DANCE - BTEC EXTENDED CERTIFICATE LEVEL 3

PERFORMING ARTS - A LEVEL

WHY STUDY PERFORMING ARTS?
The BTEC Extended Certificate in Dance will help you develop a wide range of new
skills and refine existing talents. This vocational course will give you practical
experience of the dance industry; participating in technique classes,
choreographing for performances and performing in the community and
investigating practitioners work. This is a great choice if you want to work in the
Performing Arts industry or if you love Dance.
COURSE CONTENT
Choreography and Performance are at the heart of our course. “Investigating
Practitioners Work” helps our students develop analytical skills that are essential
when studying Dance at university or dance school. “Developing Skills and
Techniques for Live Performance” and “Group Performance Workshop”, are
assessed through live performances at internal and external events such as Breakout
and Trinity Dance Festival where technique is refined through the study of jazz and
contemporary dance styles culminating in an exciting and innovate performance
piece. “Developing Contemporary Dance” is a challenging unit where you will
develop skills in Cunningham, Graham, Horton and Release based techniques,
keeping logs of your personal progress and ending in a live performance.
ASSESSMENT DETAILS
Assessment for this course is predominantly practical; two units are internally
assessed and two are externally assessed. For the internally assessed units you will
need to collect evidence of your work for a portfolio. This will need to include film
and photographs of technique lessons, workshops, rehearsals and performances, a
reflective diary, rehearsal schedules, research, programmes from shows visited, etc.
You will also be set essays, research tasks and presentations. For the externally
assessed units you will be assessed through practical work, portfolios and
examinations within a timeframe as outlined by the exam board.
Units studied:
Unit 1 – Investigating Practitioners Work:
Through both practical and theoretical means students study two key practitioners,
Alvin Ailey and Christopher Bruce, exploring their works and influences in preparation
for the external written exam, sat in year 12.
Unit 2 – Developing Skills and Techniques for Live Performance:
Students study a variety of dance techniques including contemporary, lyrical
and street jazz to explore what life is like as a working dancer. This culminates in
a live performance piece and students keep a journal of their progress throughout
the unit.
Unit 3: Group Performance Workshop:
Students work as a team to creatively respond to a stimulus given by the exam
board, to create a 10-20 minute performance piece for live examination in front of
an audience. Students record their progress throughout the unit in a written format,
and complete a final evaluation of their work.
Unit 12: Contemporary Dance Technique:
Students study a range of contemporary practitioners including Isadora Duncan,
Rudolph Laban, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Lester Horton and Mathew
Bourne. Students undertake technique and choreography classes in the style of the
practitioners and complete research projects into their development of
contemporary dance. This culminates in a live performance of their work.