mumofdd

No, this is for Norwich. The auditions were Wednesday... No link yet. 

Congratulations to your DC too!

Hi,

My daughter has auditioned for EYB and got in! 🥰 This is the first time she has ever attended an audition and so I'm not sure of the process.  The letter says that the acceptance link will be sent by email, but it doesn't say when to expect it.  For those who have done EYB before, how soon after the audition does the email get sent please?  

Thank you!

We went to London for DD's first pointe shoe fitting and found Dancia International to be fantastic. The fitter took the time to look at my daughter's feet and how flexible they are and chose a Grishko shoe that complemented her feet beautifully. We tried 3 pairs in total.

She could have done with half a size smaller and so the fitter did suggest we visited Bloch and Capezio as well to see if they had anything in my daughter's size, but we were pushed for time to catch our train home, so went with the Grishko shoes. That was a good choice as once the elastics were added to the backs, they stayed up and my daughter did not outgrow them prior to taking her Inter Foundation exam a few months later. 

Thank you, that's really helpful

She's been dancing since she was 3, but didn't really start properly until she moved to her current studio when she was 6.

My DD started IF in September 2021 after a term in Grade 3. She had been doing 1 hour IF, 45 mins grade 4 and 30 mins pre-pointe (stretching) a week. At the time of being entered for the IF exam, she hadn't started learning the variation and did not know one of the allegros and a couple of other exercises so she had 2hrs privates a week for the 6 weeks leading up to the exam to learn what she didn't know and make sure she was secure in everything else.

She doesn't know what she wants to do when she's older, but potentially she wants to teach...

Yes, it was in-person and we're in Norfolk.  There were 2 examiners present, so that could be why the results have come back so quickly, as the results haven't needed further verification...

My daughter (just turned 12) took her IF exam at the weekend.  She joined the IF class last September and so had not had anywhere near the number of guided learning hours recommended by the RAD.  I think she's spent around 65-70 hours working on the IF syllabus.  She got her first pair of pointe shoes during the summer holidays (this year) so is pretty new to pointe, but has beautiful, strong feet.  Her result is already back... a 3-day turnaround has to be a record!!  She has passed with a merit (58 marks).  Is that a good result for somebody of her age?  She took her RAD Grade 3 exam in April this year and is used to achieving higher marks, but I understand that the examiners are much stricter in the vocational exams.

My daughter has incredibly strong legs and feet. She got her first pair of pointe shoes in August this year, a couple of months before turning 12, and was able to do beautiful arabesques etc almost straight away. She took her IF exam at the weekend.

She is young compared to others. They don't go en pointe until they are strong enough. Many in DD's school are 13/14 years and some never go en pointe. It's definitely not something that should be rushed!

She does 2.75hrs of ballet a week (45 mins G4, 1hr vocational, 1hr private) plus a 30 min stretching class. I think G4 is going to be far too easy for her now!

So, my daughter was in Grade 3 when she started the Inter Foundation class.  She took her Grade 3 in April and has just taken Inter Foundation.  She hasn't taken Grade 4 yet but is now moving into the Intermediate class which is level 3.  That's why I'm wondering if she's going to find the Grade 4 work tedious now that she has taken the Inter Foundation exam and is moving into Intermediate. 

Hi,

My 12yr old DD has just taken her RAD Inter Foundation exam after 14/15 months of study.  However, on the graded side, she is only in Grade 4...  Is it quite common to be in Grade 4 and Intermediate, or is my DD going to find the Grade 4 work too easy now that she has taken her Inter Foundation exam?

Everything I have read puts Inter Foundation at a Grade 5/6 level, so I'm a little confused!

TIA

That's great - thank you!

My daughter is taking her RAD Inter Foundation exam in December and is a little worried about all the vocabulary that she is expected to know.  She is making sure that she knows the focal and linking steps that will be tested in the free enchainment part of the exam, but does anyone know if all the other vocabulary will be "tested" during the exam please?

My DD passed both IDTA exams with high merits, so her wobbles obviously weren't that bad! 😁

13 minutes ago, Pups_mum said:

I think young dancers sometimes see examiners as being some kind of alien species and it can be helpful to remind them that the majority are teachers too, who enter their pupils into exams as well, so they do know how the dancers are feeling. In my experience, the vast majority are nice people who want to see youngsters doing as well as they can.

I would guess that the examiner could tell that your DD wasn't dancing to her usual standard because of nerves and I'm sure all examiners understand how difficult it is for children who have essentially been dancing in private for 3 years to now perform in front of a stranger. The fact that she was given the chance to start again sounds positive to me.

I'm reminded of the time my DD came out of a ballet exam in tears. I think it was grade 5 and she'd worked very hard for it and was fairly confident so I was surprised it hadn't gone well. But it turns out that her friend who was the only other pupil doing that grade was ill, so DD had only discovered when she arrived that she'd be alone and it had thrown her. Much like your DD she started off with a bit of a wobble and the examiner had told her to start again. It went ok from then but she was convinced she had done badly because of the restart. In fact she got a Distinction and if I recall rightly, with the highest mark she ever got in an exam. Examiners are human, and they understand that dancers are too! I think your DD might be pleasantly surprised. And if not, she has still learned from the experience and from doing the syllabus, which is actually what matters much more than the mark on a piece of paper anyway.

