sophie_rebecca Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 1 hour ago, Moomin said: I meant other styles of classical- Russian, cecchetti, Balanchine, French, danish etc. Whatever you can find really! Ah I miss-understood you, good grief it takes all my effort to remember the RAD style I went the the ballet retreat earlier this year at Northern ballet with David Paul Kierce & Hannah Bateman & loved it no idea what style it was but in companies like that rather than Royal / END David was telling me the dancers have more freedom, it's less working about a fully forced square leg & more working with what you've got & enjoying it rather than forcing it, was actually really liberating if only for 2 days. 1 hour ago, Viv said: I just want to say that you've been very inspiring for me as an adult doing syllabus classes. Thank you so much Viv, honestly it's comments like that & the others I've had here that give me the strength to get through the bad ones & keep spreading a positive message <3 hehe the first reaction was "wait what!" then straight after "yup that says merit, <tears>" & you're so right someone has to be seen I'm really hoping seeing my pure emotion & joy for dance helps people connect with me rather than getting stuck on my identity & demystify it a bit. Grade 6 and IF at the same time! how do you manage the difference in flow between the two? I used to struggle to pick up the choreography but I'm much better now, the problem I have now is that I was happy with a Merit but I know in Grade 7 I'll want a gold not silver medal and boy is that going to be a lot of work! just short of impossible but not quite so still worth reaching for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theother51 Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I think that it is to be applauded that the RAD have for quite some time had a policy of allowing students to wear the uniform & study the syllabus relevant to the gender that person identifies with. Unlike certain unnamed musical theatre rights holders who specifically state that roles must not be taken by an actor of the "wrong" sex. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, sophie_rebecca said: Grade 6 and IF at the same time! how do you manage the difference in flow between the two? I used to struggle to pick up the choreography but I'm much better now, the problem I have now is that I was happy with a Merit but I know in Grade 7 I'll want a gold not silver medal and boy is that going to be a lot of work! just short of impossible but not quite so still worth reaching for. I actually quite enjoy doing both of them together IF let's me drill down into technique and the relative simplicity of the exercises helps me to work on issues that can easily get overlooked in the rush to learn a more complex syllabus. I recently went to an intensive course (honestly nearly killed me!) where the teachers really focused on arms and posture. I hadn't actually realised I was doing them wrong, and this is my fourth year doing ballet (though only second doing syllabus). I've found that I can understand and apply the corrections when I'm told, but when I'm actually dancing I tend to sort of forget and focus on other things instead So the simpler IF syllabus gives me the opportunity to work on utilising corrections while moving, drilling into my body that turnout isn't something that you just do at the barre, that floor pressure isn't just used for a tendu exercise. It sounds simple for most ballet types but it's a bit of a revelation for me haha. Then, in contrast, Grade 6 is floaty and honestly a bit weird. Every exercise seems to start or end in classical pose, even at the barre. But they sort of throw everything at you in one exercise and expect you to not only remember it all but to perform it all. Like you were saying about other styles being a little more free, I feel that the higher grades are RADs compromise. Freedom, movement, artistry and a solid grounding in technique. I just hope that I'm as successful at Grade 6 as Dormouse, who started this thread, was. As for the gold medal oooh I know all about that! I took Grade 5 last year, fell over in the middle of the exam and sprained my ankle. I cried for two days thinking I'd let myself down (didn't help that I was locked in a moonboot and told I wouldn't be well enough to perform in the end of year concert). Funnily enough, before going into the exam, the mark didn't matter to me as long as I'd done my best. Then, when I fell, I knew I hadn't done my best and suddenly the mark mattered like crazy! I needed some outside validation to reassure me that I hadn't let myself down. I managed to scrape 75 and a distinction (I think the examiner felt a bit sorry for me in the second half of the exam, trying to execute a double pirouette on a sprained ankle)! I just about cried in front of the whole studio Edited April 25, 2017 by Viv typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39693462 To get a little back on thread an article about the benefits of exercise in the over 50's .....and as most of the adult ballet dancers I know including some in 50's and 60's do at least three ballet classes a week....not necessarily taking exams....but still dancing at around Intermediate level for most of them .....it seems they are on the right track!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 (edited) I loved your comment on the "Graduating Boys....." Thread Colman " I hope I'm that good when I grow up" Hee hee I think there's quite a few of us STILL trying to grow into ourselves where ballet ( and probably loads of other areas) is concerned. We might as well drop of this Earth doing something we love ....though hopefully at home after class rather than actually at the barre!! Edited April 25, 2017 by LinMM 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colman Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 29 minutes ago, LinMM said: I loved your comment on the "Graduating Boys....." Thread Colman " I hope I'm that good when I grow up" Hee hee I think there's quite a few of us STILL trying to grow into ourselves where ballet ( and probably loads of other areas) is concerned. We might as well drop of this Earth doing something we love ....though hopefully at home after class rather than actually at the barre!! I've long assumed I'd end up dying in a Hollywood style explosion as my horse's heart gave out at the gallop and we tumbled into a dramatic gently sloping 6' deep dip, but flying apart in the midst of an attempt at a pirouette is obviously a possibility. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 A number of off-topic posts have been moved to a different thread. