School Of The Arts, Singapore
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Hi, first and foremost I’m not a parent I’m a secondary four student. I’m so desperate for information that I’m actually posting on a KIASU parent website haha. I’ve attended the talen academy when I was P6 but failed to get in, and here I am trying again. needless to say, my past failure has really been creeping up on me and making me feel very uncomfortable, unsure if I should even try again.
anyway, I am taking my o’levels this year and am currently considering applying for DSA to Sota this june through Dance (ballet) I have a few questions on the school as well as admission because the information provided on the SOTA website is rather confusing to me as it mentions mostly on P6 students only.
1. Is there a large amount of students who are accepted through DSA every year? (based on the students currently studying there, do they find that there are alot of transfer students?)
2. How hard is it to actually get in? they make it sound like the difficulty level is really high and you’ve really gotta be the cream of the crop to get in.
3. How is a typical classical ballet class like? ( we have to attend one during the audition)
4. Is the written essay in the talent academy something that I have to study for beforehand? is it expository in nature or is it something which we can be more creative with and come up with our own stories etc.
5. Is it very stressful in sota? (in terms of keeping up academically)
6. Is it a must to take english literature to be legible for DSA because I currently am not taking it.
The main reason I’ve decided to try SOTA again is because I have a strong passion in dance, however I face the difficulty of expressing this especially with the demands of normal school plus cca ( I take dance outside as well). In school, we are expected to perform well as a student and a dancer (cca is dance).
Last year when we were training for the SYF I danced for up to 16 hours a week including my regular classes outside, on top of that I still had to juggle the heavy load of school work. my days could stretch from 6am when I wake up all the way to 8/9pm when i finish dance classes. I barely manage to squeeze in some time for tuition. This year is my final year and my school had organized a concert just 2 weeks before our mid years, four weeks before our chinese o levels. My grade 8 RAD ballet exam was the week after the concert. the first four months of the year was burned just like that. My results took a major beating from all this.
In light of all this, do you think I should DSA into SOTA? it just seems like a more sensible choice to me. -
Are there any more open houses for this year for SOTA? None shown on SOTA website.
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Hi Papercranes, I'm sorry you did not make the cut at P6 and if dance is your passion, I can understand how SOTA is attractive to you. You are sitting for you O's ths year so I am not sure how you wld fit in with the IB curriculum, you really need to speak with the school to find out their exact requirements. Only they would be able to assess you correctly.
[quote]1. Is there a large amount of students who are accepted through DSA every year? (based on the students currently studying there, do they find that there are alot of transfer students?)[/quote]Last year 36 students made the final cut after the PSLE results or school tranfers (for those in Sec 1 already).
[quote]2. How hard is it to actually get in? they make it sound like the difficulty level is really high and you've really gotta be the cream of the crop to get in. [/quote]It really depends on how good the dancers are for that year's audition, the better dancers for the year, the more competitive it is. The way I see it, while talent is important, for SOTA they seem to prefer dancers who are quick at pick up, ie able to quickly visualise their dance instructions and follow immediately, good Ballet vocab helps.
You are now in GD 8 ? Have you done the Majors ? If this is the case, you will be in a far higher ability level than the P6 students auditioning and SOTA will assess you differently from the rest. I know of one Sec 4 student last year who auditioned, she is a beautiful dancer but did not get in because she was academically weak and probably will not make a successful transfer to the IB program. They do look at your school results as well, and you wld have to be a consistant student with reasonably good grades. Ultimately, SOTA is about academics.
[quote]3. How is a typical classical ballet class like? ( we have to attend one during the audition)[/quote]It is pitched at RAD Gd 5 to 6. The dance teachers are all RAD qualified, besides being former performers. They look for dancers who have a feeling for the dance rather than an automatic dancer, a performance personality so *smile, smile, smile*, , look as if you enjoy dancing, no long faces. At the Talent Academy they might take you aside to for a short, separate audition after the class as you are older.
Not all the dancers have RAD certificates. Having RAD certs just puts the dancer in an all Ballet group, they work differently from the non-ballet dancers (those who entered SOTA with ballroom, hip-hop, jazz etc)
[quote]4. Is the written essay in the talent academy something that I have to study for beforehand? is it expository in nature or is it something which we can be more creative with and come up with our own stories.[/quote]It's an open ended essay, not difficult.
[quote]6. Is it a must to take english literature to be legible for DSA because I currently am not taking it. [/quote]They will probably assess your academics separately from the rest due to your age. Also if they decide you qualify for SOTA, you have to make the decision of transferring immediately and forego your O levels. This might not be agreeable to your parents, so do speak to them about what you want.
