Taking Ballet Exams as an adult

[Viv]

I had Grade 8 today. I think it went well, the ankle held up and is feeling much better after some ice. Grade 8 is a tough one to predict though, it's marked so differently from the other exams, 50% for performance! So while I feel like I did alright, I'm not sure what they're actually looking for or whether or not I've achieved it. I didn't have the feeling of pure joy I did in the grade 7 exam so I worry the performance was a little forced, but I was trying to hide and compensate for the things I can't do too well at the moment. I suppose I'll know in 6 weeks time.

[balletgremlin]

Congrats Viv. I'm sure you've done fabulously. It's so easy to come out of an exam and remember all the things that didn't go perfectly or could have gone better rather than thinking of the positives. Fingers crossed for you.

 

A couple of questions for you all:

1. Has anyone successfully thinned out the sole of demi-pointe shoes/made any other modifications to make your feet look nicer while keeping all your fingers intact?
2. When doing a battement lent on my left leg, why does it look like I have perfect turnout when my turnout is actually far from wonderful? My teacher's checked I don't have tibial torsion and I'm not twisting or lifting my hips or doing anything else weird with my posture.

[NeverTooOld]

Well done Viv, glad your ankle held up. Best of luck that you get the result that you are hoping for.

[Fiz]

Good luck with your result, Viv! I’m glad you managed to do the exam and hope you recover soon.

[The_Red_Shoes]

What do people think about whether it's better to have piano or recorded music for Grade 7 exams? I'm being offered a choice as there will be others taking IF the same day so my teacher will be hiring the pianist for that day anyway. However this pianist has never played for Grade 7 before. I love live piano music but I think the tempi in Grade 7 are very unforgiving. The classical dance played a smidge too fast would be panic-stricken and too slow would be horribly heavy. The character exercises taken any faster than the recorded music would be physically impossible - but a pianist could take them a fraction slower. It would be expensive paying for a piano rehearsal but I wouldn't want to try it without a run through and the chance to talk about it. I think a rehearsal would only be possible in any case if the IFs also want one.

[sophie_rebecca]

2 hours ago, The_Red_Shoes said:

What do people think about whether it's better to have piano or recorded music for Grade 7 exams? I'm being offered a choice as there will be others taking IF the same day so my teacher will be hiring the pianist for that day anyway. However this pianist has never played for Grade 7 before. I love live piano music but I think the tempi in Grade 7 are very unforgiving. The classical dance played a smidge too fast would be panic-stricken and too slow would be horribly heavy. The character exercises taken any faster than the recorded music would be physically impossible - but a pianist could take them a fraction slower. It would be expensive paying for a piano rehearsal but I wouldn't want to try it without a run through and the chance to talk about it. I think a rehearsal would only be possible in any case if the IFs also want one.

 

I'll be having a pianist for my G7 next year as I'll need the character slowing down ever so slightly, I do love the extra feeling / performance I get from dancing with a pianist but that comes at the price of adapting to the music when they get carried away, that said there is a certain reliability from a CD, I guess I've just said it'll be down to your personal preference 😉  for my its a pianist all the way.

[Peanut68]

I’d agree usually with gong for a pianist as makes it all feel so much more like a performance! 

However, when I took an exam at RAD HQ on hottest day of the year in a highly glazed studio I think the pianist was rather keen to get out....my goodness me how he raced through....barely any time to get off the ground in allegro or turn a double pirouette it was so fast paced! TBH, I felt the examiner should’ve directed him to slow down at times! I did wish it had been the CD by the end...
Best of luck with exams!! 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Peanut68

[balletgremlin]

I'll be using the CD for my grade 7 at the end of the month. I wouldn't mind if character were to be slowed down a smidge. There are ways of altering the music digitally to play at a different speed but my teacher's told me to suck it up and do it properly.

