Dance and Drama

In Key Stage Three students study Dance and Drama for 1 hour a week. Lessons are taught in specialist facilities including two drama studios and a large dance studio.

Students can opt to study BTEC Dance and/or OCR GCSE Drama in Key Stage Four.

In KS4 Dance, students will explore how to perform, choreograph and analyse professional dance works in a variety of different styles. Students will develop their technical performance skills in styles including ballet, contemporary, hip hop and jazz.

In KS4 Drama, students will explore how to devise, work from a script and analyse and evaluate live theatre. Students will have the opportunity to watch the work of professionals, both live and in class, and take on the role of director, whilst exploring why theatre is created an its purpose. Students who opt to study the Design route will gain an understanding of what happens backstage during a performance and about technical aspects such as programming lighting and sound.

The department offers a wide range of extracurricular and enrichment opportunities for students to practise and apply their skills. Students are encouraged to perform in our many Showcase performances throughout the year, in addition to our annual school musical. We also run fantastic theatre trips to see live dance and drama performances each year.

Key Stage 3

Year 7

Half term	Topic	Learning outcomes
Half term 1	Wonder	Inspired by the themes in the book, students will create characters and develop their improvisation skills.
Half term 2	The Nutcracker	Students will explore Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker where they will meet lots of exciting characters in Sweetieland including the Gobstoppers and Liquorice Allsorts.
Half term 3	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime	Students will explore the play featuring Christopher Boone ‘a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties.’ The play is about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way.
Half term 4	Dancing through the Decades	Students will explore a range of different dance styles from the 1920s Charleston to 1970s Disco, and many more! Students will learn about the historical and social aspects relating to each dance style.
Half term 5	Performance Poetry	Students will develop their practical Drama skills through their exploration of different poems. Students will explore different rhymes and rhythms and how these can create dramatic effects.
Half term 6	Lights, Camera… Action!	Students will explore a range of different musicals from Wicked, and Hairspray, to Shrek the Musical and many more! Students will learn about the stylistic features of each musical.

Year 8

Half term	Topic	Learning outcomes
Half term 1	Commedia Dell’Arte	Students will learn about this early form of Italian theatre characterised by masked ‘types’ such as the Pantalone, and Harlequin. Students will develop their improvisation skills throughout this Scheme of Learning.
Half term 2	Dance from around the World	Students will explore a range of different cultural dance styles including Capoeira and the Haka, to Bollywood and Line Dancing!
Half term 3	Macbeth	Students will develop key drama skills through their exploration of this well-known Shakespeare play: the key characters and storyline.
Half term 4	Physical Theatre and Contact Work	Students will develop their physical skills throughout this Scheme of Learning. Students will learn how to create objects and shapes with their bodies and how to safely and effectively transition from position to position.
Half term 5	Soap Operas	Students will learn about the genre of soap operas and what makes them so popular. They will then create their own soap opera using drama devices such and building tension, climax and cliffhangers.
Half term 6	A Starting Point	Students will explore a range of different stimuli including texts, props and music to create their own original Dance and Drama performances. This Scheme of Learning will prepare students for KS4 study.

Year 9

Half term	Topic	Learning outcomes
Half term 1	Bouncers, Shakers and Teechers	Students will study three plays by Liverpudlian playwright John Godber. Students will develop their ability to perform in the genre of comedy.
Half term 2	Music Videos	Students will learn about choreographic devices through their exploration of different music videos.
Half term 3	Duologues	In this Scheme of Learning, students will learn dramatic performance pieces in the form of a dialogue limited to two speakers.
Half term 4	Mad Hatters Tea Party	Students will explore the professional dance work Mad Hatter’s Tea Party by Zoonation. The work is inspired by Alice in Wonderland and explored themes around mental health.
Half term 5	Devising Theatre	Throughout this Scheme of Learning students will devise their own original theatre in response to a range of different stimuli.
Half term 6	West Side Story	Students will explore the musical set in New York and inspired by the story of Romeo and Juliet. Students will learn about the two gangs the Jets and Sharks and explore themes such as love, conflict and tragedy within the musical.

Key Stage 4

Key Stage 4 BTEC Dance Curriculum

	Topic	Learning outcomes
Component 1	Exploring the Performing Arts: Hamilton	Learners will develop their understanding of the performing arts by examining the work of performing arts professionals and the processes used to create performance.
Component 2	Developing Skills and Techniques in Performing Arts: Everybody’s Talking about Jamie	Learners will develop their performing arts skills and techniques through the reproduction of dance repertoire as performers.
Component 3	Responding to a Brief.	Learners will be given the opportunity to work as part of a group to contribute to a workshop performance as either a performer or a designer in response to a brief and stimulus.

Key Stage 4 Drama Curriculum

	Topic	Learning outcomes
1	Devising Drama	Students research and explore a stimulus, work collaboratively and create their own devised drama. They complete a portfolio of evidence during the devising process, give a final performance of their drama, and write an evaluation of their own work.
2	Presenting and Performing Texts	Students develop and apply theatrical skills in acting or design by presenting a showcase of two extracts from a performance text. The chosen extracts must allow sufficient exploration of dialogue, plot and/or subplot, and characterisation for students to work in depth on their acting or design skills.
3	Performance and Response	Students explore practically a whole performance text and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of how drama is developed, performed and responded to. They also analyse and evaluate a live theatre performance.