Most Australian dance studios offer at least one, so what makes a dance syllabus valuable in a studio setting and for dancers in training?
In April, VDF24’s Vibrant Dance Teachers Conference sat down with some of the biggest names in international dance syllabus organizations to find out what they offer, what makes them unique and what they offer in the form of accredited dance training for dance studios and What students bring to the table. If you’re not one of the 300 studio owners and dance teachers in attendance, don’t worry, Dance Informa is here to share some insights with you.
First, a brief introduction to each organization…
Leah Belford – President of ATOD (Australian Association of Teachers of Dance)
“ATOD covers everything about dance and offers eight of the most impressive complete training systems. These include Classical Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Street Tap, Ethnic, Hip Hop, Contemporary and Musical Theatre.
Anne Butler – Chairman of Australian Cecchetti Ballet
“Cechchetti is a marriage of tradition and excellence, offering first-class ballet training and elite artistry. Our syllabus has been carefully designed to ensure balanced training, with young dancers at each level aiming to progress to advanced levels; two separate of genres designed to meet the diverse needs and requirements of recreational and professional dancers, as well as comprehensive, leading-edge teacher training courses.
Diane Gopp – President of Comdance Corporation
“The Comdance global community is made up of teachers and studios around the world who work like one global family. At Comdance, we offer powerful skills and expression, and experience fun in an encouraging and empowering environment.
Holly Pooley – speaking on behalf of Rambert Grades
“Rambert Grades is an inclusive contemporary dance awarding organization offering two syllabuses covering grades 1-8 and entry level to early childhood creative dance. Rambert Grades is powered by the power of two of the world’s leading contemporary dance organizations – The Rambert School and Rambert Dance Company. The school and company share a pioneering heritage and draw on more than 100 years of expertise in educating professional dance artists to create an inclusive and accessible framework that celebrates a vision of empowerment through training. personality.
Shelley Yacopetti, National Director of RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) Australia
“RAD is a world leader in dance education and training. For over 100 years we have been teaching dance to the world and believe in the power of dance to change lives. RAD Australia offers training, professional development, student activities, exams and memberships , planning the future of dance for everyone.
What is unique about your product and what are its main points of differentiation?
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“What makes us unique is that we offer so many training systems under one umbrella. We give you everything you need to educate your dancers. What makes us different is how we support our members. We value every member , and do our best to ensure that every member receives the best customer service we can provide.
One thing you may not know about ATOD is that we are a non-profit organization – meaning every dollar we make goes back to our dancers and members. We are also a nationally recognized training provider, which means we can offer certificate and diploma courses for your students.
Cecchetti
“We are committed to upholding the principles cherished by Enrico Cecchetti. Cecchetti was an internationally renowned dancer in the late 1800s – the Rudolf Nureyev of his day and later became the renowned A leading international master teacher, he works at the Russian Imperial Theater and as a teacher at one of the most avant-garde theater companies in Russia.th century.
Cecchetti’s method is based on total coordination, using the entire body in movement – bends, dives, epaulettes, circular movements, beautiful bras. This method is based on science and anatomy and is tailored to the individual body. The intricate musicality of the Cecchetti combination is timeless. Cecchetti’s method is used in the training of classical theater dance and has inspired many enthusiasts and advocates around the world.
This approach was unique to the masters of his time and it remains timeless and has produced elite artists and dancers who also adapt easily to modern dance, something you should all know. The Early Childhood and Graded syllabus has been developed as a stepping stone towards the realization of the Master’s principles.
dance of command
“Comdance is a one-stop shop. Our syllabus covers a variety of genres including Classical Ballet, Modern Jazz, Tap, Theater and Performing Arts; Hip Hop; Contemporary all choreographed by Jason Winters; Latin and Ballroom. Teachers can complete our One or more syllabuses.
The exams are based on sound pedagogy, and each type offers different levels of classroom and stage exams. Our most prestigious stage award, the Blue Sash, is by invitation only and awarded to candidates who have achieved the highest level of performance in at least three genres.
Teaching certificates and diplomas are also available within each syllabus. This provides any member holding these awards with important pathways to work in some of our Asian centers and throughout Australia. To supplement the exam syllabus, we also run the “Born to Perform” series of competitions in Australia and throughout Asia.
Cordans was 91 years old. We have been training teachers and dancers since Dorothy Gladstone founded the Dance Society of Victoria in 1933. Association (CSTD) and today as conductor. While our name has changed, our mission and values remain.
All dance-trained teachers are welcome to join the association. We offer pathways that recognize prior learning as well as our own teacher training. All teachers are supported by our fantastic regional and state organizers. If teachers need some support in delivering their syllabus or preparing for exams, our examiners will be happy to assist. They are approachable, friendly and most importantly, encouraging to all members.
Lambert scale
“Our syllabus for grades 1-8 offers three learning tracks: creative, technical and performance. Each course is explored to develop capable, technically proficient students with their own creative voice and exposure to the contemporary dance industry internal understanding.
For the performance chain, we have and will continue to invite renowned choreographers such as Hofesh Shechter to create unique solo dances to help students connect directly with industry.
RAD
“One of our key differentiators is that RAD offers a range of ways for dancers to interact and connect with us throughout their dance careers. This could be from taking their first steps as a young student, to a teenager in vocational training Dancers, to adults in The Silver Swan for over 55s may also gain their first qualification as teachers and then continue through their teaching career through our professional development courses. Learn and evolve with us. We support and innovate and get people dancing and engaged.
With this in mind we have improved the options for taking exams; we offer graded and vocational exams where students can choose to solo as part of their Solo Performance Award and they can perform variations from a variety of ballets as part of our Discovery Repertoire Teaching part of the outline. Students can also choose to do a class bonus, where the teacher selects exercises and guides students through the class, or they can do a demonstration class, where students simply perform for an examiner and audience. Recently, we celebrated a group of Silver Swans taking their Level 4 exams. All of these options are designed to give teachers the flexibility and choice they need to keep students engaged and growing.
We are 104 years old. We are a growing international network of dance teachers who support and connect a global community of more than 400,000 students and dancers of all ages and abilities in over 80 countries.
People may not know that there are many ways to become a registered teacher with RAD. In addition to our Dance Teaching Certificate (Ballet), we also offer options for teachers with existing dance teaching qualifications and professional dancers wishing to gain qualifications. For students studying a dance degree and vocational students in full-time training, we have pathways to becoming a registered teacher, studying alongside dance training, and gaining RAD teaching registration upon graduation.
Our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses are open to everyone (including non-members) and are delivered onsite and online across Australia. We provide financial support to our teaching members through the Teacher Scholarship Fund and awarded 15 CPD Scholarships in 2023.
All of our RAD exams can be taken in person or via video, and regardless of gender, students can choose a female or male syllabus.
RAD Australia is the first to form an exclusive partnership with Rambert Grades, offering our members an innovative contemporary dance course syllabus at a discounted price. Finally, our new Artistic Director is fellow Aussie Alexander Campbell!
Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, get ready for part two where we’ll dive into the details and find out what support and opportunities these syllabuses offer members, how they keep the syllabus or prescribed classwork fresh for members and students, and How you can access them.
