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Taking Ballet Exams as an adult


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On 07/09/2018 at 22:05, Dance*is*life said:

I teach Grade 7 between IF and Inter. As The_Red_Shoes so acurately put it - no pointe work , double pirouettes or brisés in the exam! And I would add to that no free enchainement!  It's a beautiful syllabus and a charming way to teach my students about the Romantic period in ballet.

 

I couldn't agree more, when my exam journey began my teacher started me at inter foundation this was after about a year of a general adult class, it gave me a great technical grounding we've now moved to Grade 7 which is just so beautiful & has given my dancing so much more quality, the two together have been perfect for an adult beginner like myself.

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In my dance school the usual order of exams is IF, Grade 6, Inter, Grade 7,then posssibly AF...doesn't usually carry on any further after that as the teens have generally headed off either to vocational school or uni by then. Grades 6, 7 and 8 are all Level 3 exams, like Inter. I'm looking forward to doing Grade 7 as it's so beautiful but I'm planning on taking Grade 6 first just to have enough exams to keep me going for a few years. If I do Grades 6, 7 and 8 and three levels of DR that would be a good few years' worth of fresh challenges ahead of me!

 

Grade 8 is purely performance based, consisting entirely of four solo dances danced as if they are stage performances (after a short barre and a polonaise entry which are not marked).

 

The higher grades have a really elegant and flattering uniform too, wide choice of colours and a floaty mid-calf length skirt.

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Yes Peanut68, you did have it the wrong way round! The numbered Grades up to and including Grade 5 come first, then the pathway splits into the Higher Grades 6-8 and the Vocationals (and now DR). Intermediate Foundation is the first vocational, often studied alongside Grade 5 for those going down the Vocational route. if both pathways are studied concurrently, the order of taking the exams after grade 5 is frequently the one listed by The Red Shoes. However some schools prefer everyone to finish the numbered Grades first before starting on the Vocationals, in which case Intermediate Foundation may be skipped and the Vocationals begun at Intermediate. There is no "right way", a lot depends on if/when the student is ready for pointe work, as the Vocationals require it but the Higher Grades do not.

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On 10/09/2018 at 16:15, The_Red_Shoes said:

In my dance school the usual order of exams is IF, Grade 6, Inter, Grade 7,then posssibly AF...doesn't usually carry on any further after that as the teens have generally headed off either to vocational school or uni by then. Grades 6, 7 and 8 are all Level 3 exams, like Inter. 

Only last June (2017) my DD took Grade 6  whilst still in ye10 but with US looming on the horizon we had a quiet word with her teacher. Grade 7 was taken at Christmas then Grade 8 and Inter taken in June with a two day gap sandwiched between GCSE’s. Certainly not recommended but as you say, so many don’t make the top Grades as they literally run out of time. Which must be a shame for the teachers. 

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Having said above that I'm not so interested in doing classes in order to take exams ...in the summer I did some taster classes for the new RAD Rep course. 

I really enjoyed these classes and am hoping to start a new class in this Rep at level two....with two very enjoyable variations from Coppelia and Giselle.

However the level two barre is VERY easy!! 

Apparently you can mix and match barre levels and variation levels if you want to actually take an exam. ...As the level three barre seems more appropriate for the level two variations it seemed to me ....although where centre work is concerned this is aimed at doing exercises which support the variation you are attempting which is good. 

If the class does start up am still not sure will eventually take the exam but might just be tempted in this case because it's much more performance based than technique based( though of course you have to be able to pull off all the steps in the variations well for it to look good) 

I liked the level three variation we did ( one of the Bluebird variations from Sleeping Beauty) too. 

We did not touch much on level four on this course just tried some of the steps....eg "lame ducks" with pose turns ...quite tricky rhythmically to do well ...but first things first! I suspect the level four ones will be difficult! 

It is interesting that you can take these Rep. Exams on pointe or just on Demi. Perhaps a nod to older dancers like myself? But I think those on pointe should be marked differently ( eg two separate exams) as it is mostly harder on pointe....except perhaps for faster chainees turns!! 

 

Just on a point another poster made if time should "run out "for a student in their current dancing school because they are off to Uni/college  etc then they can always look in the area they are moving to in case it's possible to continue with their training in another local RAD school etc. Quite a lot of RAD ...but not all...do separate adult classes now but if not joining some older teens in local classes would be okay for a Uni student anyway I would have thought. 

