RAD grade 5 ballet exam any tips?

[nickstmoritz]

My DD is taking her grade 5 exam in June. She always just misses out on a distinction and is desperate to get one. I never did ballet so I am not really able to help. Can anyone more knowledgeable give me some tips to help. I think last time she lost some marks for character and they don't seem to do much of that at her class. Any general tips gratefully received. DD is 12 btw

[cordyblue]

More practice/more lessons?

DD's ballet teacher was telling me that in the recent lot of exams she did, those who just had one lesson a week had all got passes and those who did two lessons had got merits and distinctions, and that as my daughter had got such a high merit on just one lesson a week, and no practise at all, it boded well for her.

Now of course, statistics can lie, and those who took two lessons a week may just have been more interested in ballet, and prioritised it and were therefore better as a result of that.

But I do think that like practising a musical instrument, the more the better really.

[nickstmoritz]

I think you are probably right. They will have a few extra exam practice lessons and I have got the DVD from RAD so that might help. When she took the last exam it was at Christmas and DD was right in the middle of a 2 month panto season with shows every day plus school so she did miss some of the extra lessons and was probably a bit tired. Hopefully this time will be less hectic and she can concentrate. I think that small details can make the difference for the exams. I just don't quite know what those details are and apart from saying "point your toes" I am rather useless...after 10 years I think she might know the pointy toe thing!!! I could probably ask DD to look at the exam sheet with the break down of marks with her teacher to see what to concentrate on. DD has always managed a high merit with one lesson a week too but after 5 of these (one was I think 1 mark short of distinction!) she is desperate to achieve the elusive distinction.