School Of The Arts, Singapore

[delsa]

Ragamuffin shinobi:

JRLam:

[quote=\"Ragamuffin shinobi\"]We went for the dance showcases and we were blown away! Fwaah! Can understand their long hours now...

:rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

Now wondering if my dd can ever reach those standards.... more like if she can even get in like that.

Same here! I watched all 3 shows! The standard is amazing!

Dance and Theatre - May I know, does every girl get to perform? Is everyone that good just because of the long hours they put in? Most of the dancers look like they are very outgoing, extrovert and really enjoying their dance. But I am sure there are a few more introvert ones and not performance-oriented. Are they being trained to perform?

I think the dancers were already the outgoing, extroverted ones who enjoy performing in the first place. Think it sounds like what they look out for at the TA.[/quote]Hi!I watched the dance showcases and yes...the dancers were simply a joy to watch!The high standard was really apparent and it was obvious that the sheer hard work,commitment and long hours contributed to the impressive performances/dances.

I guess different personalities exist in SOTA just like everywhere else..it just gets better with experience and lots of practice and opportunities to perform!

[mummyjes]

ikkinique:

Hi, i am a year 5 music student graduating from sota in 2014. if you have any questions regarding, i'd be happy to answer

Hi, my dd will be submitting her application as music student as soon as she got her SA1 result these few days. She's quite nervous with the audition, writing and interviews. May I know what is expected from her during the writing and interview part... sorry a little kiasu here.

She will probably audition for music - instrument - piano (as she has a ABRSM Grade 5) but she prefer to sing but didn't have any formal training nor paper qualification for it, can she just sing any songs? Heard that everything starts from the beginning from Year 1, to build strong foundations, rite?

Will every music students be given chances to perform or take part in competitions or only selected ones?

Roughly how many music students are recruited each year or as many talents as the judge recognize? Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.

[ikkinique]

RE: mummyjes


Roughly how many music students are recruited each year or as many talents as the judge recognize? Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.

For the writing and interview part, all your daughter needs to be is articulate and coherent. During my audition as a Year 1 student, the writing part was just a english composition we had to write based off a single word prompt. The interview is usually during the audition and the panel will just ask a few questions about your daughter's character (i.e. what is your greatest weakness in your opinion?)

I strongly recommend that your daughter auditions for the instrument/course she is passionate in. She will be doing 6 years of intensive training in this instrument and it is absolutely VITAL that she loves what she is doing, be it voice or piano, because it is very easy to get sick and tired of an art form you do not love but are forced to do it everyday. As for the audition, you may sing any song (there have been auditions where singers sung 'When You Believe'. You get the idea.). Foundational training will indeed start in Year 1.

Every music student will be given chances to perform. We have lunchtime concerts that students can apply to perform. Competitions are optional and up to the music teacher supervising the student (in your case, the piano teacher) to suggest or push for. As for the number of our music cohort per year, there are currently about maximum 30 music students per year out of the 200. In my year where we are the 2nd batch to graduate, there are 20++ students out of 120. We are one of the smaller faculties.

Hope I answered your questions adequately.

[mummyjes]

ikkinique:

RE: mummyjes


Roughly how many music students are recruited each year or as many talents as the judge recognize? Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.

For the writing and interview part, all your daughter needs to be is articulate and coherent. During my audition as a Year 1 student, the writing part was just a english composition we had to write based off a single word prompt. The interview is usually during the audition and the panel will just ask a few questions about your daughter's character (i.e. what is your greatest weakness in your opinion?)

I strongly recommend that your daughter auditions for the instrument/course she is passionate in. She will be doing 6 years of intensive training in this instrument and it is absolutely VITAL that she loves what she is doing, be it voice or piano, because it is very easy to get sick and tired of an art form you do not love but are forced to do it everyday. As for the audition, you may sing any song (there have been auditions where singers sung 'When You Believe'. You get the idea.). Foundational training will indeed start in Year 1.

Every music student will be given chances to perform. We have lunchtime concerts that students can apply to perform. Competitions are optional and up to the music teacher supervising the student (in your case, the piano teacher) to suggest or push for. As for the number of our music cohort per year, there are currently about maximum 30 music students per year out of the 200. In my year where we are the 2nd batch to graduate, there are 20++ students out of 120. We are one of the smaller faculties.