 

 

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26 minutes ago, LinMM said:

However the level two barre is VERY easy!!

 

The "class" unit at each level is much easier than the other syllabi at the same level as well as being more straightforward, in that the exercises aren't generally so complicated, mind-bending or leg-twisting. I'm not sure why the designers of the syllabus decided to do it that way - unless it's to help ease mature dancers gently into taking exams.The centre maybe somewhat less so than the barre (see Allegro 3). The actual variations however contain some steps that are more difficult than in the corresponding grades, eg cabrioles, entrechat trois, entrechat cinque and sauts de basque in the Giselle variation. And the series  of little jetés turning, which used to make a regular appearance in  classes in my youth* (maybe old-old-old Elementary?) but which I haven't done for years. But they are all thoroughly prepared for in the development exercises.

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Perhaps a nod to older dancers

 

I think they've put various measures in place to make these exams more appealing to older students - the modular structure, the very structured practice of steps in development exercises, options that don't impact at all on marks (eg pointe or flat, speed of chaînés, beat or don't beat) as well as the mark scheme which allocates a greater proportion of marks to musicality and performance than in other exams. For the variations there are two sections of technique marks each worth 10, with the more technical Correct Placement, Control and Line separate from Coordination, Space and Dynamics which seem to me to relate more to quality.They also mention " show awareness of correct technique" which suggests to me that they will give credit for showing that you understand and are trying to apply correct technique even if you don't manage to carry it off. I think the fact that the development exercises are marked as well as the variation also allows the chance to demonstrate technical command of the vocabulary in a simpler setting as well as fully embedded in complex choreography.

 

(*As far as I recall in ancient times we used to do a far wider variety of turning steps on the diagonal,  on demi/pointe but particularly jumped, than I ever seem to do nowadays - petits pas de basque sautés en tournant, petits brisés en tournant (oh, the horror!), relevés passés  devant with a turn alternating en dedans and en dehors, a step that I think was called emboîtés en tournant with a relevé passé devant with a half turn, replacing the supporting foot with the other while continuing to turn in the same direction - all particularly gruelling because they don't travel much so it takes an age to cover the diagonal! Do any other "old" dancers recall steps, whether favourites or not-at-all-missed, that don't appear often on the menu nowadays?)

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After saying I hadn't come across those emboîté turns for donkeys' years, we had them in my open Adult class today. The teacher had evidently been reading my mind (or is lurking here). She agreed that they used to be in the old RAD Elementary (I recall them in BBO Elementary)  but maybe have been shifted elsewhere over the years in syllabus revisions. I checked and found them in the pointe section at Advanced 1 where they are calling them relevés passés by half turns en diagonale. Still takes about 20 of them to get across the room and very dizzy-making.

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Yes, I too found the new Discovering Repertoire a bit of a puzzle.  I can't figure out the right levels for it.  The class work is really easy, but the dances on pointe are on a totally different level. I had thought to teach it to my students who passed Intermediate last year, but in the end I decided to work on Advanced Foundation instead.  I agree that it seems geared more for adults, who would be more likely to attempt the dances in soft shoes.

 

I really think that the Higher Grades would be a great choice for adult dancers.   I like to do Grade 7 between the vocationals IF and Inter, as technically it fits in well and it develops their artistry as well as enlarging their vocabulary.  I also like the fact that it allows the students who are not physically suited to classical ballet to do well in an exam, because there's also character and free movement, which means that less points are awarded to classical technique - probably another factor that would encourage adult students. The exercises are long and interesting and dance quality is very important as well as an understanding of the romantic period style.  I think they need maturity to do justice to them. 

 

 

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I will look into the RAD grade 7 then ....just to follow the syllabus not do an exam......as I really love character dances and it does seem....from what people say....to be a nice dancey grade!! 

I know there is a class in London taught by Michelle Harrison but unfortunately it's on a night I can't do at the moment....without staying up in London for three days!! 

There could be a class locally but when I looked into this before a few years back now when I first returned to ballet I couldn't find any RAD adult grade classes at that time so I switched to BBO instead. Have done grade 4,5,6 and grade 7 in BBO ( just syllabus not the exams) and then decided to have a break from syllabus classes....so quite a while now since I've done one. 

