The scent of hairspray and nerves. The tinkling bell to summon candidates. Silence, punctuated by piano notes or a request – “Turn around and I’ll see the grande battement.” Exhilaration when it’s over.
For dance students and teachers, exams are a once-a-year event, one that requires extensive preparation, physically, mentally and emotionally. Throughout this preparation, the mysterious “examiner” is a focal point – after all, it is the examiner who is the sole audience member for the strange performance that is an exam.
So teachers and students think about the examiner a lot, from impressing her with technique and artistry to making sure she is comfortable… but one thing we probably don’t consider is what it is like to BE an examiner. So who are these mysterious people and why do they do it?
Jennifer Lucas is an examiner with Cecchetti Ballet Australia. She remembers thinking, when she first applied to be an examiner, that she would enjoy sharing her knowledge and “giving back to students and teachers what I had been so fortunate to learn from my mentors”.
“To examine children with gentle encouragement and to strive to get the best from the student being examined was my goal.”
Tania MacLeod, from the Australian Teachers of Dancing (ATOD), echoes her sentiments. “I think it was natural progression. After 20 years of teaching and running my own school, which I still do, it’s wonderful to be able to share the knowledge and experience gained and contribute to the evolving education of the next generation of dancers and teachers.” For both examiners, there is a sense that the role is almost vocational… a chance to give as well as receive.
Examining certainly involves dedication to the cause, especially when one considers that most examiners are teachers themselves, often running their own schools. Lucas has examined three sessions this year – spending one-and-a-half weeks in Adelaide, the same in Taiwan and nearly three weeks in Melbourne. MacLeod estimates that she examines 30-40 days per year, which includes interstate and overseas sessions. For both examiners it’s a long time away from home, not to mention away from their own studios and students.
Examiners cannot just decide they want to be examiners. “You don’t just put your hand up,” says MacLeod. She explains that under the ATOD system, teachers are nominated to become examiners. “In order to be nominated, teachers need to have long-term industry experience, demonstrate ethics and leadership qualities, and hold ATOD’s licentiate teaching diploma. Before qualifying as an examiner, [you] need to complete a certificate IV in training and assessment and a diploma in dance teaching and management.” ATOD examiners also complete three years “on-the-job training”, continues MacLeod. “Training is ongoing – we never stop learning.”
The process with Cecchetti is also lengthy. Teachers who wish to become examiners must have completed Cecchetti’s Fellowship teaching qualification, which is the top qualification of five offered by Cecchetti and requires extensive teaching experience. “Teachers then submit an application form and resume, with two references from the dance profession, a copy of their fellowship report and a list of their students’ exam results over the last five years to Cecchetti’s national council,” says Lucas. Candidates are then interviewed and, if successful, invited to join Cecchetti’s examiner training program. Once the training course is completed, the applicant is appointed as a probationary examiner. To be upgraded to examiner status, the candidate then needs to go through another application process.
It’s an exacting selection and training regime… but it’s appropriate when one considers the demands of the job. “I would say the biggest challenge of examining is the individual report content,” says MacLeod. “ATOD has a very detailed report with comments on every exercise and dance. If you’ve got eight in the exam, every comment is different for each student and that takes a lot of time. You want to have a balance of positive and negative feedback too, for each student. Preparing individual report content whilst juggling the management of your own studio and family can be challenging.”
For Lucas, the challenges of being an examiner are all about balancing diplomacy with honesty. “You must be able to encourage students to work to their best ability and to make students comfortable in the examination environment,” she observes. “Examiners must be tactful and diplomatic, at the same time marking consistently with other examiners.”
Examiners require incredible mental stamina. There isn’t the option to drift off for a moment when a comment or mark is required for each exercise. But for the examiners the rewards of the job are numerous.
“I love every minute of it,” exclaims MacLeod. “Having the privilege to enrich and share the journey that dance brings is a huge reward. The experience of being an examiner really completes that learning process -- the progression from student to teacher to examiner.”
Lucas is similarly passionate about examining. “I feel that I am privileged to be an examiner,” she reflects. “I am able to pass on to students and other teachers… all of the lovely things that I have seen when examining. I also enjoy sharing my ideas with students and teachers at conventions and Cecchetti Winter School, as well as nurturing and encouraging students.”
MacLeod sums it up. “Having the opportunity to be a positive role model for our young dancers is an absolute joy.”