DANCE & PERFORMING ARTS:

Subject Information Overview

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Curriculum
Area Staff Curriculum
Information Curriculum
Overview Exam information for GCSE
qualifications in this Subject Area Knowledge
Organisers

Curriculum Area Staff

Lucy Farrell

Should you require more information about this subject area please contact:

Name: Mrs L Farrell
Position: Dance Leader, Director of Performing Arts
Email: lh@selbyhigh.co.uk

Curriculum INFORMATION

The dance curriculum has been designed to allow students opportunities to develop their creative skills, in working on a range of different performance styles and stimuli. Providing opportunities for learners to embrace culturally significant works and expose them to modern dance companies will broaden their horizons and allow them to understand the importance of dance in our society. Students will develop the skills necessary for later life, including focus, resilience, problem solving, teamwork, cooperation, communication and creativity. The focus of the curriculum in dance is not only providing students with opportunities to engage with professional work and varying styles of dance but allowing them to become more expressive, confident and creative individuals. The challenges presented in lessons will enable students to build their dance knowledge and push them outside of their comfort zones to perform in front of others and be proud of the work that they produce. Dance will support students to achieve their full potential through providing a positive learning environment, encouraging students to be open to new opportunities and challenges and motivated to learn something new.

The Dance Curriculum at Selby High School has been designed to provide students with an extensive overview of the importance and values of dance, it aims to provide challenging, yet innovative opportunities for students, that will truly allow all to excel. Students will develop their skills in creativity, performance and evaluation equipping them with valuable life skills and the confidence that they can fulfil their limitless potential. As a department we aim to:

Promote confidence and expression through the sharing of performance work
Develop innovative and evaluative responses to performance work
Develop creative and inspirational choreography that pushes the boundaries of creativity
Engage with and appreciate all dance performance work
Accept critique in a positive light and use it to improve performance work
Appreciate and be inspired by a range of different stimuli and dance styles
Create links between the key features of different dance styles to expand their knowledge and understanding
Provide plenty of opportunities for all pupils to perform in front of varying audiences
Expose all pupils to different styles of dance and how they relate to different cultures and beliefs
To teach pupils how to be an effective member of an audience
Be more open and accepting of new challenges in lessons in response to the varying nature of dance
Build resilience amongst our learners when facing creative challenges in group

In Year 8 students study dance alongside their performing arts curriculum in drama and music. Throughout the year they will explore the knowledge and skills of how to create a piece of dance utilising the building blocks of-actions, space, relationships and dynamics. These building blocks will be encountered through a range of topics such as horror, street dance and hip hop, cultural dance and afrobeats, culminating in their final topic of the year, the Charleston. Students will gain experience in creating their own dance material generated from developing and adapting given motifs, they will learn how to structure a performance piece, how to create movement to music and how to perform successfully in front of an audience. Students will also practice giving meaningful feedback to others. As part of the performing arts curriculum students will also develop their dance and performance skills in year 9, having the opportunity to develop movement in their musical theatre and devising topics. For students progressing onto Key Stage four, they will study the BTEC Performing Arts (Dance) course, which continues to develop their creative and performance skills, they will learn about how professional performance works are created through collaboration of a range roles, understand the creative process from concept through to performance, what is it like to be a dancer performing professionally and how to create their own performance work from a given stimuli.

Curriculum Overview

Below is a summary overview of the topics and their content that will be studied in each term by each year group. For more information about each topic, get your child to visit learning journeys and resources on the school online learning platform - Ready Steady Learn.

Year Group	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
8	Autumn term 1: Horror-understanding the building blocks of dance (actions, space, relationships and dynamics). Autumn term 2: Street Dance/Hip Hop-understanding the use of space and actions in the context of this specific performance style.	Spring term 1: Dance from around the world-appreciating culturally diverse performance styles. Haka, Bollywood and Bhangra and African dance. Spring term 2: Afrobeats-developing knowledge of performance skills such as musicality and expressionism and focusing on including a range of creative actions, space and relationships in their work.	Summer term 1 and 2: The Charleston. Focusing specifically on developing the students' knowledge of dynamics, as well as continuing to build upon their knowledge of the building blocks of dance: actions, space, relationships and dynamics. The students will create an end of term performance that encompasses all of their knowledge gained during their year of dance.
Assessment details	Students will undertake a half termly assessment and a formal termly assessment to review their knowledge, skills and overall progress. Students will be assessed against the three strands of the performing arts: create, perform and respond.	Students will undertake a half termly assessment and a formal termly assessment to review their knowledge, skills and overall progress. Students will be assessed against the three strands of the performing arts: create, perform and respond.	Students will undertake a half termly assessment and a formal termly assessment to review their knowledge, skills and overall progress. Students will be assessed against the three strands of the performing arts: create, perform and respond.
9	Within Year 9 Performing Arts, students will gain experience of the skills and knowledge required for the BTEC courses at KS4. In term 1 students will learn about different styles and genres of music, drama and dance and create performance work inspired by different stimuli linked to Component 1. Students will create a performance for assessment inspired by the script text ‘Zero for the Young Dudes’.	Students will learn about different roles and their responsibilities that exist within the world of performing arts in the development of a performance piece such as the set, costume, choreographer, lighting and sound designers. Students will study and analyse the key features of musical theatre and create their own performance work based on repertoire and key themes of a given musical theatre piece. Students will have the responsibility to decide on which key role they play within the creation of their piece and must contribute effectively to its development in readiness for their final assessed performance, which will be inspired by the musical Hamilton.	Students will be given a creative assignment brief linked to the BTEC Tech Award Component 3. They will be challenged to develop their own ideas working successfully together in groups. Students will need to create their own performance pieces and justify their given choices to ensure that they are clear on the intention of their work. Students will present their ideas and perform their work to a selected audience for assessment.
Assessment details	Students will undertake a termly assessment to review their knowledge, skills and overall progress. Students will be assessed against the three strands of the performing arts: create, perform and respond.	Students will undertake a termly assessment to review their knowledge, skills and overall progress. Students will be assessed against the three strands of the performing arts: create, perform and respond.	Students will undertake a termly assessment to review their knowledge, skills and overall progress. Students will be assessed against the three strands of the performing arts: create, perform and respond.
10	Autumn term 1 and 2: BTEC Performing Arts and Dance Component 1-Exploring the Performing Arts.	Spring term 1 and 2: Students will complete their Component 1 assessment from January until May in the first year of the qualification.	Summer term 1 and 2: Preparation for Component 2-Developing Skills and Techniques in the Performing Arts.
Assessment details	BTEC Performing Arts and Dance preparation for the Component 1 internal assessment which is handed out in December.	BTEC Performing Arts and Dance Component 1 internal assessment worth 30% of the students overall grade.
11	Continue preparation for Component 2, with a view to completing the assignment brief from September to December. Students will also be completing a mock of Component 3 which is the external devised unit.	BTEC will release the Component 3-Responding to an External Brief in January of the final year of the qualification. Students will have 12 weeks to prepare, research and complete this externally marked assessment.
Assessment details	Component 2 internal assessment from September-December.	40% External assessment will take place throughout the period of January to May. Students will have three written tasks and a practical task completed in examination conditions. All work completed will be submitted to the exam board for marking.	Students will have finished the qualification by May of their final year. Their final qualification grade will be calculated by Pearson and released in August.

Exam information for GSCE qualifications in this subject area

Click each link below to view the full specification:

BTEC Tech Award in Performing Arts (Dance focus)

Component 1-Exploring the Performing Arts 30%

Component 2-Developing Skills and Techniques in the Performing Arts 30%

Component 3-Responding to a Brief 40%