Dance
Dance is a creative and expressive subject which empowers young learners by developing their physical, emotional and intellectual capacity in a fun and healthy way.
Dance builds students’ knowledge and understanding of the visual, technical and artistic qualities of Dance. Students explore the symbolic use of movement to express and communicate their ideas and interesting concepts through the unified processes of performance, choreography and appreciation. Dance is unique in its dual-benefits of physical health, fitness and wellbeing alongside being a form of creative, non-verbal self-expression. Dance develops students’ imagination, confidence, communication and problem-solving skills and ability to think in an abstract way.
The department recognises the relevancy and benefits of Dance within a young person’s life and uses this as a vehicle to explore a variety of different cultures, time periods and wider-world events, exploring where the arts can be placed within these. The Department is currently undergoing renovation and will be equipped with a purposely built dance studio which can double as a performance space giving students regular opportunities to showcase their learning and achievements.
Key Stage 3
Dance at Key Stage 3 provides students with a range of opportunities to develop their creativity, self-expression, divergent thinking and confidence through choreography, performance and Dance appreciation. The curriculum covers a range of themes and starting points, drawing from a mixture of dance styles. The themes are often cross-curricular in nature, providing students with the opportunity to translate their ideas, knowledge and understanding of different subject areas into movement and dance.
Dance provides a ‘felt’ learning experience and enables students to work individually and collaboratively in order to solve problems, develop their physical literacy, develop their communication skills and realise their creative potential.
In Year 7, students are introduced to the fundamentals of dance movement (actions, dynamics, space and relationships). They will then apply this to three main topics, Carnival Dance, Dance Around the World (the significance of Dance across a range of cultures and continents), Choreographic Projects, using a prop as a stimulus.
In Year 8, students will develop their knowledge of actions, dynamics, space, relationships by studying the choreographic style of Matthew Bourne, creating their own dance in the style of ‘The Car Man'. They then move on to the fundamentals of contact and partnering and learn how to give and support weight, progressing on to lifting a partner. Students finish their Year 8 curriculum with a Hip Hop Dance project which looks at both the cultural origins of Hip Hop and the movement styles.
Topics Covered
Year 7
- Rotation 1 - Carnival Dance: an introduction to actions, dynamics, space and relationships
- Rotation 2 - Dance Around the World
- Rotation 3 - Choreographic Projects 1: choreography with a prop
Year 8
- Rotation 1 - Choreographic Projects 2: response to audio setting
- Rotation 2 - Motionhouse – Charge: an introduction to contact and partnering work
- Rotation 3 - Street Dance: creating an education recourse for primary students
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable students receive:
- 2 hours of guided studio learning
- 20 minutes of guided independent homework (Year 7)
- 30 minutes of guided independent homework (Year 8)
Students will study Dance for 3 of the 6 half terms in an academic year, in the other 3 terms students will participate in Drama lessons.
Enrichment and Extra-Curricular
Year 7 students are given the opportunity to enrich their learning and develop their physical and choreographic skills by taking part in Year 7 and 8 Dance club which runs from January – July each academic year.
Particularly able students may also be selected to take part in GCSE and A Level choreography coursework and become part of a larger cast directed by the GCSE/A Level student.
Each year there are two large-scale Dance performances, these include the annual RAG Dance show which typically raises over £1000 for charity each year. Students from all year groups take part, however there are specific opportunities for each Key Stage. The second is the whole school musical production which features a specified dance cast, this is entry by audition and open to all students.
To Read
- Firebird – Misty Copeland (fiction)
- Ballet Shoes – Noel Streatfeild (fiction)
- The Ballet Book – Darcy Bussell (non-fiction)
To Watch
Watch as much live and recorded dance in as many styles as you can. What style excites you most? What gives you creative ideas? What could you see yourself doing?
- Choreography by Matthew Bourne https://new-adventures.net/
- Choreography by Motionhouse https://www.motionhouse.co.uk/
- Emancipation of Expressionism (Hip Hop Dance performance) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr81kDSIvoE
To Listen
- Samba music
To Research
- Look out for any community dance projects in your area you can get involved in, you will be surprised at how many there are.
- Complete some further research into the Rio Carnival and Samba Dance
- Watch the videos suggested above by Matthew Bourne and Motionhouse, what else can you find out about the company?
To Visit
- Visit the theatre
- Engage in community dance
- Platforms such as live Youtube and Vimeo are great for when visiting the theatre is not possible.
Year 9 - Foundation Year
In the Dance Foundation Year, students build on the knowledge from Year 7 and 8 and adjust to an increase in curriculum time and expectations of Dance theory as well as practical. Students are firstly introduced to the more rigorous technical demands of pursuing a GCSE in Dance by learning, practising, understanding and developing the physical, technical, expressive and mental skills. Students engage in a series of small contemporary dance performance projects as a soloist, in a small group and as a whole-cohort ensemble.
Students also develop their creativity and explore a variety of different choreographic styles and techniques to produce their foundation choreographic project. Here the students learn how to use the dance as an aesthetic art form as well as one for emotional expression and communication. Later in the year, students have a chance to experiment with recent developments in technology in the dance field, creating their own dance film projects.
Finally, students develop their awareness of the theoretical study of Dance, looking at the significance of Dance in historical, entertainment and cultural contexts. Students learn how to analyse and evaluate the significance of the components of dance movement (action, dynamics, space and relationships carried over from Key Stage 3) and features of a dance production such as costume and aural setting in communicating the choreographer’s ideas and intentions.
Topics Covered
Practical
- Introduction to Contemporary Dance Technique
- Professional Work 1: practical exploration of A Linha Curva by Itzik Galili
- Choreographic Project 1: response to a stimulus
- Set Phrase Performance 1: 30 second solo performance
- Professional Work 3: creating a screen dance project in the style of Within Her Eyes by James Cousins
Theory
- Dance Performer: introduction to performance skills and safe dace practices
- Professional Work 1: A Linha Curva by Itzik Galili
- Choreographic Practices
- Professional Work 2: Emancipation of Expressionism by Kenrick H2O Sandy
- Professional Work 3: Within Her Eyes by James Cousins
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning (generally 3 with a practical focus and 2 with a theoretical focus)
- 2 hours of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
To Read
Books
- Dancing Shapes: Ballet and Body Awareness for Young Dancers – Once upon a Dance
- Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story - Viviana Durante
- Royal Academy of Dancing Step by Step Ballet Class: Illustrated Guide to the Official Ballet Syllabus – Royal Academy of Dancing
- Dance Journal: 6x9 120 pages - Float Along Side the Music, Contemporary Dancing Notebook, Write Down Step and Moves, Rate Performances and Much More - Ardnmean Publishing
- Dance Anatomy 2nd Edition - Jacqui Greene Haas
- Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation – Sandra Minton
Websites
- https://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet
- https://danceconsortium.com/
- https://www.onedanceuk.org/
- https://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/resources-3/article19-contemporary-dance-online
- https://www.jamescousinscompany.com/
- https://www.rambert.org.uk/
- https://boy-blue-2.webflow.io/
- https://www.stopgapdance.com/
- https://waynemcgregor.com/
- https://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/
To Watch
As much live dance as you can! Any style, any level, any platform. Visiting the theatre or going to a live dance installation (such as a site-sensitive performance) is the best way to experience this. However use platforms like youtube, vimeo and social media to check out the work of these companies:
- Rambert
- James Cousins Company
- Christopher Bruce
- Phoenix Dance Theatre
- Itzik Galili
- Wayne McGregor
- Boy Blue Entertainment
- Stopgap Dance Company
- Motionhouse
What other companies/choreographers can you find?
What do you enjoy about their work?
To Listen
https://www.rambert.org.uk/homestudio/super-humans/podcastshttps://www.ted.com/talks/wayne_mcgregor_a_choreographer_s_creative_process_in_real_time?language=en
To Research
Research platforms such as Rambert Home Studio to see what further reputable online dance training you can take to support your technical development.
Find out what dance classes and community dance events are being held in your area, what could you get involved in?
