Mummy twinkle toes Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Hi Michelle, They are on the RAD page but the level 2 will be modified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletgremlin Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 The variations are different for boys and girls, but from the specification they are: Level 2: Coppélia (Spanish Act 2/Franz Act 1), Giselle (Peasant Pas de Deux Act 1) Level 3: The Sleeping Beauty (Princess Florine/Prince Desire), Paquita (Pas de Trois) Level 4: Swan Lake (Odette Act 2/Prince Siegfried Act 3), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy/Nutcracker Prince) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle_Richer Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) Hi Mummy twinkle toes Can you explain how RAD are likely modify the Spanish solo of Coppelia and the female solo of the Peasant PDD of Giselle ? Hi Balletgremlin Do I assume for Level 3 Princess Florine, is the female solo of the Bluebird PDD of Sleeping Beauty., Do you know which of the Paquita PDT female solos are to be used, I particularly like the first, that music haunts me. Level 4: Do I assume this is Odette’s solo following the Big Swan dance of Act 2 Swan Lake. I guess the Sugar Plum Fairy is the female variation that follows The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier Grand PDD in the Nutcracker, please correct me if I’m wrong. Finally i) Are both solo’s required or are they optional. ii) Is there a mandatory entry requirement for each level . iii) Can levels be mixed for study at any one time. Edited February 13, 2018 by Michelle_Richer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletgremlin Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Each level is split into 3 units which all can be taken separately or together. You get a certificate for each unit & if you've done all 3 exams you get a qualification. There's no entry requirements and you can take any unit from any level in any order you wish. Unit 1 is barre & centre work and follows the same order as the voccational grades (port de bra, centre practice, adage + allegros). Unit 2 is the first variation and exercises to compliment it (e.g. if the variation has sissones in it, there will be a sissone exercise beforehand) and Unit 3 is the second variation. Boys & girls have different exercises for the variation units. Here's a link to the specification I've been getting all my info from - https://www.rad.org.uk/documents/exam-docs/RAD_DR_Specification_04_Dec_2017_ex.pdf Clip with the swan lake variation in this video - https://vimeo.com/245371527 Clip with some of the other female variations - https://www.radenterprises.co.uk/discovering-repertoire Also my teacher has caved and is getting level 2 for one of our other classes! Bring on March! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummy twinkle toes Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 (edited) Sorry Michelle but I do not know how exactly they will modify. The videos by ballet gremlin are very informative and give an example. Edited February 14, 2018 by Mummy twinkle toes Mistake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletgremlin Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Had a go at some of the level 3 stuff in class tonight. What we've done of the barre is very simple (even by grade 5 standard) and centre practice only required single pirouettes! We have been warned it gets trickier though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle_Richer Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Hi Mummy twinkle toes I always get the shudders when words like modified or adapted are used. Hi Balletgremlin Do I assume you never attempted any of the Level 3 variation stuff. Ive certainly danced 2 different versions of the Bluebird female solo. Although my company danced Paquita for our summer show last year, we didn’t dance the PDT 2nd female variation, one of our girls danced the first, that’s how I recognised the music, I guess it sort of haunts me from all the rehearsals we did . For Level 4 I have certainly danced Odette's solo several times at either intensives or rep workshops, as for the Sugar Plum Fairy variation, it was one of the first I took up to Ballet West a few years ago, although only the music was present in your video clips, if that’s representative, it's the version that also contains the tricky mixed turn menege. I also noticed the pianist used for one of the videos was Jonathan Still; he was our pianist for several years at our LAB rehearsals held at RAD HQ in Battersea. It’s interesting that there is no prerequisite for any of the levels or the variations themselves, I guess if one wishes, you could actually do all six pieces of rep and totally disregard the barre and centre elements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletgremlin Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 Michelle - I've never danced any variations/rep before except for a couple of RAD workshops where we did a bit of corps works so I'm sorry I'm no help there. If you've got the money and the inclination, you can buy the DVDs/videos on the app for £25 per level which would have the full variations as they should be danced for this syllabus. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle_Richer Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Hi balletgremlin First of all thank you for your help with the document and video references. I think for the moment this is probably academic for me as I only have one local RAD ballet school with a single studio that I hired for a couple of hours a week before my injury. It’s unlikely that they would have sufficient numbers to warrant running such a course. For me, I would be unwilling to travel any great distance to find a school running this, as I already live on quite a diet of rep, both with the amateur performing company I belong too (The Alive Ballet Company) and the work I do with Ballet West in Scotland. At least with Ballet West I have full control of the repertoire , that is not just the choice of the piece but its make up too, as most are generally hybrids created from a number of different sources including some choreography of my own, I also get to choose the music and edit if necessary, as some variations rely on the artist working with the conductor, in which case the artist can start the opening port de bras before the music starts. Last year I took 6 solo’s and 2 Pas de deux’s up to Ballet West for their final polish and presentation. That suits me far better than the RAD offerings, however I wouldn’t totally rule them out. For the Alive Ballet Company I have to dance what is set for the company by our Artistic Director or our rep coach, however once a year the dancers get the opportunity to do there own thing, this is with a friend and family sharing evening. A time limit is set at a maximum of 2 minutes. The dance can be either a group piece, Pas de Trios, Pas de deux, or a solo, needless to say I choose solo,s I’ve tried to get the sharing evening idea adopted by other ballet schools I attend, but there is little or no interest from the adults, a real shame. The beauty of the way I work, if something is particularly difficult, I can work on it as long as it takes, there is no one pressing me to give up (not even my twice weekly rep coach), or alternatively I can put it on the back burner for later if I need to develop additional strength/flexibility in any particular part of the body. Since my injury that has become an essential strategy, but in saying that I have my first two solo’s finished in terms being able to dance through them at there normal speed, but they do need polishing, one of them has taken me close to repetitive strain so it most certainly has been put down for later. The first Pas de deux (Nutcracker GPDD) has been dance with my partner Adrian to around half way through, some of the choreography beyond needs to be changed to avoid lifts as Adrian has a weak shoulder, a large section of that has been danced through by me on my own, to get some idea of the musicality fit of my choreography, but it still needs the acid test with my partner too, otherwise I will get picked up Ballet West for correction. At least I do get to see my teacher from Ballet West and the company at their performance of "Giselle" in Edinburgh this Saturday, I’m really looking forward to it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 To compliment the earlier discussion about who would do this program and why, Dance Informa Australia has written an article about the new program which has some nice quotes from people who have trialled the program and what they enjoyed most about it - http://danceinforma.com.au/articles/rad-launches-discovering-repertoire/ There's also a video on the RAD facebook page about 'my favourite part of discovering repertoire'. It even features some of the Elmhurst dancers from the DVD! (I'll try sharing it but I've never posted a facebook video before so I don't know if it'll work...) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate_N Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 What a wonderful final comment - "touching" repertoire that dancers have done for hundreds of years. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cara in NZ Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 DD had her first Rep class (Level 3) this week and loved it. They started working on Bluebird (Had no idea this was also called Princess Florine until reading this thread), and the teacher, who is an RAD examiner, said she didn't see why anyone would do it en pointe for no extra credit, but a couple of them might want to. Our level 3 class is for Intermediate and Advanced Foundation /Grade 7 students. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngatheart Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 On 13/02/2018 at 17:28, Michelle_Richer said: I’ve been following this topic for a little while now and I really do wonder where I would fit in as a “recreational adult dancer who has never done an exam before”. I trust exam in this context means “ballet exam” Does anyone have a list of the actual solo’s covered by each level. Hi Michelle No it definitely wasn't you I had in mind at all when I posted that! On the contrary, I was referring to the many many adults out there who have only hitherto been offered 45-60 minute "fun" adult ballet classes once a week - for many of the teachers of those classes, DR has probably come as a massive culture shock! I was also very pleasantly surprised by this statement which has recently appeared on the RAD website: "It’s not just professional or young dancers who take our exams; age is no barrier to success. At any stage of your life or career you can develop your fitness, musicality and artistry. Our candidates range in age from 2 to 60+!" ( https://www.rad.org.uk/achieve/exams) - times really are changing for the better! BTW I have just seen that there are going to be taster workshops at RAD HQ on Sun 11th March if anyone is interested: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/discovering-repertoire-taster-workshops-london-2018-registration-43124502548 At the time of posting there were still plenty of places available at all levels, plus the facility for a waiting list. (Maybe because they haven't exactly been shouting it from the rooftops?) