RBS Affiliate Training and Assessment Programme

[Blue Box Ballet]

Anyone going to the online launch events this week? 
 

I’m excited to hear more about the contextual & creative work. 

[Blue Box Ballet]

Great launch event. 
 

a few takeaways, 

 

It’s designed to teach children how to learn, not what to learn. 
 

The creative work is linked to the Royal Opera House creative platform. 
 

Teachers will gain access to a wealth of RBS materials with ongoing support and 3 CPD session per year as part of the cost.
 

Although not in place at launch, the hope is to have the higher levels acknowledged on the regulatory frameworks (I’m guessing carrying UCAS points etc). 
 

This is not a replacement for syllabus work and can in fact be run in tandem with the exam societies.
Although teachers will be provided with levels of appropriate content, students are assessed against the learning outcomes with no pre requisite exercises/ enchaînements. 
 

Exciting times! 

 

[Blue Box Ballet]

https://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/train/dancer-training/dance-teacher-training/affiliate-training-and-assessment-programme/

 

https://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ATAP-Prospectus.pdf
 

https://www.seeingdance.com/royal-ballet-school-affiliate-training-and-assessment-programme-220124/

Edited February 16, 2022 by Blue Box Ballet

[drdance]

It does sound interesting - I too was at the launch but to me it was full of buzz words, and the zoom launch didnt tell me anything new that the press releases, interviews and prospectus doesn't already say. I feel like it will be a lot of money to have some (albeit very good) CPD for teachers who are experienced at teaching ballet but who don't know much about current pedagogical methods. They haven't said what the recommended hours per week are for students, and I personally wonder how you can fit in teaching technique, choreography and explore repertoire all in one 45 minute lesson a week.

 

I still feel like it will mostly be a 'kudos' thing and teachers who have the money, can pay their thousands of pounds to access the material, do the training and use the 'affiliate teacher' title, but will teachers see that money back in earnings? 

[Blue Box Ballet]

Perhaps there might be student/ teacher taster days eventually once it’s up and running as a proof on concept. 
 

It does seem to closely align with how training at both Primary Steps & JA’s currently work where there are always creative tasks etc. 
 

Also this article mentions that the initial years at White Lodge are changing their training structure, all following a similar/ broader Dance Education model. 
 

The Foundation Programme is the first programme at The Royal Ballet School and it comprises Years 7 to 9. In this programme we give the students the foundations of The Royal Ballet School’s System of Training and introduce them to genres that will develop their creativity and imagination, to support their journey as they grow into the artists of today. This programme happens at a crucial time in the development of these students (11-14 years old) and our goal is to ensure they have a supportive and holistic system in place that will allow them to safely develop, prevent injuries and build the roots for a successful career. The focus is not only on training dancers but educating the human being as a whole while creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for all.

https://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/2022/02/11/in-conversation-with-jose-carayol/

 

 

[drdance]

I've just seen that the recommmended learning hours is 100 per level! My school operates 38 weeks per year so assuming pupils have 1 x 45 minute lesson a week it'll take them 3.5 years to get to 100!

[Blue Box Ballet]

1 hour ago, drdance said:

.They haven't said what the recommended hours per week are for students, and I personally wonder how you can fit in teaching technique, choreography and explore repertoire all in one 45 minute lesson a week.

 

They’ve just answered this in a mail out. 
 

‘For Levels 1-3 we recommend 100 learning hours per level. The teacher has flexibility over how they deliver these, depending on the needs of the students. For example, teachers can vary the class length to suit their and their students’ needs as well as deliver one or two classes a week. The time frame is left to teacher to decide and they can certainly deliver one hour per week to their students if they feel this is appropriate.’

https://mail.royalballetschool.org.uk/76ZA-3SIF-0C9966EB387733C815GTJCF29A31C12A2D449D/cr.aspx

 

[Blue Box Ballet]

1 hour ago, drdance said:

I've just seen that the recommmended learning hours is 100 per level! My school operates 38 weeks per year so assuming pupils have 1 x 45 minute lesson a week it'll take them 3.5 years to get to 100!

I guess this model might be tricky for you personally to implement. 

 

Perhaps this could be an opportunity for you to add some additional classes, or partner up with another affiliate teacher to take the children up to something like 2 hours per week. 
Running 38 weeks per year this would take around a year and a quarter. Sooner if you/ RBS added some special affiliate events/ classes that they mentioned as part of the ‘perks’. 
 

I’m very glass half full on this and see it as an exciting development. 
It’s not going to work for everyone and I guess it’s about an individual teachers priorities and values. 
If they align it’s a no brainier but if they don’t there are lots of other well established models that are fine. 
 

Personally, I’m not ok with ‘fine’.
‘We’ve always done it that way’ is guaranteed to make me ask ‘why?’.

