Dance
Dance encourages students to develop their creative, physical and collaborative skills. It provides a varied and inclusive learning experience, allowing aspiring dancers to develop their talents as well as challenging them to push boundaries.
Dance is compulsory for students in Years 7 and 8, and focuses upon three distinct disciplines: Choreography, Performance and Appreciation. Students will gain the skills necessary to become independent thinkers, problem solvers, presenters, and collaborators whilst developing resilience, communication and confidence.
Held in July, our annual St Bart’s Dance Showcase is a highlight of the calendar. The evening is a celebration of the St Bart’s dance community and includes the performance of a variety of works from across our different year groups, including exam pieces and work by the Validus Company and Validus Academy*. As part of the Showcase our student Dance Leaders also work with local Primary schools, who often perform their own piece on the night.
Students also perform in the Spring Equinox, which is held at Newbury Corn Exchange and is a celebration of dance, performed by West Berkshire schools, youth dance companies, community projects and specialist performing arts colleges, as well as the ACE Dance Platform in December at Arlington Arts.
*The Validus Company was founded by the Dance Department to support students looking to continue their dance journey at highly competitive dance schools. The Company comprises Year 9, GCSE and A Level St Bart’s students, all of whom audition for a coveted place.
In Years 7 and 8, students are on a rotation with Drama therefore experience 3 units of Dance with 1 hour lesson a week. Students then choose whether to follow Dance as a Year 9 option.There is a focus on technical skills of Actions, Space, Dynamics and Relationships.
Year 7 Curriculum
Year 7 students will explore Actions, Space, Dynamics and Relationships in detail to choreograph their own motifs in groups. Alongside this, students also learn the basic routines of performance and appreciation by reflecting on their own and others’ work. Year 7 analyse and respond to different types of stimuli which covers different dance styles, cultures and current affairs.
In Year 7, you will have a chance to explore 3 units of work:
- Introduction to Dance (Learning the fundamentals of safe practice and choreographing a motif using chance, actions and space)
- Theme of Survival (Learning and choreographing a selection of dances based on the theme of survival utilising actions, dynamics and some spatial elements)
- Refugee Crisis (Learning how to use RADS effectively to choreograph motifs which portray different characters, narratives, emotions and moods)
Year 8 Curriculum
In Year 8 students expand on skills learnt in Year 7, gaining knowledge and understanding of how to develop their work, using more complex stimuli, analysing professional works, choreographic devices, deeper reflection on practical skills and choreographic processes and approaches.
In Year 8, you will have a chance to explore 3 units of work:
- Mad Hatter’s Tea Party by Zoonation (Learning how to respond to a stimulus and communicate a choreographic intent using a professional work)
- Young Men by BalletBoyz (Learning how to use different choreographic approaches and devices in response to the professional work Young Men by Ballet Boyz)
- Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (To understand the stylistic features of Musical Theatre with a focus on Expressive Skills)
Year 9 Curriculum
In Year 9, students may select Dance as a subject option with 2 lessons a week throughout the year. Students will recap, rehearse and refine Year 7 and 8 material as well as starting to explore elements of the GCSE Dance specification.
Appreciation will be explored both practically and theoretically allowing students to independently analyse and evaluate work. Students will participate in workshops to develop their technical skills to become more rounded dancers in styles such as contemporary, samba, capoeira, ballet and more. Students will have opportunities to participate in internal and external projects to gain a better understanding of dance elements and pathways. Throughout the year, there will be a focus on responding to varied and challenging types of stimuli and exploring different choreographic approaches and processes.
The following units of work are explored:
- A Linha Curva (Focus on Brazilian Culture. Choreographing and performing in various dance styles: Samba, Capoeira, Contemporary and learn how to collaborate as a class and smaller groups)
- Hunger Games (Learning more about Physical Theatre and how to communicate a complex narrative using choreographic devices and text)
- Movement and Music (Learning the different types of aural setting to enhance your creative choreographies)
- Intro to GCSE (Responding to a Stimulus (Understanding how to choreograph motifs using different types of stimuli, choreographic approaches and processes)
- Site Sensitive (Exploring movement outside the studio, the process of choreography in different locations and for camera)
Where might it lead?
BTEC Performing Arts (Dance) can help open doors to careers such as:
- Actor
- Arts Administrator
- Choreographer
- Community Arts
- Costume Designer
- Dance Movement Psychotherapist
- Dancer
- Lecturer
- Personal Trainer
- Stage Designer
- Teacher
- Make-up Artist
Student Destinations
Alice Elizabeth Evans
2024 Offers from:
- Bath Spa University – Dance
- University of Chichester – Dance Education and Teaching
- Kingston University – Dance