[quote]Is it stressful in SOTA ?[/quote]It is stressful in any secondary school. You just need to manage your time efficiently and honestly if dance is a passion, the longer hours pass very quickly. Dance is built into the curriculum, the timetable is juggled by the teachers to make sure you finish your lessons and get to dance classes. Unlike mainstream schools where dance outside of school is seen as an irritating, unwelcome intrusion to school schedules.
[quote]In light of all this, do you think I should DSA into SOTA? it just seems like a more sensible choice to me.[/quote]I feel you should, you never know until you do. If you are successful, excellent ...... if not, you will be able to move on and seek other options like LaSalle. Stay positive and if dance is really what you want to do, stay focused on that, SOTA is not the only way
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[quote]I'm sorry you did not make the cut at P6[/quote]
if i'm not wrong, sota will not allow you to audition for the same art form twice.
it seems unfair to 'late-developers' but think of all the logistics if all the rejected applicants keep coming back.
i've known of people who didn't make in in dance but succeeded through theatre -
My daughter has just gone for the DSA for yr 5 in June for visual arts. Any parent currently in yr 4 can throw some lights on how big is the cohort now in yr 4?
Many thanks. -
Redwine:
When will her results be known?My daughter has just gone for the DSA for yr 5 in June for visual arts. Any parent currently in yr 4 can throw some lights on how big is the cohort now in yr 4?
Many thanks.
Cohort in Yr 4 should be slightly more than 100. Don't know the exact figures but there are only 4 classes + 1 AGP class of 4 -
My nephew has been accepted into SOTA via DSA. He was told in an email his PSLE has to be a "high Express T-Score" to qualify.
Does anyone know what that means? I thought as long as qualify for Express stream (like 200) and tat’s sufficient. Could SOTA, offering IB, require a higher standard? -
skyjuice:
The statement \"high express t-score\" is very vague and is open to interpretation. And that, I believe, is how SOTA wants it, so that it gives them an opportunity to consider borderline applicants on a case-by-case basis.My nephew has been accepted into SOTA via DSA. He was told in an email his PSLE has to be a \"high Express T-Score\" to qualify.
Does anyone know what that means? I thought as long as qualify for Express stream (like 200) and tat's sufficient. Could SOTA, offering IB, require a higher standard?
I don't think that's fair to the students because you don't know what the cut-off is. High express t-score could mean >230, >250 or even >210.
3 years ago, SOTA accepted students with t-scores of UNDER 200, on a case-by-case basis. They then realized that those students had problems coping with the curriculum. In an effort to attract students of higher COP, they've said at the Open Houses and other briefings that students should have decent PSLE scores. However, I know in last year's batch, they accepted students who scored <230. I've also heard of someone who got in at <200, although i have yet to verify this case personally.
If I were you, I'd call SOTA and ask them expressly what they mean by the statement. That would give me peace of mind. -
My boy has dsa confirmed fm Sota-Music. Can any parent (music mep) share how the kid are performing and also how do they allocated teacher. Can we get our own music teacher??
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skyjuice:
If your nephew has been given a confirmed place. As long as you hit the Express stream COP, you are safe.My nephew has been accepted into SOTA via DSA. He was told in an email his PSLE has to be a \"high Express T-Score\" to qualify.
Does anyone know what that means? I thought as long as qualify for Express stream (like 200) and tat's sufficient. Could SOTA, offering IB, require a higher standard?
Eh...\"high Ex T-score\" is to encourage students to continue to study hard for PSLE.
Jtoh is right about the statistics.Ler:
There is no music mep in SOTA. If your current teacher happens to be a faculty teacher in SOTA, you can get back the same teacher. Otherwise, they allocate music teachers according to their instruments randomly. If you desperately wants to go back to your own teacher, you have to pay your own tuition fees besides the school fees.My boy has dsa confirmed fm Sota-Music. Can any parent (music mep) share how the kid are performing and also how do they allocated teacher. Can we get our own music teacher??
I personally do not encourage so as School fees + Tuition fees can amount to great $$$. Also, there might be communication problems between school syallbus and private tutors etc...Since the school provides qualified tutors, go for it.
Music faculty is one of the most rigorous art form next to dance but rewarding if music is your passion. Be prepared for long hours ie. up to 6pm everyday. Those who truly love the art form will endure and survive the programme. Those who got in by \"chance\" probably do not. I've seen a few cases and they have already switched to mainstream schools.
The current music students enjoyed their curriculum thoroughly and most have just returned from summer camps in the US. Their progress are tremendous in my view.
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