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle_Richer Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 On 18/02/2018 at 12:42, youngatheart said: Hi Michelle No it definitely wasn't you I had in mind at all when I posted that! On the contrary, I was referring to the many many adults out there who have only hitherto been offered 45-60 minute "fun" adult ballet classes once a week Hi Youngatheart Thank you for your sentiment. Yesterday I received an email from Suzanne Partridge of RAD about the taster workshop, there are still plenty of places left at all levels. My interest for the moment is only casual, as I really wont be restricted to the actual choreography, music and costume set by RAD, if I had more freedom, I guess it may well be another story. I do like balletgremlin’s suggestion of buying the DVD’s of the rep, at least it would satisfy my curiosity for £75.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletgremlin Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 I've watched the level 3 DVD and I have to say I love that they've got adults dancing everything. It can be slightly discouraging to watch an 11 year old dance better than you and I think watching younger students dance everything effortlessly might have put off some dancers who wanted to try this new syllabus. The developmental exercises look very helpful for technique but also seem ridiculously boring and unnecessary. If a teacher wants to teach a new step (and I'm happy to say there are plenty of things I've never done before) then surely they can come up with their own. The RAD haven't been particularly inventive. I'd say a good 80% of the exercises are do it 3 times on one leg, run to the other side and repeat on the other leg. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 I haven't minded the development exercises so far, they seem simple to watch but much harder to execute, particularly with any sort of epaulement (at least for me). My teacher is drilling me hard on the development exercises and then letting me have a bit more fun with the variation, so I get a good combo of technique training and freedom. My teacher says that the chaines exercise for Level 2 has improved all my turns in my regular syllabus classes too so I guess something is working. It may be different for me though because I only do it for 30 minutes a fortnight and have no intention of taking the exam. If I had to do the barre, centre, development exercises every week and drill them to exam readiness, I would no doubt feel very differently! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Red_Shoes Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Just found this longer and more detailed RAD Discovering Repertoire video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1QZXHmq4hg I'm harrassing my teacher to introduce DR. She's interested but can't see where it would fit into her existing timetable and she has no time for adding further classes. I'm arguing that it would be an additional option at each level - we already tend to alternate higher grades and vocational grades, and the open advanced class isn't currently working towards any exams anyway so could take on Level 4. We will be having a discussion in our Intermediate class in the next week or two as all the teens are taking their exam next weekend and we will be deciding whether to do Grade 7 next or start on AF, so I'm going to suggest DR Level 3. Meanwhile, encouraged by my teacher, I'm attending the taster workshop at HQ. I've also found a class not impossibly far away where they have just started working on the Level 2 syllabus, although I would feel disloyal if I were to start going there. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Another video from the RAD about the new syllabus, this time about teaching adults Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngatheart Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 On 25/02/2018 at 13:29, The_Red_Shoes said: Meanwhile, encouraged by my teacher, I'm attending the taster workshop at HQ. I've also found a class not impossibly far away where they have just started working on the Level 2 syllabus, although I would feel disloyal if I were to start going there. If your teacher isn't willing to teach DR, maybe you could ask her permission to go to the other school for it? It wouldn't be "disloyal" if you had her blessing to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Red_Shoes Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Yes, she understands that I really want to do it and she is sympathetic, so I don't think she'd object. I just feel a bit mean as I'd need to miss one of her classes. However, I think I may need to put it off anyway until after my Inter exam, so I wouldn't start till September, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Red_Shoes Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I did two Discovering Repertoire workshops at RAD HQ the other weekend, the Level 2 and the Level 3. In both workshops we did some of the barre and centre, most of the developmental exercises for one of the variations and then learned the complete variation.We did the Coppelia at Level 2 and the Sleeping Beauty at Level 3. In both classes the barre and centre were definitely at the easy end for that level, but did include some nice exercises. Glad to see that they have finally dropped grand plie in 4th. The developmental exercises were kind of basic, but to the point - breaking down the variation into its various elements. The variations were quite tricky for the level they are set at, containing some vocabulary that hasn't been introduced in other exams at that level. If danced on pointe they would be equivalent to the next level up. However, you are allowed to adapt some steps to your capabilities, eg how fast you take chaines. I suppose the idea is that by working steadily through the class and the developmental exercises, you are fully prepared for a variation that is at the upper end of your capabilities. So you should be challenged, but well supported. I need to put off starting DR classes until after my Inter exam, as from now till June I will have exam coaching on that evening. So probably will start September. