sophie_rebecca

Yes they are awesome (though be careful on stairs!) I wear mine often around the house sometimes to help my ankles recover but mostly because they're just so comfy!

I was at the RAD northern AGM & launch of the rep (& was the only non teacher / examiner there ) A few teachers weren't sure where this fit into things, the general idea seems to be it's great for dancers who are nearing the end of their grade but don't want to do vocationals, it's also been extremely popular with adult students. Pointe being optional was also discussed, as @Nicola H says it's optional, no one in the room believed it was worth doing in en pointe as there's no extra marks & everything to lose from making it harder, the chaines can also be done at half speed & there were a few other bits that were optional to make this a more relaxing / enjoyable grade. We were all a bit confused by the way it's broken into exams though, each level is 3 exams, 1 for the Barre & Center, 1 for the 8 preparations & variation 1 & 1 for the 8 preparations & variation 2, the feeling was most people would take 2 exams back to back, center + variation then the other variation if decided later, the exams are shorter & this is reflected in the exam fee.

You could also approach the Channels, Channel 4 for example have Random Acts http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/randomactsbrief "The brief is deliberately broad: we're after "bold expressions of creativity" and those could come from art, music, dance, animation, spoken word, performance, or some uncategorisable combination of the above." I've actually just finished 3 days filming in London for Random Acts on a dance piece, in brief a production company approached me with an idea, I loved it & developed it, we went to see Catherine to propose & discuss the idea, she liked it but advised some changes (she wanted a spoken word poet adding to describe the story) then agreed to fund it, the funding I'm told was tight but that was between Random Acts & the production company but it was sufficient to hire a theatre for a day, 2 stedicam ops, makeup artist, photographer, 3 camera ops, sound op, director & a floor manager. Jan has given some good suggestions though, crowdfunding has been very successful for some projects if you have dancers / studios that love the idea get a crowdfunder up & get them to help you promote it. wishing you the best of luck

I mentioned a little further up the RAD days can be 2 classes & the rep, they do a body conditioning class first thing (which I've heard great things about) then a 1 hour beginners or improvers class, a break for lunch then the 2 1/2 hour rep class, the body conditioning & classes are listed separate to the rep, hope this helps.

FYI they still do the body conditioning, beginners / improovers before the reps but they're listed under a separate event & you have to pay for all 4 unlike the reps where you can drop in individually. I posted some details on my page to collate all the info https://www.facebook.com/sophiedanceruk/posts/2017144245206790 Body conditioning is https://www.rad.org.uk/events/adult-associate-classes-3 I think the eventbrite site is poor as I struggle to find things I'm looking for even when I know what it is, I'm at the Northern AGM where I intend to discuss Adult Associates at NB as I think there's demand but also that the events website is a bit long overdue an overhaul, if anyone wants me to pass on ant other feedback let me know. Elmhurst Rep is from 13:45-16:15 so 2 1/2 hours, As I'm in Leeds it's too far for me for just that so I was checking into the improovers as well but I'm having to scale things back this year a bit until I've had time to recover.

It's a list I generated via contributions from the community (mostly via twitter) & teachers getting in touch, it's in no way an endorsement kind of thing, Jane travels & dances a lot more so her blog has many many reviews, I'm always open to new additions, I like the idea of someone remembering they loved ballet or being inspired to start & it being really easy to look at the map & see if there are classes close to you to hop into sometimes it's very hard trawling websites to see if they do adult classes & it's not always on the website etc but things are getting better for us adult dancers.

@annaliesey very happy to add you as a contributor to the map if you'd like to help carry it on https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1LQe92qPsOF3qHObTMypt_r-j6qE&usp=sharing

I’ve been forced to come off point after passing IF last year for reasons I won’t go over again, I’m going grade 7 now which is beautiful & for me much better than vocational, rep alongside will be fantastic too & as you use but me some time to bottom out & rebuild my strength

It's set, the choreography is related to the variations. quick glimpse of the variations in the link below https://vimeo.com/245371527

oohh thanks hadn't spotted that one, I'm not sure I'll forgive my teacher for passing on the trial of DR in 40 years she's trialled all the others, for me it's just perfect, I love dancing but I get something extra from actual repertoire, I cant explain it my heart just loves it.

