Dance

Students in primary will have the opportunity within PE lessons to experience dance and will look at different themes in a number of styles. In addition to lesson time, students can come to a weekly dance club. All this develops the confidence and skills needed to access the KS3 dance curriculum within their PE lessons.

Students will experience a range of skills during their dance lessons which supports the school drivers of SCHOLAR. They will be able to work with others when creating dance material to promote social awareness, be able to shape and refine their dances to achieve the very best through reflection, take on leadership roles within small groups and be encouraged to discuss dance using subject specific vocabulary showing oracy skills.

Students are required to wear their Samuel Ryder Academy PE kit for dance lessons. All dancers should have bare feet.

In years 7 and 8, students will experience a range of dance-based activities where they will learn how to create, perform and appreciate dance. In Year 9 students are able to select dance as an option and will have 2 practical dance lessons a week. They will experience a range of dance styles from contemporary to jazz dance. In addition to learning a variety of styles, students will be able to appreciate professional repertoire linked to the GCSE course to prepare them for KS4 and they will also cover a range of practical skills and course content. In addition to lesson time, students can attend a weekly dance club. Students will experience dance from different cultures and genres to enrich their vocabulary and prepare them for GCSE dance, for example ‘A Linha Curva’ choreographed by Itzik Gallili inspired by Brazilian culture.

Students in year 9 use the learning platform Seesaw.

Year 9

Course: Bronze Arts Award, Trinity College, optional.

Students attend two dance lessons per week and work towards the Bronze Arts Award (Trinity College London) qualification over the course of the year. Through the Arts Award, students will achieve a national qualification that will build confidence through nurturing their individual interests, while also equipping them with life skills that will support their wider education and future employment. Students take on challenges and participate in dance activities, experience live theatre events, get inspired by practitioners and artists and share their dance skills with others.

To pass the Bronze Arts Award, learners are required to create an individual arts log or portfolio during the course that demonstrates how they meet the following requirements in four distinct parts:

• Development of interests, knowledge and skills through active participation in dance (part A)
• Experience of at least one arts event/experience as an audience member (part B)
• Research into the work of a practitioner/artist/craftsperson that inspires them (part C)
• Experience of passing on an arts skill (part D)

The Bronze Arts Award lays the foundations for the GCSE course that starts in year 10: developing the skills and techniques expected to succeed at Key Stage Four dance. Students also have the opportunity to progress onto Silver or Gold Arts Award.

Students are required to wear their Samuel Ryder Academy PE kit with black leggings for dance lessons. All dancers should have bare feet.

Course:  AQA GCSE Dance 8236

GCSE Dance Specification Specification for first teaching in 2016 (aqa.org.uk)

In Year 10 and 11, students will have three lessons a week of GCSE dance. Two lessons will be practical based and the third is a theory lesson. The students will learn two set phrases and perform in a group dance along with choreographing their own dance. This is worth 60%. The remaining 40% is the written component where students will be able to show their knowledge and understanding of the various dance skills, write about their own experience of performance and choreography as well as analysing the Dance Anthology (six professional dance works), looking at costume, lighting, set design, aural setting and movement content.

GCSE dance naturally promotes and underpins the SCHOLAR drivers in its very nature. All students will regularly work with their peers in groups, challenge themselves with choreographic tasks where they have to research, plan and create material in response to a stimulus, rehearse and critically evaluate their own and other work and write and talk about dance using dance vocabulary.

The GCSE Anthology is designed to give students a wider knowledge of dance works from different cultures, genres and inclusive dance, for example ‘Artificial Things’ choreographed by Lucy Bennet and performed by Stop Gap Dance Company.

GCSE Dance students use One Note.

Course resources: all resources and revision guides are uploaded onto One Note.

Course: AQA A level dance 7273

A-level Dance Specification Specification for first teaching in 2016 (aqa.org.uk)

Students have the option of studying A level dance and this builds on the skills and content learned at GCSE. It is a dynamic qualification which encourages students to develop their creative and intellectual capacity. The course reflects both historical and current dance practices, and students are able to study a range of dance styles enabling them to perform and choreograph in a style of their choice. The course is split into 50% for the practical exam and 50% for the written exam. For the practical exam students have to perform a solo in the style of a practitioner, perform in a quartet and choreograph a group dance. In the written exam students have to write about and analyse two selected areas of study and two professional dance works.

A level dance students use Seesaw.

Students can attend a weekly Primary dance club throughout the year. Students in the club have many performance opportunities such as showcases at school and more recently the County Dance Teachers Association Dance Festival at the Alban Arena. Year 6 students will take part in a musical in the summer term, previous shows have included Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Mary Poppins.

There are weekly dance clubs for KS3, where dance captains have the opportunity to support, and KS4, again culminating in regular showcase performances and in the CDTA Dance Festival.

School Production (Primary) – Students in year 6 during the summer term work with the drama, music and dance departments to put on a full junior production of a book musical. Recent successful productions include The Lion King and Mary Poppins.

School Production (Secondary) - Students from all year groups are invited to take part in the annual school production which is performed during the Spring term. This is a valuable opportunity for students to work together creatively, make new friends and experience the thrill of performing to a live audience. There is a role to suit everyone whether it be as an actor, musician, singer, dancer, costume designer, sound engineer, lighting operator or front of house manager. Recent successful productions include Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act, Shrek and Legally Blonde.

Each year, the dance department, alongside music and drama, engage in a variety of professional theatre productions for both enjoyment and exam syllabus. Recent productions include; The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Matilda, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, The Life of Pi, The Play that Goes Wrong, The Woman in Black and an annual trip to the local pantomime with year 7.

Every year in March there is a House Dance competition where each house in each year has the chance to enter the competition to showcase their performance and choreographic skills.

Careers in Dance:

One Dance UK | A Guide to Careers in Dance

There are many pathways available to students who have studied dance such as a choreographer, set and costume designer, dance movement therapist, dance scientist, yoga teacher, etc.

Resources | One Dance UK

Rambert - Contemporary dance company London

Free Your Mind (boyblue.co.uk)

Strikingly original choreography | James Cousins Company

Stopgap – Dance Company (stopgapdance.com)

Multi award winning British dance choreographer Wayne McGregor