Ballet training in the UK

[Dancer Sugar Plum]

As you probably know syllabus work is not used very much at all in the USA- and yet we do produce good dancers.  Exams are not done - there is no formal grading in the overwhelming number of schools.  This also means no exam fees or any of the other expenses .  

 

As for only doing  one side of the barre - I've only seen that once.  The teacher was a very famous person - but, sorry, that is simply unacceptable to me.  Nor is skipping barre work.

 

Both the classes I took and the classes I taught were always 90 minutes long, except for the very young.  We did two shows a year, one at Christmas time and one during the summer.  They can, of course, interrupt regular class work but only if that's what the teacher wants to do.  Early on in the learning process for a show II taught the enchainements for the dance as part of classwork - the students didn't know it would be part of the dance in a show.  After a fairly short while, when the sequences came together, we only rehearsed those particular sequences for the last few minutes of a regular class.  

 

As the performance time approached, the dance was already smooth and we only needed approximately two rehearsals, one/two on stage, together with the rest of the school.

 

I never allowed the show dances to consume - or even come close - regular ballet class work.  I have to say that since the students were not part of a syllabus system, they were quick to pick up new enchainement and learning a dance was just part of learning new movement in every class.

 

Anjuli - I really like the sound of how your school/classes were set up. I can see that whether the students want to do ballet as a career or not, they would have been trained how to pick up free work. I also like the idea of the school day finishing earlier in the day than UK schools, which would give more time for classes (in theory).

 

I am curious to know how ballet classes in different levels are named in America and whether students are placed in different (flat work) classes if they were doing pointe work? So is there some sort of separation between serious dancers/those doing pointe work and those just doing one class a week?

 

Also, since ballet exams are not common in America, how do students know that they are at the right level to apply for a particular summer school? In the UK, the RAD vocational exams attatined are used to judge whether a student is at the right level for a summer school. I wonder how this would be done in America if not many students do exams?

 

 

I have to say reading this thread I have come to the conclusion that I quite like living where we do.  Its not just my DDs school that includes non syllabus classes but also those in the towns closest to us, where friends dance and a school elder DD used to attend.  None of them have any fundraising for shows either.  Costumes for shows tend to be fairly simple and are made in bulk by a lady locally so we pay on average about £15-20 and the child keeps the costume afterwards.  The school that does festivals has more regular costume costs and I am not sure how they do it as DD did not do festivals.

 

 

It sounds like you have a good deal at your DD's school, 2Dancersmum. There are schools where you need to pay as much as your school for costumes and you/your DC need to return the costumes after the show. If you/your DC have costume changes, the cost goes up per costume. Most of the students in higher grades or vocational grades get more than one costume change for the shows. I can see that, if the students got to keep the costumes though, the cost would really go up significantly. So I am amazed that your school does not need to do fundraising for their shows, yet the students get to keep their costumes, that's very impressive indeed, in my opinion.

 

I don't want to sound like I am complaining about having to pay for costumes for performing. Obviously there has to be an extra cost and this is unavoidable. But just to clarify, my complaint - if we call it complaining - is more about how some schools organise their fundraising for these events, which if you happen to be a bit tight on money at the time, it can feel like an extra unnecessary money pressure. 2Dancersmum has shown though, that schools don't have to fund for their shows this way. I know there is the option of explaining the situation to the teacher, but I think a lot of people in similar situations probably would not be comfortable talking about something so personal to someone you may not know that well.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Dancer Sugar Plum

[aileen]

Well, my DD's school does not ask for a contribution towards costumes and only charges a small amount for rehearsals for shows / full length ballets. The school hires the theatre of a local independent school. It charges for tickets for performances, with a large discount for children and a smaller discount for pensioners, and some parents have been known to complain about this. The school has a large collection of costumes and some new ones are bought for the productions as well, and the school has been lucky to have the benefit of some skilled needle women who are able to make and adjust costumes. Personally, I don't see why schools expect parents to pay for costumes, especially when they can't keep them afterwards. The costs of a production can be covered by ticket sales, refreshments and raffles with donated prizes. I suppose that it all depends whether the school owner wants to make a profit from his/her productions or not.

[Anjuli_Bai]

Anjuli - I really like the sound of how your school/classes were set up. I can see that whether the students want to do ballet as a career or not, they would have been trained how to pick up free work. I also like the idea of the school day finishing earlier in the day than UK schools, which would give more time for classes (in theory).

 

I am curious to know how ballet classes in different levels are named in America and whether students are placed in different (flat work) classes if they were doing pointe work? So is there some sort of separation between serious dancers/those doing pointe work and those just doing one class a week?

 

Also, since ballet exams are not common in America, how do students know that they are at the right level to apply for a particular summer school? In the UK, the RAD vocational exams attatined are used to judge whether a student is at the right level for a summer school. I wonder how this would be done in America if not many students do exams?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me try to answer your questions one at a time:

 

I am curious to know how ballet classes in different levels are named in America and whether students are placed in different (flat work) classes if they were doing pointe work? So is there some sort of separation between serious dancers/those doing pointe work and those just doing one class a week?

