The
study of Ballet is integral to every dancer, male or female. It
is the basis of their strength, balance, form and technique.
RAD is an acronym for Royal Academy of Dance, an organization
based in London, England that “promotes knowledge, understanding
and practice of dance internationally”, and who “seeks
to accomplish our mission through promoting dance, educating and
training students and teachers?and providing examinations to reward
achievement.”
RAD ballet classes are twice per week and taught by certified
instructors who are required to teach a specific ‘syllabus’,
which is similar to a school teacher following a certain curriculum
that is set out by the Ministry of Education. Syllabus work includes
pre-set exercises and choreography in Classical Ballet, Character
Ballet and Free Movement. And, similar to the school system, students
in the RAD programs undergo exams to assess their ability and understanding
at each grade level.
EXAMS
Exams are offered at two times during the year, spring and fall.
There is a fee for the exams that varies depending on the grade
being taken. Exams for our students will be taken at Joanne’s
Dance Academy in Abbotsford.
Typically exams are taken two students at a time. As the examiner
is unfamiliar with the dancers, dancers are given small coloured
bows or ribbons to wear so they can be identified and graded.
It should be noted that exam schedules are set out by the RAD and
may require students to miss school.
MOCK EXAM
Typically, a cd is used as accompaniment during classes. However,
at exam, a pianist plays the work live. To transisiton between recorded
and live work, some additional classes may be held with the pianist.
As the exam date nears, a ‘mock exam’ will be called.
A guest examiner will run the dancers thru their exam work with
the pianist, so they are well prepared for what to expect at the
real exam.
RESULTS
The Examiner will send the results to the RAD office in London,
who then records and issues the reports and certificates to the
Studio for distribution to the dancers. As you can appreciate, these
well-traveled certificates can sometimes take a few weeks to make
their journey to the dancers.
Each dancer will receive a ‘report card’ detailing what
they were examined on, and how they were scored. They receive a
mark out of 100, which translates into a grade (again, similar to
our public school system).
Some
commonly asked questions
DOES
MY DANCER HAVE TO TAKE THE EXAM?
No, not every dancer must take their exam. In fact, exams can only
be taken on the recommendation of the instructor. Exams are important
as they offer an assessment of learning and development. They are
also important to dancers with dreams of dancing or teaching professionally.
MY DANCER DIDN’T TAKE THE GRADE 2 EXAM.
DOES SHE STILL GO ON TO GRADE 3?
It depends. Some dancers may study a particular grade for two years
before they are preared for the exam, in which case the dancer would
repeat grade 2. If the dancer is not going forward under the exam
program, then they would proceed to the next grade with out taking
the exam. In other words, you don’t have to pass a grade to
move to the next. Advancement can also happen at the recommendation
of the instructor.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT GRADE LEVEL MY DANCER SHOULD START AT?
The RAD provides age guidelines for each grade. The instructor will
assess the dancer, and place them according to age and ability.
WHAT SHOULD THEY WEAR FOR BALLET?
RAD issues guidelines for attire. For all students, hair must be
properly secured back in a ballet bun. No jewelry. Clean ballet
pink tights, split sole pink leather ballet shoes and sleeveless
pinch front ballet bodysuit in the appropriate colour for their
grade. Additional guidelines are specific for exams, such as no
nail polish, no makeup, waist band and character shoes and character
shirt.
WHAT IS THE BIG ELASTIC BAND THAT CAME WITH THE SUIT?
That is an important piece required for the exam. Its not always
needed for class, but keep it safe for exam. It is a waistband that
should sit right on your dancer’s hipbones. It gives the examiner
a visual reference to the dancer’s alignment and range of movement.
WHAT ARE CHARACTER SHOES & SKIRTS?
Character dance is part of the syllabus work. Black character shoes
and black circle skirts are required. More information on this will
be given to dancers as they start the Character section of their
work.
CHOREOGRAPHY COMPONENT
At the Creative Outlet, our RAD ballet program is intended for those
dancers who desire to improve their overall dance technique, and
for those with a true love of the form. Ballet is an art form in
itself, and as such deserves to be shown. Our RAD classes will each
perform a routine at the year-end show in June. Soloists may elect
to also compete with their numbers.