Watching sports, if every generation was trained in the same way as the previous generation then we wouldn’t see the huge rise in physical ability that is clearly evident. 

RBS seem to be doing their best to follow the research in child development, dangers of early specialisation and a clear effort to train the whole person as an artist.

I’m VERY excited for this. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by Blue Box Ballet

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Blue Box Ballet,

 

Your enthusiasm for this is fantastic but may I ask if you have a commercial interest in this initiative?

[Blue Box Ballet]

34 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

Hello Blue Box Ballet,

 

Your enthusiasm for this is fantastic but may I ask if you have a commercial interest in this initiative?

Ha! 
No, I just have a lot of time on my hands this week. 

Happy to step back so I don’t dominate the thread.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Blue Box Ballet

[Jan McNulty]

7 minutes ago, Blue Box Ballet said:

Ha! 
No, I just have a lot of time on my hands this week. 

Happy to step back so I don’t dominate the thread.

 

That's not necessary!  Thanks for the clarification.

[drdance]

@Blue Box BalletI'm fully supportive of forward-thinking teaching, and training of children and I'm happy that it's getting that message out there, believe me! But I am purely thinking of the 'average' dance school where children do one class a week, maybe two (if you're lucky and have dedicated parents and students). Logistically it's tricky. I don't think that it's appropriate for most children under 10-11 to do a class that is an hour long, especially after a long day at school. 

 

Furthermore - it may well be that RBS are "following the research in child development, dangers of early specialisation" but this doesn't seem to fully align with what happens at the actual school, especially upper school, where students are taken in aged 15 or younger who have clearly specialised at a young age. 

 

I'm still in two minds about the programme, to be honest. I'd be interested to hear what other teachers are thinking!

[Dance.Mum]

1 hour ago, drdance said:

@Blue Box BalletI'm fully supportive of forward-thinking teaching, and training of children and I'm happy that it's getting that message out there, believe me! But I am purely thinking of the 'average' dance school where children do one class a week, maybe two (if you're lucky and have dedicated parents and students). Logistically it's tricky. I don't think that it's appropriate for most children under 10-11 to do a class that is an hour long, especially after a long day at school. 

 

Furthermore - it may well be that RBS are "following the research in child development, dangers of early specialisation" but this doesn't seem to fully align with what happens at the actual school, especially upper school, where students are taken in aged 15 or younger who have clearly specialised at a young age. 

 

I'm still in two minds about the programme, to be honest. I'd be interested to hear what other teachers are thinking!

 

My understanding of their giving a three year commitment from Year 7 and starting to offer a broader dance education is to train dancers to be more versatile and give a greater chance of longevity in the profession.  Just my thoughts based on a number of things I have read and a few conversations.  Hopefully this will go throughout the school.

[Peanut68]

1 hour ago, Dance.Mum said:

 

My understanding of their giving a three year commitment from Year 7 and starting to offer a broader dance education is to train dancers to be more versatile and give a greater chance of longevity in the profession.  Just my thoughts based on a number of things I have read and a few conversations.  Hopefully this will go throughout the school.

That’s referring to White Lodge full time training - not in reference to this new ‘affiliate’ school programme...

[Dance.Mum]

1 hour ago, Peanut68 said:

That’s referring to White Lodge full time training - not in reference to this new ‘affiliate’ school programme...

 I was referring specifically to part of the comment by drdance so sorry that wasn't clear and is going off track for this particular topic.

[Peanut68]

Easily done... I just wanted to clarify in case anyone thought that they might end up having to commit to local dance schools for three years from year 7-9 if they became affiliated with RBS which isn’t in the spirit of recreational dance! I hope I’ve not now confused things further....! 

[Kerfuffle]

This new approach to recreational training sounds like a great idea, particularly if it involves free work weekly. Doing exactly the same exercises to the same music is very boring for a lot of children and off putting too, especially highly creative ones. My daughter was RAD trained for 10 years, always did very well in exams but was very happy to change to a Russian school where she has different music and exercises every week. She finds this much more stimulating as she has to think and remember the choreography at every lesson and also I think it enhances her musicality as it’s no longer robotic repetition, she is fully engaged mentally. We were warned against stopping the RAD exams by nearly everyone  but I think this was the best decision for her, she enjoys ballet so much more and  she has also greatly improved as a result .  In my opinion we are too obsessed by the exam system in this country and forget that ballet is an art form. I think it also encourages children to be too competitive about the results and this can create a bad atmosphere in dance schools. Just my opinion and understand that others probably won’t agree with me! 

