Dance is the language of movement. The ability to communicate and give expression to social and personal experience through the medium of dance has been explored throughout history and in different cultures. Dance at Year 9 is designed to develop students’ understanding and appreciation of dance as an art form as well as developing their technical and physical skills through practical dance sessions. The curriculum is broken down into three main areas:
Technique (teacher led practical tasks which develop the physical skills)
Dance Making (students create their own dance works)
Theory (written assignments, research analysis and terminology)
Students are introduced to Safe Dance Practices and the importance of warming up. They begin to develop their physical skills in dance by attending practical dance sessions in a mixture of dance styles. Students safely perform within their own body capabilities and learn to work safely in dance spaces and groups.
Students explore the fundamentals of Dance Making through composition and group tasks. They are introduced to the basics of choreography, in particular the Movement Categories and the Elements of Space and Time. Students will begin to learn about dance analysis and documentation.
Students are introduced to the concept of developing dance themes and an intention. This is done through structured improvisation tasks, learnt works and small group dance making activities that draw on the knowledge and skills learnt in the previous units.
Students investigate Musical Theatre and the history and evolution of this popular style. They will explore the element of Stagecraft (costume, set, lighting, make-up) and create, rehearse and perform a group dance based on Musical Theatre for an intended audience. Students will continue to develop their dance analysis and documentation skills. This unit culminates in a performance of all their dance pieces created throughout the year as part of the SS Dance Showcase.
Practical units are assessed with regular feedback, often culminating in a performance task which assesses the process as well as the final product.
An end of semester ‘sharing’ performance will be the culmination of the semester’s learning and assess both the process and their performance.
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