 

I love dancing with a live piano - for example, if I were taking a workshop - but unless I'd been working with the pianist for a while who knew what tempo I like to dance at I wouldn't want to take any chances in an exam for them to adjust the speed. I know musicality is an important part of dancing but there were several exercises in my IF exam where the pianist played much slower/faster than I'm accustomed too and I didn't appreciate having another thing to think about.

[LinMM]

I think a live pianist would be great..... if you could get a run through first .....it depends how experienced they may be with playing for ballet classes and whether in fact they might already know the exam music for the exam you are taking!! But if not it could be off putting if you have been practising a lot at one speed and that is then suddenly changed. 

Its really great having a live pianist for class usually but am not so sure about in an exam 🤔

[The_Red_Shoes]

Yes, I find having a real live pianist for class is always wonderful and just sweeps you along. I marvel at their skill and creativity in coming up with range of inspiring/exciting/amusing pieces and in collaborating with the teacher, not to mention when they play for repertoire. It would definitely help give a sense of occasion that  would help with the performance aspect. I think it's going to depend on whether I can get a piano rehearsal or not. It would be wonderful to have a pianist who can play each exercise at the tempo that shows me to my best advantage - but I definitely wouldn't want any horrible surprises. (I forgot to say - I'm taking the exam alone so it can be tailored just to me.) In my inter exam at the Manchester RAV the pianist there played pretty much the same as the cd, except for the pirouettes en dehors which he took rather steadier, which I greatly preferred. But this  pianist that I'll have for grade 7 apparently caused some discombobulation among my inter classmates who did the exam at our home studio. And he has played for lots of the vocational exams  but has never played for any of the higher grades before.

4 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

TBH, I felt the examiner should’ve directed him to slow down at times!

My teacher says that in an exam the examiner should do that, but if they don't then it's perfectly acceptable for you to request the examiner to tell the pianist to play faster/slower, but I think it would take a lot of courage to speak up like that!

 

Incidentally, I did once check on the RAD website and it seems that the music tempo is not set in stone so it's not an actual requirement that you perform at the same tempo as on the cd. Obviously, an allegro can't be played as an adage or v.v. but as far as I recall it said that the metronome markings are not set. I can't check that as the music section is one of the  sections of the old website that I can't find on the new version.

[The_Red_Shoes]

I've managed to find the music section and this is what it says:

Metronome marks in our scores were added retrospectively, by listening to the recordings of the syllabus music and using this online metronome to calculate an average tempo for each track. Tempos for the recording were decided during the creation and piloting of the syllabus, working with several dancers in different schools. The speeds are thus a result of the process, they weren’t imposed on the dancers from outside.

With that in mind, our metronome markings shouldn’t be viewed as the only ‘correct’ tempo for an exercise, but as a rough guide when you first learn the music, or when you have not had enough rehearsal with a group of dancers to work out a good tempo between yourselves.

[Peanut68]

Thanks Red Shoes.... that’s really interesting! Wish I’d had the courage to speak out in exam & request a steadier pace at the moment I felt the music was running away like a Derby winner but it’s funny how even aged 50 in an exam you revert right back to little shy don’t want to make a fuss schoolgirl mode 🤣 So unlike me in my ‘real’ life!!! 

[The_Red_Shoes]

It's a bit more than three weeks to go till my Grade 7 exam and the big question is whether or not I can manage it with my shoulder injury. I wrote about it a few weeks ago in another thread  (waves to LinMM with a slightly limited waving motion). I've been having physio every week, and starting acupuncture tomorrow too. It started off with a great improvement (very optimistic about being ok for exam), followed by a big step right backward to the beginning  (despairing of being able to take exam at all this year), followed by a mixture of good and bad days (uncertainty). When I dance I find it does kind of loosen it up and my teacher said today too that there's been a huge improvement in some of my exam work from NOT using my arms - I've needed to develop strength because I can't use arms for balance or impetus, and my Free Movement has come on fabulously as all the movement is really happening in my back (as it should be). I can do normal port de bras up to 5th and down through second, but reverse port de bras has a really painful spot part way up. I can now do the Hungarian character arm movement, not with perfect technique, but adequate. My physio does think that I might be able to grit my teeth (invisibly of course while maintaining ballerina face) and push through just for the exam, even if it sets back my progress in general