To Visit
- Hazlitt Theatre
- Marlowe Theatre
- Sadlers Wells Theatre
- Pineapple Dance
Key Stage 4
GCSE Dance builds students’ knowledge and understanding of the visual, as well as artistic qualities of Dance. At the very core of this subject is building students creativity which is one of the most universally sought-after qualities by employers in any industry. Students develop their cognitive capacity as well as general fitness and strength by engaging with Dance as both a symbolic use of movement to express and communicate ideas and concepts through the unified processes of performance, choreography and appreciation.
Dance empowers students by giving them the confidence to try out their ideas and trust in their own creative resolve. GCSE Dance develops creative, imaginative, physical, emotional and intellectual capacities. It is as much an intellectual pursuit as well as a physical one. Students will also understand how to channel this knowledge into formal essays.
GCSE Dance is open to all levels of dance experience and does not require students to have taken or to take dance classes privately to support their studies. GCSE Dance also looks at inclusive dance, including the study of Stopgap Dance Company, made up of disabled and able-bodied dancers.
Exam board/Qualification: AQA GCSE in Dance
Specification: 8236
Course Content
GCSE is a symbiosis of choreographic practices, performance and appreciation.
In Year 10 students learn the majority of their anthology study through theory and practical lessons. Students get in to the mind of the choreographer to understand the choreographic and expressive decisions they made to create the work. Students create their own solo, small group and whole-cohort performance pieces in response to their theoretical understanding. They also participate in Year 10 choreographic projects at the end of the academic year.
In Year 11 students use the skills learnt from Year 10 to apply to their own performance projects and final Year 11 choreographic project which constitutes their NEA submission. Students will complete their anthology study and refine their essay writing skills.
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning
- 2 hours of guided independent homework
Assessment
Theory knowledge is assessed through external examination and accounts for 40% of the GCSE qualification. The Non-Examination Assessment component (NEA) makes up the remaining 60% and is marked internally with external moderation by AQA.
The NEA consists of 2 x 30-second solo performances to choreography taught by the examination board, a duet or trio performance project exploring any style the student wishes and a choreographic project by an exam board set stimulus for a cast of 1-5 dancers.
All NEA examinations are taken in Year 11.
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
Dependent on the touring schedule of the specified practitioners, it is the aim that students will see at least one live performance as part of their GCSE in Dance.
Students participate in a half-day workshop with professional dancers from James Cousins Company exploring their work, Within Her Eyes through practical tasks as well as understanding how to safely partner and lift and be lifted in contemporary dance.
Each year there are two large-scale dance performances, these include the annual RAG Dance show which typically raises over £1000 for charity each year. Students from all year groups take part, however there are specific opportunities for each Key Stage. Talented GCSE Dancers are encouraged to take on leadership roles in the choreography for the show. The second is the whole school musical production which features a specified dance cast, this is entry by audition and open to all students.
To Read
Books
- Dancing Shapes: Ballet and Body Awareness for Young Dancers – Once upon a Dance
- Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story - Viviana Durante
- Royal Academy of Dancing Step by Step Ballet Class: Illustrated Guide to the Official Ballet Syllabus – Royal Academy of Dancing
- Dance Journal: 6x9 120 pages - Float Along Side the Music, Contemporary Dancing Notebook, Write Down Step and Moves, Rate Performances and Much More - Ardnmean Publishing
- Dance Anatomy 2nd Edition - Jacqui Greene Haas
- Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation – Sandra Minton
Websites
- https://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet
- https://danceconsortium.com/
- https://www.onedanceuk.org/
- https://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/resources-3/article19-contemporary-dance-online
- https://www.jamescousinscompany.com/
- https://www.rambert.org.uk/
- https://boy-blue-2.webflow.io/
- https://www.stopgapdance.com/
- https://waynemcgregor.com/
- https://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/
To Watch
As much live dance as you can! Any style, any level, any platform. Visiting the theatre or going to a live dance installation (such as a site-sensitive performance) is the best way to experience this. However use platforms like youtube, vimeo and social media to check out the work of these companies:
- Rambert
- James Cousins Company
- Christopher Bruce
- Phoenix Dance Theatre
- Itzik Galili
- Wayne McGregor
- Boy Blue Entertainment
- Stopgap Dance Company
- Motionhouse
What other companies/choreographers can you find?
