Exams: Why Put Yourself Through One?

I joked that I would start this post “Never, never again!” and yet, having reassured Lyn that I wouldn’t, I find it an appropriate beginning. Yes, “never, never again”, but do I regret taking the RAD Intermediate exam last year? Definitely not!

Many adult dancers are quite happy to go to class, burn some calories, learn something new and then go home, whilst others have already taken exams as children. To the dancers who are quite content with that, I say “Fair enough” and “As you were”, but to those who have discovered they are a little bit in love with their classes and would like to have a better idea of where they are in the grand dance scheme, I would suggest you consider taking an exam.

The Difficulty of Adult Dance Classes

Particularly relevant to those who only began their foray into the dance world as adults is the fact at that it is very difficult to know what level we are at after attending classes for a while.

Those who danced as children will probably have an idea as to when students started focusing more on, say, pirouettes or extension, but as adults we’re often bombarded with snippets from several different grades—our brains are (supposedly) better able to cope with the more technical aspect of a movement and there’s probably already a fairly good understanding of rhythm and timing of music. Apparently we’re also better at taking instruction, though I’m not convinced this can be applied to everyone.

So suddenly months have gone by and we find ourselves wondering if we might pick up a second class. The websites say “Beginners, improvers and advanced classes available”, but just what level are we? If we were progressing through exam grades we’d have a fairly good idea, but as there isn’t any sort of syllabus level for classes, it’s hard to know just how far we’ve come on this foray.

Taking an exam is a great way to find out and, perhaps more importantly, you will learn a lot.

The first exam I took was the RAD Grade 5** ballet exam. Let’s just ignore the fact that most people do this between the ages of 9 and 14, shall we. Let’s instead focus on the fact that I wanted to find a place in which to put myself and the Grade 5 offered a relatively challenging syllabus for someone with three years’ experience.  

The Benefits of Learning an Exam Syllabus

There are many advantages to learning an exam syllabus, but by way of an illustration of my main argument, have a look at the content of the Intermediate ballet exam:

There’s rather a lot, isn’t there? And what is listed is only really a summary as each exercise, from pliés to the solo variations, will contain:

• basic technique—point those toes! Straighten those legs! Epaulement!
• linking steps—glissade, pas de bourrée
• the feature of the exercise—double pirouettes, grand jeté, musicality.  

In effect, that long list is actually ten times longer.

And you will work through that list, point by point, looking at the minutiae of every single movement in every single exercise, repeatedly for months on end.

It is a very definite way of not only fine tuning the very basics, but learning new things and hopefully getting to grips with complicated series of steps at different tempos.

If you really want to know a style of dance and gain confidence in your knowledge and performance abilities, taking an exam is a very good, albeit mildly terrifying, thing to do.

** There's No Shame in Lower Grades

So the Grade 5 exam—I was in my early thirties and I will admit, without shame, it was difficult. The syllabus involved not only the barre work, but also character dancing (in flouncy skirts and heeled shoes, no less) and a solo variation. This solo had to be performed in front of the examiner and the other exam candidates. No pressure, then.

Yes, there were some exercises that were less challenging than others, but on the whole, it provided the opportunity to fine tune and learn something new. It also gave me the chance to see how an exam was structured and experience an exam setting with slightly less pressure than, say, one with pointe work.

The moral of that ramble is: if your teacher suggests taking one of the lower grades, do not turn your nose up at it. There is so much to learn and you will benefit from it in more ways than one.

Fast forward another four years and I was summing up the courage to take the RAD Intermediate. As you’ve seen, this did present new challenges such as pointe work, double pirouettes, an exercise with seven pose turns in a row (that does not end with a graceful face-plant) and free enchainements. It was, as expected, much more difficult and required much more work in the lead up to it. However, thanks to the Grade 5 exam, I was less intimidated by the prospect of the exam environment.

Setting your sites on a vocational exam is absolutely achievable, but one or more of the lower grades is excellent preparation and experience.

Useful Things Learnt Along the Way

As seems to be the usual trend of these posts, I did pick up some useful tips on the way.