 

I'm not going to make  a final decision about continuing or withdrawing until the week of the exam. However if I take the exam now I know I may lose some marks for my arms. If I withdraw I will need to take the exam later in the year in a RAV, which has additional nerve-wracking aspects such as dancing with strangers and not being familiar with the space - which might lead to me losing marks in other ways. So it's swings and roundabouts. My own school only has exam sessions once a year and it would be frustrating to wait a whole year, but could I start on Grade 8 and take both exams next year? It's all a dilemma.

[balletgremlin]

Fingers crossed for you The_Red_Shoes. It's hard to know which option is the best one to make.

 

On the one hand, if you take it now you might regret losing marks due to your injury but waiting and dancing somewhere else poses issues too - and waiting an entire year - I'd get very fed up of all the exercises by then, I'd definitely need to be doing something else too to keep me interested.

 

I'm in a similar boat - was originally supposed to take Grade 7 in November but had to be postponed due to a (still ongoing) hip injury, and was going to take it this exam session in March along with my Grade 8. However, my hips and physio have had other ideas and I'm banned from grand plies, kneeling and lifting my leg above 30 degrees so even June is looking unlikely. Thoughts of taking Intermediate and Discovering Repertoire exams this year are rapidly fading as talk of surgery is starting to surface.

 

[The_Red_Shoes]

Oh Gremlin, how rotten for you! That sounds awful. Sending you best wishes for your recovery.

 

I worry about delays because I want to achieve my goals while I am able. I fear that old-age decline might happen at a faster rate than technical improvement. So far so good - improvement is winning out - but I don't know how long that will continue and if I'll eventually reach a physical limit. This is why being injured is such a shock and a frustration - it brings home just how easy it is to go from "very fit and active" to having to accept limitations. I want to carry on being a grand jeté granny!

[taximom]

A long time ago my DD, at that time taking Grade 1 or 2 I think, broke her shoulder the night before the exam.  I took her to our dance school where the exams were taking place and the ballet teacher took her down to meet the examiner.  The examiner advised that she should still do the exam if she wanted to but without the sling and keeping her arm still.  Looking at her face when she came out, white as a sheet, she told me she had tried to continue to use her arm the best she could as it didn't feel right not to.  Result - the highest grade in the group. Consider speaking to your teacher and advising the examiner, perhaps take a drs note to explain the reduced movement?

 

Good luck whatever you decide to do!!

Heather

aka Taximom

 

 

[balletgremlin]

12 minutes ago, The_Red_Shoes said:

a grand jeté granny!

 

What a fantastic term! I hope you continue as one for a lot time yet! Definitely something for me to aim for in future.

 

Thank you for your best wishes. At 31 I thought I had a few more years before I started falling apart. Time is on my side and I'm sure I'll recover but the waiting sensibly in the meantime is difficult.

[LinMM]

Oh dear it seems to have been generally bad year for injuries! 

So sorry for both Red Shoes and Balletgremlin how unfortunate for you both. 

At least I'm not having to worry about exams. 

Im back doing ballet....a very easy class... but it feels very odd as still can't do much on Demi pointe not even bourrees 😢 and my left arm won't go higher than first and second positions!! But think I'm really discovering epaullement to compensate!! 

 

Its difficult as you get older ....well granny age older ...especially if you've danced for a long time on and off as sometimes it's just a battle to stay at status quo and not lose too much technique and any time you have to have off for injury can become crucial. 

Its a balance of what you are prepared to lose in your skills and still get something out of the dancing. 

