Dance*is*life

I once watched classes in a summer school in the States. A Russian teacher gave a character class and she absolutely lammed into one poor girl. The student was working really hard and was an excellent dancer, but she couldn't catch something in a step and instead of just showing her what she was doing wrong, the teacher screamed at her and verbally abused her. She made her keep doing the step over and over and of course every time she did it wrong yet again. Eventually the teacher did what she should have done in the first place - showed her what she was doing wrong - and the girl then did the step perfectly, although simultaneously crying her eyes out. I was horrified at what I had witnessed. What I found strange was that none of the parents watching were worried about this incident. And it was such a waste of valuable class time. If there are still teachers out there behaving like that I'm not surprised that students lack motivation

I don't remember which is which, but it can be taken with a developpe releve at the beginning or a grand battement releve. It can also finish in attitude or arabesque.

Just wanted to say that in the article about the Nutcracker criticism it is noted that the ballet only became popular with NYC ballet's version in 1954. That may have been true for the US, but London's Festival Ballet first performed it in 1951 and performed it every Christmas in the Festival Hall for about 25 years. As ENB they still perform it regularly today, but just not every Christmas! Wish I could find out the actual date of the premiere - anybody????

It's absolutely wierd Lexy, the youtube clip clearly says that it's the Le Corsaire variation and coda, but I have also seen it as coming from La Bayadere. Apparently they use the same music for both ballets, pretty much the same choreography too, although I have seen it starting with a high developpe releve rather than the grande cabriole. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130318115331AA5Ad5G This answers it.

I just saw part of the Berlin ballet's Nutcracker on TV and they did the Arabian as an Egyptian dance - you know with the Tutankhamun arm positions. They also did the "Three Ivans" as sort of wierd jesters with hoops. I guess it's difficult to know what anything is nowadays!!!!

I remember learning Grand Fouette releve en tournant at school, but I don't seem to remember them being in any of the exams and I got up to Solo Seal. They are listed in the RAD Dictionary of Classical Ballet Terminology, so perhaps they are one of the exercises that you are supposed to know on pointe and could be included in the free enchainement?

I haven't been on the site for a few days, so missed this really fascinating thread. I haven't received my Dancing Times yet, no doubt due to the vagaries of Christmas/New Year postal services, so haven't read the article, but I think there has been a lot of very informed posts here about the subject. When I was training seriously in the 1960s, we were expected to do a lot more on pointe at a younger age, perhaps because it was before the age of "enlightment" about what one should or shouldn't do. I was doing 32 fouettes on pointe at 15 and when I went to the RBS Senior School we were expected to do 32 fouettes right and left. I remember learning solo variations in rep classes and we learnt repertoire work in pas de deux classes as well. The funny thing was that overseas students were placed in two separate classes and it was accepted that the level was lower than the rest of the school. I know someone who actually went to Sir Arnold Haskell and begged him to move her from the overseas class to a regular one, because she felt she wasn't advancing enough! So what has happened in the past 50 years since then? I am definitely on the side of caution in training young students - it horrifies me to see some of the 9 year olds dancing variations on pointe in YAGP and I think they should not allow it. However, I do think that the training needs to be stepped up somewhat. In my opinion you won't be able to teach the new RAD syllabi on one 45 minute class a week and perhaps that is also one of the reasons that they made the changes - to force students to take more classes a week. They have also included quite a lot of contemporary movements, because, as our tutor explained, the choreographic style has changed. When you attempt exercises such as pirouettes and grand jetes at a younger age, you are not afraid of them. You can't wait to teach doubles until Intermediate, when they are supposed to be proficient in them - you have to get them trying for doubles way before that. So from that point of view I think the RAD expectations are good and will give the teachers a push out of their complacency too. And I include myself in that. I learnt the new syllabi in a state of shock at what they are expecting us to teach, but upon reflection I think I'm for it. I have a very good class this year at Intermediate level. Because the overall standard is higher than usual, I have been pushing them more than usual, with the result that quite a few are manging doubles even on pointe. In the past I would have held back, thinking that it was too ambitious for them, but higher expectations have led to a higher standard.

I too want to buy a plain white tutu skirt in order to decorate it myself for a competition. We have a DanceDirect branch here and they do sell what looks to be the same Bloch rehearsal tutu skirt, but it says that it has 6 layers. It looks the same as the one shown in the PlanetDance catalogue - could it be that the last two frills are just short ones on the knicker part and are not counted or do they also make a 6 layered tutu?

I just checked on the RAD site and the new syllabi have gone back to the 10 separate sections all of which have to be passed individually. That will be coming in from January 2015.

They changed the marking system for Advanced syllabi, so that the marks are in groups and single sections. For instance pointe is still on its own and you have to get at least 4 for that to pass the exam, but there are 4 sections marked together (centre practise,ports de bras and pirouettes/adage/allegro/ free enchainements) for which you would have to get 16 out of 40 to pass. Distinction is 75 and over, just like for the children's exams. I am not sure if the new syllabi are going to be marked in the same way, but this is how the old syllabi were marked.

I agree! I love it and everyone sounds so nice - I want to meet you all !!!!

Talking of netball, I was quite a nifty goal shooter at school - leaping up in a beautiful temps leve in arabesque in order to get the ball in the net......

Where do you store it all during the rest of the year, Melody???? It's absolutely gorgeous - reminds me of Christmas at Downton Abbey! Tonight is the 8th candle of Chanucah, so as well as wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful 2015, I'd like to wish my fellow candle-lighters, a very happy Chanucah and hope you've gone easy on the doughnuts!