Since then Ive had three teachers who I mainly use for really focussing on technique and used the other time for Performance based groups etc. 

Im thinking this will be my  last year of performing so may do more syllabus again plus attend workshops for choreography experience.

The RAD rep combined with Grade 7 sounds perfect! 

 

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I’m learning much about the different options here - thank you all! Am interested to know how much dancing people are managing to get in per week? I’d dance daily if I could (not a chance with family, dog, rural location & not nearly stretchy enough funds!!)

At the moment I expect it’ll be back to 1 class per week with occasional extra non syllabus when I can....from hearing of others experiences sounds like maybe RAD grade 7 should be that 1 regular class...though I’m expecting I will not but be able to find an adult class & have found am not always welcome in serious syllabus classes at one local school.... 

out if interest, as there is no age limit to take rad exams, are teachers duty bound to let you in classes? I guess there may be safeguarding issues to consider these days if with under 18’s or under 16’s..... though I think perhaps if was more a case of not grossing the lean teens out by having middle age flab in the room!! 

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The BBO Intermediate ballet has petit jete and emboite en tournant. And it has really jolly music, which is very much appreciated after fouette releve and fouette saute which is a bit grisly! Just hoping that the New BBO grade 7 retains more of it’s roots than the new grade 6 which doesn’t even feel like it’s from the same exam board 😕

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2 hours ago, Dance*is*life said:

Yes, I too found the new Discovering Repertoire a bit of a puzzle.  I can't figure out the right levels for it.  The class work is really easy, but the dances on pointe are on a totally different level. I had thought to teach it to my students who passed Intermediate last year, but in the end I decided to work on Advanced Foundation instead.  I agree that it seems geared more for adults, who would be more likely to attempt the dances in soft shoes.

 

I really think that the Higher Grades would be a great choice for adult dancers.   I like to do Grade 7 between the vocationals IF and Inter, as technically it fits in well and it develops their artistry as well as enlarging their vocabulary.  I also like the fact that it allows the students who are not physically suited to classical ballet to do well in an exam, because there's also character and free movement, which means that less points are awarded to classical technique - probably another factor that would encourage adult students. The exercises are long and interesting and dance quality is very important as well as an understanding of the romantic period style.  I think they need maturity to do justice to them. 

 

 

that  is the point of DR  it;s meant to offer a  level of  flexibility   that isn't there in  in the grades or the VGEs ,  also  levle 2 is there for adults who want a 'qualification'  without necessarily  doing a VGE

 

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1 hour ago, Peanut68 said:

Am interested to know how much dancing people are managing to get in per week

I'm doing three weekly classes: one private (exam syllabus), one Advanced (mixture of free and AF/Adv 1 syllabus work) and one general Adult class (rather basic but I find it's good for really concentrating on technique as well as being a lovely group of ladies). I also do as many workshops and intensives as I can. I'm a rural dweller too, but I'm very fortunate because I'm retired I have plenty of available time, I have my trusty bus pass and I can choose to devote rather a large chunk of dosh to ballet. However I don't have other responsibilities, I'm generally frugal, I don't drink or eat out much and I spent so much of my working life overseas that I don't feel any need to have exotic holidays - so I think it's money well spent.If I go to Leeds, Manchester or London for workshops I can even fit in family time visiting my children/grandchildren so kill two birds with one stone.

Edited by The_Red_Shoes
Edited for clarity
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1 hour ago, Peanut68 said:

I’m learning much about the different options here - thank you all! Am interested to know how much dancing people are managing to get in per week? I’d dance daily if I could (not a chance with family, dog, rural location & not nearly stretchy enough funds!!)

At the moment I expect it’ll be back to 1 class per week with occasional extra non syllabus when I can....from hearing of others experiences sounds like maybe RAD grade 7 should be that 1 regular class...though I’m expecting I will not but be able to find an adult class & have found am not always welcome in serious syllabus classes at one local school.... 

out if interest, as there is no age limit to take rad exams, are teachers duty bound to let you in classes? I guess there may be safeguarding issues to consider these days if with under 18’s or under 16’s..... though I think perhaps if was more a case of not grossing the lean teens out by having middle age flab in the room!! 