Its a totally different situation to older people taking up dancing for the first time as they have nothing to lose and can only get better!! 

They feel they are making progress while you feel you are going backwards 🙄

 

Balletgremlin you are very young still 😊 I hope you can avoid an operation but if you do have to have some time off you will be able to get back again without a doubt unless your injury is very serious of course.

Wishing you both luck 🍀🍀

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The_Red_Shoes]

Back to class yesterday with my first Grade 7 lesson in 6 months. Oh, it was such a joyous  experience to be able to move freely again in a big studio space. We got through the barre, port de bras and pirouettes and my teacher thinks I should be ready for the exam again before Christmas. Apparently my fees are held over till March and if I don't take the exam before then I will lose the money. However, it looks like there will be no problem in being ready well before that.

 

I was surprised by how much I had retained, not just remembering the exercises but dancing with style and up to speed even though some points of technique are lacking and my stamina is distinctly low. However my teacher says it's the same for her, a real drop in ballet-specific fitness. No problems with my previously injured shoulder. My calves are really uncomfortable today, however.

 

Best wishes to everyone else who is returning!

[LinMM]

The Saturday Ballet group I go to went back into the studio for the first time yesterday!!

We are in a new studio as our old one is being used for gym equipment. 
The new one is bigger and has nice views out over Brighton so quite an expansive space to dance in. We would be restricted to 12 dancers but we are an 8-12 group anyway .. yesterday there were 8 of us. 
It was interesting to dance on a proper floor  again and I was generally pleased with my foot though didn’t do much actual jumping(getting off the floor) it was just nice to move across the floor in a normal way. 
It’s a tribute to the Zoom dancing teachers who have been teaching all this time that am now in reasonable nick ....even dancing in your living room can keep you fit and now my frozen shoulder arm can do 5th position whereas in March couldn’t even get it to second position!! I don’t think would have had such a positive experience yesterday if hadn’t done any dancing at all since March. 
Anyway hope others can get back to their studios soon if not back yet. 
 

[EverHopeful]

I’m loving being back in the studio... but I’m also so frustrated with myself about all the progress I’ve lost. 
I need to start making some decisions about whether or not to take video exams this term - exams I would have been ready to take in summer had all this not happened. But my fitness, technique, appearance, confidence(!!) and general exam-readiness have all deteriorated a LOT in the last 6 months. I just don’t know if I’m prepared to accept a lower mark than I may be capable of in ‘normal’ times. People keep telling me the marks don’t matter, but if that’s the case then why do exams at all? They matter to me, a lot. The idea of working towards an exam and getting feedback and hopefully getting the mark I hope for, that’s what motivates me. I would rather get 80% in a lower grade than get 70% in a higher one - I’m a perfectionist, that’s just how my brain works. 
I can always do the higher grade in future. Convincing my teacher to let me try a lower one again is proving much more of a challenge. 

[Dance*is*life]

On 06/11/2019 at 22:12, The_Red_Shoes said:

I've managed to find the music section and this is what it says:

Metronome marks in our scores were added retrospectively, by listening to the recordings of the syllabus music and using this online metronome to calculate an average tempo for each track. Tempos for the recording were decided during the creation and piloting of the syllabus, working with several dancers in different schools. The speeds are thus a result of the process, they weren’t imposed on the dancers from outside.

With that in mind, our metronome markings shouldn’t be viewed as the only ‘correct’ tempo for an exercise, but as a rough guide when you first learn the music, or when you have not had enough rehearsal with a group of dancers to work out a good tempo between yourselves.

That's  really interesting - I actually didn't know that and I'm  a teacher!  I am used to teaching with a pianist so now that I am having to use the CD to teach via zoom, I am finding a lot of the music to have ben recorded  at impossible tempos.  In the studio we have a control to allow adjustment of tempo but I don't  have that at home.  If you can practise aith a pianist before an exam that's  okay, but even if the CD is sometimes a challenge - you're expecting it!

