There are 10 main dances in the New Zealand Academy syllabus that are
also regularly performed competitively within New Zealand.
The five Highland dances are:
- Highland Fling
- Sword
- Sean Truibhas
- Highland Reel
- Reel O Tulloch
The five step dances are:
- Irish Jig Single Time
- Irish Jig Double Time
- Irish Hornpipe
- Irish Reel
- Sailors Hornpipe
There is a beginner assessment programme in place which allows children,
who are not old enough or advanced enough to complete a full examination,
to still reach a goal of attaining a certain standard of performance.
These are called "Getting started in Dance" and "Let's
Dance" and covers all the basic exercises and basic arm positions
that beginners first learn, and they are danced to fun nursery rhyme type
music.
Highland Examinations are conducted from Initial Grade through to Advanced
Grade (10 examinations) which allow candidates to demonstrate basic positions
and movements on the barre, Arm exercises, Elevation exercises, Deportment
and Poise, Foundation Movements, and then these are further linked to
demonstrate these movements in full dance form.
The same examination structure covers the 5 Step Dances - Stage 1 and
2 examinations for Irish dances, and Stage 1 and 2 for Sailors Hornpipe.
Medal Test examinations are also available which cover National Dances
and lesser known Hebridean type dances. There are 8 exams in total which
cover 24 dances! These go from Junior Bronze through to Junior Gold Star
and the same from Senior Bronze through to Senior Gold Star.
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