PAA Video Exams – Performance Arts Award

PAA Video Exam Solutions

PAA Live Video Exams

RSL Awards are offering Live Video Exams (LVE) for all PAA Musical Theatre, Jazz Dance, and Street Dance qualifications. Live Video Exams are not available to individuals – applications will only be accepted from schools/exam venues.

Live Video Exams are conducted via online video conference using Zoom, between the candidates at the exam venue and the examiner based at another location. If your school is new to PAA and you are interested in Live Video Exams you will need to set up an account. Please contact paa@rslawards.com for more information.

General Guidance for Exam Venues

Full guidance will be provided on application; however, as a general guide, PAA live video exam content is exactly the same as the specifications in the syllabus, with the following conditions:

Venues are responsible for ensuring the welfare of candidates throughout the live video examination, including provision of:

An adequately sized space for the examination to safely take place, with plenty of room for all scenes, musical numbers and dance movements, appropriate to the number of candidates
Flooring which is safe for dancing on and offers the dancer some cushioning on impact, such as sprung or vinyl flooring manufactured to industry standards, which is clean and free from debris, spillages, and any other hazards. RSL Awards assumes no liability for damage to property or injury sustained by any candidate or staff member while participating in live video examinations
A chaperone, (in addition to the music operator) to be present throughout the live video examination, responsible for ensuring the physical and mental wellbeing of the candidates. Centres must ensure that all current safeguarding protocols are adhered to

Other conditions:

There must be a minimum of two and a maximum of eight candidates per live video examination, and the principal/teacher must ensure that all candidates are fully and equally visible to the examiner. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the examiner can easily see the whole room in which the candidates will perform, including surrounding areas
All candidates must be visible throughout the examination, including moments when they are offstage. This is to ensure that each and every candidate’s performance can be seen from start to finish, including entrances and exits
To ensure the above, it is permissible to split candidates into smaller groups
The music operator and chaperone must also be visible to the examiner. They must not be positioned out of shot
Quiet, private location in a walled room
Bright lighting (day light or artificial light), ideally illuminating the candidates from their front
The room should not be highly reverberant. If there are areas/pockets of the room where audibility or visibility is compromised (e.g. due to the shape), candidates should not perform in these areas
If the dance, or part of the dance, is performed in lines, teachers must ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to be positioned in the front line, or downstage area, for at least part of the routine
Non-exam students are not permitted to take part in live video examinations
An audience is not permitted

For full details on how to book your students for a PAA Musical Theatre, Jazz Dance or Street Dance Live Video Exam, including technical requirements and application process, please contact paa@rslawards.com .

Musical Theatre – PAA Live Video Exam Guidance

Street Dance & Jazz Dance – PAA Live Video Exam Guidance

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSICAL THEATRE…

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STREET DANCE…

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JAZZ DANCE…

COVID-19 INFORMATION FOR PAA EXAM CENTRES…

PAA Recorded Video Exams

RSL Awards is delighted to announce that PAA Entry and Level 1 Dance exams can be assessed through recorded video evidence! Video examinations can be submitted for Premiere to Grade 3 for Jazz Dance and Grades 1-3 for Street Dance. Recorded Video Exams can also be submitted by schools or venues from Premiere – Grade 8 (Entry Level – Level 3) in Music Theatre.

The exam content is exactly the same as the specifications in the syllabus, with the following additional guidelines adhered to:

Centres are responsible for ensuring the welfare of candidates throughout the video examination, including provision of:

An adequately sized space for the examination to take place safely, with plenty of room for all routines and dance movements, appropriate to the number of candidates.
A well-lit performance space, with no outside distractions or background noise.
Flooring which is safe for dancing on and offers the dancer some cushioning on impact, such as sprung or vinyl flooring manufactured to industry standards, which is clean and free from debris, spillages, and any other hazards.
A chaperone (in addition to the music operator) to be present and visible throughout the video examination, responsible for ensuring the physical and mental wellbeing of the candidates. Centres must ensure that all relevant safeguarding procedures are adhered to.

RSL Awards assumes no liability for damage to property or injury sustained by any candidate or staff member while participating in video examinations.

The whole examination must be videoed continuously in one take, as if it was a live exam, with no editing permitted.
Centres must ensure that all candidates are fully visible throughout the examination. Therefore, it is permissible to split candidates into smaller groups, which perform sections of the exam in sequence (one after the other), rather than a single group of eight.
The video should capture the entire performance space from the front, as if from the vantage point of the examiner. Different camera angles, close-ups etc. should not be used.
The music operator will undertake the running of the exam, including introducing the exam session at the start (centre name, date, candidate names and numbers) and introducing each exercise/dance routine. RSL has provided example scripts (for both Street Dance and Jazz Dance) to assist when conducting a dance video examination.
Centres should ensure that the music, and the music operator’s voice, are clearly audible on the video.
The music operator and chaperone must be visible on the video. They must not be positioned out of shot.
For the Performance only, an audience is permitted, however, as the video is continuous, the time taken to seat the audience must be minimal. The audience does not need to be in shot.
The video should be submitted as soon as practically possible after the date of the video examination.