You are so right and I hadn't thought to explain to DD that most examiners are dance teachers themselves.  I guess we will find out in a few weeks how she has done - she was hoping for a distinction in theatre craft and a high merit in tap, but if she doesn't then it's not the end of the world.  She has got those initial post-covid nerves over and done with now, so can move on and look to the future when she'll hopefully be back to taking exams annually.  I was so proud of her for not letting her experience on Wednesday impact on her ballet exam on Friday, as it so easily could have done, but she pulled herself together and was determined to perform to the best of her ability.

Thank you.  I was so proud of her for persevering and for being able to put the experience behind her so that she could have a better experience in her ballet exam just 2 days later.  One thing that may also go in her favour with the examiner is that in between both of her exams, she was a 'student' in the trainee teacher's tap exam.  She said that she was really relaxed in that one and picked up the routine the teacher was making up very quickly.  That would have demonstrated to the examiner how she performs when she's not under pressure.  Although she wasn't the one being marked in this particular exam, it may have helped...

53 minutes ago, glowlight said:

Now that we are 'back to normal' there is a tendency to feel that we should all feel normal and be able to get on with our lives as we did before.  That simply isn't the case. So many of us are still struggling with some things, and the trouble is you don't know what is going to hit you until it does.

 

It sounds as if the examiner was really lovely, so hopefully your dd won't be disappointed in her results.  But if she is, try to help her to understand that this was a one off due to very strange circumstances.  One result in a long line of results mustn't be allowed to define what comes next.

 

I got completely rubbish A level results due to glandular fever.  Fortunately I had a very pro-active Headmaster who spoke personally to the admissions offer at my chosen university to secure my place, and I went on to get a good degree from a good university.  My A levels were a blip and mean nothing now.

Thank you for sharing your own experience.  You're right - these two exams are not the be-all and end-all and my daughter will have many more opportunities to demonstrate her ability.  

1 hour ago, Colman said:

The school in Dublin we mostly attend did exams a few weeks ago and there was all sorts of anomalous behaviour from the kids - the older ones more than younger - so I’d guess the examiners are seeing this everywhere.
 

I don’t know how much latitude they have on marks, but I’d count just getting through the exam as a victory and wouldn’t worry too much about the actual grade. That’s certainly how we’re going to frame it to our son who apparently messed up his Grade 4 character dance completely!
 

Everyone  lost their minds in lockdown, as Janet says, and it’s going to take a while to readapt.

 

We also had a parents class watching  day recently and the kids were very stressed out by that too, having not danced in front of anyone for two years. 

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that my DD is not alone.  She has come such a long way in terms of her confidence in the last few years and I really don't want this experience to knock that.  She was only 8 when she last took dance exams... she has taken drama exams throughout the pandemic and consistently received distinctions, but there's so much more to a dance exam and I think once she'd made that first mistake (on the second exercise), she completely crumbled and couldn't pull herself back together.

12 minutes ago, MamaFrosty said:

I’d definitely emphasise the achievement of doing an exam after such a strange two years! My daughter had a similar experience, she did an exam a few weeks ago and despite knowing the syllabus inside out she came out really shaken and had apparently messed up. Sadly, it sounds like her examiner was less understanding but that in itself was a good lesson! We’ve just told her that it’s been such an odd two years, with so much disruption to their learning, that just going in there and giving it her best was a massive accomplishment. We’re waiting on the results but I hope we’ve done enough groundwork that if she doesn’t get the grade she’s hoping for then she won’t feel disappointed in herself.

Fingers crossed for your DD.  My daughter remarked on how nice the examiner was, so I am really hoping that because she let her have multiple attempts, she has gone easy on her and will have been marking her on her best attempts!  You just don't know though, do you?  I was really worried that my DD would carry that experience forward and crumble in her ballet exam on Friday, but she said she focused on her breathing and let her feet lead the way.  She didn't make any mistakes in her ballet exam and said that the examiner smiled at her several times, so hopefully that result will be a pick-me-up for her if her other two results leave her feeling disappointed.

It certainly has had an impact on everyone.

The examiner sounded lovely and it's clear she wanted my DD to do well, otherwise she would not have allowed her to practice with the music before doing the exercises and dance properly. My DD said this helped and the examiner only stopped the music once in the first exam. In the second exam, my DD said she did OK until the dance when she drew a blank. She had 2 attempts on her own but got it wrong both times, so then the examiner told the girl DD was with to do it with her and my DD got it right that time. 

DD will be gutted if she gets low marks and has convinced herself she won't, given how nice the examiner was. How likely does everyone think this is though?

I should have added that my DD said she got the exercise right when she repeated it.

My 11 year old DD used to take exams every year prior to the pandemic with no issues. However, on Wednesday, she took 2 exams and was so nervous that she was shaking and kept forgetting what she was doing. She knew the grades really well, but drew a complete blank.

For the first exam, she was the only candidate and the examiner stopped the music and told her to start again when she messed up. She then gave her the opportunity to practice with the music while she was writing. She did this a couple of times and before my DD performed the dance. The examiner told my DD to pretend she was just in class and the examiner was her teacher, so it sounds like she could see my DD's nerves. 

It had been 3 years since she'd taken any exams and she was really upset. Do you think the examiner would have been making allowances, given the impact Covid has had on everyone? My DD really wanted to do her teachers proud. These were IDTA exams. 

On Friday, she had her Grade 3 RAD ballet exam and managed to remain in control for this one, presumably as she knew what to expect. I was proud of her for not letting her experience on Wednesday affect her performance on Friday.