Dance

Staffing List

Mrs Lowry - Head of Dance

Vision Statement:

Dance at Testbourne gives students the opportunity to work physically, creatively and intellectually. The subject is also key to improving life skills such as team work, commitment, dedication and above all confidence. Dance is accessible to anyone who is willing to open their minds to it.

Dance is part of the Performing Arts faculty.

Year 10-11 Curriculum Overview

Year 7

In Year 7 the students are taught the 5 basic body actions; jump, turn, gesture, travel and stillness. The focus of the SOW is on Martin Luther King. The students look into the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the famous speech by MLK. We use to the text of the speech and images to choreograph movement as well as perform movement taught by Miss Parry.

Year 8

Students will be looking at cultural dances. The main one we focus on is Bollywood dance and the use of Bharatanatyam Mudras (hand positions). The students are taught movements which use energy, repetition, accuracy and co-ordination. We use inspiration from Bollywood films, the music, and also the stories they tell, such as the Chipko Story. We use this story as a stimulus for choreography.

GCSE Dance Option

In Year 9 the students will explore 6 professional  dance works every half term. They analyse all features of the piece (set, costume, lighting, sound, movement) and how they contribute to communicating the dance idea. This is key for the dance exam paper (which the students sit at the end of year 11).

AQA have set 4 solo phrases that are all 30 seconds in length. 2 have been selected by Miss Parry to be taught as a solo. The other 2 will be used to develop and choreograph a duet or trio. This will take place in Year 10.

In Year 11 the students begin to look at choreographing their own work. The students are given an exam paper which has a list of stimuli they can pick from. They then begin rehearsing with their dancers to choreograph a work which communicates their chosen stimulus. At the end of Year 11 is their final written exam paper.

More details can be found by following this link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/dance/gcse/dance-8236/specification-at-a-glance

GCSE Dance AQA Specification

  • Exam board: AQA
  • Specimen papers and mark schemes for Dance are available for download from the AQA website.

GCSE Dance Resources can be found following this link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/dance/gcse/dance-8236/teaching-resources 

Videos to the GCSE Dance Set Phrases can be found following this link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/dance/gcse/dance/teach/set-phrases 

Key GCSE Dance vocabulary and definitions can be found following this link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/dance/gcse/dance/teach/subject-specific-vocabulary 

It is really vital that students are encouraged to rehearse and practice the things they are learning in lesson at home. It is recommended that they practice for an extra 1 hour per week on top of their lesson time. I would encourage the student to think about what they are struggling with or finding challenging in lessons and focus on this at home.

  • KS3 Dance Club
  • First Impulse - Boys Dance Company
Further information

For more details, please contact Miss Parry, Head of Dance, at: e.parry@testbourne.school