What are the physical, technical and expressive performance skills, and how do they make a performance effective?
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.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Dance Unit 3 topic on performance skills, covering the physical, technical and expressive or mental skills a dancer uses, what each skill means, and how to identify and analyse performance skills in set and unseen works.
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What this dot point is asking
WJEC's Unit 3 (Interpreting Dance) requires knowledge of performance skills: the skills a dancer uses to bring choreography to life. You must know the three groups, what each skill means, and how to identify and analyse performance skills in set and unseen works. These skills are also directly assessed in your own performance (Unit 2).
The three groups of performance skills
Physical skills
These describe what the body can do:
- Posture: holding the body correctly so it looks controlled and ready.
- Alignment: the correct placement of body parts in relation to each other, which keeps movement safe and clean.
- Balance: control of stillness and steadiness, so shapes are held and landings are clean.
- Coordination: moving different body parts together smoothly.
- Flexibility: the range of movement at the joints, allowing extended, full movements.
- Strength: the muscular power for jumps, lifts and control.
- Stamina: the endurance to maintain quality throughout a whole performance.
- Control: managing the body precisely, including starting and stopping movement cleanly.
Technical skills
These describe the accuracy of the dancing:
- Accuracy of action: reproducing the choreography correctly.
- Timing: performing movements at the right moment, with the music and with other dancers.
- Rhythm: matching the beat and rhythmic patterns of the accompaniment.
- Spatial awareness: maintaining correct pathways, formations and distances.
Expressive or mental skills
These describe how meaning is communicated:
- Projection: sending energy and performance quality out to reach the audience.
- Focus: using the eyes and attention to direct the audience and show intention.
- Facial expression: conveying mood and emotion.
- Musicality: sensitivity to the music, phrasing movement with it.
- Communication of choreographic intention: making the meaning of the dance clear.
How the skills work together
When you analyse a performance in the written paper, identify which skills the dancer shows and how they contribute. Strong projection and focus draw the audience in; precise timing keeps a group together; controlled balance makes held shapes look effortless.
Why this matters
Performance skills are the link between choreography and audience: the constituent features describe the movement, but performance skills determine how well that movement is delivered and understood. In the practical units, your own performance (Unit 2) is assessed directly on these skills, and good performance skills also showcase your choreography (Unit 1). In the written paper you must recognise and evaluate them in others' work, so this is genuinely shared knowledge across the whole course.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC style4 marksIdentify two physical skills and two expressive skills a dancer needs, and explain why each is important in performance.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark question: marks for two physical and two expressive skills, each with a reason.
Physical skills include balance (so the dancer can hold shapes and land cleanly without wobbling) and flexibility (so movements can reach their full range and look extended and controlled). Other valid choices are posture, alignment, coordination, strength, stamina and control.
Expressive skills include projection (sending energy and performance quality out to the audience so the dance reaches them) and focus (using the eyes and attention to direct the audience and show intention). Musicality and the communication of meaning are also valid.
Markers reward a clear reason for each skill, not just naming it.
WJEC style6 marksExplain how a dancer uses both technical and expressive skills to communicate the meaning of a piece effectively.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark question rewarding the link between skills and effective communication.
Technical skills make the movement accurate and clear: correct timing keeps the dancer with the music and with other performers; spatial awareness keeps formations and pathways precise; accuracy of action means the choreography is reproduced as intended. Without these, the audience cannot read the dance clearly because the movement is messy or mistimed.
Expressive skills give the accurate movement meaning: projection sends the performance out to the audience; focus directs attention and shows intention; facial expression and musicality convey mood and feeling. A technically perfect but expressionless performance looks empty, while expression without technique looks uncontrolled.
A strong answer shows the two working together: technical skills deliver the movement cleanly, and expressive skills give it the emotional meaning the choreographer intended, so the piece communicates effectively.
Related dot points
- 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.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Dance Unit 3 topic on dynamics as a constituent feature of dance, covering the qualities of movement such as speed, energy, weight and flow, the contrasting dynamic terms, and how dynamics change the meaning of an action in set and unseen works.
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A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Dance Unit 3 topic on choreographic processes and devices, covering stimulus, choreographic intention, motif and development, structure and the choreographic devices a choreographer uses to shape and communicate a dance.
- 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.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Dance Unit 3 topic on the physical and aural settings of a dance, covering set, staging, lighting, costume, props and the aural setting of music, sound and silence, and how these production features support meaning 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.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Dance Unit 3 topic on safe practice and the health of the dancer, covering the warm-up and cool-down, alignment and technique, injury prevention, suitable clothing, hydration, nutrition and rest, and why safe practice matters.
- 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.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Dance Unit 3 topic on analysing, interpreting and evaluating dance works, covering how to describe constituent features and settings, interpret meaning, judge effectiveness and structure an extended response for set and unseen works in the written examination.