For our series Ask A Dance Teacher, we asked ballet teacher Janet Lomas some common questions about ballet training.
Our question was, “What happens if you fail an RAD exam”
Janet says:
If you’re asking yourself this question, then chances are you’re not feeling confident about an upcoming exam. If this is the case, you need to speak with your teacher as soon as possible. You need to identify what it is exactly that you’re not feeling confident about: is it that you feel you don’t know the exercises well enough or is it one particular exercise that you’re struggling with? You need to be open and honest with your teacher so that they can help you. Don’t leave all your worries building up until the night before your exam!
- RAD exam pass rate
- Can you retake a RAD exam
What are ballet examiners like?
It’s important to remember that examiners want you to pass! They want to see you do well and they want you to enjoy moving up into the next grade. I often have to remind students that examiners are still humans! They have all been teachers themselves and have all been dance students just like you. They know exactly what emotions you’re going through when you’re in an exam room because they’ve experienced it, too.
How are ballet exams marked?
As of January 2021, the Royal Academy of Dance now breaks down their marks into six categories – High Distinction (highest attainable), Distinction, High Merit, Merit, Pass and Standard Not Attained. Standard Not Attained means that you have received between 0 and 39 marks.
If you receive Standard Not Attained, it certainly doesn’t mean that you should give up your dancing! And do not worry about what the RAD exam pass rate or RAD exam fail rate is. My advice would be to have a chat with your teacher and decide what to do next. Identify the areas that you need to work on and talk through ways to achieve this. You should also have a discussion about whether you would rather stay in the grade and attempt the exam again or move up into the next grade with your peers. If you receive ‘Standard Not Attained’ for a graded examination, this is not a barrier to moving up into the next grade. However, if you choose to move up a class, remember that grades increase in difficulty, and so if you were struggling with anything in the grade you were in, the work will be more demanding in the next grade. Speak to your teacher about whether they think you need to retake your RAD exam.
If you are in vocational grades and intend to continue taking exams, you will need to pass each exam before you are eligible to take the next vocational exam. For example, you need to pass Intermediate before you can enter for Advanced 1.
Advice for anyone taking ballet exams
Although you might think that you don’t know a certain exercise and you’re concerned that you might fail the exam, remember that the exams take into consideration so much more than just that one element that you are worried about. There isn’t a dancer anywhere who hasn’t gone wrong in an exam at some point, and it’s about working to your strengths and demonstrating this to the examiner. Exam marks take into account much more than just getting an exercise right – you can gain marks for your understanding of technique, spatial awareness, musicality, performance and more.