Dance – Options – Prestatyn High School – Denbighshire North Wales

Course Content:

If you have a love for dancing and performance, BTEC Dance is the course for you! Practical dance lessons are at the heart of the BTEC and students will learn a minimum of 3-4 styles of dance throughout the course. They will be taught dances and throughout the duration of the course, will understand how to choreograph dance. Students will develop their own individual showcase, prepare for a performance and perform regularly. No previous experience of dance is required to take the course, but an enjoyment of performance is needed.

How will you learn:

Students, throughout the duration of the course, will learn different styles of dance (e.g. hip hop, contemporary, ballet etc.); understand how to choreograph a dance, and learn about different dance companies and choreographers. All lessons are practical and will include a warm up, practical learning of a style and how to perform to an audience. The course takes place in our dance studio with purpose built mirrors. Students will perform regularly to one another, so as to help build confidence, and all students are assessed formally in the annual dance show.

How you will be assessed:

Unit 1: Individual Showcase

This unit is assessed externally through a set practical task of two dances with the stimulus set by the exam board and a controlled written examination.

Unit 2: Preparation,
Performance and Production

Internally assessed unit that is sent away to the exam board for external verification. The dance will be performed in the school production as a practic looking at performance skills on the stage. You will also need to keep a structure log book of the progress

Unit 4: Dance Skills

Internally assessed unit where you will perform two contrasting styles of dance in the annual school dance show alongside a log book to record your progress.

Additional information / skills:

Students will have many opportunities for extra-curricular including taking part in the school musical, the annual dance show, will work with outside dancer companies and choreographers and will watch live dance.
Students with extensive experience have always benefited hugely from taking the course, often going onto dancing professionally or taking the skills into a different career path. Students are required to wear leggings/ jogging pants and a change of top to the lessons, and can wear dance gear if they have it. We do not expect students to buy specialist clothes/costumes/shoes for the course.

Job ideas:

This course will provide students with an excellent foundation for higher level dance/ performing arts courses in the sixth form which could lead to careers in Musical Theatre, dance companies, pantomime, Local/National Theatre or dance teaching, which many past pupils from Prestatyn High have moved onto. Knowing how to teach dance is an additional skill that could help in primary school teaching or working with young people or in the community.

For further information see: Mrs L Macgillivray