Dance

Key Stage 3

The dance curriculum and Putteridge High School aims to allow students to explore their creativity in a safe environment, connecting with peers to produce movements to be proud of. Students learn how to generate creative and skilled ideas for choreography through exploration and experimentation, building on from examples shown by the teacher and professional performances. Students learn how to effectively communicate choreographic intentions through strong performances and evaluate dances using constructive and proactive oral feedback. 

All year groups: Baseline Assessment

The baseline assessment aims to allow students to gain confidence through performing movement taught by the teacher. Students will learn a phrase of movement and perform this with a high level of accuracy of actions, space and dynamics, as well as demonstrating effective use of expressive skills and physical skills within their final performance. Periodically, throughout learning the phrase, students will complete self evaluations so they can understand their own progress with the movement they are performing and effectively create targets for improvement.

Year 7:

Thriller:

Students in year 7 will watch and explore how to embed a character within a dance performance. Students will learn about the basics of dance by analysing the movement in Michael Jackson’s famous Thriller music video. Practical exploration will begin by students learning movement from the video and aiming to accurately replicate this movement. We then explore choreography and how to create original movement from the stimulus of ‘zombies’, using Michael Jackson’s music video as a reference. 

Students will be assessed in two areas within the topic - the performance of the taught movement, and the students' creation of their own choreography. 

Year 8:

Emancipation of Expressionism:

This professional work was created by performer and choreographer Kenrick H20 Sandy and performed by Boy Blue Entertainment. The piece explores contrasting themes of order and chaos which is seen through the movements within the piece. Students will learn specific movement motifs from the professional work and use this movement to influence their own choreography in the style of the professional work, combining various hip-hop dance styles. 

Students will be assessed in two areas within the topic - the performance of the taught movement, and the students' creation of their own choreography. 

Year 9:

West Side Story:

Having studied dance for two years, students in year 9 begin to explore dance at a much deeper level of understanding. Students explore choreography with contact duets based on the opening Prologue of West Side Story. We explore how movement can provide an audience with a clear understanding of plot and the tension and atmosphere between the two rival gangs. 

Students will be assessed in two areas within the topic - the performance of the taught movement, and the students' creation of their own choreography.