Taking Ballet Exams as an adult

[The_Red_Shoes]

Oh Sophie, that must have been stressful - having an audience at such a momentous point in time. It's not so bad for me. They're coming at my normal private class time. They want my teacher "teaching" me and I'll probably do my exam variation because they want tutus.

[The_Red_Shoes]

Just heard that I have passed my Intermediate exam! My teacher is on holiday in Italy and just phoned from Rome, where she is now drinking a glass or two of vino in my honour, and the Beeb have already phoned her asking how I've done and will probably want a follow-up interview. "Only" a Pass but still, not to be sniffed at considering I'm an OAP.

 

Good luck to everyone else out there who are waiting for results. x

[Peanut68]

Fantastic news - congratulations! 

I’m on holiday in Devon & toasting your success right now with a rather fab violet gin & (slimline... well gotta try!) tonic! 

[The_Red_Shoes]

I've just had an email from the Beeb.  Radio Cumbria want to do a follow up interview about my exam, probably tomorrow.

[Kate_N]

Congratulations! @The_Red_Shoes

 

If you were comfortable with the problem of being identified, could you say when the interview was, as it'd be lovely to be able to listen to your interview on Radio Cumbria via iPlayer?

 

Many congratulations!

Edited August 10, 2018 by Kate_N

[JCS]

That is  great news @The_Red_Shoes

[The_Red_Shoes]

Well, I just this minute did the interview - literally  I was reading your message, Kate, when the phone rang. It was Mike Zeller's show on BBC Radio Cumbria. You can find it on BBC iplayer but you'll have to listen to complaints about roadworks in Keswick or whatever other momentous matters there are in Cumbria today. I was somewhere in the last 15 minutes before the programme ended at 9.  I was a bit shaky but I don't think I said anything daft and at least my phone didn't cut out in the middle, mobile coverage not being too reliable here.

 

I've been too embarrassed previously to share the film they made. It's funny that I don't mind untold numbers of anonymous other people seeing it but feel shy about people I know watching it even if it's people that I know online not IRL. In fact some of you may recognise me from real life. But here it is anyway

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-cumbria-44903621/ballet-dancer-back-at-the-barre-after-20-years

[Jan McNulty]

That's lovely TRS.

 

Well done!

[Emilie]

Thank you for sharing and Congratulations on an awesome result. You look very graceful and toned. It has really inspired me to keep going with Adult ballet class. Well done. 👍🌸⭐️

[Kate_N]

4 hours ago, The_Red_Shoes said:

 You can find it on BBC iplayer but you'll have to listen to complaints about roadworks in Keswick or whatever other momentous matters there are in Cumbria today.

 

Thanks!

 

As a former north Lancashire resident (borders of Cumbria) and deeply deeply homesick for Borrowdale at the moment, I'll lap up discussions of roadworks in Keswick! Haven't been up there since Easter, and if I think about it too much, I'll start crying. 

 

Off to the iPlayer.

[Kate_N]

Just watched your interview: lovely!

 

And I've been itchy for going to a concert for some music in the last week (I may just go to Evensong in the Cathedral) and your comment on the music made me realise what I've missed are my ballet classes! That's where I get lots of beautiful music. My studio is on a summer break ...   But I'm working in London on the weekend, so will get my dose then.

[The_Red_Shoes]

I realise I'm so lucky to live here in such a glorious place - even if it is a long way from everywhere else especially with the chaos that Northern has created with the trains. We've had a fabulous summer, although it has reverted to normal these last few days. Still if it didn't rain there wouldn't be any lakes! Enjoy the Cumbrian news!

[Kate_N]

In my adopted home town (county town across the border from your county) I always had trouble finding advanced enough ballet classes, without resorting to dancing with the teens. It's great you found a teacher to take you on for the vocational syllabus.

