Subject description

Dance is a 10-credit subject or a 20-credit subject at Stage 1. 

In Stage 1 Dance students develop aesthetic and kinaesthetic intelligence, using the body as an instrument for the expression and communication of ideas. Through the development of practical movement skills and choreographic and performance skills as an artist and experiencing performance as part of an audience, students explore and celebrate the human condition. They consider the role of dance in different cultural contexts, including those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and its place in transmitting culture. They develop an appreciation of dance as an art form, as well as a life-enrichment opportunity connected to mental and physical well-being. 

Dance prepares young people for participation in the 21st century by equipping them with transferrable skills, including critical and creative thinking skills, personal and social skills, and intercultural understanding. Dance develops individuals to be reflective thinkers who can pose and solve problems and work both independently and collaboratively. As students engage with dance practices and practitioners, they develop imaginative ways to make meaning of the world. 

Dance has its own movement vocabulary and specific techniques and processes that students learn and apply to their own work as a dancer and choreographer and use to interpret, understand, and appreciate the work of others. 

The study of Stage 1 Dance establishes a basis for continuing to study Stage 2 Dance and for further education and employment across many fields, including the art and culture industries. It also provides opportunities to develop and pursue lifelong social and recreational activities. 

Capabilities

The capabilities connect student learning within and across subjects in a range of contexts.

The SACE identifies seven capabilities.

Literacy

In this subject students extend and apply their literacy capability by, for example:

• documenting their creative process, including use of analysis and reflection strategies
• explaining their ideas and approaches as they experiment with and make decisions about their dance practices
• understanding and using language and terminology specific to dance in discussion, taking direction, and responding to dance
• using movement to express, communicate, and interpret ideas and the intent of the choreography
• presenting ideas in a variety of forms, including written and multimodal forms
• using language to reflect on their own work and the work of others. 

Numeracy

In this subject students extend and apply their numeracy capability by, for example:

• demonstrating an understanding of general and personal space
• understanding musical counting, phrasings, and rhythms
• understanding shape, weight, and force through the exploration of geometric and mathematical shape in dance (e.g. symmetry, asymmetry, concave and convex shapes, and counterbalance)
• recognising and using patterns and spatial relationships.

Information and communication technology (ICT) capability

In this subject students extend and apply their ICT capability by, for example:

• using digital technologies in a variety of forms in the staging, researching, and recording of dance performance
• using information and communication technologies to research, create, evaluate, and analyse a range of dance works
• exploring and experimenting with recordings, voice-overs, and a variety of software programs to use as a tool for reflection on the dance practices of themselves and others
• exploring the use of new technologies, such as special effects, computer-generated images, robotics, and 3D-projected landscapes, in dance compositions.

Critical and creative thinking

In this subject students extend and apply their critical and creative thinking capability by, for example:

• generating ideas and actions to communicate choreographic intent
• taking risks, considering alternatives, and experimenting with movement and composition
• using dance traditions for inspiration to create dance or choreography
• expressing their ideas creatively through performances and choreography
• critiquing strategies for improving and refining their dance skills, technique, and accuracy
• applying their understanding of dance to deconstruct, analyse, and discuss.

Personal and social capability

In this subject students extend and apply their personal and social capability by, for example:

• developing skills and strategies to increase confidence, resilience, and adaptability, in order to accomplish personal and collaborative goals
• increasing and applying understanding of posture, alignment, kinaesthetic awareness, and forms of expression
• increasing awareness of their own physical and mental capabilities and well-being through examination of the mind and body
• discovering personal identity through participating in the practice of dance
• exploring artistic, social, or political issues and the ways in which these are interpreted and represented through dance works. 

Ethical understanding

In this subject students extend and apply their ethical understanding capability by, for example: 

• understanding the appropriate use of recorded works and compositions
• respecting the intellectual property rights of choreographers and performers
• increasing critical understanding of the appropriate and ethical uses of digital technologies
• considering ethical strategies in relation to access, inclusivity, and equity in dance
• respecting the rights of individuals with regards to their personal values about subject matter, movements, space, physical contact, and communication style
• presenting the creative works of others with integrity. 

