Are you an adult ballet student who finds themselves extremely tight after every ballet class? Are you constantly foam rolling, using massage balls, epsom salts, and release techniques, but no matter what you do, you end up leaving class a bit too sore? You may find yourself wondering - is this simply because I worked hard in the lesson, or am I actually doing something wrong? Are you experiencing a loss of flexibility because of muscle tension? As an adult ballet student, it can be REALLY hard to tell whether the tightness you are feeling is because you’ve simply worked out new muscles or if it’s because you’ve overworked the wrong muscles. If this resonates with you, read on for a deep dive into this topic!
The pros and cons of graded work for Adult Ballet Students
Many adult beginners are keen to study graded work (typically RAD’s Graded Syllabus, up to grade 8), or vocational exams (from InterFoundation through to Advanced 2). Having completed grades as an adult and vocational work too (currently studying for Advanced 1), I can understand the desire to adopt an exam-based approach to your study of ballet. Having taken so many exams and having been asked about this particular topic so many times, I have reflected a great deal on what I think I gained from the experience and also what I believe some of the drawbacks were.
If you are still making up your mind on whether to pursue exams or not, this concise list of pros and cons may help you: