LOPDE Evaluation Method: How It Works Part 2 (Ages 3-7)
Okay, so my last post was incredibly detailed about how we evaluate 8-18+ year olds, which might seem overkill, but if you want to be good at ballet, trust me, that’s the way to go. We do also evaluate our young students, but not quite the same way.
Students aged 3-7 are graded on a whole different rubric, for obvious (or not so obvious) reasons such as “THEY’RE 3!!!!!”, or, they don’t have the cognitive, social, or physical functions to be able to meet that standard of excellence. And yet, there is still a standard of excellence that we look for at LOPSD, not because we expect perfection, but because we expect the best from every student.
Evaluations are judged on a student’s range of ability, not an unrealistic standard. The question I am asking as a teacher is, “Are they physically, cognitively, and socially capable of what I am asking?” Some of them just plain are not capable, and need more attention, care, and correction. Some of them are well beyond their age’s expected ability. Some of them are just right where they are expected to be developmentally. I, as a teacher, am dedicated to their development as a HUMAN, not just a DANCER, because they are one in the same.
Because a three-year-old or a seven-year-old doesn’t have the brain capacity to pick their career at such a young age (although sometimes it does happen), we do not offer end of course evaluation meetings to parents unless they ask for them specifically. HOWEVER, we do send them an email and a voice memo letting them know that their student is moving on to the next level and that they can access their child’s evaluation via email.
WHAT DO WE EXPECT OF AGES 3-7?
NON RAD EXAMINED DANCERS: Dancers must achieve a score of 15 (60%) to pass on to the next level.
RAD EXAMINED DANCERS: Dancers must achieve a pass or above to pass onto the next level (5 & up)
Term: Coordination & Control - Score: 1-5
Ability to move different parts of the body with control and in coordination, developing basic locomotor (travelling) and non-locomotor (stillness, bending, stretching) skills.
Term: Rhythm & Musical Response - Score: 1-5
Awareness of rhythm, timing, and the ability to move with the music, demonstrating changes in speed, dynamics, and character.
Term: Spatial Awareness - Score: 1-5
Understanding of moving safely in space with others, directional changes, and using the dance space confidently.
Term: Expressive Qualities - Score: 1-5
Demonstrating confidence, enjoyment, and expression appropriate to the exercises, showing a sense of performance.
Term: Basic Ballet Technique Foundations - Score: 1-5
Developing posture, turnout, and placement suitable for their age and stage without formal technique expectations. Focus is on natural movement quality with preparatory ballet steps.
TOTAL: 25 Points
WHY IT WORKS
As the students progress in age and skill, the expectations are the same as far as the evaluation rubric, but in class, students are challenged with new levels of technique, musicality, and artistry. Three-year-olds start playing freeze dance games and focus on locomotor & non-locomotor skills, but around the age of five, the movements graduate and begin to look like “real ballet”. We are teaching them based on their movement ability and cognitive understanding, not our “professional dance experience.” In essence, the movement grows with the students and their abilities. And, by the time they are seven, they understand the key positions of the feet (1st, 2nd, & 3rd), positions of the arms (rounded basic positions), and begin to perform ballet exercises.
TRANSITIONING FROM EVALUATION 1 TO EVALUATION 2
You might be thinking that it’s a lot to go from having to score a minimum of 15 to having to score 124, but really, it’s not that big of a transition. Here’s why:
The amount of detail students are judged on between Ages 3-7 and Ages 8-18+ are vastly different. Ages 3-7 are more generalized terms, but Ages 8-18+ go into detail about what each of the forms that are expected in Ages 3-7 take on at a more advanced level.
Students are still being scored according to their appropriate age and level. For instance: a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old are not going to be evaluated at the same level because their ages require different things. OR a 15-year-old and a 19-year-old will be evaluated at the same level because their development stages are within the appropriate perimeters based on cognitive and physical abilities, and talent.
This is also why we don’t give 3-7 year olds student support plans: they don’t necessarily need long term goals. However, 8-year-olds are beginning to consider if they want to stay in dance or not, and will continue to do this throughout the rest of their dance career. This is why they need to see tangible progress, which is what the LOPDE Evaluation does.
Side note, if I had a quarter for every parent that walked into my classroom at different studios and told me that I wasn’t teaching their kids “real ballet” because I focused on locomotor & non-locomotor skills in a non-formal technical way, I’d be around $100 richer.
If you want to download my printable evaluation method template for studios, click here!
