Royal School of Ballet Exams - is this OTT?

[Tanzie]

DD1 (who is 6) is being entered for the presentation part ONLY of the primary exam. Her teacher is demanding that she (and others taking the exam) have about 10 extra lessons each (at vast expense of course). Having read the leaflet about the exams, it seems to me that there is no pass or fail for this - they just get a certificate for participating, and do very simple stuff that they do in class. Surely weekly lessons should be enough for this - so what am I paying for? Teacher has also said she won't enter children for the exam who do not have the extra lessons as well.

Sorry, advice and expence!

It's [hmmmmmph] years since I did my RAD exams (Ok, then, probably about 37 years since I first did one, and 27 years ince I did my last one), so things may have changed since then, but I don't remember having to take extra lessons - especially for the early ones. (for later ones, ie when I was a teenager, I was doing extra lessons already because I wanted to).

Is the Primary exam before Grade 1? Does it even need to be taken?

I do remember having to get special leotards for the exams, but NOT having to get new shoes.

I think it does sound more like the teacher not having confidence in iether the kids or her own teaching. They are either ready for the exam or not. They shouldn't have to take a load of extra classes at the age - especially at that age. They've got plenty of time to enjoy thier dancing. The exams are only to mark the progress that they have made.

NOt willing to stir things up, it's just plain and innocent curiosity: Why is it so important that a six year old passes a Royal School of Ballet exam? what's in it that made it worthy of the extra expense in terms of time and money or even stress? or even pain once that they start wearing the 'puntas' (what's the name in English for the "advanced" shoes?). Is this like an admision exam? or is just like a 'medal' for the child and her family?

seems over the top to me Tanzie. I did ballet for years (remember pretending to be a horse in my primary exam ??)

We had to take exams in pairs. My partner was really good and went onto do ballet at an art edcational school, but she always used to wet herself in exams

Tanzie-you were told that your dd shouldn't be doing ballet as she's asthmatic????????????

What a load of old rubbish.My sister has had bad asthma all her life & teaches ballet,tap & modern,working 12 hour days most days-it has never affected her ability to dance.What a bizarre thing to say to you.

I accused my DD's dance teacher of being discriminatory about DD's hair for the exam.

She spent ages talking to mums about the correct way to plait and pin their hair and to stick down their fringe and to sew their plaits in to their scalp "nice and tight" then said to DD "well I suppose you better just brush it"

She has short (maybe 1.5 inches) afro hair.....what did she want me to do to it???

DD kept saying I won't pass my exam if my hair isn't in plaits.....she thought it was at least as important as the steps - 'cos of the way her teacher went on about it....

DD still wants to do Ballet - but her teacher wants her to give up and do Jazz - as it's more her style. I stand quietly and say nothing.

I let dd give up ballet when we came up to that first exam stage - extra lessons pre exam - new shoes - all that fuss about hair (false bun in dd's case) - other mums taking it all really seriously. DD did the exam but I had no wish to go through all that palaver again and nor did she!

Wow this is interesting. Probably from my name you can guess I'm a dance teacher so not only do I organise exams and stuff now, but have been through the whole process myself, exams and shows too!
Firstly what is the royal school of ballet exams I've never heard of them. I know there are lots of different exam boards and the most recognised is the rad which some of you have mentioned. Ballet exams are strict and hair needs to perfect and uniform too, although buying new shoes and socks for every exam is over the top. Understandable if they are in bad condition. I think if the kids have had enough lessons in normal class time they should need no where near 10 extra lessons. We have 3 maximum and that is simply because for our exams you have to have a pianist. Its impossible to have one every lesson so the kids need to practice.Our extra lessons are not too earn extra money, they are purely for the benefit of the children. Yes they have to pay but this covers the cost of the pianist and the hire of the hall and they pay about £5 for all three lessons. I have to admit there is reputation to think about, if you want to become an examiner you have to keep the standard up otherwise you've got no chance. Even when I put kids in and know they will pass with flying colours I still worry myself to death and it's not only my name but it's devastating for the kids if they don't pass because believe me it is possible for them not to pass - there are some horrible examiners!. Having said that I do believe ballet should be fun at this age and all ages too and if any kids don't want to do exam they don't have but they all get equally treated no matter what. As for not doing it because of asthma that is complete rubbish. I've got a girl in one of my classes with very bad asthma and she has no probs.
I don't think whether a child wants to go to ballet school or not should have any influence on whether they do it. It is very good for them, it's exercise, it teaches them discipline, I can't think of one child I teach that will ever become a ballet dancer but as long as they enjoy I really don't care. They might decide that eventually they want to go to dance school and dance in musicals, they still need a sound training in ballet. But I realise that 6yrs old maybe a bit young to be thinking about this!! I was never going to be a ballet dancer but am so glad I done it as it helped so much with being a dancer in other dance styles.
The make up thing is so they can be seen on stage and on the video. I used to have to wear it and so do all our kids too. Doing a show does cost a lot of money and not a lot of dance teachers earn much from it. Our kids pay for the price of the costume that we buy it for and they keep it. we try and keep it down to £10 per dance.

