“Dance is the hidden language of the soul” - Martha Graham
At TGS in Year 10 & 11 we study the AQA GCSE Dance syllabus which includes both practical dance and theory classes. The students record 4 dances in total and complete a 1 hour 30-minute theory written examination at the end of Year 11. The students will study 6 professional critical works which explore a diverse range of dance styles including: hip-hop, contemporary, ballet, samba, capoeira and contact work. The students will create and analyse their own, devised dances; structuring the stories they want to tell based upon a choice of five set starting points (stimuli) and in their own dance style.
Component 1 is Practical Dance and worth 60% of their overall GCSE. It is split into two: Choreography (30%) and Performance (30%).
In the Choreography module, the students create their own dance (a solo or group) allowing them to express their individuality and explore dance styles of their choice and strength. With this, the students submit a document called ‘Programme Notes’ to explain their choreographic intent and what skills & devices they used to achieve this. This is 120-150 word document.
In the Performance module, the students perform and record a Duet/Trio of 3 minutes choreographed by the teacher, and they learn and perform two solo set phrases in a contemporary style set by AQA. These are called: ‘Breathe’ and ‘Shift’ and are less than 1 minute each.
Component 2 is our written examination. This exam is called ‘Dance Appreciation’ and split into 3 Sections: A, B and C.
Section A is about analysing choreographic processes and performance skills. It allows the students to get imaginative in creating a piece of dance as if they were choreographing it inspired by a set stimulus (a picture, a poem, a natural disaster, a piece of music, etc).
Section B is all about the critical appreciation of your own work. In this section of the written exam, students will talk about their own choreography, their duet/trio and the solo set phrases that they performed in the practical component.
Section C is a critical appreciation of professional works from the Dance Anthology. The students explore 6 set professional works (Within Her Eyes, Infra, Shadows, Artificial Things, Emancipation of Expressionism, A Linha Curva). In these longer style questions, the students will describe key features from the professional dances, interpret why specific devices were used and what contribution they have on the overall critical work.