What do Primary ballet exam marks mean?

[TryingToKeepitTogether]

DD has just got her marks for her first ballet exam. ISTD Imperial Classical Ballet, Primary grade. She got 82, distinction, pretty even 7-10 across the categories on the exam form. Does this mean she's good, or does everyone get a distinction? She looks good to me, but then I think that about everything she does, even howling for more chocolate :) She's 6, nearly 7, and seems to love the performance and friends side of ballet, but with all the other things she wants to do and so little time to do them it's hard to choose what to keep going with.

Any advice most welcome.

That's pretty good. Was it a grade or class exam ? 80+ is a distinction

It depends what you mean by "good". In our DD's ballet school they follow RAD and everyone seems to get a distinction bar a couple of girls. They won't put them through for an exam unless they are distinction level. But then every year they send the best girls to the Royal Ballet for audition and they only ever get one in per year, in fact last year nobody got in but this year one did and so on. So it's all relative!!!!!!!!!!!

ISTD ballet school here - it is very rare here for children not to get distinctions in the lower grades IME, and unknown for anyone to get less than a Merit in any exam in any discipline at any level.

I'd say 82 would be 'low' from a good dance school, as it is only just a distinction BUT for many schools it might be 'very good indeed' as these things are relative.

(I would say that dance exams are much more dependent than, say, music exams on the quality of the teacher / dance school.

In music, it's more of a balance between talent, practice and teaching. In dance, because practice is not usually done at home (until higher levels / solos kick in), that element is reduced so the impact of the quality of the teacher / rigour of the dance school is consequently greater.

DD's dance school is very 'serious', with the teacher - an ISTD examiner - being quite prepared to keep some pupils in a class for a very long time or lose pupils rather than put anyone in for an exam that they are not going to do well in.

So a talented dancer in a 'middling' dance school might actually do less well in lower grades than one who is less talented but simply very well drilled from a 'rigorous' school IYSWIM)

Things have changed since I went to ballet then . Used to be most of the class got between Pass Plus and Highly Commended with the 2 or 3 really good ones getting Distinction.

That's very clear, thanks, especially teacherwith2kids. Are you an ISTD dance teacher ? Have I got you right in that you are saying:

1. ISTD exams are objective, and 82 is reasonable but far from unusually good.
2. There are some dance schools where a kid with any talent would be expected to get more, having received serious training.
3. There are other schools where they just muck about, and from these 82 would indicate some natural ability?

DD's dance school seems only modestly serious. They seem to have a good and easy time, and do a show every 2 years which features ~200 girls and about 3 boys, covering all ISTD disciplines. Only one of the girls in this extravaganza this year looked anything like I would expect to see on a professional stage.

I think it sounds like she should stick at it, while she is enjoying it anyway. To be honest, if it looked like getting more serious I might start to worry, ballet sounds like a hard master/mistress if it is taken seriously. But for now it's great for strength, balance, confidence and a tiny hint of discipline.