Dance lessons - where to draw the line

[shebird]

Hello all, I am in need of some advice about dance lessons and exams because it's starting to take over our lives and our bank account. I have 2 DDs and both do ballet, tap and modern and also extra group lessons for dance competitions and festivals. What started out as a bit of fun dancing about at age 3 has now snowballed with most days taken up with dance.

Both DDs love dance and I am very happy that they are so active and healthy and I do believe they benefit from it. However, as they are getting older there are constant requests for extra lessons for exams or shows involving more time and expense and I am starting to question where all this is going. They are both good dancers and do well in exams but I am unsure if dance is something they will pursue as a career.

I guess what I'm asking is, where do I draw the line? Do I continue shelling out a small fortune indefinitely and run myself ragged? I am happy for them to continue lessons but the extras are just a bridge too far. Is there any point doing lessons if they don't do exams? I would be love some advice because I just don't know where all of this is going.
TIA

[taxi4ballet]

For those doing RAD ballet exams, you can check the fees on their website, but also remember that often the teacher may well have the additional cost of hiring the hall and possibly also a pianist for the day and so on.

With some examining bodies, the higher graded exams and vocational exams are awarded UCAS points, which might be useful for older students.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

At dds previous dance schools children followed the exam syllabus & took the exam as and when ready but once the teacher had recommended a child for the exam if gircanyvreason they chose not to take it- they were still moved up. The only compulsory exam is if you choose to do vocational grades you have to pass Intermediate before being allowed to take Advanced 1 (but Inter Foundation is optional)

I gave up ballroom dancing because of a school like teacherwith2kids school. I had done all the work but was ill the couple if weeks before the exam. I was kept back instead of being moved up with my friends so I left.

At dds previous dance school all exam work was covered in class we just had to pay for one extra session which took the form of a mock exam the Sunday before the real thing.

[teacherwith2kids]

Pictures,

If a child is ill, they get moved up anyway - that is beyond their control (also the child who broke her arm). But in the higher grades you can't choose not to take the exam. If an exam date is truly inconvenient (e.g. family wedding), then there are reciprocal arrangements amongst the local dance schools for eaxch other's students to take the exam at a different centre.

I alsop agree with annegelus that there are disceet advance / staged payment arrangments.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

I find that very sad that you can't choose not to take an exam as exams don't suit everyone & they are very expensive.

As long as a student has reached the required level of technique they should be allowed to progress.

As full time school students don't take RAD exams except a few schools still offer the vocational grades (presumably so they can train to teach later on or enter Genee/Janet Cram. )

[Picturesinthefirelight]

In my case teacherwith2 as a Child I had severe asthma which led to attacks during or before most exam periods (academic & dance/music ones)

I didn't sit a school end of year exam for 3 years running at one stage

[shebird]

Exams at DDs dance school always require around 6 extra lessons,so we pay for the exam fee plus additional lessons (more time and money). The teacher says she will allow them to move up even if they do not do the exams but it is not encouraged and I get the feeling those not doing exams are looked upon less favourably. The focus in lessons tends to be on those doing exams with the few non exam students pushed to the back regardless of ability.

I also cant understand why all exams require so many extra lessons. If they are not exam ready through regular lessons then why not just do it a couple of months later, but what do I know I'm only a walking chequebook??

[Picturesinthefirelight]

What on earth are they doing in these extra lessons?

I understand that schools without a regular pianist need a rehearsal @ they also need a rehearsal practising just in their group of 4 practising their spacing/place at the barre etc.

But 6 extra lessons!!!

[annegulus]

Two rehearsals here for exam usually at one of the DC dance schools. Just for all the details and placement, as mentioned above.

Another dance school does at least eight extra lessons over weeks. There is no charge for these lessons but I wonder why on earth they're needed at this stage. Classes of just two or three girls too.

In the earlier grades I don't suppose it would matter too much about the exams. The associate schemes and summer schools don't seem (correct me if I'm wrong as I'm sure there are exceptions) to care, or want to know, about exam results, just which grade you're doing.

[taxi4ballet]

As Pictures says, there is no requirement with RAD to take any of their graded exams before moving up to the next one.

The only exception is the vocational grades - you need to have passed Intermediate before taking Advanced 1, and Adv 1 before taking Adv 2.

There are teachers out there, however, who insist that each exam is taken before moving up to the next grade, and demand that extra lessons are paid for, otherwise you get to stay behind your friends and not move up, like it or lump it.

