Dance and Performing Arts

Curriculum Intent

In the Dance department we aim to engage and challenge students, through carefully planned programmes of study including choreography, improvisation, performance, dance technique and analysis of professional dance works. We believe that through developing students’ confidence in performance we can support their academic studies and prepare them for the adult world.

In addition to the National Curriculum aims, our ambitious curriculum at DSTC is designed:

To nurture creativity and independence
To explore cultural styles and dance genres and practitioners which engages and excites them
To develop artistic exploration and provide regular opportunities to become involved in trips, workshops, clubs and productions

Complementary Subjects:

Music (songs and orchestra),
PE (Fitness and team work),
Art (Expressive and Design skills),
Literature (Reading and Script work)

KS3

KS4

KS3

Students will have experienced some Dance through Physical Education lessons at primary school. However, the themes and genres will have varied, and therefore at DSTC it is crucial for our students to have greater exposure and broader experiences in order to build on their movement skills, confidence, understanding and creativity at each stage. Our aim is to expose them to a variety of cultural dance styles, choreographic and performance tasks, to educate and inspire them and give them the tools to express themselves and be effective communicators. Students develop and are assessed on their performance skills, alongside their appreciation of dance and ability to reflect on their own and others' performance.

KS3	Half Term 1	Half Term 2
Year 7	Cheerleading	Cultural dance Styles (eg: Bollywood)
Year 8	Early Decades of Dance (1920’s Charleston)	Late Decades of Dance (1980’s MJ)
Year 9	Professional Icon Reality TV (Dance Moms)	Profession Icons Musical theatre (Fosse)

Further Reading/Resources:

Theatre Shows
Strictly Come Dancing

KS4

Through the close study of professional Performing Arts works from a range of genres, including contemporary and ballet, we encourage students to reflect analytically on the effectiveness of these works to portray their message or narrative through the constituent features of theatre, e.g. costume, set and lighting design and accompaniment.

Students are also required to choreograph their own original Performing Arts works, develop their technical, expressive and performance skills and work collectively to develop exciting and thought-provoking performance pieces.

	Autumn 1	Autumn 2		Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Year 10	Unit 1: Exploring the Performing Arts				Unit 2: Developing Skills in Performing Arts
Year 11	Unit 3: Mock Exam Preparation		Unit 3: Responding to a brief by creating choreography and analysis

Further Reading/Resources: