All About Ballet

[Porky Pig]

Oh My Gosh:

phtthp:

grade 5 ballet : must be twice a week, Whole year, round ?


no more once a week (except 6 months, before RAD exam) ?

Depends on the dance school.

How old are the girls in Grade 5 ballet?

[prizkar]

Hi Mommies,


My DD will be turning 6 this year and has enrolled her to a dance school under CSTD system only this year Jan. Recently I have read up and seemed that RAD is more recognized in Singapore. Just wonder if any mommies here send your DD to learn both types?

Thanks.

[love1001]

Porky Pig:

Oh My Gosh:

[quote=\"phtthp\"]grade 5 ballet : must be twice a week, Whole year, round ?


no more once a week (except 6 months, before RAD exam) ?

Depends on the dance school.

How old are the girls in Grade 5 ballet?[/quote]Grade 5 exam - Year turning 11, P5
Grade 4 exam - Year turning 10, P4
However, in my DD's class, there are a few girls 1 year older than her.

[kim000]

Hi parents,


My gal just turned 2.5yo last month. She is interested in ballet and whenever we passed by Music & Ballet Company in 112 Katong, she seems keen. Does anyone has reviews on them? I seen past poor reviews in the forum but those were a few years back. Just wondering if there are recent reviews on them, thanks in advance! And of course, if you have recommendations for ballet lessons for 2.5yo in Marine Parade/Katong, do voice out too

[xuanting]

prizkar:

Hi Mommies,


My DD will be turning 6 this year and has enrolled her to a dance school under CSTD system only this year Jan. Recently I have read up and seemed that RAD is more recognized in Singapore. Just wonder if any mommies here send your DD to learn both types?

Thanks.

Hi prizkar,

Here's a useful summary someone did a while back. I found it very helpful while I was deciding on a school. My daughter did some trial classes for both and liked the RAD better. She found the CSTD class a bit too jazzy (very little barre work, lots of \"skipping around\" with Disney music). But that's just her personal preference. Perhaps you might want to let your daughter take a trial class for RAD before deciding if you want to sign up for both?

neorenjie:

As the owner of a dance school, maybe I can share some perspective that some parents may not see. For the record, our dance instructors are both RAD and CSTD qualified and we are running CSTD syllabus for our students. I will answer some of the most frequent questions from parents and then followed by my reasons for choosing CSTD over RAD.

I am sure many parents come across this problem and they receive different opinions from different schools. Here are some questions that have been asked frequently by parents.

Which syllabus is better?
Better in terms of what? Both are very established syllabus, you have to know what you want to compare.

Which syllabus is easier to get a job?
Some schools are offering CSTD while some are offering RAD. If you are keen to become a dance instructor as a career, you should get both. Start with either RAD or CSTD and subsequently cross over to the other syllabus when you are in advance level. Knowing more genres of dance, for example Jazz and Tap, will make you more employable as well.

I want my child to get into SOTA. Which syllabus should I choose?
SOTA recognizes both CSTD and RAD syllabus. Your child needs to be Grade 5 in either syllabus in order to qualify for the interview. In short, the syllabus makes no difference.

A better portfolio would help her. Take up more genres of dance, for example Jazz and Tap. Participate in more performances and competitions. You might want to choose a school that offers more genre of dance so that it is easier for you to bring her around. Most schools running CSTD ballet courses should have Jazz and Tap. Some schools offering RAD ballet may offer CSTD Jazz and Tap as well. You will have to do your own research.

I want a syllabus that can help my child in her school. For example, DSA.
Build up her portfolio. Look above.

I want my child to have performing opportunity. Which syllabus should I choose?
It depends on the school. Performing opportunities are not tied to the syllabus. A good dance school will organize concerts for students to gain performing experience. Find out how frequent the school organizes performances for its students and who are the students that can perform. Some schools allow everyone to perform while some only cater to a group of 'better' dancers.

I want my child to have competition opportunity. Which syllabus should I choose?
RAD organizes the Genée International Ballet Competition every year, it is open to RAD students around the world. The competition is hosted by different countries around the world, some countries that have hosted are England, USA, Belgium, Scotland, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and Australia.

CSTD organizes the CSTD Singapore Dance Competition and Asia Pacific Dance Competition (APDC) every year. The competitions are open to all CSTD students. The Singapore Dance Competition is held in Singapore every year. APDC is hosted by participating countries in the Asia Pacific region, some countries that have hosted are Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Philippines.

If you want your child to have more competition opportunities, CSTD may suit you better. Although the RAD competition being worldwide is more prestigious, CSTD competitions are more affordable as you do not have to travel across the globe to participate. Therefore, it is also the most contested dance competition by Singaporeans. If you like overseas competitions, you can also participate in APDC which should be relatively cheaper as it will be hosted by countries in the Asia Pacific region. Make sure to find out if the dance school that you are joining will provide your child with competition opportunities.

Why do some schools choose RAD and some choose CSTD?
For RAD, there could be many reasons. RAD has been around for a longer period while CSTD is a relatively new syllabus. A lot of the older dance instructors are RAD trained, they teach RAD simply because the teachers are not CSTD certified. There are also some that still hold the thought that RAD being around for a longer period means that it is more prestigious and therefore better. Another common reason is that RAD is stricter and more technical as compared to CSTD which emphasizes more on performing. Hence, they often say that if you want to learn proper ballet you have to learn RAD.