The music, the syllabus guide and the DVD

The RAD provides access to not only the music but also a book containing the full choreography of the syllabus and a DVD or app of a sickeningly good Elmhurst School of Dance student demonstrating all the exercises in the exam. It is worth investing in one or all of these. Whilst initially one class a week will be sufficient as you learn the syllabus (and the book is very helpful here), in the run up to the exam practising at home as much as possible is advised.

Another point on music: pianists are usually hired to play in the exam. Your teacher will most likely ensure that you have a few classes with the live music before the big day as the tempo is very different to the recorded versions. Try not to miss these classes. When the nerves kick in, it’s very difficult to properly hear the music and dance to it, thus it is much better to ensure that the live music sounds familiar and you’re not thrown by the change in pace.

Practice in front of other people

There were five of us in the exam class last year and after two years (gasp!) of working with everyone I was still utterly terrified by performing my solo variation in front of them all. I’m sure not everyone is as pathetic as I am, but even if you are, swallow those fears and do it.

Having subjected myself to the horror of performing it at class, I also subjected my colleagues to the horror of performing it for them in an empty office. (Thankfully no one went blind.) By the time the exam arrived performing the solo was almost (ALMOST) old hat.

Have a look at the exam breakdown

Again, your teacher will most likely be on the case and will provide you with the breakdown of points for each exercise. It is worth taking the time to go through these carefully.

First of all, it will help you decide which pieces really need that extra focus. For example, if the barre work in its entirety is only worth 10 points, whilst the adage is worth 20, is there any sense in wasting valuable class time on those wretched battement frappés when the timing for the adage still needs tweaking?

Second, you might find, as I did, that there is an exercise that bothers you and you dread it each and every time you get to it. It was the pirouettes for me and the spectre of them grew and grew in my head until I’d lose sleep thinking about them. We then looked at the points and discovered that they weren’t worth as much as we had thought. Even if I landed on my backside at every single attempt and ended with a zero against ‘Pirouettes’, I could still pass.

Thus, knowing my pirouettes would not be 100% amazing by the day of the exam, I decided to accept that and instead focus on things I was stronger at, such as the port de bras or the performance of the adage.

So if you find that your strengths may not lie in one particular area, do not get bogged down by it and do not give up! Study the breakdown and be strategic about where you can make up points and where you can really demonstrate your artistry.

The Leotard Conundrum

If you’re anything like me, the notion of prancing about in a leotard and tights only is extremely off-putting. Although I am not sure about other examination bodies, the RAD does not allow exam participants to wear skirts of any sort into the exam. Suddenly the horror of the exam has doubled, hasn’t it?

As touched on in a blog of yesteryear, I have not been blessed with a huge amount of body confidence and, although it has been ballet that has successfully encouraged an inkling of some confidence, I still loathe the idea of anything that is particularly revealing of legs, so I am nodding sympathetically at your conundrum.

But, after the nodding, you’re now going to get a bit of tough love. The exam is an hour and a half, at most, of your life, you can wear a skirt, tracksuit pants or a dress right up until you go into the room and you can apply said clothing of choice right after you leave. Not being able to wear a skirt is not a reason not to take an exam. The examiner will not be looking at your thighs—he or she will be watching you dance. Concentrate on that and not what you’re wearing.

Pre-exam with skirt and a mask of calm hiding The Fear.

One Year Later

Now that The Trauma is over (it’s been more than a year, Frances, it’s time to get over the shock), I am so glad that I’ve done it. Not only do I have a rather classy RAD certificate to hang on my wall (signed by a rather notable lady and with a shiny certification logo to boot), but I have learnt so much and my confidence has grown.

In a class just the other day, the teacher threw brisés into an exercise. There were some looks of concern from some of the dancers. Now, it’s not at all unusual for me to stand in the corner of that class and scratch my head, but this time there was no need. The end of the second allegro of the RAD Intermediate exam is as follows:

“Sissonne devant; sissonne derrière; sissonne over; sissonne over; brisé, brisé!”

“Brisé,” I thought. “I’ve got this.”