Just thought I'd post about the new RAD syllabus I'm sure many of us have seen talked about over the last few years & some lucky enough to trial as I've collated quite a bit of info pre launch I thought I'd share. The official launch will be on the 19th Jan & is for students 12 & above The syllabus will be in the same format as all other grades / levels with the barre & center inspired by certain ballets & the variations from the actual ballet. Level 2 (equivalent to Grade 5/Intermediate Foundation standard) Variation 1 Coppélia, Act II Spanish Dance or Act I Franz Variation 2 Giselle, ACt I Peasant pas de deux (male & female) Level 3 (equivalent to Grades 6–8/Intermediate & Advanced Foundation standard) Variation 1 The Sleeping Beauty Sleeping Beauty Act III Princess Florine or Act II Prince Désiré Variation 2 Paquita Pas de trois or Paquita Level 4 (equivalent to Advanced 1 & 2 standard) Variation 1 Swan Lake Act II Odette or Act III Prince Siegfried Variation 2 Nutcracker Act II Sugar Plum Fairy or Act II Nutcracker Prince The uniform will be, capped sleeve scooped neck or camisole leotard black, burgundy pink / flesh coloured tights pink / flesh coloured (to tone with tights) soft ballet shoes in satin, canvas or leather with pink / flesh coloured elastic / ribbons may be worn for all units. Pointe shoes or soft pointe shoes may be worn for Units: Variation 1 and Variation 2 (satin pink or flesh coloured with ribbons). Split sole shoes are permitted. Optional asymmetrical knee length chiffon skirt to match leotard For Variations at all levels, a romantic or classical tutu in white or black with / or without decorative ribbons may be worn. So dust off those romantic & classical tutu's I'm currently learning grade 7 but love the sound of Discovering Repertoire More info available on from Page 110 on the RAD exam spec 2018 https://www.rad.org.uk/documents/exam-docs/RAD_Specification_2018_12_Dec_2017_ex.pdf

"Total Qualification Time (TQT) is an indication of the total number of hours required for the average learner to achieve and demonstrate the attainment necessary for the award of a qualification. TQT is comprised of: (i) the number of hours assigned to a qualification for guided learning (guided learning hours) and (ii) an estimate of the number of hours a learner will reasonably be likely to spend in preparation, study or any other form of participation in education or training, including assessment, which takes place as directed by – but, unlike guided learning, not under the immediate guidance or supervision of – a teacher (or other provider of education or training)." So Guided Learning is doing the actual syllabus & the other is general class workshops as I understand it.

Vocational (inter foundation through to adv foundation) are a lot more technical hence why people say grades are more 'dancey' as they are, grade 7 is much more expressive & flowing compared to inter foundation which is very technical, the vocationals are meant to prepare you for a career in dance but most dancers I know do both. As for the earlier bit about exam hours, there's an exam specification from the RAD that lists the recommended hours per syllabus https://www.rad.org.uk/documents/exam-docs/RAD_Specification_2018_12_Dec_2017_ex.pdf pages 175 & 176 list TQT (total qualification time) also in that spec which has just been updated you can see all the stuff about the new Discovering Repertoire syllabus.

I had no idea they'd added more rep dates beyond the 4 I'd booked in to, the RAD really need to sort out the website for events or is there something I'm missing?

Yes is was one of the best yet, the atmosphere was just brilliant, everyone's lovely but there are so many regulars who only see each other at TBR's that as the year has gone on everyone's gotten to know each other a little better & it's like a family reunion each time, was lovely to meet Michelle too but with so much dance we didn't get a lot of time to chat, hope everyone is still moving today

FYI It’s the solo from The PDD in act 3, Hannah just confirmed it on FB

Yes they are all a bit devilish but they are really good at toning them down but still keeping them enjoyable / a challenge. Past variations are Gamzatti from La Bayadere & the Blue Bird form Sleeping Beauty (that was hard!) Canari qui chante always makes me laugh, her role is brilliant & it reminds me of me if I drink coffee

I may have been begging Hannah for a Sleeping Beauty Fairies solos for the past 2 TBR's so fingers crossed!

Huge congratulations! a Distinction is an amazing achievement.

With 6 years experience you'll be fine, David is really good at teaching a wide range or skills on the day anyway, normally I'd say you'd be very lucky as TBR books up months in advance but I did see Hannah posting that 2 spaces came free last week & they may not have gone yet. Nicola has covered everything, these are immensely enjoyable events meticulously organised with a wonderful group of people in world class facilities.

If you find who your RAD area manager is they may be able to get something together, if the demand is there they'll put them on normally, I'm working with the RAD to bring more adult workshops to the north as I think there's demand for it up here.

I'm looking forward to this more than is healthy sadly my teacher passed on the opportunity to trial this a few years ago, I'm very much considering letting Grade 7 go for rep level 3

Fantastic news, it never went as bad as you think it did but

it depends on the manufacturer, I've seen people in a Block Small be an XL in another maker, Grishko Leo's are rare but that follow a very hard sizing standard.

oohh don't get me started on this, my partner runs a dancewear shop & some of the sizing is just so damaging, once they get out of age size to petite / extra small / small / medium / large it's horrible that most of the tiny things she see's are a "medium" or "large" & you can see it on their faces when they're told they're that size, she always points out how crazy it is.