Edited August 10, 2018 by Kate_N

[The_Red_Shoes]

I did Intermediate along with the teens, but we also have an Advanced class which is mainly adults. Nobody fancies doing any more exams so we do bits of syllabus work from Advanced Foundation through to Advanced 2 along with plenty of free advanced work. I think it's quite rare to be able to do this level of work in a small town.

[Kate_N]

You're very lucky to have found that!

[The_Red_Shoes]

There are only a few of us, but my teacher loves teaching this class, says it's the high point of her week. I assume we're  subsidised by the very popular classes like Primary or Zumba.

[Viv]

Congratulations @The_Red_Shoes I thoroughly enjoyed the video of you  

 

I have officially been entered for Grade 7, Intermediate AND Advanced Foundation in October. Not sure if I will be lucky and do them over three days, or whether I will have to do two in one day. It's been a real struggle to get me ready for Advanced Foundation, I'm still not sure I am ready! But my teacher wants me to do it and I don't argue with her. Recently I've been rewarded with comments such as 'that was almost a brisé' and 'one day soon that will look like a grand jete en tournant' so I must be improving... At least I have two more months to keep working and hopefully by October I'll actually feel ready.

[Nicola H]

23 hours ago, The_Red_Shoes said:

There are only a few of us, but my teacher loves teaching this class, says it's the high point of her week. I assume we're  subsidised by the very popular classes like Primary or Zumba.

i think a lot of teachers(principals) take that attitude , that  as long as they either cover the pay (  if someone  else teaches and it's a premises they control )  or covers the  room cost ( if  paying for rooms)  then they are happy  to run  the class at that kind of level   ...   you get a keep an adult  student  then potentially they are a steady source of income for the school , advocacy for  school and  for dance  for the foreseeable ... 

[sophie_rebecca]

On 10/08/2018 at 09:10, The_Red_Shoes said:

I've been too embarrassed previously to share the film they made,,,

 

I don't know why you were it's lovely & I'm sure it'll inspire others to try or return to ballet, congratulations ❤️ 

[The_Red_Shoes]

Thank you so much Sophie. It's just that I felt so very visible and  in such a permanent form! But the response has been so positive and, yes, with lots of people saying that they're inspired. My teacher is starting both an evening Adult Beginner class and a daytime Silver Swans next term, so I hope I've acted as a good advert for her teaching. And I'm hoping that, since I am this walking advert, she will continue to find the time for my private lessons so that I can go on with my next step - either the Higher Grades or DR.

[balletgremlin]

Congratulations, @The_Red_Shoes. I love watching other adults dancing ballet. I wish more people were aware how accessible ballet is to all ages and that it's not just flexible teenagers who can do well.

 

My teacher's putting my in for my Intermediate Foundation exam in November. Was feeling okay about it until I had to start dancing in soft blocks. I also haven't done pointe properly since March and I need to do a lot of work to get that up to exam standard.

[The_Red_Shoes]

I hated my soft blocks until I got really rough with them - pulled out all the spongey inner sole, repeatedly squashed them in half in both directions until absolutely flat, steamed them over the kettle then squashed and massaged the block until it felt really soft, then steamed them again and wore them while they were cooling and drying so that they shaped to my foot (repeated the steaming a few times until I was satisfied). The end result is like an old worn out pointe shoe only not so grubby and tattered. Now I really like them because they still look really pretty but are comfy to dance in. However soft blocks aren't compulsory for IF.

[balletgremlin]

Sounds like I've got some work to do! RAD don't make soft blocks compulsory for IF but they are for my dance school - I'm going to have to wear them if I take any further vocational exams anyway and they'll help strengthen my feet so I don't mind so much. It's just an adjustment from dancing in my soft shoes.

