Advanced 1 practice tutu

[dramascientist]

Hi everyone DD tells me that she needs a tutu for her advanced 1 ballet exam and others have them but the best ones cost £200! This seems very steep and there are some available from the RAD shop that cost about £50, are these no good? Advice please, which are the best ones to buy that will be good for the advanced 2 exam as well?

 

Help!

Dramascientist

[Quest]

Hi, the practice tutu on the RAD website is absolutely find for both Advanced 1 and 2, and is actually referred to in the vocational exam guidance notes. No need for a more expensive professional tutu skirt ????????????

[Anon2]

I agree with Quest the Bloch one is suitable for the exams. Dd has a very old Bloch one and a newer, stiffer professional tutu that she had for sixth form. Her teacher wanted her to wear the Bloch one for Adv 2 exam even though it is a bit floppy.

[Anna C]

Yes, I think it's the Bloch Belle listed on the RAD website: http://www.blochshop.co.uk/product/belle

 

It can be a bit less stiff than other tutu skirts but if you tack some of the layers together it helps.

[All4dancers]

My dd used one from Just Ballet which was around £50 I think - definitely no more.

[anondancer_15]

idk if this will be the same but I paid £30 for mine for my advanced foundation exam, I think it's capezio.

[Haggis]

Has snyony tried the 7 layer stiff net one from China at about £40. Looks very like the Gridhko one needed at Tring that is so expensive.

[LinMM]

I think this may be the one Just Ballet uses though hers is 8 layers and is beautifully made for £45 I think but I think they are made in China.

[dramascientist]

Phew this sounds better, I will look at the RAD one and the Just Ballet one, thanks everybody what would I do without this forum???

[Karen]

I think Dd told me that you only use this if you select the more classical variation. Dd did the more contemporary one and wore a little black skirt. Might be an idea to check which one your Dd is doing before you purchase.

[Legseleven]

Karen is right, the tutu skirt is only worn for the classical variation  (variation 1?), with a short black skirt being worn for the neoclassical variation. I don't think it's compulsory to wear the tutu or short skirt in any event, as it seems that the RAD is conscious that these are additional costs, but I could be wrong.

[dramascientist]

Oh right I will ask her what she is doing but knowing her I am sure it will be the classical variation but thanks for pointing that out!

[Nana Lily]

Did a lot of research for a practise Tutu for sixth form. We decided on the one from Just Ballet. It was around £50 with the postage. Good number of layers, 8 or so and they are stitched and net is much stiffer than the Bloch one. I found a very nice one in the Capezio shop in Covent Garden by Intermezzo and it was £100, but didn't appear to be much different to the Just Ballet tutu. Grishko are beautiful when new, but they have a hoop and over time the net then flops over the net, though it does still look pretty if you are happy for that to happen after spending £400. We also have a second hand Grishko which of course was significantly discounted. DD is using the Just Ballet tutu for sixth form. We personally don't like the Bloch, very floppy and for the same price you can buy better quality from Just Ballet.

Edited to add in 'intermezzo'

Edited October 6, 2015 by Nana Lily

[Anna C]

Some schools specify a particular brand for uniform. I must say the Bloch one is much less floppy after tacking the top 4 layers together.

 

I agree about the Intermezzo 8 layer one being very good - we were very lucky to get one in a sale a couple of years ago. It stays beautifully stiff and would have been ideal for 6th form - unfortunately it's black and dd needed white for uniform!

[Dance*is*life]

I think you can also wear one for the Advanced Foundation classical variation.  It is optional, but if you use one,  it's supposed to tone with the leotard.  I am sure there are no expectations of a professional performance tutu skirt by the RAD.  The exam itself is expensive enough without having to fork out 200 pounds for a tutu.  I am surprised that your school doesn't have a budget to provide the tutu skirts if they are entering students on a regular basis for Advanced exams - we wouldn't expect our students to pay for something so expensive, which would only be used once or twice.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Dance*is*life

[youngatheart]

Yes it is the practice tutu in the Vocational uniform section on the RAD website that you are meant to use for Variation 1, and the circular skirt for Variation 2.

 

Since each skirt is only available in 2 of the 4 uniform colours, I am slightly confused as to what you are meant to do if your school uniform leotard is navy, or if it is blue but you want to do variation 2, or purple but you want to do variation 1......

 

BTW you can now use the tutu & skirt for all vocational exams from Inter Foundation up, not just the advanced ones.

[Anna C]

Are there four colours for RAD Vocational exams now? I thought it was black, royal blue or purple? And any of those three can be worn for any Vocational exam, can't they?

 

Edited to add: No, you are right, they include navy too. It does however say that the skirts may either match or "tone with" the leotard. This is from the RAD exam specification for Advanced Foundation, 1 and 2:

 

"sleeveless leotard – black, royal blue, navy blue, or purple

 waistband (optional) - 2cm elastic, the same colour as leotard

 optional - half tutu for Variation 1. Should tone or match with leotard

 optional – skirt for Variation 2, for indication of style visit www.radenterprises.co.uk. Should tone or match with leotard.

 tights – pink

 head ribbons (optional) – velvet, in the same colour

as the leotard

 soft pointe shoes – pink with ribbons

 pointe shoes (pointe work section) – pink with ribbons

 soft ballet shoes may not be worn

 split sole soft pointe / pointe shoes are permitted"

 

So I assume that if your uniform is purple or navy, you could reasonably assume that a black tutu skirt would "tone with" either colour.

[dramascientist]

Thanks Anna C that is very comprehensive, I sent DD the link from Just Ballet, I am of course still waiting for her reply....she keeps telling me she is too busy to call!

[Bailarin]

We got the RAD black one and it was very "poofy"... soon sorted it out with a tagging gun! 

[dramascientist]

Tagging gun?

[Quest]

Same here Bailarin, we used tagging gun similar to this one dramascientist:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00HTXTRU0/ref=pd_aw_fbt_201_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PFXE6DK93GA2C1VM0FD

[dramascientist]

Aaaaahhhhh! now I see!

[dramascientist]

So finally spoke to DD and she will go with the Just Ballet one, she was a bit unsure because she aid it looked "a bit thin", I

told her that people on the forum said it was good so it MUST BE!

[dramascientist]

Actually this is a post for Just Ballet, we received the tutu we ordered, thank you for the prompt dispatch and delivery but DD says it is just a little small for comfort. How do we return and get the next size instead?

 

Thanks

Dramascientist

[Anna C]

You need to email or phone the shop, dramascientist, rather than posting here. Just Ballet may not be online every day, but also under the AUP commercial enterprises aren't allowed to use the forum as the main way of contacting customers - so in fairness customers shouldn't do it either.

[dramascientist]

Oops sorry Anna, won't happen again!

 

DRSC

[taxi4ballet]

 am surprised that your school doesn't have a budget to provide the tutu skirts if they are entering students on a regular basis for Advanced exams - we wouldn't expect our students to pay for something so expensive, which would only be used once or twice.

Didn't I read somewhere that they introduced the tutu so that students could get used to regularly dancing in them during class, since wearing one changes the way you balance and position your arms? 

[Cara in NZ]

We were given an old and rather floppy practice tutu for DD's IF exam. I got a friend who does alterations to add an extra 'short' layer of net at the bottom and it's perfect. The girls who ordered new ones found they were so 'poofy' they bounced up to their armpits every time they jumped, so I suggested tacking some of the layers. Some of their mothers looked at me as if I'd suggested streetwalking.