 

DeveloppeD  - just wanted to give you my two cents worth from a teacher's point of view about exams.  Exam markings are unpredictable. You may well deserve a high Distinction, but on the day, for whatever reason, it may not go well and you end up with a much lower mark.  Don't forget that the examiner has to mark what she sees on the day and it may not be a good day. In the last session, my four best Intermediates didn't do nearly as well as I expected, because something went wrong with the air condiitoning and the floor was very slippery.  I explained to them that it couldn't be helped and that their hard work was in no way wasted - to the contrary they have advanced because of working for their Inter exam and will go on to the Advanced levels easily.  I see them in class every day and I know what they are capable of.  Not to imply that the examiners are wrong in their assessments, but I know that they are judging on what they see on a certain day,  which may well not be that particular student's best effort.  The important thing is to keep on advancing and not to get stuck trying to perfect a lower level,  rather than developing and learning new more challenging work.  If your teacher thinks you're ready, do trust her!  And don't  get tied up with tryng to get an extra point per category, which is sometimes the difference between one mark and another. It honestly doesn't  matter. The process of training with an exam as your goal gives you extra insentive to work harder and that is very important!

[LinMM]

I do understand how you feel DeveloppeD it is frustrating when you are building up to a date to be at your best (in the summer) and then miss that opportunity ( as could happen with an injury) but if your teacher is seeming happy with you to take this exam sooner rather than later then I’d go with that to be honest. 
I agree with Dance is life that sometimes it’s best to move on. Although of course for most being too long in one grade can lead to boredom with the material....there sometimes seems to be a point where you just don’t get any better with that particular material...and new material renews desire etc. You obviously don’t feel that at this point but might well do by next Spring or summer!!! 
Is it the having to video the exam rather than take in person that is putting you off? 
Im not sure how videoing exams work as have never been in this position does everybody have to video it on same day? 
Does the teacher have to video it? 
Does it have to run straight through ...as in a personal exam... or can you stop recording between exercises etc( could be an advantage here!!) 

I don’t suppose they will but wonder whether examiners may make some allowances for what a difficult year it’s been  for most students taking exams in the next six months or so. 

[balletgremlin]

When we filmed exams in March, each exam had to be done in one recording and the children all got 3 extra special consideration marks for the circumstances - though they only found out on the Thursday their exam would be filmed on the Friday. Now it's no so rushed and last minute I don't know if that would still be the case.

[EverHopeful]

On 30/09/2020 at 11:55, LinMM said:

Is it the having to video the exam rather than take in person that is putting you off? 

Yes, partially. Only because I’m sure someone on here commented that their students scored very much lower than expected after doing them. 
Also because my fitness and strength has decreased a huge amount since the beginning of the year. I just don’t think I’m going to get the marks I’m hoping for. 

[Dance*is*life]

Just wanted to say that I see I made several typos in my previous post, but can't find a way to edit. Can someone advise please!

 

Also this is what I told my students when we finally had exams in June instead of March!  If you get a lower mark than we hoped for - you can blame it on Corona.  If you get a good mark you can be doubly pleased because Wow! In spite of Corona you got a good mark!  😅

[Jan McNulty]

32 minutes ago, Dance*is*life said:

Just wanted to say that I see I made several typos in my previous post, but can't find a way to edit. Can someone advise please!

 

Also this is what I told my students when we finally had exams in June instead of March!  If you get a lower mark than we hoped for - you can blame it on Corona.  If you get a good mark you can be doubly pleased because Wow! In spite of Corona you got a good mark!  😅

 

The editing facility is available for 30 minutes after you have posted.

 

The edit function can now be found by clicking on the ellipsis and the top right hand side of the screen.

[Dance*is*life]

Thank you Janet - so I noticed the mistakes too late! I'll know in future to check immediately!

Edited October 3, 2020 by Dance*is*life

[balletgremlin]

Any adults on here still working towards exams? 

