Taking Medals at the School

The Castle School of Dancing encourages students to take dance medals in the appropriate category as you progress through the school.  The school has fostered a close working relationship with the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA) in Brighton and offers students the chance to take medals according to their ability.

Initial Stages

	Bronze (2-Dances)
	Silver (3-Dances)
	Gold (4-Dances)

Bronze and Silver awards may be attempted at the same time, however a 6 month period is required between Silver and Gold and above.  You may only attempt qualifications one above what you have attempted before starting with Bronze.  The dances are of your choice, however they are limited to certain steps depending on the level taken.

Advanced Stages

	Gold Bars 1, 2 & 3
	IDTA Stars 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
	President Award 1, 2 & 3
	International Awards 1, 2 & 3

In each dance, the examiner will rate your performance in each of the following categories: Rhythm, Timing, Posture, Footwork, Foot Positions, Arms, Legs, Body and Presentation.  When you dance in a Medals Test, the examiner looks at both dancers simultaneously.  If both dancers are taking the medal, then he/she will mark them both (based on their own individual performance).  If only one of you is taking the medal, then the examiner will only mark that person, based solely on his/her own performance.

Costs
The exact cost is set by the examining board, and depends on the level of the medal.  Exact costs will be confirmed by the school before the test, but will be in the range of £10-£20 per medal.

If you are interested in undertaking a medal examination with the Castle School of Dancing through the IDTA, please contact the school for further details.

January 2008
All successful medallists were awarded their medals at a special presentation evening at the school.  The photograph below shows all the successful candidates from the evening.  Click the picture for a larger view:

Dance Music

You can of course dance to whatever music you wish.  The school uses many different tracks to dance to... listed below are some short samples of dance music by Dennis Hayward:

Foxtrot

Quickstep

Rumba

Saunter

Tango

Viennese Waltz

Waltz

Dennis Hayward CDs can be found by clicking here!