[LaCamargo]

Prior to the meeting I would have liked to have thought that all dance teachers have a more holistic approach to teaching and do not just teach syllabus. It became clear from some of the questions that some must only do syllabus without enriching and broadening the dance education and experience of their pupils. I was most surprised when one of the questions was along the lines of what do you teach if there is not a syllabus and set exercises. An examination syllabus is an examination syllabus not necessarily a training syllabus. Was not bowled over by the presentation and agree with @drdanceabout buzz words. I am pretty sure the cost will put it beyond the reach of many of those interested in it as we already pay so much to be members of our dance bodies and spend a small fortune on CPD.

 

NB Currently have students as JAs and MAs and former students at WL and RBS US. 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by LaCamargo
Addition in footnote

[Pas de Quatre]

2 hours ago, Kerfuffle said:

My daughter was RAD trained for 10 years, always did very well in exams but was very happy to change to a Russian school where she has different music and exercises every week. She finds this much more stimulating as she has to think and remember the choreography at every lesson and also I think it enhances her musicality as it’s no longer robotic repetition, she is fully engaged mentally.

 

I trained with a Vaganova teacher and that is the way I teach now.  (I  just had a few years when I qualified with RAD, taught their syllabus and entered pupils for exams, but found it soul destroying).  My first instinct on seeing the new specs for the RBS affiliation was that they are simply taking what has always been a fundamental part of Vaganova teaching.  Musical appreciation and improvisation have always been included in the younger years.   There are no set exercises, simply a list of technique they need to master at each level and it is up to the teacher to source the music and construct the class.  

[rowan]

My DD did levels, much as described, through an outreach scheme. She started mid-way through y3 and finished at the end of y6. There were three levels, I think, and all children moved up the levels at the same time. Classes were an hour long, I think, once a week. No way did it take 100 hours to complete a level. Amongst the ballet technique classes, they also did workshops, choreography, creative dance, costume design, theatre tours etc. At the end of level 3, we were told the next type of class to do would be RAD grade 5. After the outreach scheme finished, and some trial and error to find classes that suited, we ended up at a Russian-method school.

[drdance]

2 hours ago, LaCamargo said:

Prior to the meeting I would have liked to have thought that all dance teachers have a more holistic approach to teaching and do not just teach syllabus. It became clear from some of the questions that some must only do syllabus without enriching and broadening the dance education and experience of their pupils. I was most surprised when one of the questions was along the lines of what do you teach if there is not a syllabus and set exercises. An examination syllabus is an examination syllabus not necessarily a training syllabus.

 

I agree - in my RAD teacher training it was always stressed to us that the examination syllabus was just that, and in order to teach well-rounded dancers, much more was expected. We were trained to create lesson plans of free work building up to the exam work, which is what I still do. Perhaps not all exam boards train their teachers that way? Or perhaps teachers have forgotten this? or don't have time for this? Or have gotten lazy? I don't know and I wouldn't wish to judge. 

[Kerfuffle]

1 hour ago, Pas de Quatre said:

 

I trained with a Vaganova teacher and that is the way I teach now.  (I  just had a few years when I qualified with RAD, taught their syllabus and entered pupils for exams, but found it soul destroying).  My first instinct on seeing the new specs for the RBS affiliation was that they are simply taking what has always been a fundamental part of Vaganova teaching.  Musical appreciation and improvisation have always been included in the younger years.   There are no set exercises, simply a list of technique they need to master at each level and it is up to the teacher to source the music and construct the class.  

How interesting that you found RAD exam syllabus soul destroying too! The best teachers my DD had in her old RAD school gave them opportunities to do some of their own choreography and used other music/steps but there was still always the need to go back a learn the set exercises which made it rather tedious. Some of the coaching in the classes before exams was so formulaic that instead of responding to the music it was reduced to counts. I think this was such a stunting approach to musicality. You can see in professionals how they dance through the music, it’s what makes them truly mesmerising in my opinion. She finds the Russian approach particularly inspiring as a result. 

[Kerfuffle]

9 minutes ago, drdance said:

 

I agree - in my RAD teacher training it was always stressed to us that the examination syllabus was just that, and in order to teach well-rounded dancers, much more was expected. We were trained to create lesson plans of free work building up to the exam work, which is what I still do. Perhaps not all exam boards train their teachers that way? Or perhaps teachers have forgotten this? or don't have time for this? Or have gotten lazy? I don't know and I wouldn't wish to judge. 

My DD also said that one of the downsides of this rigid exam syllabus only way of teaching was that every time pupils moved up the whole class would be held up with them having the set choreography taught to them. This doesn’t happen in free classes as everyone is in the same boat, being challenged to learn new routines. This also makes them much better prepared for auditions, as they are used to learning quickly. 