I aim to do do at least one  class a week and  have more weeks  where i do at  least 2  classes   a week  than not ,  despite being a  shift worker  with an evenings heavy  shift  rotations  pattern  but this does mean a  fair bit of  travel  as  Lincoln  isn;t  well endowed with  adult classes (  especially  as Streetbeat  can;t  find  sufficient staffing  all  it;s other stuff as well  so  most of it;s adult  classes have gone into abeyance  for the  moment  : -(  ... )

I also am a great fan of the The Ballet Retreat and this year will have  done  4 of them by  the years' end  ( January, June, August and December)   and i've been  to 2  of the 3  classes so for  for Powerhouse Ballet and  have  somehow also fallen into  the steering  group / proto-committee  by  mentioning  to Jane @Terpsichorethat i have a background in managerial stuff in  the voluntary sector / charities . 

I've also been  involved with https://yorkshiredance.com/project/gender-moves/  which  runs parallel to the  EU funded  http://www.performinggender.eu/  project  , but this is contemporary  dance based stuff   (  also  spurred me to look for contemporary classes  which are geographically  do-able for me ) 

as for adults and  graded classes ,   the safeguarding stuff  is there but not insurmountable , it  primarily relates to the question of  would the individual have substantial unsupervised access  ,  this is an assessment and decision that individual teachers / principals will be making  , hopefully infomred by  advice  from  the  relevent NGBs (i.e. the  awarding bodies)  and  people like  OFSTED and the NSPCC.   It is not insurmountable  and  if you can commit to the same levles of attendance as  are expoected of the younger dancers  or as  agreed with  the teacher then  people can and do  ...  

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I'm managing three hours a week: ISTD syllabus class, a RAD IF class and a non-syllabus adult class, though it looks like I can add a fourth class as there's a mixed up RAD Grade 5 class my son is doing that I can sneak into - it's a ragtag class of more serious older kids and another adult so I won't be in the way. My wife is doing the same, with an added demi-pointe/pointe class and without the grade 5, due to scheduling.

 

We'll do whatever workshops we can find/afford to get to/get babysitting cover for - En Avant are running one in Dublin this weekend, we've done some of the RAD rep classes in Birmingham and London and we're off to a one day En Avant one in London in November as part of a weekend trip. 

 

We'll have to see how the whole Brexit thing resolves itself before we can plan future workshops in the UK after next March, obviously. 

 

 

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On ‎13‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 22:25, LinMM said:

I will look into the RAD grade 7 then ....just to follow the syllabus not do an exam......as I really love character dances and it does seem....from what people say....to be a nice dancey grade!! 

 

 

From memory, having joined a grade 7 class for 2 terms before the teens did their exam (I joined as a 36 year old just for fun then went onto grade 8 with them), one of the character exercises was particularly tricky!! It's a lovely syllabus though, Romantic style and music from La Sylphide.

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I had my first Grade 6 lesson this afternoon, really enjoyed it and feel ridiculously happy and excited about it, like a big kid. My teacher is pleased too as she says it's absolutely her favourite grade (both to teach and when she was a student herself) and she hasn't had a chance to teach it for 5 years. We're aiming for the spring examination session, so that will be March. Character shoes, character skirt and several chiffon skirts all ordered - well I don't know yet which colour I  prefer so I'm trying a few. Since I'll be taking the exam alone I can please myself. Boring black is definitely out.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 17/09/2018 at 23:43, The_Red_Shoes said:

I had my first Grade 6 lesson this afternoon, really enjoyed it and feel ridiculously happy and excited about it, like a big kid. My teacher is pleased too as she says it's absolutely her favourite grade (both to teach and when she was a student herself) and she hasn't had a chance to teach it for 5 years. We're aiming for the spring examination session, so that will be March. Character shoes, character skirt and several chiffon skirts all ordered - well I don't know yet which colour I  prefer so I'm trying a few. Since I'll be taking the exam alone I can please myself. Boring black is definitely out.

 

My daughter wore the lilac which is very pretty, but the Mulberry is lovely too.  Isn’t it nice to have a choice! ☺️

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I've settled on lilac, with pale lilac, deeper lilac and purple ribbons on the character skirt.

