Grade 1 ballet exam - ISTD

[Socksey]

Hi
My DS is getting ready to do his Grade 1 ballet exam in July.
He has an excellent teacher and they have a few extra preparation classes in the next few weeks as she doesn't spend her time focusing on exams all through the year and only puts them in for an exam if she thinks they're ready... so for some it'll be a year and others maybe longer... anyway... not the point of this post.
At that level, what is the examiner looking for? My DS is hoping to be at the top end of merit and possibly into a distinction ... and so he's practicing at home... his idea, not mine... an he wants to be as good as he can be... any ideas to help/encourage him in the right direction

in ISTD they have to think on their feet a bit so it isn't just a case of learning the steps but in the exam the examiner can say "I want you to do 4xs and then 4ys then 4 xs then a z" so they need to be very sure they know what the individual steps are. Grade 1 they are normally still very nice to them I think though so quite possibly will give a lot more guidance. He needs to know his dance, if they forget the dance then they will lose 10 marks (the dance is worth 10 marks and I was told that they have to complete it to be marked on it so if they forget it half way through then they won't be marked. not sure they would be that harsh in grade 1 but...). otherwise they want toe point/foot point so from the ankle not just the actual toes if that makes sense and turn out. Otherwise at that age it is still all about getting experience and they should be enjoying it. has he taken any exams before? mine started with preprimary then primary then grade 1 so had exam experience before it (and they do other dance styles so when DD1 took grade 1 she had already taken 7 dance exams).

oh and a smile, don't underestimate how much a smile helps. We have had distinctions here for all ISTD exams between the two girls, in fact all their marks have been in the 90s except 3 of the 5 ballet exams they have done between them which have been high 80s.

I don't think they have to make up things like that in Grade 1 - from memory that comes later.
They have specific things that they mark on in the exams - things like rhythm, performance, technique - so little things like smiling can make a difference.
My DD has done loads of dance exams with ISTD, including ballet, and all the examiners have been lovely. At that stage they will do most things (if not all) as a little group, and I think their teacher still goes in with them, but check that. The examiner will often let them 'practice' something before the actual 'performance', and if something goes a bit wrong, they often let them have another go at it.

That's great.
Thanks.... he's done medal tests in ballroom and Latin and he did do his preprimary with RAD before but this is new and so was looking for guidance.
Thanks again

ours had to do it in grade 1, she came up with it on the spot in the exam and they had to do it, it is on the mark scheme too. They also had to do most things individually, my girls did some things in pairs in preprimary and primary but have done individual work in all the exams, sometimes the pair do it together and then individually, sometimes just individually, sometimes one then the other then the first then the second (in one exercise if that makes sense). teachers can only go in for preprimary with ISTD. And yes they can have another go if they get it wrong but they will lose marks for it.

if he has done other exams then he will be fine, I think they just take it in their stride really.

The mark breakdown is the same for grades 1/2/3 and is as follows (I have just typed it off my daughter's sheet)

Technique
Barre 10 marks
Port de bras throughout the exam 10 marks
Adage 10 marks
Allegro 10 marks
Co-ordination of movement 10 marks

Presentation, musicality and response
artistry 10 marks
rhythmic awareness and quality of movement 10 marks
sense of timing and music section 10 marks
response to free work, syllabus knowledge and theory 10 marks

performance
dance/variation 10 marks

total 100 marks

Thanks for the marks breakdown.. .. that's really helpful.

ISTD contains free work (new sequences but containing only known steps from the syllabus) from grade 1. It's the main difference between it and RAD (all set exercises to a much higher grade, but with a focus on perfection of those exercises).

It may help him to think of it as 'a bit like a lesson - the examiner will give you some steps that you know to dance to the music, just like your teacher does'.