My daughter is 11 and has been taking ballet (as well as jazz and tap) for 5 years. This is her 6th dance year , as they do not count the 3 years of preschool. She does very well in her classes and dances a level higher in jazz and tap than her peers. Ballet, however, is a concern for myself and a couple other moms. In the past , it has not been a strong technical ballet school, and ballet has not been stressed as a primary dance and so other dancers have not taken it the whole wsy through their dance training. The result is that beginners have been placed in our daughters' ballet class almost every single year for the past 3 years as girls decide they would like to try ballet (either because they want to go into lyrical or do a solo). As a result, the group as a whole is always dancing at a level lower than my daughter and the other couple...some years 2 levels. This year there is a whole new crop of 2 year students being added to the class. But they are not 2nd years who have danced since they were little...these are 11 and 12 year olds who only started dancing anything last year. We have a new ballet teacher who started last year and is amazing. I have heard from other moms who had last year that their DD's were focused and improved over the course of the year. The former teacher has not returned and this new teacher has all of the ballet students this year. This new blended class is a level 4/5 RAD class. My question is this: Assuming that this teacher is as awesome as I have heard, is it possible that she will be able to bring this class up to a grade 5 level by the end of the year? Can the 2nd year girls' techique and turn-out develop that fast or will my daughter waste yet another ballet year waiting for the others to "catch up"? Keep in mind that they are only taking one 45minutes class per week.Thanks!

Probably not- I would generally assume that if your daughter is too good for the class, the teacher would move her up. Ballet is a very technical art form, and it takes a well trained eye to truly see if a dancer is doing things correctly. Maybe have a discussion with her teacher on what she needs to work on.

That being said, placing girls in an RAD 4/5 class who are 11 and have only been dancing for 2 years (and the ballet class is only 45 mins) seems a little bit extreme, there is still a lot to learn before going straight into grade 5 for ballet. Why are they not in a lower class?

As awesome as a teacher may be, there is not a whole lot that can be done in 45 mins. Improvement, yes, and if the girls listen closely they can gather a lot of information but I would think an 11 year old that has been dancing for 2 years would have to work very hard outside of class to reach grade 5 standard in a matter of months.

Sorry if that sounded a little rough, just being honest with you. Good luck with it all!!

This teacher has never taught my daughter and they have only taken 1 class. There are 2 classes of 4/5 right now. The first has an average age of 10(there are 9 year old in that class) and the 2nd is my daughter's with an average age of 12. The next class up is a Junior 2 class with an average age of 16 and 1 other up from that with an average age of 18. As for the 2nd year girls, the only other class they could be is with the 8 year olds. There is no "intermediate" class so we have 3 dancers "stuck" because they are not the "right" age. Until this year , ballet has been all over the place for this school. They seem to want to group ages together, rather than skill or years of dance, probably because it a recreational school that competes only locally. I have considered taking her to another school for ballet, but my DD is reluctant to go. The other 2 moms and I are frustrated that our daughters are in this position, but what are we to do...besides move?

To make something clear: it is possible that a 10-year old who never danced before, in short term can reach the same level or even a higher level than a girl who danced since she was 2. It is possible that a child after one year of training has a higher level than a girl with 5 years of training. And it is possible to be excellent in jazz and rubbish in ballet (just an example).
This has several reasons. Among others: the intensity and quality of the training, the learning and development skills of the student.
It's the same as after high school. Everybody had the same number of years of school, some can go to university, some don't make a chance. It's not different in dance.

Second: I can't take a 45 minute class on a 4/5 level serious. If she only had 45 minute classes for all her ballet training over the years, I expect her to be at a 2/3 level. Simply because no teacher could have done all the 'steps' in so little time. Even if she is doing 4/5 level steps, her execution can hardly be as required/expected on a 4/5 level.
Has she been tested? Did she do exams? Or is the school only using the syllabus?
It sounds to me like your daughter didn't have much quality training in ballet untill now.