Hope I answered your questions adequately.

Thank you so much for the info, appreciate your sharing. I know my dd have always have passion for piano and music related stuff but her piano teacher has been very demanding & fierce but a good one I suppose. We went to the open house and sat thru the Music Theory workshop and find the lesson very interesting, and she's humming the songs/rhymes when we're walking out. Like every mum, I just want her to enjoy her lessons. Thank you once again.

[dance and theatre]

JRLam:

Same here! I watched all 3 shows! The standard is amazing!

Dance and Theatre - May I know, does every girl get to perform? Is everyone that good just because of the long hours they put in? Most of the dancers look like they are very outgoing, extrovert and really enjoying their dance. But I am sure there are a few more introvert ones and not performance-oriented. Are they being trained to perform?

For dance an important component is *performance*, meaning no matter what their personalities, when they dance they must get into character and smile, laugh, look happy or sad depending on what is required. They are just good actors. Even at the RAD exams performance is graded ....... when you smile alot in the exam, getting the full 10 marks for the catergory is easy-peasy ...... but Singapore dancers waste that grading by not smiling thinking it's not necessary. This is one of the reasons why for the RAD exams, to attain high distinctions, performance is right up there with good technique.

From what I can see, at SOTA each has to work to earn their place in the showcases, it is a privilege and the teachers will not hesitate to pull a child out of any performance should the academic work slide (it's been done before). As far as possible, the teachers do try to include the whole class in the dance item if they are in the showcase.

Is everyone good ? Well, some come in with less talent but are the most hard working, and they make remarkable progress year to year and may even surpass the talented, less hard working dancers. Some are talented, but after a few years lose their passion when they realise how hard they have to work and fall back to just doing enough to pass the exam. To be at SOTA Dance your child must love dance and understand much of it is hard work, discipline and commitment to the art form, it is after all 6 years.

Personally I believe my daughter will receive a high quality education at the end of her 6 years, whether she wants to be a dancer, she has not quite decided yet. She loves dance, that much she knows and at SOTA, she gets a realistic view of the demands in being a dancer. At the same time she is academically prepared for the unis. in Singapore.

So far it's been good overall.

[Ragamuffin shinobi]

Hi hi, any parents with kids in the Junior Talent Academy? Care to share info on that?

[smurfalone]

Hi, for those who have applied for the Jun12 TA, have you received the TA audition schedule from SOTA? Thanks for sharing.

[jtoh]

Do SOTA students get the opportunity to travel overseas on school trips? Not specific competition trips open to only 1 or 2 select students but general ones where a larger group of students get to go. For eg geography/history/lit trips to New Zealand, Asia, Europe etc?

[Edureach]

jtoh:

Do SOTA students get the opportunity to travel overseas on school trips? Not specific competition trips open to only 1 or 2 select students but general ones where a larger group of students get to go. For eg geography/history/lit trips to New Zealand, Asia, Europe etc?

From the feedback i got the students do go places for arts exposure and cip to US,Europe and Asia though unsure of academics exposure. Overseas exposure is mandatory. The graduating students even got invited to top scholarship talks alongside RI and HCI.

For the rare few who are asthetically and academically inclined, it pays to study in this new school vs-a vs RI/HCI if they are looking for top scholarship awards.

The above are my personal observation and opinion only.

[jtoh]

Edureach:

jtoh:

Do SOTA students get the opportunity to travel overseas on school trips? Not specific competition trips open to only 1 or 2 select students but general ones where a larger group of students get to go. For eg geography/history/lit trips to New Zealand, Asia, Europe etc?

From the feedback i got the students do go places for arts exposure and cip to US,Europe and Asia though unsure of academics exposure. Overseas exposure is mandatory. The graduating students even got invited to top scholarship talks alongside RI and HCI.

I know the school brings the students to the local museums and Esplanade Theatre for various exhibitions and performances for arts exposure. I haven't heard of any overseas trips for the general populace so wondering if any current parents of SOTA students can enlighten me. I'm not sure if overseas exposure is mandatory. It is certainly common among many secondary schools.