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Mind you Colman I can think of a few dangerous places to practice your pirouettes!! ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 I went to an RAD exam course the other week and got quite an interesting story from one of the ex-examiners teaching there. When she discovered that I was not in fact 14 years old, she told me the story of a 61 year old she'd once examined for intermediate foundation. When she got to the exam venue, she was pre-warned that 'there's an old lady in there!' (the examiner didn't take too kindly to this, being 62 at the time herself...). Turns out this poor woman had taken the IF exam about 6 times and kept failing. When the examiner told her partner this he said 'there's nothing for it, you have to pass her this time'. But the examiner said, if she deserves to pass she'll pass, I can only mark her on what I see on the day otherwise it's not fair to the other students. When she added up the marks, the candidate had managed to get exactly 40 points and so she passed! While the examiner was personally pleased, she felt professionally she'd done no more or less than for any other student, regardless of this woman's age or circumstances. Just a story for those who think that examiners we'll go easy on someone that doesn't fit the mould and thus that the candidate doesn't deserve the mark they earned... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophie_rebecca Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 2 hours ago, Viv said: Just a story for those who think that examiners we'll go easy on someone that doesn't fit the mould and thus that the candidate doesn't deserve the mark they earned... This story a while ago was quite interesting, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/11705540/How-I-shamed-the-ballet-world-over-discriminating-against-disabled-ballerinas.html They do go a long way to ensure that everyone is assessed to the same standard but that does come without it's challenges as this story highlights. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 12 minutes ago, sophie_rebecca said: This story a while ago was quite interesting, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/11705540/How-I-shamed-the-ballet-world-over-discriminating-against-disabled-ballerinas.html They do go a long way to ensure that everyone is assessed to the same standard but that does come without it's challenges as this story highlights. I have to say, as a person with a disability (I originally got into ballet as recommended physical therapy and well, it sort of took over my life), I'm well aware of the need for reasonable adjustment and have used equitable adjustments myself when available. That being said, I have huge issues with the article you posted... It seems that the girl was able to complete the exam and passed it which, considering her level of disability, to me shows that there were allowances made for her condition. I find it incredibly sad that her parents pulled her out of ballet class, something she clearly enjoyed, because she didn't get a distinction. Unfortunately, this girl will have to learn as she grows up, no matter how much we want something, we can't always get it. Sometimes there are physical limitations that are essential pre-requisites to what we want to do (e.g. too tall to be a pilot, not enough turnout to be a dancer, not smart enough to be an astro-physicist). Is it fair? Perhaps not. Is it incredibly painful to learn as a child? Absolutely. Is it still a fact of life? Without question. I wish these parents could have celebrated their daughters achievements for what they are, that she was able to complete the exam to the best of HER ability is admirable. To demand she gets 10/10 for footwork when she only has one foot...seems unrealistic. I don't mean to be callous and this issue is of particular personal relevance to me. But there does come a point where reasonable adjustment ventures into the world of inequitable adjustment. The line needs to be drawn somewhere. Dancers with disabilities should be encouraged, celebrated, and given all possibilities to participate and achieve. I don't think artificially inflating someone's exam results does anything to achieve that goal... I'm not explaining myself clearly so I'll just leave it here, sorry for the rant! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 I don't know about the ISTD, but the RAD has presentation classes as an alternative system of marking achievement and the move to the next level of ballet, with a comment sheet and I believe certificates and medals for each child. Presumably this would be available to this little girl and to other candidates who find that the 'reasonable adjustment' system in the traditional exams doesn't assist them. Alternatively a system where no exams are taken by any candidates would have suited her better and allowed her to keep dancing, although I realise that most schools in the U.K. follow an exam system as that allows for a recognised and standardised way of marking the level at which a student is dancing - and is understood by the education system in that higher level exams are known to be achievements at the same level as 'ordinary' educational achievements. It's also difficult as there is no way of telling whether Pollyanna would have achieved the same exam marks as her fellow candidates in any event, even without her disability. There are usually children in each class who will work just as hard and love dancing just as much as their fellow students but for various reasons won't achieve higher than a pass mark in exams. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Oh my goodness Viv, I couldn't agree more with your post. As you say, physical limitations do affect some desired professions and although this is unfair, that doesn't change the reality. I understand the parents' wish for Pollyanna to be able to take exams alongside her friends but if this was their real aim, she could have changed to a dance school where presentation classes were available (if they aren't available via the ISTD, I don't know) as an alternative way to mark and celebrate her progress. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophie_rebecca Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Viv said: I'm not explaining myself clearly so I'll just leave it here, sorry for the rant! I think you explained it well, I agree that it's a shame her parents couldn't celebrate her passing her exam despite having one leg which is incredible in its self & instead focused on her not getting the same grade as the rest of the class & as you say you never know if she was even as good as her class mates in that exam & we'll never know. Edited April 30, 2017 by sophie_rebecca grammar fail! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Totally agree with you Viv. The sad irony is that the father is satisfied with riding for the disabled - he doesn't expect parity with able bodied riders... It is very sad the child's achievement was not celebrated. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dormouse Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 On 24/04/2017 at 17:08, sophie_rebecca said: Grade 6 and IF at the same time! how do you manage the difference in flow between the two? I used to struggle to pick up the choreography but I'm much better now, the problem I have now is that I was happy with a Merit but I know in Grade 7 I'll want a gold not silver medal and boy is that going to be a lot of work! just short of impossible but not quite so still worth reaching for. That's what I was studying, then I passed my Grade 6 (I'm the oldest old fogie in the country to pass that exam), so I'm (normally) studying IF and Grade 7. I'm still at the barre for pointe work - except when my ballet teacher takes me "walkies" - I hang onto her hands as we totter across her studio, Congratulations sophie_rebecca, on your IF, I know how hard it is. I say "normally studying" because I've got a stellate fracture of my patella, and it's the same knee I had replaced just under four years ago. So I've gone back to my knee surgeon, and I'm non weight bearing on that leg until I see him again on 5th June :-(. My surgeon thinks this means I won't be dancing in Nutcracker in July - but he doesn't know my ballet teacher Monica! As I'm the grandmother, I can perform in my wheelchair if necessary! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophie_rebecca Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 2 hours ago, Dormouse said: That's what I was studying, then I passed my Grade 6 (I'm the oldest old fogie in the country to pass that exam), Forgive me but is that you Doreen? I was incredibly moved by your story if that is you, I keep citing you as an example of exactly why no one has any excuse not to do ballet, that it really is for everyone & great fun / exercise. Grade 7 in the short time I've been doing it has been great at bringing in a more expressive & gently movement quality into my dancing, I'm the first to admit I can be quite wooden at times as I think through the moves rather than feeling them but grade 7 has just touched something inside me. So sorry to hear about your knee & wish you a swift recovery <3 x 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dormouse Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 12 hours ago, sophie_rebecca said: Forgive me but is that you Doreen? I was incredibly moved by your story if that is you, I keep citing you as an example of exactly why no one has any excuse not to do ballet, that it really is for everyone & great fun / exercise. Nothing to forgive. Yes, it is I. I was feeling a bit shy when I joined this forum, and Dormouse is the name our Beaver Scouts call me. I get really chuffed when people say that they like my story. By the way ... it was in People's Friend and My Weekly early this year. The amusing thing about the My Weekly article, was that it took three or four celebrities and three ordinary people, who were doing things not associated with being over something-like-50-or-so. Well, on the previous page was Helen Mirren. As we were in the same class at the convent, my friends thought that was really neat. I don't really do ballet for the exercise, it's because I love moving to music - but it has to be the right sort of music. I was practising a port de bras some years ago, and it was a bit wooden. Monica changed the music, and suddenly I burst into life. That's enough of me - as you may notice, I'm a bit fed up, sitting with my leg horizontal - but I so want to be in Nutcracker in July, that I'm being a very good girl, and doing what my consultant tells me! ... Makes a change! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngatheart Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Oh dear Dormouse, so sorry to hear about your knee. I hope your surgeon is able to help - BTW what is a "stellate fracture"? It sounds pretty scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dormouse Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 7 hours ago, youngatheart said: I hope your surgeon is able to help - BTW what is a "stellate fracture"? It sounds pretty scary! Thank you for your good wishes. A stellate fracture is like a windscreen crack, radiating out like a star (stella is Latin for star). My surgeon is one of the best in Europe. He knows about knees; he used to play rugby for the Wasps! When I realised there was something seriously wrong with my knee we telephoned his secretary. No messing about! He put my new knee in just under four years ago, I was concerned that something may have happened to it, but he said (via his secretary) that it was unlikely to have damaged his joint, and - rest, ice and an X-ray was what was needed. So we did that as soon as we got back to England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dormouse Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 I see I haven't been on since last May. Well, my knee mended nicely, and I was allowed to put weight on it a month before Nutcracker. So I stayed in the wheelchair for the first part of the first act, and then got out and performed the Grandmother's Dance. I also got my (1 minute) solo back in the second act! I've been attending Grade 7, Inter Foundation, and Intermediate since then. So eleven days ago I danced (can't really say "sat" for a ballet exam!) my IDTA Gold Medal. I've just got my results, and I did achieve Honours (that's 85% to 100%), so I'm feeling rather chuffed. In the meanwhile I've joined a different gym, and I'm off to find out what exercises are recommended for my still-slightly-weak left leg. It only shows up when I'm on pointe (still only on the barre) but I need to fix it. Thanks for reading. 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Congratulations Dormouse!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 What wonderful news! Congratulations, Dormouse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Very well done again Dormouse....brave to attempt the pointe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Red_Shoes Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 That's brilliant! You are such an inspiration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dormouse Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 Thank you everyone for your good wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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