Third: Putting kids together is often a necessity to keep classes going. Putting the same levels together is only an option if you can create decent groups with them. Putting ages together is the next step to make classes financially able.
When parents demand for level classes, they should also be willing to take the consequences of that when the group is too small to cover the costs. When parents are willing to pay the costs of the teacher/room/heating/administration/etc to give their kids the class that fits best, any SO is willing to plan such a class. But be prepared to pay a double tuition or more.

Fourth: Students always have to get used to a new teacher, and the teacher needs to get used to her students. That takes some weeks, for both sides. During these weeks the teacher can see what the basic skills are, what needs to be worked on. Tell the new teacher that you would like to get an evaluation of your daughter in a couple of weeks time. You want to know on what level she can work, you want to know were she can be in a couple of years.

And yes, sometimes it is better to downgrade for a year to get the basics well, than to continue on a level but doing everything 'not right'. A very good thing for an advanced dancer, is to do lower level classes. To be reminded of the importance of details, and to develop the skills needed for the higher level (when you have been there, you know why the execution of a simple step is so important, students become more passioned to get it right this time).

Do not discuss other kids in her class, because that is no issue for you or your daughter. IF it is for the teacher (because due to that she can't give the quality classes she wants) SHE has to discuss this with the SO.
It depends on how much the level vary, but it is possible to give a more advanced student a more advanced training in a lower level class, with some extra comments and assignments. It is not always possible, but it is up to the teacher to decide if she can and wants to handle this or not.

Thank you for all your great advice! We had suspected that our daughter's were not receiving the quality training that the years in ballet should suggest. Possibly because of all the beginners that continue to flow in and the teacher having to "re-teach" the basics year after year. And we suspect that time is an issue as previously the ballet classes were an hour in length. Hopefully, the new teacher will correct what has not been taught in the past. We will talk to her and see where she hopes this group will go in the future.

As is the case in many, many studios where there is a mix of dance styles being taught on a level not intended to become professionals, there is usually not enough students in ballet to warrant specific levels for each group moving up per year. They probably offer ballet in the hopes to improves their general technique in whatever other style they are learning.
That said, 45 minutes for an 11/12 year old? No matter who the teacher is or the fact the=at there are new girls in the class (I understood this to be your concern?) then it really doesn't mater. They can study 30 years at 45 minutes and will not progress farther than a beginning level.
It is not just steps, it is the repetition of correct alignment over a period of time that builds ballet technique.
Should the studio not be ballet to offer more levels or longer time, I am assuming it is because there is little interest, so what can they feasibly do?
Even 1 hour per week is nothing except for a hobby then ok. But if you are looking for more training then do they offer other levels? Do they offer more times per week of the same level (this is KEY in training, not how many lessons or classes, but the same level repeated per week at least 3X to get a good basics).
Adding new girls to the same level whether they have been dancing 6 years or 0 years to a 45 minute class makes not one iota of difference.
Look at what her goals are in dance, or goals in ballet? Then talk to the teacher or director. Then see if there are other options for a more regular class of 90 minutes. Can you go to a ballet school for an assessment?

HTH!

Where I live there is a dance studio, a very good dance studio, who is also offering 2 45 minute classes a week to it's RAD grade students. Personally I wouldn't do it, I find that an hour is a push at the grade 4 and 5 level, but this lady always gets very good results and has been teaching RAD grades for years.
You need to discuss your concerns with your teacher, or studio owner, all we can give you is very sketchy advice as we don't know the students and every teacher has a different style of teaching.

hummingbird wrote:

Where I live there is a dance studio, a very good dance studio, who is also offering 2 45 minute classes a week to it's RAD grade students. Personally I wouldn't do it, I find that an hour is a push at the grade 4 and 5 level, but this lady always gets very good results and has been teaching RAD grades for years.
You need to discuss your concerns with your teacher, or studio owner, all we can give you is very sketchy advice as we don't know the students and every teacher has a different style of teaching.

^This

I don't have anything to say about a teacher or studio I don't know personally, not my intention.
But I really have never heard of a 45 min. class for anyone old than 6 or 7.
Best advice is to talk to the child's teacher. We're all coming from different viewpoints and cannot give you advice without knowing the situation in real-life.
Best of luck!