Intercultural understanding

In this subject students extend and apply their intercultural understanding capability by, for example:

• developing compassion and empathy towards others through the exploration of dance works and experiences
• communicating sensitively their understanding of, and responses to, dance knowledge that has been informed by different cultural ideas
• exploring and analysing genres and influences in dance across time, location, and cultures
• exploring how dance from different cultures influences their own creations
• understanding the role of dance in social and cultural contexts. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, cultures, and perspectives

In partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and schools and school sectors, the SACE Board of South Australia supports the development of high-quality learning and assessment design that respects the diverse knowledge, cultures, and perspectives of Indigenous Australians.

The SACE Board encourages teachers to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives in the design, delivery, and assessment of teaching and learning programs by:

• providing opportunities in SACE subjects for students to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences
• recognising and respecting the significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australian society
• drawing students’ attention to the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives from the past and the present
• promoting the use of culturally appropriate protocols when engaging with and learning from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.  

Learning requirements

The learning requirements summarise the knowledge, skills, and understanding that students are expected to develop and demonstrate through their learning in Stage 1  Dance.

In this subject students are expected to:

1. develop knowledge and understanding of the body, dance skills, dance elements, structural devices, production elements, and safe dance practices
2. apply technical and expressive dance skills in performance
3. communicate choreographic intent to an audience through composition and performance
4. reflect on their own creative works as an artist and that of others as an audience member
5. investigate dance in diverse contexts.

Content

Stage 1 Dance is a 10-credit subject or a 20-credit subject that consists of the following strands:

• understanding dance
• creating dance
• responding to dance.

Understanding dance

In understanding dance, students develop and extend their understanding of how ideas and intentions are communicated in and through dance. They build on and refine their knowledge and understanding through dance practices focusing on:

• the body
• dance skills
• dance elements
• structural devices
• production elements
• safe dance practices.

The body

The body is the mobile figure or shape felt by the dancer and seen by others.

Study of the body includes:

• body part articulations, weight transfer, body awareness, body bases, and body parts.

Dance skills

Dance skills support the concepts and processes needed to create and communicate choreographic meaning.

They are:

• technical skills — physical execution, such as control, accuracy, alignment, strength, balance, coordination, placement, flexibility, endurance, articulation, timing, rhythm, extension, and spatial awareness
• expressive skills — interpretive qualities, such as confidence, clarity of movement and intention, projection, focus (eyeline, concentration), musicality, facial expression, body expression, and energy.

Dance elements

The elements of dance are the foundational concepts and vocabulary that help students develop movement skills and understand dance as an artistic practice.

They include:

• space — the way dancers move through and interact with the physical world. This includes direction, dimension/size, shape, active space, positive space, negative space, planes, pathways, facings, general space, personal space, and performance space
• time — the way dancers interact with time, including metre, tempo, momentum, accent, duration, phrasing, rhythmic patterns, stillness, and beat
• dynamics — the way dances are executed and the way weight, force, and energy are applied. It also refers to movement qualities (e.g. sustained, swinging, suspended, collapsing, percussive, or vibratory)
• relationships — the dancer’s connections to body parts (e.g. hand to face), the floor, objects, other dancers, and the space.

Structural devices

Structural devices are the tools used to organise and shape dance.

They include:

• choreographic devices — the tools a choreographer selects and uses to shape movement to communicate ideas, e.g. motif and development, repetition, improvisation, contrast, echo, canon, mirroring, and unison
• form — the structural organisation or shape of a dance to enhance the clarity of a movement or theme, e.g. AB, ABA, rondo, theme and variation, narrative, and collage.

Production elements

The production elements are the non-movement elements used to support the intent of the choreography.

