Dance
Subject Introduction
Head of Department: Ciara Wynn-Davis
Department Mission Statement
At Christ’s School we are committed to providing a Dance curriculum that is broad, balanced and challenging, fostering a love of learning that promotes the development of lifelong learners. We match our curriculum to the abilities, interests and aspirations of our students, to give every child the opportunity to strive for personal excellence. We aim to recognise children’s prior learning, provide first hand learning experiences, allow the children to develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and self-confidence, allowing them to become creative dancers.
Christ’s School places a huge emphasis on extracurricular sport with a large part of this the extensive extracurricular dance programme. We are proud to be affiliated with Dance Studio London; a premier dance company that offers specialist provision for schools and colleges. Their vision, like ours, is to deliver quality, industry-relevant and progressive dance education in schools. We believe arts education should be creative and enriching, but most importantly inclusive.
At Christ’s School we offer over 10 hours of extra-curricular dance lessons. All of our lessons take place in our state of the art dance suite.
The department is led by Ms Wynn-Davies who is committed to ensuring that every student has a positive experience in Dance. At Christ’s School we want to ‘inspire a generation’, we therefore continually develop our knowledge and expertise so that our curriculum supports every child who comes to Christ's School.
All Christ’s School dance fixtures, results, photos and video clips are now on Facebook, Instagram and twitter.
The Curriculum
Key Stage 3
In KS3 all students are taught Dance as part of the PE curriculum. This consists of 6 lessons over a three week period.
During year 9 students are offered the option of GCSE Dance.
Topics covered
Year 7: Key terminology in dance through the Lion King scheme of work.
Year 8: Key terminology linked with various dance styles:
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Ballet
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Modern
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Contemporary
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Irish Dancing
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Hip Hop
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Musical Theatre
Year 9: Students select their favourite style of dance to choreograph their own dances- they must include a variety of dance terminology.
Key Stage 4
In KS4 students have the opportunity to study AQA GCSE Dance.
Topics covered in Year 10 and Year 11 Dance GCSE
GCSE Dance students receive 5 hours of lesson time over our two week timetable. 3 of these are practical lessons and 2 are theory.
Core content
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Performance
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Choreography
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Dance appreciation
Assessments
Students must complete both assessment components.
Component 1: Performance and choreography
Performance
Set phrases through a solo performance (approximately one minute in duration)
Duet/trio performance (three minutes in a dance which is a maximum of five minutes in duration)
Choreography
Solo or group choreography – a solo (two to two and a half minutes) or a group dance for two to five dancers (three to three and a half minutes)
Internally marked and externally moderated
Performance
30% of GCSE
40 marks
Choreography
30% of GCSE
40 marks
Total component 60%
Non-exam assessment (NEA) marked by the centre and moderated by AQA.
Component 2: Dance appreciation
Knowledge and understanding of choreographic processes and performing skills
Critical appreciation of own work
Critical appreciation of professional works
40% of GCSE
Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
80 marks
Questions are based on students' own practice in performance and choreography and the GCSE Dance anthology.
KEY STAGE 5 - A LEVEL
In Key Stage 5 students have the opportunity to study AQA A Level Dance.
Why choose A level Dance?
A-level Dance is a dynamic qualification which encourages students to develop their creative and intellectual capacity, alongside transferable skills such as team working, communication and problem solving. All of these are sought after skills by higher education and employers and will help them stand out in the workplace whatever their choice of career.
This specification reflects both historical and current dance practices, making it more relevant, and inspires a lifelong passion and appreciation for dance.
Subject Content
1. Performance
2. Choreography
3. Critical engagement
Component one: Performance and choreography
What's assessed
Solo performance linked to a specified practitioner within an area of study
Performance in a quartet
Group choreography
How it's assessed
Practical exam
80 marks
50% of A-level
Component two: Critical appreciation
What's assessed
Knowledge, understanding and critical appreciation of two set works.
One compulsory set work within the compulsory area of study
One optional set work within the corresponding area of study, from a choice of four.
How it's assessed
Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
100 marks
50% of A-level
Btec Performing Arts coming soon.
ENRICHMENT & EXTRA-CURRICULAR
A full extra-curricular timetable is run to support the sports that we compete in for that term. Our Dance timetable is part of this timetable. You can also find the Dance Studio London timetable here.
At Christ’s School we offer over 10 hours per week of extra-curricular dance lessons. All of our lessons take place in our state of the art dance suite.
CAREERS
AQA has bridged the gap between GCSE, AS and A-level, giving your students the skills and experience to better prepare them for the demands of AS and A-level if they choose to progress with their study.
You can find out about all AQA Dance qualifications here.
EXAM BOARD
KS4
Exam Board: AQA GCSE Dance
Course Code: 8236
KS5
Exam Board AQA Specification 7237QAN
