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Original poster

"proper" ballet mums - RAD uniform....or not

36 replies

stealthsquiggle · 27/02/2015 15:24

DD does ballet lessons as an after school activity (ballet teacher comes to school) which means, amongst other things, that they are pretty laid back about uniform for lessons because no-one is there to faff around with neat hair etc - they get changed by themselves which means DD's leotard is on back to front more often than not.

Anyway, they are going to do Grade 1 Class Award in the summer (they did the preliminary one last year sometime) and she needs new leotard etc for it.

How bad would it be to get this one from Dancing Daisy instead of this one which, even adding the belt on separately from Dancing Daisy, is twice the price?

Is it absolutely not the done thing and will she and I get castigated for the fact that it doesn't have £10 "worth" of RAD badge on the back?

OP posts:
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danceteacheruk · 24/06/2015 10:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MomOfTwoGirls2 · 23/06/2015 18:29

The ealastic drawstrings, that is...

MomOfTwoGirls2 · 23/06/2015 18:27

With the ballet shoes, just tie the ealastic in a bow, tuck under top of shoe and Sellotape into place. It takes care of the ealastic nicely.

balletgirlmum · 23/06/2015 18:24

Which exam board is it?

White shoes are unusual, mostly used by boys!

dontdomornings · 23/06/2015 15:52

Stumbled on this as have just entered the dancing world (lol) with my 3 year old. She does tap but they are all going for their ballet nursery award at the weekend! So suddenly needed to find leotard, ballet socks etc AND learn how to put hair in a bun (kill me now!) Got pink leotard from Dancing Daisy today and it is HUGE so going back, and socks look an awful bright peachy coloyr (she has pink shoes, all the rest in the class have white aargh). No time for an exchange and can't afford the regulation leotards with mark up at local dancewear shop so off to Sainsbugs where they have put a couple aside for me. However I have been told the leotards should be cotton and the Sainsbury ones look like mainly lycra - what should I do??? Should I be getting this stressed over her first nursery award???

danceteacheruk · 19/03/2015 12:03

As quite a few people have mentioned, the RAD logo is NOT compulsory. In fact none of the RAD uniform is compulsory, as long as what the children wear adheres to the guidelines. I say go ahead and buy the cheaper leotard. All companies make their budget leotards to match the colour and style of the regulation exam gear anyway, so I doubt the teacher would even notice.

Original poster
stealthsquiggle · 03/03/2015 18:11

There is a very fierce warning about the deadline and the fact that late entries won't be accepted on our letter!

...I am off on a chequebook hunt now so that I can send the blooming thing off before I forget (again)

OP posts:
nonicknameseemsavailable · 03/03/2015 12:21

they also have to pay charges if entries aren't in by a certain number of weeks before the exam for some boards but equally they can get discounts if exams are held at unpopular times. It is surprisingly complicated I have discovered.

taxi4ballet · 02/03/2015 17:17

I expect that some of it also goes towards the not inconsiderable amount of tiresome and complex entry administration that the dance teacher has to do, particularly in a school with a large number of students taking the exam.

There is also a fairly high charge from the examining body which the school would have to pay if there are fewer than a certain number of candidates.

Original poster
stealthsquiggle · 02/03/2015 15:36

I wasn't complaining about cost of accompanists either! I was actually assuming that it was the ballet school that took the opportunity to take some profit from the whole exercise that made the "surcharge" so (relatively) high, rather than the accompanist was being decently paid. I don't really mind that either, TBH, but it does rankle slightly that it is phrased as "to help to cover the costs of the hall and accompanists" as I am sure it does a lot more than help.

OP posts:
dancestomyowntune · 02/03/2015 15:09

JulieMichelleRobinson I am not complaining. As the mother of dancers I am more than happy to pay for a decent accompanist as it can make a big difference.

And you sound more than reasonable in what you are charging. I believe our regular pianist charges approx £45 an hour. And we provide her with a lunch!

JulieMichelleRobinson · 02/03/2015 13:12

Dances-to-my-own-tune,

FWIW, as a pianist I get paid £15 per hour for ballet classes - which is well below union rates but not going to go up any time soon. I get twice that for exams if playing for people outside the dance school where I play, and only because I put my foot down about it. Over the years that's included everything up to Advanced 1, including ISTD and RAD (old and new sets of music) exams plus free classes.

Contrast this with the rate you'd pay an organist for your wedding. Is it any surprise that most decent pianists won't play, or that we'd rather go and teach our own students at £40 to £45 per hour?