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Red_Shoes Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Just had an email from the RAD. They are looking into the feasibility of running regular DR syllabus classes at RAD HQ in the future. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletgremlin Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 Repertoire classes are officially starting for me on Thursday though we've tried several exercises in a couple of my adult classes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 4 hours ago, The_Red_Shoes said: Just had an email from the RAD. They are looking into the feasibility of running regular DR syllabus classes at RAD HQ in the future. Probably won't be up and running by next term, I suppose, which is a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Hi, just wondering if anyone know of any classes teaching the new rad discovering repertoire in and around birmingham? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Hi Bella, welcome to the forum. We already have a discussion on the RAD Discovering Repertoire programme so I've moved your post here. Kind regards, Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngatheart Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Hi all, just seen that the RAD Dance School are starting Discovering Repertoire Level 2 classes at HQ on Mondays 7-8pm (adults) and Thursdays 19:15-20:15 (ages 14-25). Unfortunately because I can't make the adult time and I am a long way over 25, neither of these are any good for me, but I thought I'd post this in case anyone is interested. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Why have they put the 25 years age limit on I wonder I mean if it was for younger students eg teenagers then 18 would be the more natural upper limit. But over 18 is usually considered an adult range class so in theory should be no upper age limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola H Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 1 hour ago, LinMM said: Why have they put the 25 years age limit on I wonder I mean if it was for younger students eg teenagers then 18 would be the more natural upper limit. But over 18 is usually considered an adult range class so in theory should be no upper age limit. youth funding can go out to 25 in certain circumstances ... Another organisation i used to be involved with had various attempts at 'land grabs' from it;s youth side over 16 -25 stuff , they managed to grab controll of everything under 18 claiming safeguardign but in doing so lost their influence with the HE student sections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Unlikely to be a funding issue, there has been no mention of anything like that in the RAD members magazine my dd gets (and which I also read). Perhaps they have had enquiries from a wide age-range of applicants, and that was the most logical solution to class sizes at HQ. Maybe they decided it best to put the up-to-25's in with 18 & under's rather than with more mature students. It could also be that they thought that the senior group would prefer not to be daunted by the younger students who might be more likely to want to dance on pointe. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viv Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 We seem to be amassing quite a good collection of videos in this thread to show basically what the variations look like at the various levels. One of the girls in my class has just learned the Level 2 Giselle variation for a competition (she was entered a week before and had to learn this variation in half an hour!) and from watching her run it at the end of one of our classes (and attempting to join in myself without breaking an ankle or being taught any of the steps), it looks like this one: Apart from the devilish turn sequence at the end, it actually wasn't that hard to execute it en pointe. Far easier than the Advanced Foundation variation 1! I would expect most Intermediate students to be able to learn this en pointe if they chose and it may actually help bridge the gap between Intermediate pointe work (basic echappe releves) and Advanced Foundation (pirouette enchainment and variation!) For those not en pointe I would say a grade 5, intermediate foundation student would find it challenging but rewarding and not so incredibly difficult it would be impossible to achieve. I actually found the Coppelia one not en pointe harder than this one en pointe! May depend on where your strengths lie though... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Jay Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 On 04/02/2018 at 23:55, Bluebird22 said: These are the closest versions to the ones the RAD are using, that I can find anyway! I’m toying with the idea of joining the RAD, (luckily I have transferable qualifications) but not owning my own school means I can’t very well go around swapping what syllabi I teach! I’ve been quizzing RAD teachers I know and they either haven’t heard of it or just can’t work out where the Discovering Rep fits in with their students. I’m hoping it takes off as it is really good! If you have £25 to spare the repertoire videos are available on the RAD app That’s £25 per level 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebird22 Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Thanks Jay Jay I’ve been using them and actually have a student ready to take 2 of the Level 3 units in July! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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