Dance
There’s nothing wrong with fear; the only mistake is to let it stop you in your track.” Twyla Tharp
Harris Garrard Academy follows a three-year Key Stage 3 Dance curriculum and a two-year Key Stage 4 Dance curriculum.
This gives the benefit of developing a curriculum in greater depth and provides depth to the students' experiences, giving enough time to fully explore creative tasks and develop performance and appreciation skills, whilst recognising key styles that student find accessible.
It does not assume the varying prior knowledge from primary education and it has been created in order to develop skills and knowledge through topics the students will find enjoyable and beneficial to their learning. It highlights the necessity for depth in fewer areas and allows for a strong understanding of concepts and topics.
Key Stage 3 overview
At Key Stage 3, the units are taught consecutively, after which they rotate with Music; students who have completed Music then come to learn Dance. Using this method allows for depth to the students’ experiences, providing sufficient time to fully explore tasks and develop their music and dance-based skills. The schemes designed aim to tailor to all abilities and follows and broad variety of styles and themes set out in the long-term plan.
Using the format of a rotation also allows for the exploration of similar subject specific and transferable skills in multiple different contexts. The knowledge and skills required for both the Dance and Music strands - such as rhythm, timing, aural skills, appreciation and creativity - can then be interleaved throughout the year, for optimal knowledge retention throughout the rotations between strands and further developing of these core skills.
Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be returned to the people.” Alvin Ailey
Key Stage 4 overview
At Key Stage 4, students have the option to study GCSE Dance. The dancers experience live Dance and recorded Dance work as well as choreographing, performing and appreciating continued from Key Stage 3. The aim is to teach the GCSE content as much as possible through practical application, whilst supporting knowledge through theory lessons. The AQA GCSE Dance course specification is covered, which allows to the study of various dance styles, themes and performances as well as critical appreciation and choreographic developments.
You can download Knowledge Organisers for each year group from our Knowledge Organisers page.
For queries about the Dance at KS4 curriculum please contact Natasha Baker-Wells n.baker-wells@harrisgarrard.org.uk.
Further details of the curriculum can be found below.
Year 7
In Year 7, students start their Dance journey by looking at safe practice. This includes being able to explain the rationale of safe practice and safe execution and demonstrating it through hydration, nutrition, warm up, cool down and appropriate dancewear. Students will then learn of contemporary modern dance, Alvin Ailey and the components of dance; actions, space and dynamics. Students will then learn of physical skills and the importance and difference these make in a dance. Finally, students will explore samba history and technique whilst furthering their understanding physical skills and the components of dance.
Year 8
In Year 8, students continue their Dance journey by looking at jazz dance. This includes being able to explain varying relationships and dance for camera pieces within film, jazz dance, whilst understanding the history and impact on jazz dance of Bob Fosse. Students will then learn of Afro dance and its development using relationships. This will continue as they look deeper into the history of Afro and the impact it has. Finally, they will look at contemporary dance. They will also be able to develop their technical skills to ensure accurate performance.
Year 9
In Year 9, students continue their Dance journey by looking at commercial dance and the use of choreographic devices to change this. Students will then learn of hip-hop dance and its sub-styles and history. This will be studied in conjunction to expressive skills and their impact on performance. Students will be able to learn, identify and understand the use of choreographic devices in their unit before using them to their own dances from a stimulus at the end of their journey.
Year 10
In Year 10, students continue their Dance journey and delve into BTEC Component 2 by re-looking at safe practice. This includes being able to explain the rationale of safe practice and safe execution and demonstrating it through hydration, nutrition, warm up, cool down and appropriate dancewear in much greater depth. This reinforces their theoretical work which will re-establish the components of movement. Students will also rehearse and perform professional repertoire as part of Component 2.
This then develops into looking at choreographic work in Component 1 including devices, structuring, aural setting, performance environment and choreographic processes, in preparation for their creation of their own dances in Year 11. Students will then learn the knowledge of the set works; ‘A Linha Curva’, ‘Within Her Eyes’ and ‘Shadows’. Here students will learn to identify, describe and explain the features of production (costume, staging, lighting, props, dancers, aural setting) in each set work as well as the choreographic content in preparation for the exam in the winter of Year 11.
Year 11
Year 11 continues the dance journey at GCSE by continuing their knowledge of set works; ‘Infra’ and ‘Emancipation of Expressionism’. Here students will learn to identify, describe and explain the feature of production (costume, staging, lighting, props, dancers, aural setting) in each set work as well as the choreographic content in preparation for the exam in Year 11. Year 11 will complete their non-examination assessment in performance by demonstrating their set phrases and duets learned in Year 10, focusing on their performance skills (physical, technical, mental and expressive skills). Year 11 will then develop and perform their own choreographies using choreographic processes, devices, aural setting, performance environment, components of dance and structuring. These are based on stimuli set by the exam board AQA. Finally students will recap all the knowledge learned over the two years in preparation for the summative theory exam in June.
Careers
Dance develops creative, imaginative, physical, emotional and intellectual capacities - transferable skills which can be applied to a wide range of careers. Listed below are some examples of specific careers in dance:
- Professional choreographer
- Professional dancer
- Rehearsal director
- Dance teacher- private dance sector
- Dance teacher- within primary/secondary education
- Dance lecturer
- Dance education officer - community/professional company
- Director
- Stage management
- Theatre management
- Advertising
Find out more about the careers programme at Harris Garrard Academy.