They include:

• lighting
• performance space
• aural elements — sound, e.g. music, spoken word, SFX, found sound, silence
• costumes
• sets
• props
• technologies.

Safe dance practices

Safe dance practices involve the selection and execution of safe movement enabling students to participate without risk of injury. This involves developing an understanding of the body and its limitations. It also involves respecting the rights of individuals with regards to their personal values about subject matter, movements, space, physical contact, and communication style.

This includes:

• an understanding of the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system
• an understanding of the cause and prevention of common dance injuries.

Creating dance

In creating dance, students develop and extend their practical skills in choreography and performance. They apply their knowledge, understanding, skills, and techniques to perform and create choreographic works for a range of purposes and contexts.

Study in this strand includes, for example:

• using the elements of dance (space, time, dynamics, and relationships) to communicate ideas through movement
• learning effective communication skills in order to connect and communicate with the audience (e.g. facial expression, body language, gesture)
• building original and manipulating known movement phrases to create innovative outcomes
• using choreographic devices (e.g. motif and development) to explore imaginative possibilities
• applying appropriate compositional form and structure (e.g. AB, ABA, rondo, narrative, collage, and theme and variation) to achieve aesthetic outcomes
• applying innovative technologies in performance and choreography
• collaborating with others to create and refine dance works and performance
• demonstrating skills of improvisation for selection and refinement of movement phrases.

Responding to dance

In responding to dance, students reflect on how meaning is communicated in their own and others’ work, including work from a range of cultural perspectives and artistic and industry innovators. They select and reflect on strategies to develop and refine their own performances and dance works, and those of others.

Students build confidence in using appropriate terminology, strengthening their dance literacy to discuss key elements of performance and choreography.

In this strand students may, for example:

• reflect on their own performance and identify areas for improvement through analysis of recordings
• discuss an individual’s contribution to group performance
• reflect on the performance and choreography of peers or industry innovators or professionals
• refine their own practical dance skills or choreography. 

Evidence of learning

Assessment at Stage  1 is school based.

The following assessment types enable students to demonstrate their learning in Stage 1 Dance:

• Assessment Type 1: Skills Development
• Assessment Type 2: Creative Explorations
• Assessment Type 3: Dance Contexts.

For a 10-credit subject, students provide evidence of their learning through four assessments. Each assessment type should have a weighting of at least 20%. Students complete:

• at least one skills development task
• at least one creative exploration
• at least one dance contexts task.

For a 20-credit subject, students provide evidence of their learning through seven assessments. Each assessment type should have a weighting of at least 20%. Students complete:

• at least two skills development tasks
• at least two creative explorations
• at least two dance contexts tasks. 

Assessment design criteria

The assessment design criteria are based on the learning requirements and are used by teachers to:

• clarify for the student what they need to learn
• design opportunities for students to provide evidence of their learning at the highest possible level of achievement.

The assessment design criteria consist of specific features that:

• students should demonstrate in their learning
• teachers look for as evidence that students have met the learning requirements.

For this subject the assessment design criteria are:

• understanding dance
• creating dance
• responding to dance.

The specific features of these criteria are described below.

The set of assessments, as a whole, must give students opportunities to demonstrate each of the specific features by the completion of study of the subject. 

Understanding Dance  

The specific features are as follows:

Creating Dance 

The specific features are as follows:

Responding to Dance 

The specific features are as follows: 

School assessment

The school assessment component for Stage 1 Dance consists of three assessment types:

• Assessment Type 1: Skills Development
• Assessment Type 2: Creative Explorations
• Assessment Type 3: Dance Contexts.

Assessment Type 1: Skills Development

For a 10-credit subject, students undertake at least one skills development task.

For a 20-credit subject, students undertake at least two skills development tasks.

Each task should enable students to communicate their ideas and use appropriate dance terminology. The skills development task should be designed to develop students’ ability to make informed judgments about their development as a dancer or choreographer through research and reflection on their own creative work. Skills development tasks may include application and understanding of:

• the body
• dance skills (technique and expressive skills)
• dance elements (space, time, dynamics, and relationships)
• structural devices (choreographic devices and form)
• production elements
• safe dance practices.

