sophie_rebecca

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Could mere mortals wear them as slippers?  I rather like these patterned ones!

 

http://uk.blochworld.com/product/IM009P

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!

9 hours ago, Bluebird22 said:

These are the closest versions to the ones the RAD are using, that I can find anyway! I’m toying with the idea of joining the RAD, (luckily I have transferable qualifications) but not owning my own school means I can’t very well go around swapping what syllabi I teach! 

I’ve been quizzing RAD teachers I know and they either haven’t heard of it or just can’t work out where the Discovering Rep fits in with their students. I’m hoping it takes off as it is really good! 

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.

6 hours ago, MageFilms said:

And most likely, we'd be directly asking them for a donation upfront which isn't ideal. Most contacts only have their email listed but I don't think I'd cultivate a relationship that way. But I don't see any other way of approaching them?

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 

10 hours ago, LinMM said:

 

If the RAD workshops in Birmingham could be a class as well in might be worth it but apparently that's not the case? 

 

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.

17 hours ago, Michelle_Richer said:

 

I will be honest I used to like the RAD associates when it was a full day activity, comprising Body Conditioning, Absolute beginners, Improvers 1 (grades 3 to 5), Improvers 2 (Grades 6 to 8), those were RAD grades for guidance that RAD published. Basically I used to do all 4 classes and at the lunch break borrow a studio for my own rep practice. I seldom missed a class even though it was over a hundred mile drive each way and sometime in absolutely appalling weather.

 

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.

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

I love the Dream ....it's a bit of a way up to Birmingham for me but may make it for some workshops if I can though can't afford it right now!! 

When is the Dream workshop if it's before the end of February I cannot make it but March is looking better.

thanks for the Katherine dates Michelle I fancy the Coppelia one as haven't done a workshop on this ballet yet but have on the other two so would make a change.

How long are these workshops at Elmhurst? 

The ones I've attended at RAD in London have only been about two hours .....so not a trip to Birmingham for that amount of time!! But they have been very enjoyable and fun to do.....I loved the Fille one from a couple of years ago now and the Cinderella one where we were actually given brooms to dance with!!

 

 

 

 

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. 

On 12/01/2018 at 00:13, Nicola H said:

Speak to @sophie_rebecca  about the mechanics of that  as she  has a overlay for adult classes  - the easiesy  way to fined that is go to the fabulous http://jelterps.blogspot.co.uk/ and  click on the 'adult ballet classes' link in the top bar 

@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

1 hour ago, The_Red_Shoes said:

Pointe work is optional in variations and exercises even at Level 4. I think it should be a great opportunity to keep developing right up to Advanced level without having to worry about pointe which is the main sticking point (ha ha) for me at least, and I think for many others.

 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

5 minutes ago, RHowarth said:

Is the barre and centre work set or unset?

It's set, the choreography is related to the variations. quick glimpse of the variations in the link below

https://vimeo.com/245371527

11 minutes ago, balletgremlin said:

The specification for just Discovering Repertoire (35 pages vs 178) - https://www.rad.org.uk/documents/exam-docs/RAD_DR_Specification_04_Dec_2017_ex.pdf

 

Really looking forward to it. I know my teacher's all ready to start (I think I made a post before Christmas about it). Looking at the exercise names, there's going to be a nice mix of steps to work on.

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)

1 hour ago, Nicola H said:

presumably 'additional learning' for  the RAD would be a combination of  study (to  learn the stuff you need for the  questioning  and learn the vocab etc)  and  free work  but at a suitable level classes etc ?

"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.

5 minutes ago, Nicola H said:

that's a fair assessment of it  Cara .   

when people say  grade 6/7/8  are more 'dancey' i think they are possibly forgetting that the technical aspects   are seen more in the VGEs  at that level, although i don;t know the syllabuses well enough to say that  definitively... 

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.

45 minutes ago, Colman said:

A warning to anyone doing the RAD adult repertoire stuff in Elmhurst - the 4th of February coincides with some giant conference or the other. Flights are pretty much booked up so I'm going to have to miss it (or pay €250 to fly!), which is rather annoying as "The Dream" is the most interesting piece they're doing. I don't know how this will affect local travel. 

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  

On 24/12/2017 at 21:18, Michelle_Richer said:

Hi BalletCoers

 

Is anyone on here doing the Leeds TBR on the 6 and 7th of Jan and staying at the Ibis Budget hotel close by, as I will be there, arriving at the Ibis late Friday afternoon. If anyone wants to meet up for a drink / evening meal Friday evening, just drop me a PM.

 

I'm not sure what rep we are doing as Hannah hasn't give much away, according to Hannah those details will be given no later than two days before the retreat starts. However what has been disclosed is "At the moment it’s between Don Q with fans, or one of the Sleeping Beauty fairies solo".

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

21 hours ago, Viv said:

Results are in!!! And I am very very happy Still no mark for Grade 6 because I didn't have that class today, I'll find out tomorrow. But for Intermediate Foundation I got 78% distinction! I got 8 for everything except pointe and variation technique so I know what to work on for next year, probably not a coincidence that those were at the end of the exam when I was getting tired.

 

Good luck to everyone yet to sit their exam, or still waiting for results  

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.

21 hours ago, Viv said:

I may have let my teacher talk me into doing Grade 7 and Intermediate AND Advanced Foundation next year...so I think rep would be a bit much on top of that. I love the Coppelia variation in level 1 though! Ah well, maybe I'll get the opportunity eventually I do envy all you in the UK who get to do repertoire intensive workshops, that sort of thing doesn't really exist where I live.

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.

On 17/11/2017 at 19:27, balletgremlin said:

Anyone else looking forward to the new RAD syllabus coming in the new year?

 

I've found a video showing clips from the DVD - https://www.radenterprises.co.uk/discovering-repertoire

 

More info 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

9 hours ago, margarite said:

Thank you all for your kind words and wishes, she is over the moon. She understands that there is still the funding audition to go, but I think she's just so made up to have got this far. 

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

4 minutes ago, Colman said:

Dance belts start at a S - suitable for a big nine year old, apparently - up to an XL, suitable for big forty six year old. I have no idea what sense that makes. Does women's stuff use the same convention? 

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.

16 hours ago, sarahw said:

I think the ballet sizing is downright dangerous. It runs the risk of telling vulnerable young dancers that they're a lot bigger than they actually are.

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.