The Dance department at Sandy Secondary School aims to develop the whole student. As a department we aim to provide a creative, engaging and expansive dance education. Topic areas develop curiosity and collaborative skills; allowing for students who are ready to solve problems, accept challenges and strive for continued personal improvement. The curriculum aims to encourage independent learning and self-discipline. Although a competitive environment is encouraged, students are taught how to work within a team to achieve a goal and celebrate together. Dance at SSS provides students with a variety of learning opportunities both in lessons and extra-curricular creating a love of the subject and motivation to challenge themselves to be the best they can.

Discussion & Explore Tasks – Students will gain and develop their knowledge through engage tasks, and exploring new ideas and concepts through discussion and movement. We will use teacher demonstration, combined with viewing of dances to progress our understanding of key skills and concepts of dance as a physical and creative activity. Key features include: actions, dynamics and space, as well as obtain appreciation of choreographic process through use of relationships and devices.. Practical Participation – Being practical in Dance is a key concept that is used in every lesson across the key stages. To build upon students’ initial comprehension, practical task setting will be applied to build understanding of different styles, technique and choreography skills. Students will participate practically through warm ups, teacher taught phrases and choreographic workshops that will develop their physical capabilities, contributing to a healthy and active lifestyle. Students practical is often based around group work, where they will expand their team building and communication skills to help further their interpersonal skills.. Performing – This is a key part to any performance arts subject. There will be opportunities to perform, either as a whole class or in smaller groups. We do this to build confidence and to aid presentation skills. It also contributes to our assessments and helps highlight progress that has been made.

The knowledge gained through explore and discussion tasks aims to help broaden students understanding of the subject, in addition to enhancing their cross curricula links to Music, Drama and English. As we progress through the key stages, a maturity in how to analyse and understand the development of the dance industry will be explored further and allow students to recognise the historical and contextual elements of different dance practitioners and styles. They will learn to interpret and evaluate professional dance works and examine the influence this has on dance today. Our theoretical elements of dance, therefore, aim to develop students into ‘thinking dancers’, who are capable of exploring new ideas and creative tasks, to help showcase an idea through verbal discussion and their writing.. The impact of our Practical participation and Performing elements of our dance course; through the use of practical workshops, introduction of key dance knowledge, discussion tasks and performing opportunities, we hope to build a more well-rounded and confident student. Students will gradually build a repertoire based in Contemporary dance, as well as explore other styles such as Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Capoeira, Samba, Jazz and Ballet. This will also enhance their growing physical and expressive skills in dance, developing technique and stylistic characteristics to be able to perform in solo’s, small groups, and whole ensembles. We also encourage and develop student’s independent choreographic abilities, allowing them free range to create and produce their own movement for performing. The exposure of practical and performing opportunities during our Dance courses, aims to develop technique and versatility, to not only contribute to a healthy lifestyle, but also develop their creativity, problem solving skills and their overall talent in dance.

Dance Curriculum | Sandy Secondary School

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Dance

The Dance department at Sandy Secondary School aims to develop the whole student through a creative, engaging and expansive dance education. Topic areas develop curiosity and collaborative skills, allowing students to solve problems, accept challenges and strive for continued personal improvement.

Although a competitive environment is encouraged, students are taught how to work within a team to achieve a goal and celebrate together. Dance provides students with a variety of learning opportunities both in lessons and extra-curricular, creating a love of the subject and motivation to challenge themselves.

Klarissa Etienne

Head of Dance

Natalie Halliday

Assistant Principal - Quality of Education Year 10/Teacher of Dance

Rebecca Miller

Teacher of Dance

Subject Information Sheets

Download curriculum overviews and subject information sheets for Dance at each key stage.

Subject Information Sheets

Curriculum documents for Dance.

Webpage Subject Information Sheet A Level Dance

KS5

Our Approach to Dance

Our Dance department focuses on three key areas that shape everything we do.

Creative Expression

Exploring movement, choreography, and diverse dance styles from Contemporary to Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, and Ballet.

Practical Performance

Building confidence through performing opportunities in solos, small groups, and whole ensembles.

Personal Development

Fostering teamwork, resilience, and self-discipline while contributing to a healthy and active lifestyle.

Curriculum Intent, Implementation & Impact

Our Dance curriculum is built around three core pillars. Expand the sections below to read our full statements on what we aim to achieve, how we deliver it, and the difference it makes to our students.

Intent

The Dance department at Sandy Secondary School aims to develop the whole student. As a department we aim to provide a creative, engaging and expansive dance education. Topic areas develop curiosity and collaborative skills; allowing for students who are ready to solve problems, accept challenges and strive for continued personal improvement. The curriculum aims to encourage independent learning and self-discipline. Although a competitive environment is encouraged, students are taught how to work within a team to achieve a goal and celebrate together. Dance at SSS provides students with a variety of learning opportunities both in lessons and extra-curricular creating a love of the subject and motivation to challenge themselves to be the best they can.

Implementation

Discussion & Explore Tasks – Students will gain and develop their knowledge through engage tasks, and exploring new ideas and concepts through discussion and movement. We will use teacher demonstration, combined with viewing of dances to progress our understanding of key skills and concepts of dance as a physical and creative activity. Key features include: actions, dynamics and space, as well as obtain appreciation of choreographic process through use of relationships and devices.
Practical Participation – Being practical in Dance is a key concept that is used in every lesson across the key stages. To build upon students’ initial comprehension, practical task setting will be applied to build understanding of different styles, technique and choreography skills. Students will participate practically through warm ups, teacher taught phrases and choreographic workshops that will develop their physical capabilities, contributing to a healthy and active lifestyle. Students practical is often based around group work, where they will expand their team building and communication skills to help further their interpersonal skills.
Performing – This is a key part to any performance arts subject. There will be opportunities to perform, either as a whole class or in smaller groups. We do this to build confidence and to aid presentation skills. It also contributes to our assessments and helps highlight progress that has been made.

Impact

The knowledge gained through explore and discussion tasks aims to help broaden students understanding of the subject, in addition to enhancing their cross curricula links to Music, Drama and English. As we progress through the key stages, a maturity in how to analyse and understand the development of the dance industry will be explored further and allow students to recognise the historical and contextual elements of different dance practitioners and styles. They will learn to interpret and evaluate professional dance works and examine the influence this has on dance today. Our theoretical elements of dance, therefore, aim to develop students into ‘thinking dancers’, who are capable of exploring new ideas and creative tasks, to help showcase an idea through verbal discussion and their writing.
The impact of our Practical participation and Performing elements of our dance course; through the use of practical workshops, introduction of key dance knowledge, discussion tasks and performing opportunities, we hope to build a more well-rounded and confident student. Students will gradually build a repertoire based in Contemporary dance, as well as explore other styles such as Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Capoeira, Samba, Jazz and Ballet. This will also enhance their growing physical and expressive skills in dance, developing technique and stylistic characteristics to be able to perform in solo’s, small groups, and whole ensembles. We also encourage and develop student’s independent choreographic abilities, allowing them free range to create and produce their own movement for performing. The exposure of practical and performing opportunities during our Dance courses, aims to develop technique and versatility, to not only contribute to a healthy lifestyle, but also develop their creativity, problem solving skills and their overall talent in dance.

Two schoolchildren in uniform sitting on a stone bench, smiling at each other outside a brick building.

Begin Your Dance Journey

Discover how Dance can shape your future — explore our curriculum from KS3 through to Sixth Form.

Contact the Dance Department