mummytwo

21 hours ago, Clarkd3 said:

Hi, that's a tricky situation! Can I ask if it's just in your daughters classes that the teacher is mixing in the lower grades and have you had the courage to ask the principle for the reasons behind this change?

I do understand your concerns though especially if the teacher is now spending time getting others up to speed rather than bringing the original class up to exam ready!

i agree that about a year in the grades is about right but we've seen the pace slow down as my DD's have reached grade 4 and beyond because of the increasing degree of complexity and strength needed, preparation for shows etc, mixed ability class and new people accepted into class!

If your dance school is quite small it may be that the teacher currently doesn't have enough grades that are exam ready to hold exam sessions at the dance school at the moment which is equally frustrating!

I would begin to have a look round for another dance school if your daughter was keen to progress! I'm sure a new teacher would move her up to the next grades if she could see that your DD was capable. That might be less messy than trying to slot your DD into exam slots with a new school especially when exam dances are choreographed by the individual teachers, well in ISTD modern and tap anyway, I'm not familiar with ISTD ballet!

Just to add...doing ISTD grade 5 tap would make more sense to your DD than switching to IDTA tap because the ISTD grades all have step build ups that help with the progression and understanding so look for what your DD knows ideally!

 

Hello Clarkd3

Thank you for your message. 

Yes, some of the other classes are also mixed.  I haven’t asked the principal as to why the grades are now mixed in DD’s class, what makes it even more frustrating that the principal is in the same building doing paperwork I believe, while the mixed grade lessons are taking place, surely she should be separating the class like she used to previously, maybe then my DD would be ready for her exam by now.

I dread to think when the next exam session will take place (last exam session Feb 18’), holding my DD back even more.

I know of a good dance school, but, they offer IDTA Tap and would like to keep the ISTD syllabus, plus I feel we are stuck there as she also does competitions.......really hard to find a school which ticks all the boxes !

21 hours ago, annaliesey said:

I’d say on average a grade a year. You can actually go into the website and look at the spec for ISTD and just chat with your dd about what they’ve covered, what she feels confident with, etc. You might find some content on YouTube too. There is also recommended hours on there I think which includes practise hours. 

 

I say average because sometimes my dd did grades a lot quicker ie; one term. But depending on teacher/classes/other students it could take up to a year if you are waiting for others to catch up. Especially if the schools needs to have minimum numbers before holding an exam session or if the teacher wants to put a whole peer group in together in which case ... welcome to the world of being held back  

 

youll need to think about how you feel about that and how important it is to keep progress going at the rate you would like and balance that with moving. 

 

It’s going to feel very different if there are younger children in the class but try to see if it’s reasonable for the teacher and if your child is going to be impacted with people who don’t get it as quickly or who don’t practice at home that much. 

 

Don’t be tempted to race through grades with lower marks than your dd could obtain as it’s not worth it as more important in my view to develop technique in line with the structure.

 

20 months seems excessive so possibly it’s “operational efficiency” for the teacher/school ie; bigger class sizes = more profitable. Class sizes seem to get smaller as they go up through the grades so you might find more schools do this.

 

even if your dd did the exam would there be a class available at the next grade? If so, could she overlap it now? 

 

You could try the Saturday school at urdang in London perhaps? 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much Annaliesey, I will definitely have a look at the syllabus on ISTD and chat with my DD to see what she has actually covered.

Yes, I believe there is a class available for the next grade on a different evening, i'm pretty sure that is also mixed grade 5/6.  

Thank you everyone for taking the time to help me, it's much appreciated x

I am not sure if posting in right place, as not all ballet related, sorry for the long post !

My 12 year old daughter (school year 7) currently does 5 hours of dance per week, ISTD Tap, Modern & Ballet plus Contemporary and Street.  She is also looking to extend her ballet training.

Her current grades are:   Tap Grade 4 /  Modern Grade 4 / Ballet Grade 3

For the last couple of months her dance school has started to mix the grades with the grade below her current level (girls in school year 5/6) hence not getting a full lesson which is only 45mins.

Also, her last exam in Modern & Ballet was 20months ago, which seems quite a long time.  She did a tap exam in Feb this year, at the time the grades were not mixed, so my daughter and her friend were getting through the Tap Grade 4 quite quickly (the teacher mentioned that they had pretty much covered alot of the syllabus), but, now she has mixed the grades she will probably be in that class for 18 months-2 years.

I mentioned to the Principal that she has been in the Modern & Ballet grade for 20months and when will you be holding the next exam, she said “they have covered the syllabus, but, now working through it”, she also couldn’t say when the next exam session is (probably 6 months away or even longer).  But surely, if she didn’t mix the grades she would be ready for her exam by now.

Really not happy with the situation and feel she is getting held back, she is also a quick learner. 

I really do not want to change dance schools, but, feel I have no choice.  I have looked at a dance school, but they offer IDTA Tap and not ISTD.

Does anyone know a private teacher so I can get her assessed to see if she is ready for her exams (to take an exam at another dance school ?), as if I did move dance schools I would like her to go into the next grade up ?   I am based in South East London.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Thank you Janet.

As your dd is 11 and if she is really keen, she needs to considerably increase the number of ballet classes she is doing each week if she is interested in auditioning for an associate programme in central London in a year's time (by London I'm assuming you mean  RBS / Central / LJB etc). 

 

What grade is she at the moment?

Thank you for your reply 'taxi4ballet'.

She is currently in ISTD Grade 3.  Yes I thought she would need to increase her ballet classes, that's why I thought of the Junior Associate scheme with Prima Associates based in Aylesford, Kent, but, depending on wether she is good enough to get in (audition in January).  Maybe I should have increased her normal ballet classes before applying for a JA scheme....so confused now.

Hello

I am new to this forum and wondered if you can help me.

My DD aged 11 attends a weekly ballet class which she started around 18 months ago, she has actually been dancing for around 5 years though doing Modern & Tap.  She absolutely loves her dance classes, always practising at home.

I have been considering a Junior Associate scheme for her with ‘Prima Associates’, based in Aylesford Kent. 

She has an audition coming up, the scheme is on an annual basis.  The aim I guess after the year is up, would be to audition for a Central London JA scheme if successful.

Can you please advise me the advantages of becoming a Junior Associate ?

Also, she currently attends a performing arts school in Central London, if she was successful she would have to give it up as the JA scheme is on the same day.  The trouble is, she enjoys the performing art school and made friends, half of her wants to become a JA, but, the other half of her doesn’t want to quit performing arts.  Maybe I’m just trying to pursue my old dream. 

Thank you in advance.