___

FWIW I'm aware that the RAD often bring their own accompanists, especially for majors, so the fee parents pay probably covers transport etc. as well as hopefully a higher fee for the accompanist.

alinacj · 01/03/2015 10:53

Has anybody found that lately the RAD logo leotards have declined in quality. I have old RAD leotards (one from 8+ years ago) from when my older DC did the early grades and the fabric is now a little thin but they're otherwise fine. Compared to current leotards, those a few months old the stitching comes undone, and they begin to bobble within weeks!

balletgirlmum · 01/03/2015 00:37

Generally when they get to around Grade 3/4 onwards most schools change to a ruched front style (better style for developing girls) & often a more grown up colour like navy.

Original poster
stealthsquiggle · 01/03/2015 00:20

If I don't get new ones, then I think DD's ballet shoes will definitely count as "close fitting" Smile. TBH, they are so soft, and she only wears them for an hour or less a week, that unless she complains I won't be replacing them. I seem to remember her character shoes were a little big and have insoles in, so with luck I should get away with those as well - they are in good nick because they were a birthday present and I put the fear of God into her about what would happen to them if she dared to think about setting foot outside the dance room in them Grin.

Ok, I admit, I have caved to the guilt. I found another stockist who had the RAD badged leotard at only marginally more than the Dancing Daisy one, so I have ordered it. There is a part of me that thinks that this will be the last exam she does (I get the impression that it gets more serious from here, and DD is not that keen - faced with a potential timing conflict she has already said that she would choose swimming over ballet) so she might as well have the right kit for once. It will be interesting to see if it does have a resell value - I get the impression that Lavender is only for the lowest grades (or maybe just for this ballet school?), and because she is so tall it will be an age 11-13 size (she is 8), so there may not be much of a market for it.

OP posts:
nonicknameseemsavailable · 28/02/2015 20:02

I just had a look actually as we must have paid about £6 on top of the flat rate for one exam (not ballet) and about £9 for the ballet. I vaguely remember someone saying the pianist charges £400 a day but I could have got that wrong.

balletgirlmum · 28/02/2015 19:50

My daughter will only wear balket shoes that almost don't fit. She likes them to feel like a second skin!

But she dances full time now, at grade 1 age they had growing room. Close fitting shoes do look nicer and enhance the four more though.

balletgirlmum · 28/02/2015 19:47

The RAD logo is not compulsory. My F&F did have the official Freed one year but only because the copy one was out of stock in her size.

You do need the waist elastic though.

Dance Direct do very reasonable leotards.

dancestomyowntune · 28/02/2015 07:40

My dd dances at a very well established RAD school and can I tell you something? As long as a leotard is the right style and colour we don't specify what make it is. Some leotards just don't fit every student and differing makes will be slightly different fits. Our teacher would rather it fit properly than had a badge on it!

As for the cost of the accompaniment, this IS expensive and we pay £8.50 for grades and £18.50 for majors. The accompanists charge a LOT and as I work in the office I know that what we pay rarely covers what we pay out.

Pagwatch · 28/02/2015 07:32
Grin My sense of humour is v crap. I like to check
alinacj · 27/02/2015 23:56

I remember one of the mothers talking about a RAD exam where one of the children didn't have the logo leotard, "it was like they couldn't be bothered," she said Shock

Our teacher is very strict but does not specify logos.

Most people seem to get new satin shoes for the exam. Nice and close fitting too.

taxi4ballet · 27/02/2015 23:10

Pagwatch, I got it, I just thought I'd mention the reason for wearing the belt because it was years before I found out why they wore one...

TeacupTravels · 27/02/2015 21:47

Our dance school buys uniform through Dancing Daisy... its not RAD exams though.

Original poster
stealthsquiggle · 27/02/2015 21:43

Nothing about new shoes, or satin ones - just that they have to be pink, have the elastic sewn on in the right place, and shouldn't have elastic drawstrings - I ignored that bit last time because DD's shoes did have elastic drawstring and there was no way I was buying new ones. The world did not appear to end.

I suppose since I have just bought DD new school shoes a whole size bigger, I probably ought to check her ballet shoes and character shoes at some point [sigh].

OP posts:
nonicknameseemsavailable · 27/02/2015 21:27

I thought RAD listed their prices somewhere - am sure I saw them. then the school can add on reasonable other costs to it such as pianist fees or venue hire etc.

We do ISTD and are only on lower grades but they seem to start at £25ish and go up from there. our extra on top of the fee wasn't much, only a few pounds.

with regards to uniform, ours have to wear uniform in the classes as well so we get our money's worth out of the kit. definitely the teacher will want them to look the same or very similar. shoes do appear to have to be tight but that is so they can see toe point I assume. We are allowed a reasonable amount of room in them but not much or the examiner won't be able to see their feet properly. We are asked to get satin ones for exams or at least new shoes but I am not sure how many people do.