I think it's also not just whether or not they're talented, but how much they want to dance that really counts. I have had very talented students with everything going for them, who didn't want to make the additional effort to turn professional. And then I have had those who surprised all their teachers with what came out of them, because they wanted it so much. I've also, happily, had those who I thought would make it and they proved me right! It's a mixture of the right physical attributes, technical facility, dance quality, musicality, dedication and a lot of determination and hard, hard work. I think that our job as parents and teachers is to support and encourage and give them the best training we can.

Yes, I agree with LinMM and of course it's almost always a toss up of who will get the better marks in an exam as well. There are those who you know will get a high Distinction and then there are those in the middle of the road group in the Merit bracket, whose marks usually differ by one or two points either way. If you look at the break down - this one got an extra point for character and lost a point for free movement and this one gained two more for music and lost it on technique. They all end up pretty much with the same mark. Personally I was happier when they just got a grade and I think they were too - at least they didn't have post mortems agonising over every point! I once taught identical twins, who not only looked alike, but also danced alike. For the first year I could not tell them apart - luckily their mother bought them shoes in different shades of pink, so I would glance at their feet before saying their name, although that didn't work for character of course! Anyway, they invariably got marks one or two points apart, but it happened once that that small difference meant that one twin got Distinction and one Merit, which was quite difficult for them to deal with. I remember thinking that, in the old days, the examiner would have looked at them and realised that there was nothing to choose between them and would simply have given them the same grading.

I adored festivals ( as you can see from my little photo, which was from a duet I did) and I don't believe that it really bothered me if I won or not - I just loved dancing on stage before an audience. I do think that with the right attitude festivals can be a tremendous learning experience - both for gaining stage craft and for accepting that the world sometimes isn't fair. I think there is a tendency nowadays for parents to be over protective of their children's feelings and it can make it harder for them to accept criticism. Sometimes it's important to make them understand that they weren't the best or that their performance wasn't as good as usual. It doesn't mean that they can't be the best in the future or that they will always give a mediocre performance, but sometimes it happens and they have to be able to accept that. Of course, it is really sad when parents make snide remarks about other children or don't appreciate their own children's achievements, (my goodness - what's wrong with third place?????) but in my experience kids are harder on themselves than anyone.

I took my RAD Advanced (now Ad 2) when I was a student in the senior school of the RBS. There were 3 of us there for the exam. One of the candidates heard who the examiner was that day (Noreen Bush) and went home. She said she'll fail me anyway, so why bother - or words to that effect. The other girl with me was on her 6th or 7th try and gamely carried on, so we were two. It was a terrifying exam to say the least. Anyway, the other girl failed yet again and I got a Pass. When I was asked in school what mark I got, they were all astounded that I'd only got a Pass, but I was just so relieved to have passed that it didn't bother me in the least.............. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that when I auditioned for companies, no-one ever asked me what mark I got, they just wanted to know up to what level I'd reached, so at the end of the day the mark is not that important - unless you want to do the Adeline Genee I suppose.

Yes - we are waiting with baited breath to find out what happened! Hope she was okay..........

Sounds intriguing!! What music has he used? I love the way he makes a collage of music from different composers and in different styles and yet somehow it all makes for a cohesive whole!

I had forgotten that some schools could have been teaching the new Advanced work for some time now - I suppose I presumed that teachers would prefer to continue with the old syllabi as long as they could. It is encouraging that there are students who have found the new syllabi quite accessible. We had a course some time ago and I haven't yet taught it and quite honestly I was afraid that it would be too difficult compared to the old one. Very glad to hear that your daughter is enjoying it, yetanotherdancemum!

Artem - I am a devoted follower of Eifman - and really look forward to the company's visits. I have seen Rodin - it was brilliant! What is the new ballet about - Up and Down?

Really? I've never filled one of those, mainly because it's usually something that's happened on the day, but also because I didn't know you had to. Oh dear!

I was in the supermarket the other day with my youngest grandson sitting in the trolley and listening to me quietly telling him what we were buying, when a woman with a little girl joined us in the aisle. She started asking her what she wanted her to buy at the top of her voice - literally shouting it out. I really wanted to ask her if her poor child was deaf, but restrained myself. However two minutes later I passed her shouting out a conversation on her mobile with someone, who presumably was also deaf. Aaaagh, I know it's the super and not a theatre, but it was so disturbing - everyone was looking at her and she was totally oblivious to the fact that she was shouting.

I was told that the examiners cannot take anything into consideration - they have to mark as they see the work during that particular exam time. Nevertheless, I always tell the examiner if a student is doing the exam injured or ill, because it's important for them to know. For example, if your daughter's ankle is hurting and she needs to rest in the middle of the exam - if the examiner has been notified beforehand of the problem, she would likely allow her to sit on the floor and perhaps take off the shoe and massage her ankle. That sort of thing. Do let us know how she gets on - we'll all be rooting for her!

For Grade 1 you have to be 7 to take the exam, but I suppose you're right you could have six year olds in the class. I find the RAD age limits rather wierd actually. For example the minimum age for Grade 5 is 7 too, but you can only take IF at 11. So if a kid is brilliant enough to take Grade 5 at 7 (pretty impossible I would have thought especially with the new grades) they would have to wait four years to take IF! Anyway, that's all rather beside the point - Grade 3s would probably be better off combined with Grade 4s than Grade 1s and 2s, if you have to combine them, but definitely not an ideal situation.