 

Let's assume the school is a neighborhood school, offering substantial teaching for both vocationally and recreationally aspiring students.  The levels would be usually catagorized as:

 

Beginning 1

Beginning 2

Intermediate 1

Intermediate 2

Intermediate-Advanced

Advanced 1/2

Advanced 2

Pointe Class - 1 

Pointe Class - 2

 

One would not be placed into a pointe class with only one or two slipper classes per week as that is not enough to sustain pointe work.

 

 As for separating the vocationally bound student from the recreational student - that happens automatically as the recreational student will  not  want to be in a class which would overwhelm him/her.  But should that happen the teacher will control it.  What usually happens is that the teacher will quietly invite the student to take a higher level class.  A good school will have a class such as "Beginner 2" which bridges the gap between "beginner" and "inttermediate."  and a bridging class between "intermediate" and "advanced."

 

If a recreational student can keep up with a class of vocationally bound students - the recreational student is almost always happily allowed to be in that class.  

 

Class separation is based on ability - not a future aspiration.

 

For the most part adults will self select their level - and very seldom do they try to place themselves in a higher level than they truly are.  Most people are usually honest with themselves.  In fact, especially with adults, they tend to go the other way - staying in a class below their skill level and need to be encouraged to move up.

 

As for children, they either progress up from the day they enter as a small child - or leave as interest and circumstance changes - family moving, etc.

 

For those children who come to the school already having been to another school, the teacher will assess them as they take a class.

 

 

Also, since ballet exams are not common in America, how do students know that they are at the right level to apply for a particular summer school? In the UK, the RAD vocational exams attatined are used to judge whether a student is at the right level for a summer school. I wonder how this would be done in America if not many students do exams?

 

 

Summer schools tend to differ in how one applies - with a video, etc.  But most often the student will consult with her regular teacher who will suggest which summer school.   The summer schools often have someone representing the school hold auditions around the country and at that  point the student will be assessed for acceptance and placement.  Often, too, the first day of the summer school will also be an assessment by giving a general class.

 

What counts here is how the student performs in class - that's it.  No  one is interested in what an exam says.  it's what happens in class that counts.  

 

I've seen a few students who had taken RAD syllabus for years and were beautiful to look at in the formal poses such as arabesque, attitude, etc., who once the music started simply drowned - didn't have the ability to pick up, learn quickly, assimulate and perform the dance sequence.  They couldn't move spontaneously.  I remember how surprised they were - they had assumed with all those years of training, exams, and good marks in those exams that they would easily fit in - but they didn't.  They couldn't take the pace.  

 

I hope that helps to answer your questions.  

 

The above is just my opinion and observation- others will certainly differ.  

[tutu anna]

Hi, I just became a new member. I am living in Japan and have first hand knowledge in the way that the Japanese ballet schools teach ballet. My dd has been training since five and the school she changed to at eleven years is well known for producing girls and boys that go to Lausanne and get scholarships to Canada National, Royal Ballet, Hamburg, ENB etc. My dd worked her socks off to get to the same level as her peers (japanese girls) she is half english/ japanese by the way. The lessons were gruelling, the teachers were frightening. My dd came home in tears so many times at 10.30 pm ( everyday) but to get to the competition level here you have to excel. There are so many ballet competitions now, many cash prizes too but the ones where the european directors are judges are the most intensive. There are no national ballet schools here so anyone who has got the talent and heart to go for the big goal has to get noticed by the international schools and try to get a scholarship. Due to the recent top winners of Lausanne etc being Japanese, there are now thousands of kids here doing ballet and they have the determination and skills.  

[Kat09]

Hi tutu anna,welcome to the forum .... wow quite glad that we are not living in Japan ... the training sounds brutal! Good luck to your DD 

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Tutu Anna, welcome from me too.  Thanks for sharing your DD's experiences about training in Japan.  I hope you will continue to contribute.

[afab]

The training does sound brutal but we have to keep in mind those are the kids ours are going to compete with in gaining places at top schools and then jobs... Are they equipped for that? I'm not sure...

[pastel]

Wow! That sounds very intense. I agree that the truth is our children are competing with that level of training and dedication. I don't know how kids can work until late at night. They must get so exhausted.

[double trouble]

My DD 2 started ballet late she was 11 although had done competitive gymnastics before. She first of all went to local ballet Schools and really just for fun. Then she started at London Russian as she said she wanted to be more serious about ballet ,she was far behind the students and wanted to catch up so instead of going most Evenings for 2 hrs after sch she went to two classes which was almost 4 hrs and with the travelling not getting home till almost 10 at night and then homework she was worn out and found it hard to concentrate at school so she went back to 2 hrs a night but even that is hard when you have GCSE work to do !!

[taxi4ballet]

During term-time my dd doesn't get home from dance until after 10 pm on most weekday evenings; after a full day at school. There are many others in the same boat.

[double trouble]

Yes it's so hard for them ,and also other parents that don't have DC would say why are u letting her do it ! Good luck to your DD taxi4ballet and other DC that dance after school.