Dance

In KS3, students are enriched with multiple genres of dance, where they can increase their physical and mental skills, enhancing teamwork, communication skills and practical ability. 

Students are able to observe professional works and peers, to aspire and encourage further improvements in performances.

GCSE Dance helps students to develop technical and expressive skills as well as knowledge and understanding of dance through performance, choreography and critical appreciation.

The course combines practical and written skills with a focus on choreography and performance, as well as analysis and criticism of dance.

The subject content details the knowledge, understanding and skills that students are expected to learn during the course of study. This is set out below in three core areas of dance: performance, choreography and appreciation.

• Component 1A: Performance - Students must develop and apply the following knowledge, understanding and skills to perform dance as a soloist for approximately one minute and in a duet/trio for a minimum of three minutes.
• Component 1B: Choreography - Students must learn how to respond creatively to an externally set stimulus, to choreograph their own complete dance. The dance created must be either: • a solo dance of a minimum of two minutes and a maximum of two and a half minutes or • a group dance of a minimum of three minutes and a maximum of three and a half minutes for two to five dancers.
• Component 2: Dance Appreciation - Through written communication and use of appropriate terminology, students must be able to critically analyse, interpret and evaluate their own work in performance and choreography and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of professional practice in the six set works in the GCSE Dance Anthology. This is the end of year 11 written exam.

Future careers after GCSE Dance:

• Arts Administrator
• Community Arts Worker
• Dance Psychotherapist
• Events Manager
• Professional Dancer
• Teacher

Congratulations to the Year 11 students on achieving 100% grades 9-4.

Congratulations to the Year 11 students on achieving 85.7% grades 9-4.

The Dance Studio is open multiple times a week for clubs, studies, interventions and additional rehearsals. There is a termly timetable for morning and lunchtime spaces, which students can use to either rehearse for a piece of class work, school performances or an outside school event. 

The Dance Department offer a variety of dance clubs and companies:

Yr7 Dance Club

This exciting club runs across the academic year. Students work on hip-hop and lyrical pieces, building on their movement memory and timing within an ensemble.  Students work towards performances for the Winter and Summer Showcase and year group assemblies.

Yr8 Dance Club

This dance club looks at musicals and hip hop, focusing on performance skills such as facial expression and projection, as well as developing confidence in technique.  The club starts in the Autumn term, allowing for 15 weeks of technique and performance skills.  Students work towards performances for the Winter and Summer Showcase and year group assemblies.

Yr9 Dance Studies

This extracurricular focuses on skills needed for GCSE Dance, focusing on physical, technical and expressive skills across two genres of dance; contemporary and hip hop.   Students continue to grow in mental skills, such as confidence, concentration and commitment and on occasions, branch off into solo performances. Students work towards performances for the Winter and Summer Showcase, Yr6 Induction showcase and year group assemblies.

AX Dance Company

The Dance Company was founded in 2003. Year 10 and 11 students audition for their place in the company and compete in multiple external competitions, performances and internal events throughout the academic year. The company rehearse once a week before/after school.

KS4 Intervention

The sessions run in the morning and at lunchtime to allow Year 10 and 11 GCSE Dance students to rehearse and refine performance and choreography units, ready for examinations and internal events including Winter and Summer showcases, the Evening of Dance and year group assemblies.

GCSE Dance AQA Specification

https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/dance/specifications/AQA-8236-SP-2016.PDF

GCSE Dance AQA Glossary

https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/dance/gcse/dance/teach/subject-specific-vocabulary

Sadler’s Wells Performances

https://www.sadlerswells.com/

GCSE Dance Anthologies

https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/dance/gcse/dance/teach/dance-anthology

Google classroom

This is a fantastic tool, utilised weekly by the Performing Arts faculty.  The online application allows for paperless communication, between staff and students and for staff to streamline curriculum, classwork, examinations and homework.