[drdance]

4 minutes ago, Kerfuffle said:

My DD also said that one of the downsides of this rigid exam syllabus only way of teaching was that every time pupils moved up the whole class would be held up with them having the set choreography taught to them. This doesn’t happen in free classes as everyone is in the same boat, being challenged to learn new routines. This also makes them much better prepared for auditions, as they are used to learning quickly. 

I agree. I don't necessarily like this route but I don't know what the alternative is to be honest. I can't afford the RBS system and the majority of the parents of children in my dance school are fairly exam focused. They ask for children to do exams (sometimes way before the kids are ready!). It would be lovely if there was a system that was around the same cost to the teacher as the RAD/ISTD/IDTA etc that wasn't so prescriptive. 

[rowan]

The problem is the focus on exams and the hold that the RAD in particular has. It’s endemic in the UK, but irrelevant in most of the rest of the world. I can see  lots of good reasons for exams, but also huge downsides. 

[Kerfuffle]

29 minutes ago, drdance said:

I agree. I don't necessarily like this route but I don't know what the alternative is to be honest. I can't afford the RBS system and the majority of the parents of children in my dance school are fairly exam focused. They ask for children to do exams (sometimes way before the kids are ready!). It would be lovely if there was a system that was around the same cost to the teacher as the RAD/ISTD/IDTA etc that wasn't so prescriptive. 

It’s a frustrating situation if you feel compelled to offer exams that you don’t enjoy teaching and under pressure from parents. You have my sympathy! It’s also a real shame that the RBS new programme is prohibitingly expensive. 

[Kerfuffle]

43 minutes ago, rowan said:

The problem is the focus on exams and the hold that the RAD in particular has. It’s endemic in the UK, but irrelevant in most of the rest of the world. I can see  lots of good reasons for exams, but also huge downsides. 

This is so true. I felt under a lot of pressure to keep my DD taking these exams but even with vocational grades she seemed to be being held back with its limits. She has gained so much strength as well as flexibility having switched away from RAD. Music exams can also be restricting in this country and we are amongst the few doing them. 

[rowan]

Dd became a professional ballet dancer without doing any exams.

[Kerfuffle]

10 minutes ago, rowan said:

Dd became a professional ballet dancer without doing any exams.

What kind of training did she do? My DD stopped at intermediate RAD so she would get UCAS points if she ever needs them and also to help her with summer school applications. 

[rowan]

19 minutes ago, Kerfuffle said:

31 minutes ago, rowan said:

 

What kind of training did she do?

She did Russian method, but didn’t do any exams. 

[Ruby Foo]

2 hours ago, rowan said:

The problem is the focus on exams and the hold that the RAD in particular has. It’s endemic in the UK, but irrelevant in most of the rest of the world. I can see  lots of good reasons for exams, but also huge downsides. 

  
Well said! Too many well meaning parents are totally sucked in by exams in the UK. 

[Sadielou]

 I don't see anything new in what is being proposed by the RBS, as I would hope that any dance teacher worth their salt would already be spending some time during the term, on repertoire, music appreciation and self expression. As finding access to ballet performance videos, literature and music has never been easier, I am not really sure what the RBS is offering that isn't already available and way less expensive. To simply apply for this course the fee is £65 - no promise of getting a place. If you are accepted course fees are just shy of £6000 plus an ongoing £550 yearly membership, plus (not yet priced) a yearly 3 day mandatory CPD course. And apart from an initial 4 day face to face training period, it appears that all further training, assessments etc will be online, "to lessen the carbon footprint".

Admittedly the exam/ set syllabus route can be restrictive but exams are still an important factor for many students. The majority of older students take exams to amass UCAS points or to add to the sport element of Duke of Edinburgh awards and younger students (11 plus age) need exams results to apply for dance / sport scholarships as a way into some the highly sought after private and state schools in our area. I would have loved this RBS affiliation to be something really new and innovative but sadly I don't see it as either and in my humble opinion it is not a viable option for many dance schools. I only see this working on an associate / cat scheme type blue print. 

[Blue Box Ballet]

53 minutes ago, Sadielou said:

If you are accepted course fees are just shy of £6000 plus an ongoing £550 yearly membership, plus (not yet priced) a yearly 3 day mandatory CPD course.

It says on the website that the CPD is part of the annual fee. 

 

Annual Membership Fee including 3 days CPD, access to video on demand materials, ongoing support

£550

 

I totally understand about UCAS points etc. 
They acknowledged this in the launch that they hope to have the assessments measured on the regulatory framework so I’m guessing UCAS points for the upper levels. 
 

Unfortunately there are a lot of teachers out there who do not currently teach in a holistic way and simply use their examination syllabus as a training tool. 

I am heartened to hear that so many teachers who enter students for exams don’t simply teach to the test but I do agree that it takes an institution like RBS to re-ignite this conversation even if ultimately their programme isn’t right for you.