What grade should an 11 year old "serious" ballet dancer be at?

[AdelaideDancer]

At the moment my dd1 is :
Grade 2 ballet, soon moving up to Grade 3.
Grade 3 modern.
Grade 2 tap.
Everything is ISTD.
Any advice would be appreciated.

They look at potential to achieve as well as what they've learnt already. Sometimes a dancer with little training but heaps of potential will appeal to them more than those who've perhaps learnt bad habits. They look at their physicality, musicality, flexibility, attitude and heart. But honestly, tell the royal ballet school you've been dancing since toddlerhood and are only doing 2classes, in g2 the odds are low'of getting in unless you've got something in another realm of special

My dd is at the Chester School.

In Year 6 they look for potential & because they will (if accepted) be training 6 days per week they will catch up very quickly.

I would be concerned that you Dd has been dancing for such a long time but is at such a low grade. Have you looked at changing dance schools.

I have 2 dancing daughters, bit younger, slightly higher grades. BUT I agree there is so much more to dancing than being on high grades. I suppose for me the questions would be does she enjoy it and does she care about the grade she is on? I think our school are slow with grades but they are further on than others (I know a school with year 8 children in grade 2 ballet and tap, equally I know other schools with that age all on grade 4!) but to some degree it depends on the board, some boards have 8 grades, others 5 or 6. some schools like to get them through grades and "accept" lower marks because they take them quicker and focus less on perfection, others get it to just the right level of quick enough the kids don't get bored but long enough they learn the technique required, others take too long and they get bored but do end up with exceptional marks (if they don't give up and have the natural ability in the first place - plus of course some of those would have got excellent marks had they taken it in less time anyway). It really comes down to is she happy there, is she concerned, does she feel she is making progress, would she like to carry on, would she like to carry on there or move to a different dance school. I wouldn't stop her dancing if she loves it but she does sound behind really. My year 4 child is taking grade 1 ISTD next term, she is quite good naturally i think (biased mum obviously) and does always get very high marks but even the dancers in her class who really have very little natural aptitude manage to do well in their exams and will be taking it at the same time as her. I would suggest talking to her (year 6 or 7 is a time a lot of children change what they want to do with their time), don't say anything about her being on a low grade but just say now she is at secondary school are there any new things she might like to try in place of anything she already does etc. we tend to do this with our girls every year anyway, makes them really consider the amount of money that is available for their activities and whether they really like them etc. She may say she loves it and wants to carry on, she may say she now wants to do judo/football/singing or whatever instead, she may say actually she likes her dancing but is a bit bored and would like to try somewhere else.

oh also just thinking, some dance schools do the grades very slowly because they do a lot of shows. shows are equally valuable as exams, perhaps more so for some children. very hard for schools to do both shows and grades as there is only so much lesson time available. so perhaps that is the focus where she is?

oh and my girls would LOVE to be at a boarding dance school but it will never happen for them, and they know that would be an unrealistic goal plus I don't think they would want to do just ballet, they love their other styles too.

Thanks for your replies everyone. She did grade 1 in year 4 I think. The nothing seemed to happen for 2 years. Then this bronze medal which seems to be between grade 1 and 2.
She does idta. The school seems to take a long time between grades and aims for high grades. Everyone gets highly commended or distinction on the whole. Christmas show is coming up so no grade work.

all 14 y olds at dd dance school grade 2/3....

ok well the primary importance is that they are getting good results so they are obviously teaching them good technique and they are learning properly! if they do shows once or twice a year that will seriously slow down exam progression unless they do their show work or exam work in additional classes which some schools do. I have a feeling that IDTA now only have 5 grades whilst BTDA and RAD have 8 and ISTD have 6 and I have a vague feeling I read on a forum somewhere that there had been quite a big shake up in the syllabus with IDTA when they changed all their grades so perhaps they learned stuff which is now not in the exam so have been slower at progressing as a result? It doesn't mean it is wasted work though as they have still been learning and dancing. Exams aren't that important in many ways and if she is happy with doing shows then perhaps that is more important to her. In our dance school the year 7s are grade 3 ballet, probably due to take it in year 8 I would guess going by the older girls I know.

If it is concerning you then I would ask around some other schools and perhaps try a class somewhere else. She would have to bear in mine before she did the class that it might be a bit of a jump for her initially, especially if it was a different board so she mustn't feel put off by that. But speak to her current teacher as well as teachers in other dance schools and ask where they would place her, see if she likes their set up and perhaps move her if she would like to.

