Disappointed!

[Coralseaa]

Hi all,

 

I just got back my grade 8 exam result and i only got a pass. I must say i was really very disappointed and it has been a big blow to my morale. My teacher was kind of surprised by it and said that "You are always striving for perfection and sometimes it's not about perfection but enjoying the dance itself" She also commented that i was too uptight.

 

SIgh, I do not think i was extremely uptight during the exam day and still does not really know what happened. The group i went in with were all gals who have danced since young and did not secure a pass. The other group which went in on the next day fared pretty well with 3 distinctions. However, i must say that this group were comparatively stronger.

 

Anyway, there is nothin i can do right now, but i really feel so down and discouraged. This is not a good sign esp since my Intermediate is just 2 mths away!!! I feel extremely lousy about my dancing now because i had worked really hard for the grade exam. I have lost alot of my confidence......

 

HOpe to hear from some of you who have experienced such downs before and how to deal with it.

 

Thanks!

[Mel Johnson]

Remember, you can theoretically fail a grades exam and pass a vocational track exam (advanced 2, for example) with high marks. The standards are rather different.

[Coralseaa]

Hmm, Mr Johnson,

Can you explain why that can happen?

Edited July 4, 2004 by Coralseaa

[Mel Johnson]

Here's just a single example: In a grades examination, a demi-contretemps must demonstrate a clear cou-de-pied devant before going on to the terminal chassé en avant. In an advanced exam, the little cou-de-pied is still present, but is of only infinitesimal duration before the chassé. If you do the advanced demi-contretemps in a grades exam, that will not earn you full mark. There are many others.

[skip]

i'm sorry to bump in to this discussion, but, major johnson, isn't it just the other way around?? that they want a clear cou de pied in a demi contretemps in one of the vocational graded exams and that if it isn't that clear in the graded exams, it's not really a problem? techniquewise, the vocationals are more strict and the graded are more about performing, that's what i always thought...i'm just very confused now (thinking about the fact that i did most of my grade 6 work not really that turned out)

 

~SKIP~

[Mel Johnson]

That's the Intermediate exam. You can get marked down if you do the Intermediate demi-contretemps in the Advanced 2 exam, too.

[Guest beckster]

Subtle nuances of the steps aside, I should think it would be possible to do poorly in a grade exam even if your technique was good enough for intermediate. If you performed the exercises correctly yet kept your head down (metaphorically) and didn't smile or perform for the examiner, your marks in the grade exam would reflect that. Or perhaps your free-movement or character dances let you down - I hated free-movement and found it hard to "let go" enough to do it right. You could therefore go on to do well in the intermediate, where you are supposed to be more like a robot doing the steps (except the dance at the end, of course). You could check the breakdown of your marks - if your technique score is good you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[Mel Johnson]

That's quite true, beckster. Not Dancing can kill your marks, especially in grade 8, which is all dancing.