Dance Department

Ms Dokk-Olsen
Ms K Harrington

Facilities

The Dance Department has a fully equipped dance studio with sound and lighting system. Classes also take place in the Main Hall, which has rakes seating as well as sound and lighting system.

KS 3 Introduction

Yr 7. Key Choreographic Tools; Characterization: Contact skills.
Yr 8. Capoeira / Maculele; Hoe Down; Modern Techniques.
Yr 9. Bollywood; Group based choreographic projects.
Schemes of work are always being developed and updated.

Artists-in-residence programs are an integral and often inspirational part of our work and the department has many existing links with professional dancers, directors, theatre companies and Music practitioners. Year 9 students spend 5 months working on a multi-disciplined integrated arts presentation, which is performed between May and July. This also gives the arts faculty teachers the opportunity to collaborate with professional arts workers as well as extending their own choreographic and creative skills.

The School’s after hours program is well established and currently offers Street Dance and Bollywood sessions along with Curriculum Support sessions at lunchtime and homework support after school. Space for further specialist dance activities is always available.

KS4 Introduction

KS4 Programmes Of Study For Dance

GCSE dance (discrete) students are expected to:

• Compose an original solo, group or duet in response to a stimulus through the use of complex and technically demanding actions that successfully communicate artistic intention.
• Perform a set technical study showing an understanding of technique and performance.
• Perform, accurately and expressively, a group dance that successfully communicates artistic intention and demonstrates artistry on the stage.
• Analyse and evaluate aspects of at least 2 contrasting dance styles in a least 4 separate professional dance works. The study must include the choreography, performance, and cultural, social and historical contexts; lighting, costume, music and general production.
• Create detailed program notes which fully express structural, emotional and artist intention for their own choreography

Special Features

Workshop with Rambert Dance Company

In early December 2008, Year 11 GCSE Dance students took part in a half day workshop led by an animateur from Rambert Dance Company. Following a Contemporary based technique class, students learnt repertoire from a new work recently choreographed by Mark Baldwin for Rambert called ‘Eternal Light’. They found the dance challenging with fast paced, powerful martial arts styled movement, but enjoyed exploring and mastering new dance vocabulary. The students then created duets in response to stimuli which Baldwin used with Rambert’s dancers. They were especially inspired by this process and choreographed some beautifully technical and expressive work.

A week later the students attended a performance of ‘Eternal Light’ and ‘Swansong’ by the company at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in central London. They were extremely excited to see the repertoire they had learnt performed on stage in a professional environment and were again inspired to perform their piece for students at Mulberry School.