Whilst there are 8 RAD grades & 6 ISTD grades that doesn't mean you go through ISTD/IDTA any slower as such.

The grades are all on the qualifications framework. What happens with RAD often is that students get to around Grade 4/5 & the serious ones then start Inter Foundation alongside. The recreational once a week kids just carry on with the numbered grades.

With ISTD it's a bit similar although many schools tend to do up to Grade 5 & then offer Intermediate alongside Grades 6/7 (Inter F is an optional Grade).

By Year 7 (11/12 years) I'd expect recreational kids who have been learning ballet since the age of 5/6 & who do show/festival work alongside class to be around Grade 3 standard. The more serious kids would he around Grade 4/5 & the ones contemplating a career/further study would be IF.

By Year 11 anyone contemplating auditioning for dance college would generally be around Intermediate standard, recreational dancers would be anywhere between grades 5-8.

oh - thanks for that, I had assumed that because when you look at the different boards the exercises for the ones with more grades tend to map to lower levels on the boards with fewer grades that therefore you would expect to be a bit slower on the boards with fewer grades. not sure I am writing that very clearly but certainly looking at the syllabus for some they don't seem remotely equivalent in primary/grade 1/grade 2 area.

I thought it was IDTA (bronze medal a giveaway). My 8 year old is in grade 3 IDTA and grade 3 ISTD (next exams in February). I don’t think she’s ahead particularly.

I know of older children 9/10 who are in grade 2 and are also ballet associates and are successful in ballet championship competitions. I don’t think it much matters if the technique thus far is solid and the teaching very good. And similarly in applying for vocational schools.
Unless there are other problems and reasons you think your child isn’t progressing or enjoying lessons (even as a hobby class) then consider a change of school.

DDs dance school does ISTD exams. At age 11 and in Y7 most will be at grades 4 or 5. Pointe is usually started about age 12 or grade 5 or whenever the teachers feel they are technically and physically ready.

Davespecifico - I wouldn't be happy with that progress since age 3 to be honest.
I have 3 dd's who have all gone through the grades and currently my Yr 7, 11yr old is in RAD Grade 4 and ISTD Grade 4 tap & modern.
Is your dd bored?

At the moment, my DD ( 11 years old ) is at grade 6 and advanced 1 ballet. She got her pointe shoes at 9 and a half years old. She is a serious dancer and got a place at the royal ballet school this year. She is also grade 5 tap, grade 6 modern and gold jazz. Obviously, she wants to continue with dance and is excited about starting at white lodge.

gosh 9.5 is really young for pointe work. Very exciting to be going to White Lodge, I hope she has fun. my yr6 daughter does ISTD and is in grade 3 ballet, tap and modern but she only does 1hr of each a week and doesn't plan to be a dancer

Age 11 and Advanced 1? How did she manage that then? How old was she when she passed Intermediate?

Please scroll down this for minimum ages of taking the exams:

www.royalacademyofdance.org/achieve/exams/teachers-entry-guide/age-requirements

Of course, you can be working at a high standard without taking the exam, or even the previous few exams yet, but those are the rules.

FWIW, a lot of serious dancers don't take exams or don't take them at the right time but much later. My eldest has only done one exam so far, and went straight into Intermediate.

Rules for the very high-profile and internationally known YAGP competition 2019:

PERFORMING EN POINTE
We are strongly committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all dancers, and especially of our youngest participants. Please make sure that you adhere to the guidelines set forth below:

• For Participants under 12 years of age: performing en pointe is strongly discouraged.
• For Participants under 11 years of age: performing en pointe is prohibited.

This is an organisation which has come under some criticism for allowing very young dancers to compete en pointe in the past, and they have now considerably tightened their rules, with good reason.

I suppose if you are a serious dancer look at the requirements for dancing parts in the shows. You can find these in "The Stage".
I can remember my dd looking to audition for Verucca Salt in C&CF Ages 10 - 12 were auditioned and entrance was grade 5 and above.
Obviously, this was a few years ago now.

Age 11 & Advanced 1 - hmmm she’s going to be thoroughly bored at WL then!

I guess we will be hearing about her very soon. It’s a very small world & if she’s that advanced she’s bound to be discussed.