Echappes and releves
- Simple pirouette enchainement – shown on both sides
5. MALE APPLICANTS ONLY
In addition to the above, male applicants should show a short example of virtuosity work. Please include:
- Tours en l’air – to both sides
6. ALL APPLICANTS – PHOTOGRAPHS
- Demi-plie en face, arms in bras bas or on waist
- A la seconde en l’air, arms in 2nd position
- Arabesque en l’air, facing decote (side)
- Female applicants only — 2nd position en pointe
Should you be recalled after your Acceptd submission, you will be asked to submit additional filmed material (the details of which will be shared in direct correspondence with you) and also attend an online live interview with members of the BA Modern Ballet staff team.
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BA Modern Ballet
