Exam Survival Guide!
It must be remembered that ballet training is a slow process. There are no rules which dictate that at a certain age a child MUST be at a certain level. Ballet is an art form which places demands not only on the body but on the mental capacity and maturity of all dancers at every level - even professionals. As teachers our role is to ensure that the children enter exams when they are ready and at their best possible chance of doing well. Pushing a child through an exam before they are ready will simply lead to bad marks and then low self-esteem!
How to survive a ballet exam
1. Know your stuff!
In the run up to an exam, the best help you can give your child is getting them to learn the exam syllabus and help them practice. Even if it is simply talking through the exercises after school in the car. The children should know exactly what they are doing - they can get 10 marks for knowing the work.
2. Look the part.
Turn up to the exam in plenty of time (about 30mins prior to the exam) looking the part. If you look good you feel good. Rushing in, tired and in a mess will not help. Ballet is about discipline both in and outside of the classroom whether it is an exam day or not. Hair should be up in a smart bun (see below).
3 Eat well.
Dancers have to be strong and healthy in order to perform. What we do is physically very demanding. Make sure you eat some good food an hour and a half before the exam and drink plenty of water on the day. You don't want to feel full but you do want your body to have fuel.
4. Smile!
A ballet exam is about performing to an examiner. You don't have to be a cheshire cat all the time but enjoying your exercises and dance will help. If you have trouble thinking how to do this, think about something that really excites you and look in the mirror. That wide eyed excitement and pleasure is exactly what we mean by performance. There are 10 marks purely for the enjoyment of dance and performance.
5. Attend all your ballet classes.
As teachers we see real progress in those children who go from attending one class a week to two and a few extra classes in the run up to an exam can really help boost confidence. If your child is serious about dance they should be attending at least 2 classes a week. For Cecchetti Standard exams, a weekly class is generally sufficient to obtain a pass at the lower levels. For all the Cecchetti Grades, it is recommended that candidates attend 2 classes a week at least in the term leading up to the ballet exam. Cecchetti's Grade exams, unlike many ballet exams offered by other organisations, are comprised of a syllabus which is 100% ballet vocabulary. Free movement and character work are not part of the syllabus and whilst HBS teachers incorporate these elements into ballet classes at the school as part of a child's dance learning experience, these aspects are not examined in Grade exams.
6. Don't panic if you go wrong.
We all make mistakes and it doesn't matter if something does not go to plan in the exam room. The examiners do understand that nerves often play a part in taking an exam.
7. Be prepared to dance on your own.
Although you may go in to the examinations in pairs, in grade examinations you will almost certainly be asked to show exercises on your own. This is daunting, especially when you are used to dancing in a class with your friends. It is therefore important that you practice your exercises on your own at home. We will do our best to make sure that you have had this practice in class but get your Mum, Dad or a friend to test you and perform your work to them. They can tell you how you look.
REMEMBER: It doesn't matter how you do as long as you learn from it.
Even the worlds most famous dancers have failed an exam. Margot Fonteyn the Prima Ballerina of the Royal Ballet failed her grade one ballet exam and she became a world renowned ballerina. Failure is not a bad thing as long as you learn from it for the next time. If you do badly or not as well as expected ask yourself why?
What do I need to bring with me?
The correct colour leotard (pink for Primary, blue for older grades) and clean tights. Your ballet shoes - with proper elastics and with the draw strings tucked underneath so they don't show. Skirt: for Primary and Standard 1 children.
Hair What you need for a ballet bun:
A strong hair thick elastic, kirby grips and slightly bigger wavey hair pins (normal size not the extra long ones) a thin bun or hair net which should be either brown or blonde (not the pink old lady slumber nets!), your hair brush, hair spray or gel. (ALL of this equipment are available from Boots or an independent pharmacy).
TOP TIP: Do not wash your hair on the morning of the exam, just wet the hair and towel dry then put it up in a pony tail damp. It will look much smarter and hold together better!
To put hair into a bun:
1. Put the hair up in a pony tail
2. Wrap the hair around in a circle so that it creates a donut shape around the hair elastic.
3. Hold in place with one hand and start to pin into place with the wider wavy hair grips
4. Once it will stay in place without you needing to hold it (normally 4-6 grips) place the bun net over the bun so it looks neat (if using a hair net place over the top and twist and go over the top again)
5. Add additional wavy pins around the bun to make the bun look neat and tidy.
6. With the kirby grips, grip any loose hair i.e at the back of the head, at the sides or at the front.
7. Use lots of hairspray or gel to hold it into place.
8. Smile!
