Dancing and Exams finding a balance

Thanks for such great advise i'll definitely listen to. I have recently just started working towards my advanced foundation in RAD Ballet. Finished tap grades and am taking a break from the other grades whilst exams are on.

That’s very sensible. It would be good to keep working to achieve Advanced Found, but it’s not essential so do it for enjoyment & to keep on top of your technique, but should not be a priority during GCSEs.

Also RAD Grade 8 is lovely as it’s all based on solo performances so relatively easy to learn compared to the vocational grades. Plus more people can relate to grade 8 as they can see comparisons with other exams, even though vocationals are harder to get good marks in as they don’t always understanding how they fit into the structure.

Which exam board do you do for the others? When things are not so busy, you might enjoy doing intermediate etc in the others (such as ISTD as they go up to Advanced 2).

My daughters continued dancing through GCSEs (achieved excellent grades), but it was agreed in advance that they would be missing certain lessons & had made sure they’d completed all of their intermediate exams before GCSE term started.

I have done UKA grades as they were the only thing available to me. I've only just started advanced found so wont be taking yet anyway and i only did grade 5 RAD before doing intermediate, skipping the others so i haven't done grade 8 RAD. Thank you for your advise and experience i will definitely consider it.

Please please please do NOT stop dancing. For me, I found dancing a great way to de-stress and I never missed a class all through my higher exams (the main exams for Scotland). Yes I was doing only 3 classes a week at that point (so you might want to consider cutting down a bit if you are finding the work too much). I got straight As and am now at medical school. If I had stopped dancing (and many of my friends did), I don't think I would have done so well simply because I wouldn't get that chance to relax. I still haven't given up dancing and go to 2-3 classes a week at the uni dance club where my timetable permits. Wouldn't change it for the world.

Dancing is obviously a huge part of your life and whether it becomes a career for you or not, don't let anyone take that away from you.

Thank you so much, i feel the same way about dancing, it helps me to de-stress and i definitely wont give up on it yet. Its lovely to hear from someone with experience.