[Dance*is*life]

On 11/08/2018 at 14:12, Viv said:

Congratulations @The_Red_Shoes I thoroughly enjoyed the video of you  

 

I have officially been entered for Grade 7, Intermediate AND Advanced Foundation in October. Not sure if I will be lucky and do them over three days, or whether I will have to do two in one day. It's been a real struggle to get me ready for Advanced Foundation, I'm still not sure I am ready! But my teacher wants me to do it and I don't argue with her. Recently I've been rewarded with comments such as 'that was almost a brisé' and 'one day soon that will look like a grand jete en tournant' so I must be improving... At least I have two more months to keep working and hopefully by October I'll actually feel ready.

I am finding it rather hard to take it in that a teacher would want a student to take 3 exams in one go!!!!  First of all remembering all three and not muddling them would be a nightmare!  Second of all it's not fair, because it's too much stress and pressure and exhausting.  You are the one that's paying for all this Viv and you CAN say no way!!!   As a teacher I would suggest that you take Grade 7 and Inter together because they're a similar level, but very different in content, so you can separate them easily in your brain!  Advanced Foundation is far far more difficult and you can't get away with "almost a brise" or indeed with anything else not up to  scratch.  I would definitely leave the AF until the next session and if that's a year away, then start learning Advanced 1 and don't worry about the AF exam, which is not compulsory to take before continuing with Adv 1 after Inter.  

[youngatheart]

I agree Dance*is*Life. Or better still, save the AF until next year & do it with Grade 8. (For Advanced 1 you have to pass EVERY section individually to pass the whole exam, but I don't think you do for AF any more).

[Peanut68]

I tend to agree with staggering your exams as I think you will enjoy the whole experience more.....if they are all done at once it may leave you feeling bereft with not having something to work towards for what will then be a much longer period perhaps? I know that since taking my Inter & not having had any classes all summer I am feeling utterly lost & aimless....there may be a chance to work towards DR syllabus but I really want to continue challenging myself so hope to persuade my last exam partner & our teacher to start AF....some say go straight to Advanced 1 but the way I see it is if I do that then that only gives me the Adv 1 & 2 exams to do (well.....there' always Solo Seal of course - ha ha ha!) so in perhaps 2 years I'll have no new thing to push on for....

BTW, I'm not familiar with the numbered RAD grades...is there a point to taking these in addition to Voc grades do people think?

 

[The_Red_Shoes]

13 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

 I know that since taking my Inter & not having had any classes all summer I am feeling utterly lost & aimless....

I know what you mean. I did the RAD Summer school and the Ballet Retreat,but otherwise it was a bleak and ballet-less stretch of time. Well, I enjoyed having a rest initially and the lovely weather...but a huge chunk of life missing. Now I'm excited that the new term is beginning.

 

I'm not sure that I feel up to tackling Advanced Foundation, mainly because of the pointe work (although the pointe teacher at the Ballet Retreat very unexpectedly said nice things about my pointe work). I'm planning on doing Grades 6-8 next and DR if I can persuade my teacher. I think if I do keep on with pointe work I could do the Coppelia Variation on pointe more easily than Advanced Foundation, so it might be a sort of halfway house.

 

The higher grades are at about Inter level but very dancey and performance based. And a lot less technical. No pointe work! No double pirouettes! No brisés!

 

 

[Dance*is*life]

I teach Grade 7 between IF and Inter. As The_Red_Shoes so acurately put it - no pointe work , double pirouettes or brisés in the exam! And I would add to that no free enchainement!  It's a beautiful syllabus and a charming way to teach my students about the Romantic period in ballet.  I find it also matures them before they tackle Inter after IF.  Of course I continue to work on double pirouettes and pointe work throughout the year as well as other skills that they will need for Inter, but the exam feels more like an exhibition class than an exam, because it's so important to show the right style and quality as much as clean technique.  I hold a demonstration class for the parents just before the exam and they are always thrilled with the "performance"! I don't teach Grade 8 and only rarely 6, but I never tire of teaching Grade 7.

 

With the old vocational syllabus I used to skip AF, but it is an exceptional student nowadays who can take the new Advanced 1 without first studying AF.  AF is really very hard and a challenge in it's own right.  