Am cross on your behalf, Katiemac, I think you've done very well to keep quiet.

This thread is a real eye opener. I know some extra curricular classes can lead to loads of hassle and questionable costs, but never experienced anything as bad as this.

I am thinking of starting my youngest son on ballet classes - a school near us has a boys ballet class. At least he won't have a hair platting problem.

ballet!!!!!!

its been the bane of my life since Christmas (see other thread).

My boys have done ballet for the last 7 years. They always have extra lessons in the run up to an exam. It is charged in with the exam fee. You can always refuse if you don't want them to do the exam. DS1 decided he couldn't cope with the strain of Grade 4 when DS3 did it last year, but just went up a class with the rest of them afterwards.

The girls class outfit is very strict but the boys are allowed to do what they like. So every year I end up having to spend a small fortune on a leotard, leggings & white ballet shoes that they never wear again & have grown out of before the next year!

Hi dancer77. Thanks for your input. DD's costume for the show was £20.. and we have had to buy new white ballet shoes (she only had pink ones from her previous dances classes when we lived up North.)..and the tickets for the show have crippled us financially somewhat! I do understnad the need for make up.. it's the mascara really.. and the RED lipstick and PURPLE eyeshadow! And to be honest, I think the expense of it all is a bit beyond us (our fmaily is on disability benefits only for the forseeable future unfortunately.) And I feel guilty because DD does love to dance..

SJ x

goodness, the more I hear about ballet classes the less I like!! I though football parents had it hard, all that standing around
shivering, but this sounds far worse.

tallulah, you seem a person to ask about boys ballet, so if my son goes to classes, I'll be back if that's ok.

sleepyjess, situations like yours make me really cross on your behalf. If your child really liket the activity, it makes you feel so guilty. But IME some of these afterschool classes demand so much time, money and effort from parents, and this isn't always clear when you first join. You get sucked into it.

My oldest son is learning the tenor horn. This term alone the lessons and exam fees will cost us £100 and I am faced with having to take three mornings off work to take him to rehearsals. And that's not half as bad as some of the stories I have read here. At least ds is on the waiting list for cheaper, better-sounding council-funded music lessons and should start these soon. Is there anything like this for ballet in your area? could be worth phoning your council to see. I did not know about our council-run lessons until someone gave me a flyer about them.

dd's ballet teacher is an ex ballerina and actress who has taught for 30 years - she is totally fabulous in every way: never shouts at the girls, is an excellent teacher, makes it fun (but is the right amount of strict too) and has a great relationship with all the mums. We are very lucky to have found her and dd, now aged 8, has loved every minute of her 3 years with her. (dd went to less formal lessons from 3 - 5 years old).dd also does tap there. There is also a great assistant who was a professional dancer and she does week-long workshops culminating in a little performance for the parents every Easter and Summer school hols. Dd has been in one big show at a local theatre which was a marvel of planning and rehearsing - its amazing what goes on behind the scenes in terms of the hard work by the teachers. There are a few pushy mums, funnily enough they are the ones whose daughters haven't a snowballs chance of becoming professional later,sorry to be so bitchy but it is true Most of us are just happy that our daughters like doing something which is great exercise mentally and physically.

sleepyjess have you spoken to the teacher about your situation? Because I know that if anyone came to us and was having diffuculty financially we would always find a way of working something. I think it really is luck with the school you go to and the teachers involved. there are some excellent schools out there but equally there are some bad ones too.Sometimes its worth looking around trying some classes and find a teacher that suits you. I'd hate it if all my kids mums didn't like me! I would speak to the teacher sj and see if you can pay things in installments. We always give a lot of notice of costume fees etc and so parents can just pay £1 a week leading up to the show and that doesn't notice so much. diffferent colour ballet shoes is a bit much unless they are going to be part of uniform after the show i think.

My dd2 is taking her pre-primary exam tomorrow. We had one extra lesson this morning (which we haven't been charged for), which was so they could get used to the place where the exam is, and also get used to being with a pianist, as they normally have a CD.

This level doesn't seem too strict - we had to have the right outfit, but not new anything (although would have bought new if anything looked too scruffy). Hair is pony tail with pink ribbon, so not too much stress, although dd2 has real problems with having her hair done, so may be worse at the next level.

