BATD BALLET EXAMS

The British Association of Teachers of Dancing

The British Association is a Registered Friendly Society No 11 SA (5) and is represented on the British Dance Council, The Sports + Recreation Alliance, Theatre Dance Council International, Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre Validated Awarding Organisation and The Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing.

The British Association is represented in the United Kingdom, Malta, Canada, America, Australia, South Africa, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Germany, Belarus, Latvia, Korea and many other countries.

In 1892 the British Association Of Teachers of Dancing was founded and became the first Dancing Association to encourage the professionals of the day to organise themselves into a society to improve and develop the art of dancing, in many forms. The Association may have started a little before 1892, but November the 30th 1892, is the first recorded date that can be established beyond doubt. The first President of the Association was Mr Frederick George Wyatt.

There were twenty four Founding Members in 1892 and from this small beginning the Association has grown to about three and a half thousand members in 1999. In 1896 the Society became a Friendly Society and has remained the only Dancing Society to be so registered since that time.

Why Ballet Exams?

The Exam process gives each student a goal to work towards and allows them to achieve it.
• Discipline: It takes a great amount of discipline to study theory and work hard in class to reach the technical requirement for each grade level.

• Self Esteem: Achieving your goals heightens self-esteem and by doing this in a shared classroom environment it increases your students respect for and teamwork amongst fellow students.

• Recognition: With continued education into the Professional levels the student will achieve Membership in one of the most Recognized, Largest and Oldest Dance Organizations since 1892.

Exams are valuable because they provide the development of strong technique, artistry and quality of movement. Exams instill strong moral character, values and a passion for excellence. Our hope is to have all our ballet dancer’s certified as a BATD Ballet Teacher by successfully completing their Associate Exam by their graduating year. Dancer’s wanting to participate in Ballet Exams will be required to take 2 Ballet Classes a week.