The City School

   

Aims

 

Dance is a vibrant and creative part of the school where we aim to support and encourage pupils to develop their capacity for imaginative and creative learning. We want pupils to recognise dance as an important part of both the Arts and PE curriculum and have some excellent opportunities for achievement and engagement. We aim to broaden pupils’ awareness of Dance in both a social context and as a subject in its own right; with a history and wealth of different dance forms and skills just waiting to be explored! Our main aim is to give all pupils an opportunity to express themselves through Dance and use creative thinking, team work, independent enquiry, self management and reflective learning.

 

In both Key Stages we try to develop pupils’ understanding of the role of dance in different cultures through studying different styles of dance. We develop knowledge and understanding of the technical skills, such as different dance techniques, learning routines and improving balance and flexibility. We also focus on the more expressive skills such as performing out to the audience, interpreting the movements and learning to feel the dance. In most lessons pupils will perform, create and evaluate. We have two full time dance teachers who love to pass on their skills and extend movement repertoire, this allows students to become more confident in the making of their own choreography, where their creative and expressive skills really shine through.

 

Keystage 3

 

Key Stage Three Dance is part of the PE and Expressive Arts Carousel.  It is for both boys and girls and is taught in both single sex and mixed groups. Experience has taught us that the boys enjoy dance as much as the girls and we have had many boys go on to study dance in KS4. We have a large numbers of students involved in extra curricular activities and we regularly have school productions and talent shows in which many younger students get involved.  We now have two spaces specifically for Dance which has special flooring and excellent sound.

 

Keystage 4

 

In Key Stage Four BTEC Dance is a new, exciting course which is for anyone who loves to dance.

It is a level 2 course and the equivalent to 4 GCSEs at A*-C level, it is marked in terms of Pass, Merit, or Distinction. The results from the first group through are very positive, with a 100% pass rate; more than 55% of the students in Y11 will gain a merit or a distinction. We are very proud of the course we have designed and we are sure it is the right choice for students at City with a passion for dance. Again extra curricular activities are amazing in Key Stage Four, we have both a BTEC evening and an Arts production which links with all the Arts areas, these are really fantastic events which are of a remarkable standard.

 

Opportunities

 

We offer Arts Award for Y9 and Y10 students who have a particular flair for the Arts. They work with primary schools, promote all our Arts activities and create exciting opportunities within the Arts for students in our school.

 

We have many opportunities to work with professional dance companies through our well established links with Sheffield Dance works. We have had workshops with some of the best professional dance companies in the world, Australian Dance Theatre, Rambert and Hofesh to name just a few. We also have many visits to The Lyceum and The Crucible which students and staff really enjoy, we feel it enhances the relationships between staff and students and gives outstanding cultural experiences.