Dance

For an overview of the pathways through the curriculum, please see our information page here.

 

Welcome to the Dance Department

Our Vision

Dance plays a role in the curriculum as it is an art form that combines physical literacy with imagination and creativity.  It remains a highly popular subject amongst children and young people encouraging their engagement in wider learning. For students, who are often not attracted to sports, dance remains the most popular physical activity, providing an effective means for addressing obesity and other health problems. In dance we aim to promote students’ ability to feel comfortable with how their bodies move and looking to develop self-confidence and self-esteem. We are also looking to develop independent and creative learners who are able to appreciate dance as a form of expression and develop an understanding about what makes a good performance.  

 

Curriculum

Click below to learn about how the Curriculum is planned, delivered and assessed in Performance.

Dance Curriculum

Each student at Admiral Lord Nelson School will have one lesson of Dance in year 7 and 8.  They will then have one lesson of performance in year 9. In year 9, students will have the opportunity to choose BTEC Performing Arts and opt for the dance pathway.

 

KS3

Welcome to Year 7 Dance!

All students in year 7 and 8 take part in one Dance lesson a week. In year 9, they will have one performance lesson a week, which is a combination of dance and drama. Each student will be practically engaged in understanding how they can move their body and how they go about creating a dance. We will be developing their movement memory and working to develop good dance technique. Students will be working to develop their self-confidence when working with other students by ensuring they contribute their ideas and listen to others. They will be taught set motifs to develop, and will have the opportunity to be creative and choreograph their own dances. They will perform to others and will receive regular feedback about how to become a better performer. Students will develop an understanding of the different styles of dance and will look at different choreographers.

What new skills will I be learning?
Group skills – working as part of a team in order to achieve a shared objective.

  • What are the 6 basic actions and how can we use these to create a performance.
  • What is a choreographic device and how can we use this to make our performances better?
  • You will understand what makes a good performance and will be working to develop your performance skills.
  • You will develop your independence skills, looking at managing your rehearsal time.
  • You will explore many different styles of dance for example; contemporary, street, musical theatre, jazz, cultural dances and disco.
In Year 7, you will study…

Autumn Term 1  –  Baseline Assessment, Chance Choreography
At the start of each year, students will take part in a baseline assessment in order to determine what level they are working at. This will allow us to determine a target level for the end of the year. Students will be given a choreographic task to complete for the first two lessons which they will perform to an audience. Following the baseline assessment they will be given a target level to aspire towards by the end of the year.

This scheme of learning explores how our body can move and looks at the 6 basic actions. Students will become more confident with how their body moves and will start to explore how we can put movements together in order to create a dance.

Autumn Term 2 – Graffiti 
In this unit, we explore how art can be used to create a performance using different styles of dance. We explore key terminology in more detail looking specifically at canon and unison.

Spring Term 1 – Musicals
We look at what musical theatre is and we use different musicals as a starting point for our choreography. We look at what mirroring is and start to consider characterisation within our performances.

Spring Term 2 – Secret agents
Secret agents is our stimulus for this unit exploring how we can use the movement of agents to create a performance. Students will learn what a motif is and will look at how they can use different devices to make this more individual to their groups. They will also explore floor work and understand why using levels is important for their choreography.

Summer Term 1 – Retro dance social (year 7 exam) 
Students will look at how dance has evolved from the 1950s until the present day. We start with Rock n Roll from the 1950s, moving through the swinging sixties onto the disco era of the 1970s and we finish in the present day exploring street dance. During this unit we will prepare students for their year 7 exam which will be practical performance to the class.

Summer Term 2 – Gambia 
As part of the whole school focus we look at African dance and start to understand what body percussion is. Students will have the opportunity to perform at this years Gambia evening.

 

Welcome to Year 8 Dance!

All students in year 7 and 8 take part in one Dance lesson a week. In year 9, they will have one performance lesson a week, which is a combination of dance and drama. Each student will be practically engaged in understanding how they can move their body and how they go about creating a dance. We will be developing their movement memory and working to develop good dance technique. Students will be working to develop their self-confidence when working with other students by ensuring they contribute their ideas and listen to others. They will be taught set motifs to develop, and will have the opportunity to be creative and choreograph their own dances. They will perform to others and will receive regular feedback about how to become a better performer. Students will develop an understanding of the different styles of dance and will look at different choreographers.

What new skills will I be learning?

An overview of the new skills they learn throughout the year

  • Group skills – working as part of a team in order to achieve a shared objective.
  • You will understand what a choreographic device is and will be confident to use these within your work.
  • You will be confident to give feedback to others focusing on how to make the performance even better.
  • As part of a group, you will offer your ideas and suggestions and make sure you use your rehearsal time effectively.
  • You will explore many different styles of dance for example; contemporary, street, musical theatre, jazz, and disco.
  • In year 8 you will have the opportunity to look at different cultural dances and explore the origin of these dances.
In Year 8, you will study…

Autumn term 1  –  Baseline Assessment/ Chance Choreography Heroes and Villains
Using the starting point of Chance choreography students are given the task to show what they are able to do at the start of each year as part of their baseline assessment. This will allow us to determine what level students are currently working at and also decide on a target level for the end of the year.

Heroes and Villains
In this unit we use superheroes to understand what a motif is and students will be working to develop their own character motifs. They will also be starting to understand what contact work is.

Autumn Term 2 – The Matrix 
Students will use the smash hit move The Matrix as a stimulus for a dance specifically looking at what is Fragmentation and what a dynamic is.

