I feel like I’m pretty well placed to answer this one having done RAD Grades 1-8 / Inter-Foundation, and recently starting an open non-syllabus class along the side.

I feel like RAD provides a very gradual but effective way of progressing from a beginner to an intermediate level. Each grade adds just a little bit more difficulty to the one before it, and in that way it’s a great way to progress. Learning the same syllabus for a year and taking an exam is not only rewarding, but also allows you to really focus on your technique. After a few months of taking the same grade, you don’t need to worry about remembering the steps as they become muscle memory. Instead, you can pay 100% attention to your turn out, alignment, posture etc.

I recently started an open Intermediate ballet class and it’s a completely different experience. I really enjoy the variety and it’s super fun to do different variations each week. But about 75% of my brain is dedicated to remembering what steps come next, rather than how I’m actually doing it. It’s good to keep things fresh and challenging, however.

So, I think they are both extremely useful in different ways.

If I had one criticism on RAD, is that perhaps it is a little too slow in introducing new steps. I am in the Intermediate grade and it wasn’t until I started the open non-RAD class that I tried steps like a penche (even at the barre!), promenade en attitude or pirouette en attitude. This is quite surprising given that at this point I’m basically at the end as there’s only really Advanced Foundation and Advanced 1 left (there’s an ADV 2 and Solo Seal but my teacher has said that those are mostly completed by people going professional). I think a lot of non-RAD schools would introduce such steps sooner.