What do you enjoy about their work?
To Listen
- https://www.rambert.org.uk/homestudio/super-humans/podcasts
- https://www.ted.com/talks/wayne_mcgregor_a_choreographer_s_creative_process_inreal_time?language=en
To Research
Research platforms like Rambert Home Studio to see what further reputable online dance training you can take to support your technical development.
Find out what dance classes and community dance events are being held in your area, what could you get involved in?
To Visit
- Hazlitt Theatre
- Marlowe Theatre
- Sadlers Wells Theatre
- Pineapple Dance
Key Stage 5
A Level Dance is a dynamic and exciting qualification which has equal focus on practical exploration as well as theoretical, it is as much an intellectual pursuit as it is a vocational. The curriculum encourages students to develop their creative and intellectual capacity, alongside transferable skills such as collaboration, communication and problem solving.
This course unifies performance, choreographic and appreciation practices to explore the significance and impact of Dance across multiple contexts including historical, cultural, political, economical and societal making it relevant and inspiring for a lifelong passion and appreciation for the arts.
The course is primarily centred in Contemporary Dance, however students will be able to study a range of dance styles. Students can perform and choreograph in a style of their choice for the group work, providing it meets the assessment criteria.
This creative and thought-provoking qualification gives students the technical skills and a developing unique artistic identity with an academic underpinning to succeed in a number of careers within to creative industries. The department is successful with students consistently achieving top grades and going on to study in Dance at higher education. It is also noted that having a creative A Level has been an asset in facilitating students to progress on to higher education in a wider range of fields as creativity, divergent thinking and conviction in one’s own ideas is a universally sought-after trait amongst high education providers and employers. A Level dance will help them stand out in the workplace whatever their choice of career.
Exam board/Qualification: AQA Dance
Specification: 7237
- 1 Written paper 2.5 hours at the end of Year 13 – 50%
- Practical Performance Work – 50%
Course Content
Dance requires students to engage and participate in both practical and theoretical study.
During Year 12, students will gain an in-depth knowledge of the historical contexts of Contemporary Dance from its inception in the early 1900s to how it is one of the most thriving creative industries in current times. Students will look at how Dance has been affected by cultural, societal and political shifts and how the artform adapted, responded and evolved. Students will then delve deeper into a selection of specified practitioners and understand how they carved the current architecture of Dance. These include Marie Rambert, Norman Morrice, Christopher Bruce, Robert North and Richard Alston. Students will analyse the choreographic work of these practitioners as well as how they forged a connection between Dance in America and Dance in the UK.
Students will engage in vigorous technique lessons to build their physical skills as well as expressive skills in regular performance opportunities. Students will also be pushed creatively and engage in a series of thought-provoking creative workshops which explore dance as a visual art form, abstract expression and somatic practices. This will culminate in a Year 12 choreographic project.
In Year 13, students deepen their knowledge of Contemporary Dance by studying the developments of the genre in continental Europe. They will analyse how Dance changed between the modernist and postmodernist era. Students will study more current trends and developments in the dance industry and look at contemporary dance giants like Matthew Bourne, Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Jasmin Vardimon.
Students will complete their NEA coursework which is a solo performance embodying the style of a student-selected practitioners, a quartet performance and a Year 13 choreographic project.
Theory is taught weekly throughout the two years and delivered in a variety of ways such as lecture style presentations, practical tasks, student research tasks and independent reading tasks. We cover areas such as the characteristics and enhancements of materials, digital design and development, technology and cultural changes, marketing and enterprise, the work of others, feasibility studies and design communication to name a few.
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 8-10 hours of guided classroom learning
- 8-10 hours of guided independent homework
Assessment
The Non-Examination Assessment component (NEA) makes up 50% of their final grade and is taken in the spring of Year 13. It is marked by a visiting AQA examiner. The theory knowledge is assessed through an external examination and accounts for 50% of the A Level qualification. This is an essay-based examination paper.
