Year 9 Dance

Dance at KS3 focuses on the discipline of dance, body and spatial awareness, performance skills and the introduction to and development of choreographic devices. Each scheme of work builds on the skills from previous lessons so that students can refine, evaluate and extend their skills and application of knowledge.

Year 9 allows for more curriculum time and as such students explore work that will expose them to the skill sets and type pf work required for the AQA GCSE Dance syllabus. For example, beginning to analyse a professional work and completing more advanced choreographic tasks.

What will my child study in Dance during Year 9?

Course ContentYear 9 students have a double lesson of Dance per week. Throughout Year 9 they will be developing the necessary skills to prepare them for GCSE work should they choose Dance as one of their option subjects.

Performance	Choreography	Appreciation
Using different dance styles, students will learn a range of material, as well as creating their own sequences and dances for performance. They will improve technique by focusing on accuracy of action, use of space, timing and dynamics and through doing so, realise the value of effective rehearsal. Experiencing different dance styles will help to develop their own dance vocabulary which they can then draw upon when creating dances.	Students learn and are taught how to create and develop motifs and sequences, building on and advancing the techniques used in Year 8. They will use a variety of stimuli to do so and work in different dance styles in order to convey the dance idea/theme. In addition, they will expand their knowledge and use of different choreographic and structuring devices in order to create and develop their own work. Effective use of rehearsal time will allow for refinement of their performance and choreography.	Students will further develop their observational skills in order to self and peer assess their work, evaluating the success of their performance and choreographic work and identifying how to improve. In addition, they will also develop an appreciation of production skills through the study of professional dance works.

How will my child be assessed and how will I know how well they are doing in Dance in Year 9?

Assessment takes place on a regular basis and takes the form of stages and school based assessment stages.
Students will be awarded House Points for good work and effort.

What homework will my child be expected to do in Year 9 in Dance?

Homework will be set fortnightly as appropriate and as this is an entirely practical course, students will be expected to use the movement studio at times to rehearse their work.

How can I support my child to do well in Dance during Year 9?

Ensure your child has the appropriate kit and they bring it to their dance lessons.
Encourage participation in extra-curricular activities.
Help promote dance as part of a healthy lifestyle.

What equipment may my child need in addition to the standard school equipment?

Appropriate kit. This can either be their PE kit, or a T-shirt and shorts, leggings or jogging bottoms. A hair band will be needed to tie long hair back.

By the end of the year, what would an 'expert' be able to do in Dance?

Information to follow

My child is struggling during the course, what additional help is available to help them keep up?

1:1 support in lessons
Differentiated tasks
Extra scaffolding of tasks
Use of studio for rehearsal

Updated September 2023