exams
VSC DANCE offers both Royal Academy of Dance Vocational and Grade examinations.
We are pleased to offer these examinations to our students, however, exams are not mandatory.
Vocational exams
The Vocational Graded Syllabus is the continuation of classical ballet training from the Academy’s Graded Syllabus. However, it also stands alone as a full training regime, commencing from the age of approximately nine through to twelve years, and is geared towards those engaging in the serious study of ballet. At the earliest level, pointe work is introduced for the first time, and each syllabus has been designed to give the necessary training to students wishing to study seriously with a possible view to following a career in dance or dance-related subjects. There are six levels of Vocational Graded Examinations starting with Intermediate Foundation and culminating in the Solo Seal Award. Unlike Graded examinations, all Vocational level examinations must be taken in consecutive order.Grade exams
There are nine grades of examination (Primary to Grade 8 Award), numbered progressively in order of complexity. Examinations are open to both male and female candidates. Candidates may take any Grade without having passed previous examinations provided they satisfy minimum age requirements. Candidates for examinations receive a certificate bearing their name and level of attainment. There are three components to the Graded Syllabus – Classical, Free Movement, and Character work.History of RAD
The Royal Academy of Dance was established in 1920 by five exceptional European dancers: Adeline Genée (Danish), Tamara Karsavina (Russian), Lucia Cormani (Italian), Edouard Espinosa (French), and Phyllis Bedells (English). They each believed standards needed to be raised if the art of teaching dance was to continue to pass from one generation to the next. As a result, they formed the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing, the organization that was to become the Royal Academy of Dance.Over the next decade, the Association grew in size as well as influence, and in 1936 at the last Privy Council Meeting of King George V, the Association was granted a Royal Charter and became the Royal Academy of Dancing. Today, the Royal Academy of Dance is one of the largest and most influential dance education and training organizations in the world. The Academy's patron is HM Queen Elizabeth II, and its influence has spread to 82 countries, with over 15,500 members.
There are currently 1,200 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programs with the Academy, and each year the examination syllabus is taught to more than 250,000 students worldwide. The Academy maintains close links with all those involved in the industry, at every level — from internationally recognized Faculty of Education degree programs to those younger students participating in our summer schools.