ACADEMY COLLEGE™ AUDITIONS

Durban auditions conducted for Ballet and Dance, Music and Art.

Auditions will be conducted for the Academy College’s™ Ballet and Dance Academy in Durban on October 12 in the Playhouse complex.

In addition to the auditions for the performing art academies, art students will be able to hand in their portfolios and pick up application forms for Collective the Art Academy on the day and music students can hand in demo CDs for The Institute Of Music Excellence (Academy of Music - TIME).

Located outside Pretoria at SAX (Sports and Arts Exchange) in the Southdowns precinct of Irene, the academies offer specialized training in state-of the-art facilities for young dancers, musicians and artists providing talented students with the opportunity to achieve their full potential in preparation for a professional career and international success.

The academies will only enrol the top students and acceptance into the academies will be by audition only and prospective students will have to meet stringent audition requirements. Academic school subjects will be taught at the Academy College™ following the IEB syllabus offering top tuition with classes deliberately being kept small.

The Ballet and Dance Academy, directed by Dirk Badenhorst, will follow the Vaganova method of training and will also include RAD, Cecchetti and DASA training. Partnerships have been formed with some of the largest brands in international dance, with mutual exchange programmes between partner institutions giving students important international exposure. The syllabus of the Ballet and Dance Academy incorporates practical subjects such as piano lessons, body conditioning and a variety of dance styles, including Ballet, National Dance, African, Spanish, Contemporary and Jazz as well as theoretical subjects covering Music Theory, Dance History, Anatomy, and Entrepreneurship

Auditions will be for children between ages of 8 to 15 for enrolment in 2009. They need not prepare any dance routine beforehand and the audition will consist of a ballet class and a physical examination. The audition fee is R100. Upon acceptance into the Ballet and Dance Academy, the academic evaluation and tests will be R500. For reservations and application form as well as audition regulations, such as dress code and photographic requirements, contact Janette Coetzee on 082 442 6758 or email janette@balletdance.co.za

The Institute Of Music Excellence (TIME) will be headed up by Sheldon Rocha Leal, former Head of Music at Damelin (nationally) and the Head of the National School of the Arts music department, with RJ Benjamin the Deputy Head of the Department, a recording artist and one of the top vocal coaches in South Africa. TIME will offer courses in classical and contemporary idioms and students will receive tuition in subjects such as intellectual property rights, music technology, performance, song writing, music theory and various types of instrument techniques. Students will be exposed to various workshops and master classes hosted by various professionals from the industry, including Danny K, the well-known recording artist.

TIME is taking in students for enrolment in grade 8 for 2009. For instrumentalists the demo CD should include a solo piece and two cover versions or two originals. Vocalists should include two pieces of which one should be an acappella piece. For application forms and audition requirements, contact RJ Benjamin on 079 039 3410 email rj@timemusic.co.za

The auditions will be held on October 12 from 10h00 in Rehearsal Room 503, Playhouse Company, 29 Acutt Street, Durban. Please note that the audition fee is R100. Upon acceptance into the Music Academy, the academic evaluation and tests will be R 500.

Collective - comprising Studio Collective and Gallery Collective - is directed by John Clarke, Gillian Conry-Taylor and Catherine Gaum. Students will receive tuition in painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and ceramics as well photography, film and design in the Digital Visual Media studio. Studio Collective provides a stimulating world-class working environment where students may explore both traditional and contemporary studio practice under the guidance of leading art educators, professional artists and academics. Children from grade 8 to 11 may audition for enrolment for 2009. Prospective students are required to submit a portfolio of between 10 and 20 works of which drawing will be the priority plus examples of written work, either, a history of art or an English essay which can be submitted in CD format together with the student’s latest academic report.

Students can hand in their portfolios during the ballet and music auditions and will also be able to pick up application forms at the audition venue. Given the format of the art auditions, representatives of Collective will not be on hand on the day. More information on this academy and portfolio requirements please Gillian Conry-Taylor on 082 824 6707 or email gill@artscollective.co.za

Registration for the auditions for the Ballet & Dance, Music and Art academies commence at 09h30 with the auditions themselves starting at 10h00. The finishing time will be 16h00.