As far as I understand it, they don't get a grade at this level, just a certificate. I can't believe that they would fail anyone at 5 years old, so haven't even considered that - can anyone tell me if I am deluding myself? Anyway, hopefully that won't be a problem, as dh took dd today and said that she was the best in the group by miles (hmmmm, he may be biased )

The main thing that has bugged me about this exam is that it takes place in school time, so dd has had to have the afternoon off - I really don't understand why it can't be arranged around school times.

I have known of children that have failed at this age (not through personal experience though), however any teacher that is doing their job properly would never let a child take an exam if they even slightly thought the wouldn't pass. Sounds like you've got a decent teacher and your dd knows what she is doing so don't worry. I think it would have to be exceptional circumstances for a child of this age to not pass. Something like they got in the exam room and didn't do any dancing. As long as they do what they are supposed then they will pass!

Emsiewill is your dd doing rad because the school I teach at follows the rad ballet syllabus and I know that a lot of the time the exams are during school time. I don't know why because I didn't train as an rad ballet teacher, but I know that it is not down to the teacher to decide it is up to the rad and when an examiner can get to you. We also do idta syllabus for tap and modern and these exams are never in school time either evenings, weekends or school holidays.

Tigermoth, feel free!

My Dd1 (7) does classical ballet once a week, taught by a Royal Academy of Dance teacher. The teacher is absolutly fantastic and the kids all love her.

One of the reasons i chose the group was because there are no performances. A previous group that dd attended had stupid costume costs, video costs, ticket costs etc for the yearly shows and i just could not afford it.

Dd has a 45 minute lesson each saturday and i pay 33 pounds a term, which is about 11/12 lessons. In the last lesson of each term the parents are allowed in to watch the lesson and see their childs progress.

Dd did her pre primary exam about 18mths ago and i only had to pay for one extra lesson and the exam fee.

Dd now has her primary exam on wednesday and i have paid 23 pounds for the exam and the extra lesson.

I think what some of them charge for shows and stuff isn't on.

Dd doesn't have to have new shoes or new socks but i do usually get new socks as they look tidier.

Last tiume she had to have her hair in plaits going up the sides and over the top of her head, have told her to ask today what she has to have for wednesday (she's at practice now).

Dp thinks it is all a waste of money, I and the ballet teacher think Dd is very good at ballet and so until she wishes to stop i will pay for her to go as far as she wants with it.

Good luck to your dd for Wednesday Nutcracker

nutcracker - your dd's ballet school sounds exactly like the one my dd attends. It's fun, i don't expect her to become a prima ballerina, i expect her to have fun until it is no longer fun then give it up and do something else in the same way as she would do brownies or gymnastics or art club.

Chandra - in answer to your question, it's not important that a 6 year old passes exams. I did think twice before putting my DD in for her first one. I don't want to put pressure on her or be a pushy mum! She in fact begged me to let her do as all her friends were doing it so she did it and loved it. As soon as the experience brings on tears and tantrums it will be time to stop!

Actually quietly glad today that I have a boy...

Thanks Kbear, I agree with you, as soon as it becomes stressful for the child it should stop. I guess this age should be focused in fun rather than in being serious about exercise and achievement. I went to ballet classes for 3 yrs and there was no Christmas during that time that I didn't ask my mother to get me out of the clases as a Christmas gift. Curiously enough, the only time my mother considered removing us from the mean prescence of the perfectionist teacher was when she asked my mum to put my sister (then 8) on a diet as she was fat to be in a festival. I remeber she told her that we were there for fun (although I really don't think we were having it), that we were never going to be "professional ballerinas". I really don't know what shocked me more if my mother thinking we were enjoying such torment or the realisation that our efforts were futile as she had already decided we had no future as dancers. Anyways, I guess my mum was so persistent on continuing for the single reason that those 4 hrs of dancing class a week was the only time she had for herself (we were a rather big family of girls .

I can't believe some of these dancing schools - my dd started dancing last year (aged 3), I pay £3 per week for a lesson in ballet and tap. She doesn't have to take exams if she doesn't want to, likewise performing in shows - it's up to us. The kids who take exams wear a different uniform to the ones who don't but it doesn't have to be bought new, most of the things can be bought second hand through the school if you don't want to pay for new. My dd had new leotard and tights but second hand tap and ballet shoes, and skirt. She is performing in her first show in a couple of weeks, the school asks us to pay for 1 costume only (even if they're in more than one number) and it won't cost more than £9. The tickets cost £5 (£4 kids/OAPs) After reading all this I think I'm getting off lightly!!