RAD/IDTA

[t_rose]

Hi, DD's teacher wants her to do rad inter foundation in march, but this means that she won't let her do idta intermediate exam (exam session also in march). If she doesn't do idta exam then, may be year or more until anyone else ready to take it. She didn't do inter found last march as wasn't on pointe (but was ready apart from that).

Think we'll say no to rad exam, but is it still worth doing the class (teacher has said won't move up without doing exam).

DD is in yr 9 & wants to audition for sixth form MT courses, so in approx 2 yrs.

What do we do?

[2dancersmum]

If she won't move up without taking the exam and she has clearly been taking inter-foundation for a while, then the classes do somewhat lose their purpose - extra class time but surely just repeating over and over what she already knows.  Having said that my DD was asked to stayed in foundation for nearly a year after taking her exam as an extra to help with strength for intermediate.

 

At the school near us where students do both RAD and ISTD ballet, it would be usual to keep the students in the same grade for both.  Your DD would be in foundation in one syllabus and advanced in the other so part of me thinks she would be better to do the RAD exam.  She would then have a new syllabus to learn with the RAD intermediate and the IDTA intermediate would be kept ticking over until her exam.  That is assuming she wants to keep both syllabus on the go and assuming she wants to take intermediate in both and keep options open for doing teacher qualifications at a later date, should she wish to.

 

The other aspect to consider - if she gets to vocational school - is if she wishes to continue taking exams.  Most I believe offer RAD ballet.

 

It does come down to personal preference though.  Having a DD in year 9 I know how she would feel not moving up to adv with her friends and doing a different exam instead.  I just wanted to give you a different viewpoint and encourage you both to step back and look at the bigger picture for what your DD's hopes for the future are - if the teacher is aware of what she wants to do, asking advice is also advisable.

[t_rose]

I get what your saying, but it would mean she would potentially only have chance to do intermediate exams close to auditioning, if dd can get through idta inter this year she'll have more time working at higher level in run up to auditions.

 

DD only starting to look at which schools to audition for, but mix of rad and istd

[Dance*is*life]

If the exams were on an equal level she should surely be in Intermediate RAD as well.  As she's not, I'm inclined to think that the expectations are higher in the RAD system, which would suggest to me that it's more important that she take the RAD Intermediate Foundation exam, in order to advance properly in that.  Our IFs are usually between 11 and 13, but my Intermediates this year are all 13 and 14, which is how I like it, so that by 16 they'll be well versed in the Advanced level work   

 

You really don't want your daughter stuck in IF now - she needs to get on to Intermediate and start working on more advanced pointe work, double pirouettes and a wider vocabulary in allegro. I personally don't see any point in her remaining in the IF class if she's ready for the exam.  I have to admit that I have no idea what the IDTA syllabus consists of - possibly she is indeed working at a much higher level there, which makes the decision even more difficult.  However, as someone said, the vocational schools are more likely to offer continuing classes in RAD or ISTD. 

 

Which level does your daughter find more challenging and interesting?

Edited December 9, 2014 by Dance*is*life

[invisiblecircus]

What reason is the teacher giving for not letting her do both exams in March? Do the dates clash or is your DD taking some other IDTA exams in that session?

It seems that she would be ready for either exam if only she would decline the other one, so it seems pointless for her to stay in a grade for a whole further year when she could be progressing.

 

Is it possible (according to the RAD) to take intermediate without taking IF?

 

Does the IDTA have an IF grade in ballet? I know they have changed their syllabus recently and did not have an IF grade before. If they have no IF grade this would explain why she is in intermediate in one syllabus and IF in the other.

 

What is the teacher recommending? I think I'd be asking more questions of her.

[Dance*is*life]

You don't need to pass the IF in order to take RAD Intermediate, which is another reason why it would be stupid for her to stay down in IF another year, if she doesn't take the exam.  If she's exam ready but does not in the end take the exam, why not just let her go up to the next level?  Not all our students choose to take the exam for various personal reasons.  We don't force them (it's a lot of money - some parents can't afford it/some kids don't want the pressure) but if they are competent in the work, they go up with the rest of the class.  Why penalise them?

[taxi4ballet]

Hi, DD's teacher wants her to do rad inter foundation in march, but this means that she won't let her do idta intermediate exam (exam session also in march). If she doesn't do idta exam then, may be year or more until anyone else ready to take it. She didn't do inter found last march as wasn't on pointe (but was ready apart from that).

Think we'll say no to rad exam, but is it still worth doing the class (teacher has said won't move up without doing exam).

DD is in yr 9 & wants to audition for sixth form MT courses, so in approx 2 yrs.

What do we do?

From what older friends of dd's have said, the MT schools all have a ballet class as the first part of the audition and are at a very strong 'RAD Inter' level +.

 

Have you asked your dd's teacher why she won't let your dd move up to RAD Inter if she takes the IDTA exam instead of I/F? 

[t_rose]

Have asked about moving class, but teacher insisting has to do IF. I think standard of idta inter is between rad IF and rad inter, so if does idta exam March dd then has 18 months at advanced level, if does IF in March she might not have taken either of inter exams before auditions

[taxi4ballet]

Would the teacher allow her to take the idta one, carry on with rad i/f and join in the rad inter class as well? She could always take the i/f exam at the RAD HQ in the summer - it doesn't need to be taken at the school if no-one else is ready to do it with her.

[t_rose]

Hadn't thought about another venue - I'll discuss with the teacher at next class

[youngatheart]

I really don't understand why she can't do both exams in March if she is ready for both!

 

 

If teacher is insisting she must take the RAD IF exam before moving her up, then you really need to do that one now - there is no way she should be made to stay in that level for yet another year!- but I agree with others that maybe she could do it at RAD HQ either before or after the IDTA one if the dates clash.

 

 

Yes IDTA Inter I would say is partway between the two levels of RAD, definitely so in terms of pointe work which seems to be a major factor here! So would make sense to do RAD IF first & then IDTA Inter - but not a year apart, since she has already learnt the work.

I

Edited December 12, 2014 by youngatheart

[Dance*is*life]

Honestly your teacher is being rather unhelpful to say the least!  You do not have to take IF - it's like AF - an extra exam that's optional.  Under the circumstances, I think I would go with taking the IF in March and finding an alternative date for the IDTA Inter so as to get them both out of the way and on to the more advanced work. I think you need to be at the highest level you can to give you the best chance to be accepted to vocational school.  There are so many applicants.....