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
Each year there are two large-scale dance performances, these include the annual RAG Dance show which typically raises over £1000 for charity each year. Students from all year groups take part, however there are specific opportunities for each Key Stage. A Level Dancers are encouraged to take on leadership roles in the choreography for the show. The second is the whole school musical production which features a specified dance cast, this is entry by audition and open to all students.
To Read
Books
Explore modern Dance history further:
- Modern Dance in Germany and the United States: Crosscurrents and Influences (Choreography and Dance Studies Series Book 5) – Isa Partsch-Bergsohn
- Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance Theory and Training – Marian Horosko
- Onstage with Martha Graham - Stuart Hodes
- Ballet and Modern Dance: A Concise History – Jack Anderson
Explore modernist and postmodernist Dance further:
- Terpsichore in Sneakers – Sally Banes
- Judson Dance Theater: The Work is Never Done - Ana Janevski
- Trisha Brown: Choreography as Visual Art – Susan Rosenberg
- Pina Bausch's Dance Theatre: Tracing the Evolution of Tanztheater (Edinburgh Critical Studies in Modernism, Drama and Performance) – Lucy Weir
- Merce Cunningham: Creative Elements (Choreography and Dance Studies Series) - David Vaughan
Explore Dance practitioners further:
- Akram Khan: Dancing New Interculturalism (New World Choreographies) – Royona Mitra
- Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui: Dramaturgy and Engaged Spectatorship (New World Choreographies) – Lise Uytterhoeven
- Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Dance: Conversations with Alastair Macaulay – Alastair Macaulay and Matthew Bourne
- Jasmin Vardimon's Dance Theatre: Movement, memory and metaphor – Libby Worth and Jasmin Vardimon
Explore technique and choreography further:
- Dance Words – Valerie Preston Dunlop
- Intimate Act of Choreography – Lynne Anne Blom
- Unworking Choreography: The Notion of the Work in Dance (Oxford Studies in Dance Theory) - Frédéric Pouillaud
- Choreography: Creating and Developing Dance for Performance - Kate Flatt
- Introduction to Modern Dance Techniques - Joshua Legg
Websites
General:
- https://danceconsortium.com/
- https://www.onedanceuk.org/
- https://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/resources-3/article19-contemporary-dance-online
Course content:
- https://www.rambert.org.uk/performance-database/people/christopher-bruce/
- https://www.scottishballet.co.uk/profile/christopher-bruce
- https://www.theplace.org.uk/richard-alston-dance-company-history
- https://www.rambert.org.uk/performance-database/people/robert-north/
- https://new-adventures.net/
- https://www.akramkhancompany.net/
- https://www.east-man.be/
- https://jasminvardimon.com/
- https://marthagraham.org/
- https://www.mercecunningham.org/
- https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/31/arts/how-the-judson-theater-changed-american-dance.html
- https://www.pinabausch.org/en/homehttps://www.rosas.be/en/8-anne-teresa-de-keersmaeker
Online Magazine: https://www.dancemagazine.com/
To Watch
As much live dance as you can! Any style, any level, any platform. Visiting the theatre or going to a live dance installation (such as a site-sensitive performance) is the best way to experience this. However use platforms like youtube, vimeo and social media to check out the work of these companies:
- Rambert
- Christopher Bruce
- Richard Alston
- Matthew Bourne
- Akram Khan
- Jasmin Vardimon
- Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
What other companies/choreographers can you find?
What do you enjoy about their work?
To Listen
https://www.rambert.org.uk/homestudio/super-humans/podcastshttps://www.ted.com/talks/wayne_mcgregor_a_choreographer_s_creative_process_in_real_time?language=en
To Research
Research platforms like Rambert Home Studio to see what further reputable online dance training you can take to support your technical development.
Find out what dance classes and community dance events are being held in your area, what could you get involved in?
To Visit
- Hazlitt Theatre
- Marlowe Theatre
- Sadlers Wells Theatre
- Pineapple Dance
- Jasmin Vardimon Pop Up Space – Ashford Outlet (https://www.mcarthurglen.com/en/outlets/uk/designer-outlet-ashford/whats-on/jasmin-vardimon/)
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