Grade 3 Tap

[Lemongirl]

 

Thought I would get some good advice here!

 

My middle dd has just started tap classes.  Like her sister, she's done ballet for a long time but (unlike her sister!) is going off ballet a bit and is more suited to other dance styles.

 

I have found her a lovely class where they do 45 mins each of tap and modern.  She's enjoying the modern very much (done a little before) but is finding the tap very hard.  The teacher says she'll be fine in the class and it will take a while for her to catch up.

 

However unfortunately she also wants to do a 5 week creative writing course which is on the same night as the dance class.  We've been paying per class so far and they are happy for her to start properly in September.

 

Is there anything she can do in the meantime to retain what she's learnt so far so she doesn't go in from scratch again in September?  I'm pretty sure it is ISTD.

[Flit and float]

Could she get a copy of the DVD to practice with?(if it's ISTD, not sure you get DVDs for other syllabi). Or at least get a copy of the music, my teachers always did that for us, & my ballet teacher used to photocopy the syllabus notes too (copyright?!!)

[taxi4ballet]

Quite often dancers who already do ballet will be in one grade higher for modern than they are for tap. There will probably be other new starters in the tap class anyway come September, and as Fit and float says, perhaps the teacher has a dvd she could borrow.

[JulieW]

I think tap's quite hard to just pick up in a later grade. The basics really need to be learnt even if it's just by going to a lower grade class for a while or having a few private lessons.

[2littledancers]

Grade 3 is extremely hard to be starting in . DD tap teacher would not let anyone start tap in any other class than primary / grade 1 in special circumstances , especially with the new grades of ISTD being so hard . I would say the new grade 3 is the equivalent to the old grade 5/6 .

[Katymac]

I was trying to word a post like yours, 2littledancers, when DD read the post she was really concerned at someone starting at Grade 3.....

 

[aileen]

I've said this before: ISTD tap is *hard*, even at the lower grades. My DD's teacher does allow people to start at a higher grade but those students don't, I think, take exams.

 

2littledancers, what do you think the new Grade 4 is equivalent to? It looks as if my DD will be in this grade for five terms.

[2dancersmum]

I'd be inclined not to worry about it - let her practice at home for what she has learned already if she wishes too - but September is not far off really and delaying starting for a couple of months is nothing in the long run.

[2littledancers]

I think 5 terms / 18 months sounds about right . Pretty much the same as my DD dance school . I would hazard a guess grade 4 is approx old elementary standard ! God I'm showing my age . Really goes to show how much the new grades have bought the children's tap on . My DD is in grade 4 at 10 , I'm sure in the oldendays elementary students were 13/14 ish .

[Katymac]

DD started modern & tap 3 months after ballet, (so 2yr 5m vs 2yrs 8m) for Ballet she just did IF, she is doing Grade 6 Modern on Sunday and Grade 4 tap in August

 

So I think it is quite different