sophie_rebecca Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 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) Level 3 (equivalent to Grades 6–8/Intermediate & Advanced Foundation standard) Variation 1 The Sleeping Beauty Sleeping Beauty Act III Princess Florine or Act II Prince Désiré Variation 2 Paquita Pas de trois or Paquita Level 4 (equivalent to Advanced 1 & 2 standard) Variation 1 Swan Lake Act II Odette or Act III Prince Siegfried Variation 2 Nutcracker Act II Sugar Plum Fairy or Act II Nutcracker Prince The uniform will be, capped sleeve scooped neck or camisole leotard black, burgundy pink / flesh coloured tights pink / flesh coloured (to tone with tights) soft ballet shoes in satin, canvas or leather with pink / flesh coloured elastic / ribbons may be worn for all units. Pointe shoes or soft pointe shoes may be worn for Units: Variation 1 and Variation 2 (satin pink or flesh coloured with ribbons). Split sole shoes are permitted. Optional asymmetrical knee length chiffon skirt to match leotard For Variations at all levels, a romantic or classical tutu in white or black with / or without decorative ribbons may be worn. So dust off those romantic & classical tutu's I'm currently learning grade 7 but love the sound of Discovering Repertoire More info available on from Page 110 on the RAD exam spec 2018 https://www.rad.org.uk/documents/exam-docs/RAD_Specification_2018_12_Dec_2017_ex.pdf 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletgremlin Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 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. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophie_rebecca Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHowarth Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Is the barre and centre work set or unset? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophie_rebecca Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 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 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHowarth Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Thank you. I’m really hoping my school will be doing it; they were wavering... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cara in NZ Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 DD is doing Level 3 starting in Feb. She doesn't want to continue vocational exams so this is something exciting to complement Grade 7 and open work. Our dance school was supposed to pilot it but then our director left NZ to be RAD Artistic Director. Our loss but everyone else's gain! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Red_Shoes Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 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. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophie_rebecca Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 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 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cara in NZ Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Pointe is just not for everyone, whether we like it or not. DD does ok but struggles with non-bendy feet and I refuse to buy any more shoe styles in search of the ones that magically create the illusion that they do bend. I suspect her teacher will want her to do Level 3 en pointe, but it's so good to have an alternative. I'm very grateful for other options – for teens as well as adults! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 I think this sounds like s brilliant initiative from the RAD. I can think of quite a few girls who attended my DD's former local dance school for whom this would have been ideal. They'd finished the graded exams and didn't want or weren't able to do the vocational exams so ended up dropping out. I think this would have been a great syllabus for them - it sounds both technically and artistically challenging, and when all said and done, dancing classical variations like these is probably what most ballet students of all ages aspire to at some point! Of course you can learn this kind of thing in non syllabus classes, but lots of people do like the challenge of doing exams, so I think this will definitely appeal to teens (and their parents) as well as to adults who don't fancy the traditional syllabi. Rightly or wrongly, we live in a society where achievement is very much measured by exam performance so people do like to do them. I think the RAD have found a gap in the market here. Certainly I can imagine a lot of parents that I know would be much happier letting their 6th form children continue with ballet as a hobby when there's an exam involved, even if the same work could be done in a free class - the former will be seen as potentially CV enhancing but the latter would be "wasting valuable revision time!" 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annaliesey Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Pups_mum said: I think this sounds like s brilliant initiative from the RAD. I can think of quite a few girls who attended my DD's former local dance school for whom this would have been ideal. They'd finished the graded exams and didn't want or weren't able to do the vocational exams so ended up dropping out.,,,,,,," Asolutely! My dd and her friends have already nicknamed this "Grade 9" haha 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 This looks like a great development for RAD. Rather underwhelmed by the lower grade syllabi these days and chose ISTD for my daughters instead. I still think there is quite a gap in classical ballet between lower and higher RAD grades though which isn’t solved by this. Much preferred the old approach where contemporary style was covered by free movement.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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