Thirty-six Dance Academy of Prince Rupert dancers recently completed their Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) exams with stellar results.
All the kids, representing every level from Grade 1 to Advanced 2 (the highest level of achievement), passed with 10 receiving gold, 25 silver and one bronze.
"So, really good marks, we're really happy," said dance instructor Alison Jardim, herself a Royal Academy-certified ballet teacher for 12 years.
"Exams are just a really important opportunity for the students to make progress, and then it gives them a good sense of achievement."
Jardim added it's really important for the kids to learn ballet and the Royal Academy is one of the most prestigious dance education organizations in the world.
"Ballet is what we call the foundation of technique for dance," she said. "So, these kids have been training this ballet syllabus since the beginning of September all the way through till now. And now that the ballet exams are over, we're moving on to competition, and it just really kind of builds that strong foundation for them, for their technique."
This weekend many of the kids are off to Prince George for the Prince George Dance Festival and two weeks from now is the Pacific Northwest Music Festival in Terrace.
The highlight of the competition season, though, is the BC Annual Dance Competition in Prince Rupert, scheduled for May 4 -10 this year. One of the richest dance competitions in the country, the week annually gives out more than $75,000 in cash prizes, scholarships and awards.
Jardim expects Prince Rupert dancers to excel once again.
One of the kids who recently achieved gold in the RAD exams at the Advanced 2 level was Nolan Robinson. Robinson is likely to figure prominently in the 2025 Annual Dance Competition. Last year he came up just shy in the Senior Performer of the Year competition finishing in the top three.
Jardim thinks he has a very good shot at winning it this year.
"I'm very proud of him," she said.