 

I took my Intermediate and Rep Level 2 Class Unit in November and got a Merit and Distinction (and improved 18 marks between the morning and afternoon!) Thanks to endless lockdowns and an ongoing hip injury that stopped me dancing for months (including the month leading up to my exam) I didn't do as well as I'd have liked. I am still proud of myself for doing so well in Intermediate despite being so injured and logically I know if it affected my stability and strength to the point where I didn't grand plie from November 2019 until the day before my exam I wouldn't be dancing at my full potential but I'm still wound up by the 5 for pointe. My pointe work has come on so much since IF and I was feeling like that and my barre were my strong sections. Teacher says I should focus on my 9's for music and performance which I'm thrilled with. 

Bragging over, I'm aiming to do grade 7 (put off from 2019 due to injury) and another rep unit in April, grade 8 in the summer and possibly (depending on if they change the rules on demi-pointe shoes) AF next Winter. Even if it doesn't all go to plan or my hip flares up again, I'm hoping I can do as much dancing as possible while training on the RAD CBTS course.

[Kate_N]

Congratulations! Particularly coming back after injury.

 

Your teacher is wise - focus on the things you do well, because they will help the things which need more - or more constant - work.

 

Maybe also the way to think about something like your pointe work is that you know you've improved - but the examiners are marking you against a set of fixed criteria, rather than grading your improvement, if that makes sense? And Intermediate is a pretty high level exam, so to achieve a 50% in any section is an achievement!

 

 

[Viv]

Well, 3 years after completing my advanced foundation exam, I am finally going to be starting advanced 1 next year!!! I have done a bit in private lessons this year and know most of the material now, but there's a different level of fitness required to take an advanced level exam, and you simply can't achieve that with only a one hour private lesson a week, and not even every week at that.

 

It's going to be a massive struggle. After such a big break between exams (it will be 4 years by the time I actually take this exam!) my technique is nowhere near where it was when I did advanced foundation. A horrific grade 3 ankle sprain in 2019 has effectively kept me off pointe for close to two years and every time I start making progress (ie moving beyond the intermediate exam pointe exercises), something else in the ankle flares up. Currently battling posterior ankle impingement which means I'm off pointe again, I don't have the range in one ankle to do it safely  I am having an MRI soon to assess my ankle because the conservative approach I have been taking with my physio has plateaued. So hopefully the MRI will give us more clarity, we can get it sorted for once and all! Then just have 8 months to get advanced pointe ready! Totally realistic...

 

But despite the struggles already faced, and those yet to come, I am so so excited to finally be working towards an exam again. The commitment and dedication to a singular goal is something I've missed, and it will be hugely important in relearning how to put work/life boundaries back in place after they were smashed apart while working from home during the pandemic. Here's to a better year to come!

[balletgremlin]

Best of luck Viv. I agree, it's lovely to have a focus or goal to work towards. And I can completely sympathise with injuries that flare up and get in the way of dancing!

 

Thank you Kate. I agree that overall improvement is far more important than what the examiner happened to see on the day and my technique is much stronger and I have more understanding of what I should be doing than I did when I took IF. Exam marks are only a number and at the end of the day won't change my love for dancing which I'll continue to do whatever happens.

[Viv]

We are now in summer break until February so I am planning on taking the month to rest my recently fractured rib (don't ask...) and try and regain some of the flexibility I have lost since 2018. When the rib is hurting less, the focus will probably switch to arabesque and penche strength (saw some real improvements with those last year and don't want to lose them before we go back). Eventually, depending on the results of the MRI, I am hoping to work on ankle strength and range of motion in the last few weeks of January so I'm ready to at least strap the pointe shoes on and hobble around with them when classes recommence  

 

I have also set some 2022 dance goals to try and encourage me to get over my post-christmas turkey coma and maybe even leave the couch at some point today. Not now though, maybe later...