Which RAD grade for a 6 year old beginner?

[invisiblecircus]

My DD is 6 and has done dance classes after school for a year but the teaching was not good and she is basically a beginner.

We have been recommended a dance school which teaches RAD (I was not looking specifically for RAD or any syllabus for that matter) but it seems as if they group the children by age rather than experience/ level which means my DD would be in grade 1.

 

Does this sound OK? Can she go straight into grade 1 without doing primary, and is grade 1 the usual level for a 6 year old?

[junedancer]

If the teacher is happy with her in the class then this seems sensible and better than her dancing with younger children. There is no requirement to have done any of the grades as a pre-requisite until you get to the vocation grades.  Grade 1 for a six year old is probably the average as the youngest you can sit the actual exam is age 7.

[Cara in NZ]

I wouldn't worry too much. It's much more 'big picture' stuff until age 8 or 9, ie learning about your body and moving to music. Our school had a girl who had only done jazz, started ballet at 13 in RAD Grade 5 – and (by sheer determination and hard work) passed Adv 2 by age 18. Sure they lay foundations in those early years, but as they get older they also get smarter and more coordinated, so pick things up more easily.

Edited September 23, 2018 by Cara in NZ
Clarity

[invisiblecircus]

Thanks for the replies :-)

The teacher hasn't seen her yet as I've only spoken to the principal, who told me they are grouped according to her year at school, so I don't know if the teacher is happy to have her in class or not!

I have done a bit of teaching myself but never syllabus work.

It looks as if this level is reasonable for her age then. Interesting you mentioned the 13 year old who started in grade 5 at 13, Cara, as by the looks of it. that's what would happen here too if a 13 year old beginner came along. I started at 14 myself but never did syllabus work.

[youngatheart]

Hi yes Primary or Grade 1 would be the only real options for a 6-year-old - and if she has already done a year of dance she should not have any problems starting in Grade 1. In RAD Primary is mainly done in parallel and they do not start the formal barre until Grade 2, so she will not have missed out on anything.

 

Although I am strongly opposed to the principle of grouping pupils by age rather than ability, and believe Grade 3 is the highest level at which it is appropriate to start even an older beginner off in (in RAD) there are always exceptions to every rule, such as the girl in NZ mentioned above.

[Nicola H]

14 hours ago, youngatheart said:

Hi yes Primary or Grade 1 would be the only real options for a 6-year-old - and if she has already done a year of dance she should not have any problems starting in Grade 1. In RAD Primary is mainly done in parallel and they do not start the formal barre until Grade 2, so she will not have missed out on anything.

 

Although I am strongly opposed to the principle of grouping pupils by age rather than ability, and believe Grade 3 is the highest level at which it is appropriate to start even an older beginner off in (in RAD) there are always exceptions to every rule, such as the girl in NZ mentioned above.

the level at which beginners start / are started is always interesting ,  as   many  adult / teen  none syllabus  absolute beginner classes take a  planned swipe across work  from  grade 1 to  grade 4 or 5  (  especially  those smaller  (not London )  beginners  classes  where the regular   class size is  a dozen +/- 6   people  -  London is a different matter   with the 20 - 40 people  in a class ). 

certainly  Primary etc is  designed very much in the realms of being age appropriate  cognitively and physically for   nursery / reception age  children ...
 

[taxi4ballet]

Grade 1 would definitely be the right place to start aged 6 with the RAD syllabus.

[Cara in NZ]

I do think that late starters in ballet (ie 13+) have more problems with basic principles like turnout as of course that is being trained gradually through the younger years. Also bodies are less 'pliable' as we get older and things set in place. The adult open class I do has a mix of people including one woman who has only done ballroom. She has no idea about turnout but the teacher reminds her gently and gives us a mix of Grade 3-5 RAD, as Nicola mentioned. She is planning to get us learning the Discovering Repertoire level 1 but I'm not sure how ambitious that is! After a 15-year break from ballet (age 40-55), my hip flexors are a big constraint as I've maintained flexibility with Pilates but not the strength where ballet needs it. My teacher can hold my leg up past 90 degrees but on my own it's barely at 45 degrees. (Sorry if this digresses from the OP)

 

@invisiblecircus Do you have enough info now to be reassured?

[invisiblecircus]

18 hours ago, Cara in NZ said:

 

@invisiblecircus Do you have enough info now to be reassured?

 

Yes, yes thanks for all the replies everyone. :-)

I was just feeling a bit lost as I'm from the UK originally and know a bit about how things work over there (never studied or taught syllabus work though) and it's so different here in Italy. Here, you get to do a trial lesson or two, then if you want to sign up you commit and pay for a whole year of classes. In the UK I think you pay month by month or term by term, and there is more flexibility on which grade you start with (i.e. it doesn't strictly correspond to the year you're in at school.)

 

 

[Legseleven]

I’m sure every dance school is different but we have always - no doubt accidentally - attended those which assess each student and place them in the most appropriate RAD grade for them. DD has usually been with older students and that works well for her as she has always got on well with older children. Certainly as has been said grade 1 would appear to be entirely appropriate for a 6 year old even if it were strictly done on age, whereas your DD has done a trial class and been placed into grade 1 - so I wouldn’t worry at all. 

[invisiblecircus]

13 hours ago, Legseleven said:

 your DD has done a trial class and been placed into grade 1 - so I wouldn’t worry at all. 

 

I'm not worrying :-), but just to be clear, she hasn't done the trial class yet. The trial class will be just to see if she likes it or not before we commit to paying for an entire year's worth of lessons, it is not to determine which level she is at. They are offering grade 1 or nothing, but from what others have said, this is appropriate for her age, so OK! :-)