I just want to say that I agree with the other poster's comments. One 45 min ballet class each week is not enough to properly train and progress. Parts of the class have to be getting left out or quickly glossed over each week. Also repetition is HUGE in training. So someone who only practices once a week will progress much slower than someone who practices more often. There is nothing wrong with taking a once a week class, but it should be made clear that it is for recreational purposes only and not for training as a career in dance.

So...my advice would be this: If your daughter believes that she may want to be a dancer or may want to push her potential to the limits (even if she doesn't plan to dance professionally after high school) she needs to take more than one 45 min ballet class each week. Maybe she could continue the class at her current studio and also take a couple of additional ballet classes somewhere else?

I also understand that it can be frustrating to have new, older beginner students introduced each year to a class when the others have been dancing together for several years. It can be frustrating for the teacher as well. As someone mentioned, this usually happens in recreational studios unless there are enough of the new/older beginners to create a class just for them. My advice for your daughter in this situation is to focus only on herself and her own individual progress. Listen to EVERY word the teacher says, soak up everything like a sponge. If the class is working on a step, exercise, or combination that she has already learned, she needs to make sure she is doing it as close to perfect as possible. Could she stretch her legs or feet more, could she turnout more, could she improve her balance, could she lift the leg higher, could she jump higher, could she add more grace and elegance to her port de bras, could she improve her ability to maintain proper alignment while executing the movement?? The list goes on and on. I always encourage my students to take a lower level class in addition to their current level to work on perfecting the basics. Again, repetition is key. There is so much to think about in ballet that you have to train your body to do it automatically. The only way to do that is through careful repetition of the basics.

Good luck!

I personally, as a teacher and former studio owner, do not believe in mixing beginners with higher level kids. Now, some kids are still at that level but if she is more serious about being a strong ballet dancer, it might be worth your while looking into ballet classes at a school that has a full-time ballet program.

Before I added an intensive ballet program to my dance school, I could only offer so many ballet classes at my studio. I never mixed levels but if a child wanted more, I would recommend one of two schools, nearby, that had good ballet programs, in addition to my own classes. I always encouraged them to expand but asked them to check with me first, to avoid going to a bad school.

I lost one or two to these type of schools but they really went on a a ballet, only, track, and for them, it was worth it. The rest stayed with me and took extra on the outside. Once I added a full-time, intensive ballet program, they did not have the need to study elsewhere, other than summer intensives, if they wished to go to them. Many did not as we offered a very strong summer intensive at my school.

You sound like you have concerns that are normal. You say that they do RAD but how many ballet classes does your daughter have per week? Has she not improved at all and that is why she is still in with beginners? Either way, that concerns me as beginners need to work on very basic things and the higher the level, they should be cleaner in their basics and working on other skills.

She only has the option to attend 1 class per week. She has a great natural turnout; she has an 180 degree first and she has had fifth foot placement for 2 years. She does not have corrections in class that often. The teacher would correct other dancers and she would listen to make sure that she was doing the move correctly, as well. Her ability does not concern me. I believe that her technique is sound. She recently attended a summer intensive at a dance school that houses a major ballet company and she was on par with the other dancers in her level. It's just that in her class at the studio, she is bored out of her mind relearning the steps and listening to the same corrections for steps that she learned 2 and 3 years ago. I will speak to her teacher and ask for an evaluation in a few weeks, because the teacher is new for her. I believe space and time are an issue. Classes are crammed together this year and the class time for ballet has been decreased by 15 minutes. There are about 35-40 students that are now at this 4/5 level, divided among 2 classes. The youngest dancers are 9 and the oldest is 14. Additional classes at another studio may be an option for her.

Hmm, it seems as if, from what you say, that maybe this class is not for her. Are you near any schools that are connected to a professional or regional ballet company? You can PM me and I can help you find one in your area, if you need.

Thank you for your kind offer. We have a major ballet school connected to a performing company an hour away. I will consider that for next year as the auditions have already passed for this year. In the meantime, I may have to pick up extra classes at another local school

Oh, good. That is what seems to be the best for now. Not all schools can give everyone what they need.