[youngatheart]

On ‎06‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 20:20, Peanut68 said:

.some say go straight to Advanced 1 but the way I see it is if I do that then that only gives me the Adv 1 & 2 exams to do so in perhaps 2 years I'll have no new thing to push on for....

 

Yes that's exactly how I tend to approach things too Peanut68 - which is why I don't get why anyone would want to start DR at level 4, because then there's nowhere to go afterwards!

Edited September 9, 2018 by youngatheart

[LinMM]

I think there is also a good point to attempting an exam with the intention of aiming for the top marks. 

For people dancing at recreational level I don't see the point of putting yourself through an exam just to aim for a pass!

If you aim for high marks then you may not get a distinction or honours but you will definitely get more than a pass.

So,probably better to take it a bit more slowly ( there's no hurry if you are an older recreational dancer anyway) and achieve something to be proud of.....if you want to bother with taking exams etc that is.

 

[LinMM]

The above post is really about 30-60 year olds!! I am always surprised 60 plus dancers want to do exams! 

Once you hit that 60th decade things are definitely different.

Everything is harder especially getting a good height in arabesque ....and particularly doing a decent penchée.....penchées don't really work unless you can hold your leg at 90 in arabesque as you just cannot get a good line if the leg is lower than this. You can do a reasonable arabesque if the leg is between 45 and 90 and the extension is good and arm line good etc.

 

Jumping gets more difficult .....to accommodate beats and do things like brisees you need more than a couple of inches off the floor!! 

And doing steps like grand jetes en tournant have to be approached with caution because of getting the height but landing on one leg!!

 

Most 60 plus have some degree of age related erosion in hip and knee joints .....it doesn't stop you dancing but you have to monitor yourself more carefully than a younger person.....and remember when in class that some people will be 20/30/40 years younger and you cannot compare to them on the technique level at least (dance quality and musicality are different of course) 

 

I don't know what the marking rules are for much older people taking RAD exams etc. But if they are applied exactly the same way as to a teenager taking the exam then it would of course be much harder for a post 60 year old to get really high marks. A Merit would be their Disticntion I think!! So aiming just for a Pass is okay in that age group if you are attracted to do exams! 

Personally although I came back to ballet at 62 and could have been exam fit by 65 I decided not to go that route in the end because I didn't see that I could get the marks I would have wanted and felt frustrated by that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[balletbean]

On 07/09/2018 at 22:05, Dance*is*life said:

I teach Grade 7 between IF and Inter. As The_Red_Shoes so acurately put it - no pointe work , double pirouettes or brisés in the exam! And I would add to that no free enchainement!  It's a beautiful syllabus and a charming way to teach my students about the Romantic period in ballet.  I find it also matures them before they tackle Inter after IF.  Of course I continue to work on double pirouettes and pointe work throughout the year as well as other skills that they will need for Inter, but the exam feels more like an exhibition class than an exam, because it's so important to show the right style and quality as much as clean technique.  I hold a demonstration class for the parents just before the exam and they are always thrilled with the "performance"! I don't teach Grade 8 and only rarely 6, but I never tire of teaching Grade 7.

 

With the old vocational syllabus I used to skip AF, but it is an exceptional student nowadays who can take the new Advanced 1 without first studying AF.  AF is really very hard and a challenge in it's own right.  

My DD has just taken her Grade 8. That was truly a lovely grade to finish on. Very performance focused with each dancer leaving the studio whilst each entrant performed on their own. The only downside is that some size of studios can truly limit the performance abilities of the dancer for Grade 8. 🙆‍♀️

[Dance*is*life]

I agree that Grade 8 is lovely too - I never really had the opportunity to teach it, because we only have one exam session a year and I tend to concentrate on the vocationals, so I never really learn it properly.  Shame, I know!  I am so glad that they haven't done away with the higher grades!