[shebird]

I can understand one or two lessons for a run through with piano for ballet or in groups for modern/tap. I sometimes wonder if the extra lessons, on top of an already busy schedule, are counterproductive as they only make my DD tired and stressed. DH is very cynical about it all and says it's all about the money

[taxi4ballet]

The only other school I have ever come across that did this was, funnily enough, a festival school. Exams were scheduled once a year, and everyone had to do extra lessons on Sundays for about 8 weeks beforehand on top of the usual classes.

Don't turn up = can't do exam. Don't do exam = can't go up to next grade. Not in right grade = dropped from groups = can't compete.

[shebird]

I just assumed extra lessons for exams was the norm but perhaps not. At DDs school they do all festival work as a separate class, so there should be plenty time for exam work within normal lessons.

[dancestomyowntune]

At our school exams are not compulsory, but children gain a lot from the preparation and taking the exam. We have the odd extra lesson with the pianist, and it is recommended that children taking an exam attend two classes a week for ballet.

Vocational exams are expensive. Dd1 is taking Inter-foundation next week, in our studios, and with pianist fee and exam fee it's still £99! IDTA grades are about £20-25, which isn't masses, but add up when you have four children all doing several genres!

[shebird]

I wouldnt mind if each exam did not involve the cost of extra lessons plus the extra time. The teacher is adamant that extra lessons for exams are compulsory but if other schools manage without doing this I wonder why ours is different .

[taxi4ballet]

Perhaps it could depend on how long the classes are, as to whether extra classes are needed.

Students taking 45 minute classes (for instance) will probably need more exam practice time than those having classes of an hour or more.

Also, some teachers will wait until their students are ready for the exam before booking an exam session. Others hold exams regularly at the same time every year, and their students might need more practice lessons.

Who knows? Teachers make up their own rules half the time!

[Theas18]

Interesting. I note the 2nd comment implying you can sub any hobby for this needing extra input round exams etc.

That is definitely not our experience and the exam pressure and the extra exam classes etc drove me bonkers very quickly. It really seemed like a licence to charge as much as they liked as basically the kids were not actually ready for the exams!

Also they couldn't progress if they didn't pass the exam. You couldn't be a 2 hobby" dancer at all. It was all pretty pushy TBH

Music exams apart from a rehearsal with the pianist there is no extra and no extra charges bar exam fees.

Actually we don't pay any extra for orchestras via the music service or school.

[tess73]

interesting for me to read all this too
DD2 is yr4 and after school she does
Monday - 1 hour ballet
Tuesday - 1/2 hour swimming
Wednesday - 1 hour chess, 1 hour drama
Thursday - 1 hour ballet
Friday - 1 hour ballet (only at exam time)
saturday - 45 min ballet, 45 min tap, 45 min modern, 30 min choir
sunday - 2 hr ballet 1 hr repertoire (LJB)

that's a lot right? i am not sure quite how we/she manages it all .

it all seems to have got out of control very quickly!

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

tess that is a crazy amount.

Can I ask why she does so much ballet? is that all with the same dance school? it is a huge amount for yr4 IMO.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

sorry by why does she do so much ballet I mean how is a yr4 child already good enough to be at a level that they need to do that much if that makes sense?

In most of the dance schools I know round here in Yr4 they are still only grade 1ish

[teacherwith2kids]

I read that as 2.45 hours (except at exam time) with her 'normal' ballet school, and 3 hours on a Sunday with an associates / junior ballet / similar scheme elsewhere.

DD did Grade 3 in Y4, so would have been doing a very similar amount at her normal dance school (2 hours ballet lessons, perhaps an extra hour in exam term, 2 hours of 'troupe' work, half hour solo lesson), and a similar amount of tap and modern. However, she has never done any ballet outside her own dance school, except for festivals, the ballet awards etc - not a regular class IYSWIM.

At her dance school, children would do primary in Year 1, Grade 1 in Year 2ish, then progress increasingly slowly - DD is still doing a ballet exam each year, but she is unusual, for most of the older ones (she is 11) it has gone down to 1 every 4-5 terms through the grades. So in Year 6 she did Grade 5.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

I don't think tess's dds schedule sounds particularly out of place for a child who has reached the standard to get into LJB.

[AmeliaPeabody]

I think Tess' schedule sounds right too. The amount of ballet is similar to our own schedule, minus LJB-type classes at present, though we use two dance schools (and we have addition of more tap and gym, then festivals).

[teacherwith2kids]

Peabody and Amelia said what i meant so much more succinctly than I did!

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

gosh. I know the RAD schools are slightly ahead of the ISTD ones round here but still I know of children in 4 different ballet schools who are only Grade 1-2 ish in Yr5.

[AmeliaPeabody]

I think if some children are only doing one ballet lesson a week then it is more likely to take longer to be ready for the exam and work their way through the grades.