Spring Term 1 – Nutcracker/ Dreams and Nightmares
In this unit we look at some professional repertoire from Matthew Bournes version of The Nutcracker. We explore contemporary dance and look more at characterisation.

Spring Term 2 – World Dances
We travel across the globe to discover a variety of different cultural dances looking at learning key movements from many different countries.

Summer Term 1 – Thriller 
Students will be working to create a pop video using the original Michael Jacksons Thriller as a starting point.

Summer Term 2 – Robotics (Year 8 Exam) 
We look at how robots move and we use this as a stimulus for creating a dance performance. We look at what a dynamic is and how we can show this through our movement. In this unit, students will be working to develop their performance which will be used for their Year 8 exam. This will be a performance to their class.

KS4

Welcome to Year 9 – The beginning of the BTEC Tech Award!

Students will have the opportunity to develop their Drama skills in preparation for the new BTEC Technical Award in Acting. use the skills which they have used in their Dance and Drama lessons to understand what makes a good performance. Students will have workbooks which allows students to track their progress and it can be used in preparation for Year 10.

What new skills will I be learning?
Students will become more confident to perform in front of others.

  • They will be able to use performance related vocabulary during their group work and also to evaluate others.
  • They will work to develop their group working skills by sharing ideas with others, listening to others and working cooperatively within a group.
  • They will become independent learners looking to develop their time management skills ensuring that rehearsal time is used to make their performance better.
  • They will develop their ability to evaluate others and will be able to provide others with good quality verbal feedback.
  • They will use scripts and will work to interpret characters for a performance.
In Year 9, you will study….
  • A range of different performance styles.
  • Different playwrights.
  • Practical skills development.
  • A performance project.

 

Welcome to Year 10 & 11 Dance!

The BTEC dance course is open to all students who have a passion for learning about Dance and the Performing Arts Industry.  If you enjoy dance and like performing to an audience this is the course for you. This course will help you to improve as a performer as well as providing you with an insight into what happens behind the scenes and how the Performing Arts Industry works.

This course will be predominantly practically based however, there will also be a controlled assessment, which is a letter of application for a job within the Performing Arts Industry. Prior to this assessment, students will have the opportunity to prepare for the letter.

As well as learning about how to become a better dancer, students will also become part of a dance production company and learn about how to run a dance event.

What new skills will I be learning?

  • You will work to develop and improve your dance technique
  • You will be confident to experiment with a variety of different dance styles/
  • You will learn from practical work and interaction with professionals who work in the Performing Arts Industry
  • You will perform on a large number of occasions to different audiences.
  • You will view live dance.
  • You will learn how to create a well-rounded performance.
  • You will be taught professional repertoire and you will have the opportunity to develop this within groups.
In Year 10 & 11, you will study…

Unit 1: Individual Showcase
In this unit you will be looking at what you need to include within a letter of application for a job within the performing arts industry.

Unit 2: Preparation, Performance and Production
In this unit you will learn how to develop a performance piece as a member of a fictional performance company.

Unit 4: Dance Skills
This course unit is about developing your versatility as a dancer. As part of this development you will be encouraged to develop your physical skills to help you become a stronger and more flexible dancer.

In Key Stage 4 students can follow the Edexcel BTEC Dance course.

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/btec-tech-awards/performing-arts.html 

The focus within the Performing Arts at all levels is “Creating, Performing, Responding.”

Assessment measures engagement, participation and skill level.

AIMS:
  • To fully implement the whole school assessment policy.
  • To provide assessment which is effective in ensuring that all students make progress and engage with their learning.

Assessment is not an end in itself; its main purpose it to support teaching and learning by identifying what students already know and can do and what their next step should be. Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning which is evident in EVERY lesson.

By assessing students accurately and consistently and recording key information we:

  • Build a clear picture of each student’s skills, knowledge, understanding and approaches to learning;
  • Identify each student’s strengths and the priority areas for their future learning;
  • Identify the progress of students in individual lessons;
  • Evaluate and improve the teaching strategies used with students;
  • Evaluate the progress of each student over  time;
  • Identify, celebrate and share success.

This course is continually assessed through practical work, workshops, performances and a log book that students must keep. There is one externally assessed element of the course which is still practical.  Students will be awarded a Pass, Merit or Distinction depending on which criteria they achieve throughout the course.

Students are entitled to:
  • A positive, safe learning environment which allows students to develop their skills with others showing respect for one another.
  • Well planned schemes of work and lessons which set out clear learning objectives.
  • Be creative and engaged with their learning ensuring that they are challenged and take responsibility for their progress.
  • Opportunities in lessons to evaluate others performances considering and understanding what makes a good performance.
  • A clear understanding of the assessment criteria within Dance so that they are able to track and monitor their progress.
  • The opportunity to perform in front of a live audience both in lessons and outside of lessons.
Teaching in Dance lessons should have:
  • A positive environment where students feel confident to perform and give feedback to others.
  • Students should be free to express their ideas with others developing their ability to work within a group and understand how to work cooperatively with others.
  • Suitable levels of challenge where students are able to work outside of their comfort levels in order to progress further.
  • Shared learning objectives which enable the student to understand what is expected of them and what they are trying to learn within the lesson.
  • Clear assessment criteria which students can monitor and understand what needs to be achieved in order to progress further. 
  • The opportunity to share and celebrate the achievement of others.