DanceQ&A by dot point

Analysing, interpreting and evaluating dance: how to describe the constituent features and settings of set and unseen works, interpret meaning and choreographic intention, make evaluative judgements about effectiveness, and structure an extended response using dance terminology.

Choreographic processes and devices: stimulus, choreographic intention, motif and motif development, structure (including binary, narrative, motif and development, highlights and climax) and devices such as repetition, contrast, unison and canon, and how they are used to communicate meaning.

Performance skills in dance: physical skills (posture, alignment, balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, stamina, control), technical skills (accuracy of action, timing, spatial awareness, rhythm) and expressive or mental skills (projection, focus, musicality, communication of intention), and how they are used and analysed in set and unseen works.

The physical setting (set, staging, lighting, costume and props) and the aural setting (music, song, spoken word, sound and silence) of a dance work, and how these production features support the choreographic intention in set and unseen works.

Safe practice and the health of the dancer: the purpose and content of a warm-up and cool-down, correct alignment and technique, injury prevention, appropriate clothing and footwear, hydration, nutrition and rest, and why safe practice matters for the dancer.

Action as a constituent feature of dance: the categories of action (travel, turn, elevation, gesture, stillness, fall, transfer of weight, use of body parts), and how to describe and analyse the movement content of set and unseen works using dance terminology.

Dynamics as a constituent feature of dance: the qualities of movement (speed, energy, weight, flow and continuity), the contrasting dynamic terms, and how dynamics communicate mood and meaning in set and unseen works.

Relationships as a constituent feature of dance: the ways dancers relate to one another (unison, canon, mirroring, contact, lead and follow, complementary and contrasting, formations and groupings), and how relationships communicate meaning in set and unseen works.

Space as a constituent feature of dance: levels, directions, pathways, size of movement, the use of the performance space and formations, and how the use of space communicates meaning in set and unseen works.