For CSTD, some schools choose it because it is more 'fun' and it gives the students a better and more complete dance experience. There are more genres such as Jazz and Tap and also more opportunities for competitions. Some schools take the 'best of both world' approach by running RAD Ballet and CSTD Jazz, but most school choose just one syllabus as it is not easy managing the schedule of 2 syllabus as the exams and coaching dates are different.

A lot of schools that choose CSTD sees the value that competition brings to the students and the school. Students have more events to look forward to in a calendar year and it will keep them excited throughout. Participating and winning competition is good for a student's portfolio and serves as a good motivation. Schools also want to participate in competitions because it helps to build their credentials when their students win competitions. CSTD competitions are more attractive to dance schools than RAD because they are more 'winnable' as they are smaller scale (local & regional) and have more categories (age, genre, solo/group) and hence more prizes to be won.

Since RAD is more technical and more prestigious, are RAD students better dancers?
Even though RAD may be more prestigious, the students may not necessarily be better dancers. How good they become depends on what kind of exposure they get from the school, how good the teachers are, and of course the child's learning attitude. RAD focuses on technique more while CSTD focuses on showmanship more, but that does not mean RAD do not bother about showmanship and CSTD does not care about techniques. In fact, a good dancer needs both. If you want your child to be a good dancer, then my advise would be to not make a decision simply by whether the school is offering RAD or CSTD.

How should I choose a dance school for my child?
If you feel lazy often or if you find it hard to commit to a school that is far away, just bring her to the dance school nearest to your home. But since you are reading this, I suppose you want more for your child. My advise would be to first understand what do you want to get out of this enrichment. If you are looking for better career prospects, both syllabus are the same and you should get both in the long term. If you want to look for something to help your child in DSA or to enter SOTA, look for a school that offers more activities to build up her portfolio. If you want fun, a school with more activities should be more fun.

How does your school plan its courses?
We offer CSTD from pre-grades to major grades and RAD major grades. This is so that our students can have a better learning experience from CSTD but still get both certificates if they are keen to pursue higher grades. We cross over at higher grades, reason being if they do not get to the higher grades then they are not going to use the certificates. If they do not use, then it does not matter whether it is CSTD or RAD.

We hire teachers that are both RAD and CSTD certified so that these teachers have the knowledge and experience of both syllabus to focus on both technique and showmanship to train our students to become better dancers. We keep our students excited about dance by planning activities throughout the year. Apart from the yearly examinations, performances and competitions, we build bonding with our students and parents by organizing gatherings, parties and overseas trips to keep the students interested. Some students quit not because they do not like dancing, they quit because they do not like the environment.

[Oh My Gosh]

Porky Pig:

Oh My Gosh:

[quote=\"phtthp\"]grade 5 ballet : must be twice a week, Whole year, round ?


no more once a week (except 6 months, before RAD exam) ?

Depends on the dance school.

How old are the girls in Grade 5 ballet?[/quote]Porky Pig, the age of girls in various ballet levels differs based on when they started learning and their learning abilities. However, it is worth noting that in 2013, RAD impose a minimum age of 7 (as of 1 Jan) of the year they are taking Grade 1 exams. In that regard, means Grade 1 is taken by Primary 2 girls, Grade 2 by Primary 3 girls etc. However, when the minimum age is being imposed, there are girls who are younger and allowed to skip/ did not take Grade 1 exam and advance.

Hence:
Grade 5 - Going forward, minimum age Primary 6 girls (but there are Primary 5 girls which skip and advance)

Hope above clarifies.

[Oh My Gosh]

kim000:

Hi parents,


My gal just turned 2.5yo last month. She is interested in ballet and whenever we passed by Music & Ballet Company in 112 Katong, she seems keen. Does anyone has reviews on them? I seen past poor reviews in the forum but those were a few years back. Just wondering if there are recent reviews on them, thanks in advance! And of course, if you have recommendations for ballet lessons for 2.5yo in Marine Parade/Katong, do voice out too

Try Crestar

[Junangie]

girls doing at sba… we live at admiralty and neighbour doing ballet at step up dance i think at yishun. if you interested in rhythmic gym pm me(:

[prizkar]

xuanting:

prizkar:

Hi Mommies,


My DD will be turning 6 this year and has enrolled her to a dance school under CSTD system only this year Jan. Recently I have read up and seemed that RAD is more recognized in Singapore. Just wonder if any mommies here send your DD to learn both types?

Thanks.

Hi prizkar,

Here's a useful summary someone did a while back. I found it very helpful while I was deciding on a school. My daughter did some trial classes for both and liked the RAD better. She found the CSTD class a bit too jazzy (very little barre work, lots of \"skipping around\" with Disney music). But that's just her personal preference. Perhaps you might want to let your daughter take a trial class for RAD before deciding if you want to sign up for both?

Thanks xuanting.

It was a good read. Appreciate your sharing.

[Porky Pig]

Can I just checked whether we have to take all exams or is it ok to skip grades?