 

I know the barre and the first Port de Bras now. I'm really working on flexibility in the thoracic area - my teacher says Grade 6 is "all about the upper back". My teacher has started throwing ingredients from Grade 6 into the mix in my open Advanced class so we're doing lots of barre exercises that turn into effacé, croisé and écarté  and lots of ports de bras over dégagé devant en fondu. Also fast complicated head movements at the barre to help me to lose the automatic centre-erect-centre pattern from Inter while at the same time trying not to look as if watching tennis!

 

I've finally received the mark breakdown from my Inter exam. I knew there would be higher marks for the barre and performance/musicality and lower marks for pointe work and that was the case, but the big surprise  was that the marks were much more evenly spread than I expected. So my performance side wasn't as great as I thought, but on the other hand it was very encouraging to find that my technique is pretty much solid across the board. Even the adage which I thought I had done really badly.

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Sounds lovely.  Yes, HQ were very slow at sending marks and certificates out.  My dd took her Advanced 2 in June and didnt receive her mark and cert until last week.  I think the lack of AD and Head of Exams has delayed everything this summer.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I had two out of three exams today. I woke up this morning with an inflamed and very sore achilles but I just had to get on with it, I know I didn't do as well as I could have though :( Intermediate went very well but only two hours later was my advanced foundation and I know I didn't do my best. But that's okay, I did what I could on the day. After tomorrow, my grade 7, I may be done with RAD exams for good. Between a neuromuscular condition that is progressively worsening (I can't even walk some days, let alone dance) and increased work commitments, I'm not sure I will ever be in the position to do another exam. That is why we decided to push forward with Advanced Foundation this year, I wanted to get as far with my ballet as I could before I have to take a step back, and considering the state I'm in this afternoon I think that time has truly come... I will take Advanced 1 classes next year and maybe Grade 8 but I'm not sure I will ever physically be able to do the exams, not safely :( I know the decision to take three exams in one session was a bit surprising to some of you, but there are circumstances behind it that I don't feel the need to disclose. It has always been my decision to push forward, when my teacher told me she thought I was ready, I was guided by her opinion, but it was still my choice. I think the idea that if you're not going to get the highest possible mark, you shouldn't bother with the exam, a bit surprising. Some people, for a whole variety of reason, will never be capable of a distinction. Should they not bother with exams? Even if it pushes them to do better than they otherwise might have? Or if they enjoy the opportunity to perform in front of the examiner? Just getting through the entire exam was my goal this year and I am very proud of myself, regardless of the result. 

 

Now to leave the vocationals aside! Very excited for grade 7 and a nice dancey exam, I agree with most of the comments here that it feels beautiful to dance and I love the romantic style. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in RAD exams who doesn't want to go the vocational route. I'm even more excited to leave syllabus behind for a while... I'm sure I'll be bored with concert rehearsals in a couple of weeks and want to get back into real technique classes, but right now I am looking forward to a break!

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Just finished Grade 7! It went really really well, after the rigidity of my two exams yesterday everything in the exam today just felt so free. I felt like I could give myself fully over to the performance side and it was so fun to do it. I think I did my dance (free movement) better than I have ever done it before. It was a celebration of making it out of these two days alive haha. It has actually inspired me to maybe not give up on exams entirely...while Advanced 1 might be out of the question, I'd like to work towards Grade 8. Today I remembered what I always liked about exams :) 

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So happy grade 7 went well for you @Viv. Grade 8 is a lovely dancey/performance based grade so even if you don't take the exam, it's lovely to learn.

 

I'm never going to get a distinction but I agree, it doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to take the exams and my teacher definitely gives me more corrections and pushes me further than if I were just taking the classes for fun. Saying that, I wouldn't like to take multiple exams in one go - I think the nerves alone would knacker me out.

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  • Jan McNulty changed the title to Taking Ballet Exams as an adult
On 10/10/2018 at 04:50, Viv said:

Just finished Grade 7! It went really really well, after the rigidity of my two exams yesterday everything in the exam today just felt so free. I felt like I could give myself fully over to the performance side and it was so fun to do it. I think I did my dance (free movement) better than I have ever done it before. It was a celebration of making it out of these two days alive haha. It has actually inspired me to maybe not give up on exams entirely...while Advanced 1 might be out of the question, I'd like to work towards Grade 8. Today I remembered what I always liked about exams :) 

 

I hope you've recovered from your mammoth exam session and that your achilles is recovering. Fingers crossed for your results. If you do enjoy exams I hope you can go on to take Grade 8 - maybe DR too?

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