Dianne Wallace School of Dance

Dianne Wallace School of Dance is a ballet school for children & adults
to learn to express themselves through the wonderful art of ballet

Students are taught the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and are entered for examinations or class awards annually; to date a 100% pass rate has been achieved. Students also perform a fun and exciting full-scale production; friends and family alike are able to come and appreciate the art of ballet.

Dianne Wallace has been teaching ballet for over 20 years. She is a Registered ballet teacher and holds the Royal Academy of Dance Teaching Diploma. Dianne trained under RAD examiners – Barbara Petty and Barbara Everson as well as Rowena Jackson, Phillip Chatfield and Russell Kerr who has been described as New Zealand’s greatest living theatrical artist.

As well as the many years involved with ballet Dianne has also studied historical dance from the Renaissance and Baroque periods from teachers in Wellington, Australia and the USA.

During the 1980s she was a Dance Mistress of the ‘Kynges Companye’ and was co-founder of ‘The Companie of Early Danse’. In addition to dance, Dianne Wallace is a qualified kingergarten teacher and is supervisor of a community pre-school.

Exams give dancers the opportunity to test their knowledge of the RAD syllabus and their ability in executing and performing their work. The dancers exams are sat in group, and they perform all of their syllabus work in front of an RAD qualified examiner, without the teacher present. The students receive marks out of 10 in several different categories, including technique, musicality, knowledge of work and performance, which then yields a final grade. In sitting an exam, the dancer can feel a sense of achievement at having remembered and performed their work to the best of their ability, and aim to achieve higher for the following exam.

Class awards are an alternative to exams, in which the teacher takes the class as per usual, and each child receives a certificate from the examiner on the completion of the class.

Grade 5
4.30

Grade 7
5.30

Adults
6.30

Advanced 1
7.30

Pre-Primary
4.30

Grade 4
5.30

Grade 7
6.30

Intermediate
7.30

Primary
4.30

Grade 3
5.30

Grade 4
6.30

Intermediate
7.30

Grade 1
8.30

Grade 3
9.30

Open Classical Ballet (Grade 5+)
10.30

Advanced 1
11.30

Grade 5
12.30

Term one for 2019 begins February 12th.

Select a dancer to see uniform requirements…

Pre-Primary &
Primary

Sleeveless lilac leotard
Lilac chiffon wrap around skirt
Pink ribbed ankle socks
Pink leather ballet shoes with elastic
Hair must be pulled back off face in a bun
Wrap around cardigans can be worn in cooler weather

Grade 1

Sleeveless lilac leotard with waist elastic
Pink ribbed ankle socks
Pink leather ballet shoes with elastic
Character skirt and shoes with low heel
Hair must be pulled back off face in a bun
Wrap around cardigans can be worn in cooler weather

Grade 2-5

Sleeveless navy leotard with waist elastic
Flesh stockings
Pink leather ballet shoes with elastic (Grade 2-3) or ribbons (Grade 4-5)
Character skirt and shoes with low heel (Grade 2) or Cuban heel (Grade 3-5)
Hair must be pulled back off face in a bun
Wrap around cardigans can be worn in cooler weather

Grade 6-8

Sleeveless navy leotard (other colours will be accepted for classes)
Long chiffon skirt for centre work (provided by the school)
Optional short chiffon skirts for barre work will be accepted for classes
Flesh stockings
Pink leather ballet shoes with ribbons
Character skirt and shoes with Cuban heel
Hair must be pulled back off face in a bun
Wrap around cardigans can be worn in cooler weather

Vocational

Sleeveless navy or black leotard
Flesh stockings
Pink leather or satin ballet shoes with ribbons
Pointe shoes and toe protectors
Hair must be pulled back off face in a bun
Wrap around cardigans can be worn in cooler weather

Senior Boys

Sleeveless white leotard
Black or navy tights
White medium ribbed socks
Black or white leather ballet shoes
Black character shoes
Long hair must be pulled back off face
Tight fitting tops may be worn in cooler weather

Junior Boys

Sleeveless white leotard
Fitted navy shorts
White medium ribbed socks
Black or white leather ballet shoes
Black character shoes
Long hair must be pulled back off face
Tight fitting tops may be worn in cooler weather

Dancers are advised to being a drink bottle to class, as dancing can sometimes make the students thirsty, and especially in summer it helps to avoid dehydration.

For cooler weather, it is advisable for dancers to bring some warm clothing that can be pulled over their leotard for before and after class.

It is advised that dancers bring a hairbrush, hair ties and clips to class with them, especially if they are coming to class straight from school or another activity.

Dancers are advised to bring a drink bottle as dancing can make dancers thirsty, especially with the heat of the lights and being onstage.

Younger dancers should consider bringing something to do if they have gaps between dances. Laptops playing movies are a good idea, absolutely NO felt-tips or crayons.

Dancers should bring a top that can be worn for warmth and to wear over costumes ensuring they do not get dirty. Make sure this top does not pull over the head.

LA FILLE MAL GARDEE // NORTHCROSS INTERMEDIATE THEATRE

HANSEL & GRETEL // CLASSICAL VARIATIONS // NORTHCROSS INTERMEDIATE THEATRE

12 DANCING PRINCESSES // CENTRESTAGE THEATRE

SNOW WHITE // CENTRESTAGE THEATRE

Congratulations to Johannes who has been accepted into full-time ballet training in Europe following a month-long audition and training tour earlier this year. After a Winter Course at the Academie de Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo and successful auditions for the Vienna State Opera Ballet School and the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart Johannes attended classes at the Tanz Akademie Zürich in Switzerland. He was very excited to be accepted for full-time study, beginning in August this year. The day before he was due to return home, Johannes had his last audition, for the Ballettschule Theater Basel in Switzerland, where he was accepted into the school and surprised everyone by deciding to stay and start immediately! We wish him all the very best!

In preperation for the upcoming RAD examinations on the 9th of November extra holiday classes will be held from Tuesday 9th of October through Sunday the 14th of October. The timetable for these classes can be viewed here.

Torbay Studio: Trinity Methodist Hall, 864 Beach Road, Torbay

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