Student evidence may include:

• a reflection on the dance elements demonstrated in a performance by the student
• a reflection on the structural devices used to communicate choreographic intent in the student’s choreographic work
• a reflection on the structural devices used to communicate choreographic intent in a live or recorded performance of a professional dance company and how this might influence their own choreography
• a reflection on the dance skills (technical and expressive) demonstrated in a live or recorded performance of a professional dance company and how this might influence their own skills development
• a reflection on the dance skills (technical and expressive) acquired by the student.

A skills development task should be a maximum of 800 words if written, or a maximum of 5 minutes if oral or in multimodal form. Students are encouraged to use the multimodal form using annotated recorded footage as supporting evidence.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• understanding dance
• responding to dance.

Assessment Type 2: Creative Explorations

For a 10-credit subject, students present at least one creative work in the form of a performance or a composition.

For a 20-credit subject, students present at least two creative works. At least one of these should be a performance and at least one should be a composition.

Students explore and apply their dance understanding, skills, and techniques to develop, refine, and present their creative work.

A dance performance may be as a soloist or as part of a duo, trio, small group, or larger group. The creative works may be in different genres. A performance of one or more pieces should total a maximum of 5 minutes for each student.

A student may work collaboratively or individually to create a composition and may use one or more performers in the composition to communicate their choreographic intent. Each student should provide choreographic evidence of between 1 and 2 minutes. The student is not required to participate in the performance.

Students present their work as a live performance, film, artistic installation, or multimedia presentation.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• understanding dance
• creating dance. 

Assessment Type 3: Dance Contexts

For a 10-credit subject, students undertake at least one investigation.

For a 20-credit subject, students undertake at least two investigations.

Students investigate dance practice and performance from specific cultures, historical periods, or traditions, including, for example, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander contexts, to analyse the function of dance in that context.

An investigation may be in-depth in nature, focusing on one culture, historical period, or tradition, or it may be comparative, comparing two or more cultures, historical periods, or traditions.

Students can base their investigations on live or recorded performances, and research dance traditions, performers, or choreographers.

Investigations designed by the teacher or the student in collaboration with the teacher may include, for example:

• investigating the role of dance in traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
• investigating an Asian dance company (e.g. Cloud Gate) and the way in which their culture informs their work
• investigating an Aboriginal dance company (e.g. Bangarra) and the way in which traditional and contemporary dance forms are fused
• comparing the dance elements of two street dance styles from different cultures
• comparing the choreographic legacy of Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey, innovators in African American dance
• comparing the dance elements in a Bollywood performance with a contemporary dance performance by an Indian choreographer (e.g. Akram Khan)
• comparing the cultural role of traditional dance in two different cultures as part of ceremony (e.g. Sudan and New Zealand).

An investigation is presented as a report which should be a maximum of 800 words if written, or a maximum of 5 minutes if oral or in multimodal form. Students are encouraged to use the multimodal form using annotated recorded footage as supporting evidence.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• understanding dance
• responding to dance.

Performance standards

The performance standards describe five levels of achievement, A to E.

Each level of achievement describes the knowledge, skills, and understanding that teachers refer to in deciding how well students have demonstrated their learning on the basis of the evidence provided.

During the teaching and learning program the teacher gives students feedback on their learning, with reference to the performance standards.

At the student’s completion of study of a subject, the teacher makes a decision about the quality of the student’s learning by:

• referring to the performance standards
• taking into account the weighting of each assessment type
• assigning a subject grade between A and E.

Performance standards

Stage 1 performance standards for Dance can be viewed below. You can also download in Word format [DOC 44KB].

To learn more about what performance standards are, how they are used, and other general information, see performance standards and grades. 

Subject changes

Any changes to this subject will be recorded here.