How do you critically reflect on and evaluate your own performance and choreography?
Critical appreciation of own work: reflecting on and evaluating personal performance and choreography, identifying strengths and areas for improvement, and explaining how skills and devices were used to realise the intention.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Dance Component 2 appreciation, covering how to critically reflect on and evaluate your own performance and choreography, identify strengths and improvements, and explain how skills and devices realised your intention.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to critically appreciate your own work: reflect honestly on your performance and choreography, identify clear strengths and areas to improve, and explain how you used skills and devices to realise your intention. This is tested in the written paper, where you write about the dances you created and performed for Component 1 and Component 2.
Reflecting on performance
A strong reflection is honest and precise: "my extension was clear in the balances, but my timing slipped in the fast section" is far more useful than "it went well". Pick out particular moments rather than judging the whole dance at once, because specific evidence is what the markscheme rewards. Be willing to praise genuine strengths and to name real weaknesses; a reflection that is all praise lacks the critical edge examiners look for.
Reflecting on choreography
Ask whether your motifs and their development communicated the idea, whether the structure had a clear climax and logical sequence, and whether the aural setting and staging supported the intention. Judge the choices, do not just describe them. Saying "I used a ternary structure" is description; saying "the ABA structure worked because the return of the opening motif made the ending feel resolved, which suited my intention about coming home" is evaluation.
Identifying improvements
For every weakness, give a realistic plan to improve: more systematic repetition to fix timing, conditioning to build the stamina to keep quality to the end, or clearer contrast to sharpen the structure. Linking the fix to a method, rather than just saying "practise more", is what earns the higher marks. The strongest answers also explain why the improvement would help the dance communicate its intention more clearly.
It helps to evaluate performance and choreography against the same vocabulary you use on professional works. Judge your performance with the physical, technical, expressive and mental skill terms, and judge your choreography with the device, structure and production terms. Using this shared, precise language shows the examiner that your critical appreciation of your own work rests on the same understanding you apply to the anthology, which is exactly what the markscheme rewards.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20196 marksEvaluate the strengths and areas for improvement in a dance you have performed.Show worked answer →
Three marks reward strengths with evidence, three reward areas for improvement with a realistic fix.
Identify a strength with evidence, for example strong control allowing balances to be held still, which made the performance look secure. Identify an area for improvement with a fix, for example timing slipping in the fast section, which could be improved by systematic repetition with the music. Link both to the intention and how well it was communicated.
Markers reward specific, evidenced points rather than vague claims, and a clear plan to improve.
AQA 20224 marksExplain how you used choreographic devices to realise your choreographic intention in a dance you created.Show worked answer →
Roughly two marks for naming and applying devices, two for the link to intention.
For an intention about confinement, you might explain that you used repetition of a "pressing" motif to keep the idea of trapped walls in front of the audience, and a manipulation of number, moving from solo to group, to show the confinement spreading. Each device should be tied to how it helped communicate the intention.
Markers reward named devices applied to your own work plus a clear explanation of how they realised the intention, not just a definition of the devices.
Related dot points
- Analysing and interpreting dance: identifying and describing movement components (action, dynamic, spatial, relationship) and production features, and interpreting how they communicate meaning and choreographic intent.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Dance Component 2 appreciation, covering how to analyse the movement components (action, dynamic, spatial, relationship) and production features of a dance, and how to interpret what they communicate.
- Evaluating professional works: discussing choreographic intent, movement and production features of the set works in the anthology, making interpretations and justified judgements supported by evidence.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Dance Component 2 appreciation, covering how to evaluate professional set works by discussing choreographic intent, movement and production features, and making justified interpretations supported by evidence in the written exam.
- The choreographic process: responding to a stimulus, forming a choreographic intention, generating and developing movement material through improvisation and selection, and refining the work in rehearsal.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Dance Component 2, covering the choreographic process from responding to a stimulus and forming a choreographic intention to generating, selecting, developing and refining movement material into a finished dance.
- Choreographic devices: motif and motif development, repetition, contrast, highlights, climax, manipulation of number, and action, space, dynamic and relationship content used to develop material.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Dance Component 2, covering choreographic devices including motif, motif development, repetition, contrast, highlights, climax and manipulation of number, and how action, space, dynamics and relationships are used to develop movement material.
- Structuring a dance: form and structure including binary, ternary, rondo, narrative, episodic, beginning-middle-end, and the use of transitions, unity, logical sequence and a clear climax.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Dance Component 2, covering dance structures such as binary, ternary, rondo, narrative and episodic form, and how transitions, unity, logical sequence and a clear climax give a dance shape.
Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Dance (8236) specification — AQA (2016)