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.


About
Dianne Wallace

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.

About
RAD Examinations

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.


Tuesday
Torbay Studio

Grade 5
4.30

Grade 7
5.30

Adults
6.30

Advanced 1
7.30

 

Wednesday
Torbay Studio

Pre-Primary
4.30

Grade 4
5.30

Grade 7
6.30

Intermediate
7.30

 

Thursday
Torbay Studio

Primary
4.30

Grade 3
5.30

Grade 4
6.30

Intermediate
7.30

 

Saturday
Torbay Studio

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

What to bring to
Classes

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.

What to bring to
Concerts

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.



Congratulations

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!

2018 Exam Classes

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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