Year 12 Dance Units 3 and 4
Overview
VCE dance is for the ‘thinking dancer’ as this subject opens you to the world of choreography. In Unit 3, you will become the choreographer exploring your own personal dance style and performance skills through the creation of a ‘skills solo’. A solo that shows off your best dancing skills. In Unit 4, the solo that you create will tell a story or explore a theme or concept. In both solos you are the creator and the performer, exploring movement and developing your own personal movement style. You will have the opportunity to study world famous choreographers and analyse how they create dance works to show meaning. You will also, analyse and discuss the choreographic principles underlying these choreographers’ creations.
This course is designed to expand your understanding and knowledge of dance as a vibrant performing art form.
If you want to enrol in Dance at VSV you will need to complete and submit a pre-enrolment form with your enrolment application.
Part A: Student form to be completed by student and guardian
Who is it for?
This subject is for students who:
- love to dance
- wish to learn more about the art and craft of choreography and dance
- are willing to expand their understanding of what dance is
- are curious and passionate about dance.
As a dancer, your body is your instrument through which you communicate meaning through movement. As a choreographer, you can create the movements that can challenge and move an audience’s perspective. Culture enriches our lives and being a dancer and choreographer puts you in the centre of being an agent for change and beauty.
Dancers are often vibrant, fit, energetic and positive people. Participating in this course will expand your analysis skills. Your understanding will grow, about how choreographers develop meaning through movement. Your own skills as a thinking dancer will lift. The skills that you learn in VCE Dance will enhance aspects of your life as you head into the performing arts, arts education and fitness sectors.
What do you do?
You will complete some of the following activities:
- creating and making your own solo dance works showing a range of movements, which explores the criteria as set by the VCAA
- learning, rehearsing and performing a learnt group dance as a VSV class
- analysing solo works and group works created by world famous choreographers
- learning VCE terminology and applying terminology to analysis
- discussing and describing dance movements in your own and others works, to show meaning.
What skills do you need?
You should possess basic dance skills from taking regular dance classes in any style. These classes can be at a dance studio or from an online provider and ensure that you are continuing to develop your dance skills.
Creative skills such as problem solving, being organised in order to complete tasks, and being intrinsically motivated are important to learning in an online environment.
Skills such as filming, condensing files if required and uploading to a video sharing site, will also come in handy during the year.
What skills do you develop?
By the end of the year you should have developed:
- dance compositional skills that are displayed in the two solos that you create which cover the VCAA criteria
- a proficiency in analysing a range of dance works
- an ability to discuss your own processes in the learning/creating/rehearsing and performing solo and group works
- an understanding of influences on choreographers and how these influences affect the creation of dance works
- a greater understanding of how to watch and appreciate dance works.
Requirements
You must have access to a device and the internet in order to access this online course. All weekly work will be completed and submitted online.
It is recommended that you are taking regular dance classes in the style/s of your choice to keep developing dance skills.
Optional events include attending Top Class in Melbourne and the Unit 4 Solo Workshop in Term 3.
Being able to film your dance compositional work on a device and upload filmed files of your dancing is a requirement of this course.
Things to think about
VCE Dance requires a dancer to become a ‘thinking’ dancer. This means that you understand that there is more to dancing than being able to kick your leg up high. A thinking dancer can unpack what, how and why of a dance and document their observations. The thinking dancer can describe not only the dance steps or movement vocabulary that they observe and create, but can use the VCE Dance terminology and find links between what the movement is, and what the movement means. As well as being asked to write about dance, you will also be required to film and submit videos of both the dance you learn (from either VSV online or your studio teacher) and the dances you choreograph for ongoing feedback.
Things you can do now
You could make a start to the course by:
- listening to music that inspires you to create your solos
- taking extra classes in a different style of dance to help expand your experience of dance and movement vocabulary
- attending as many live dance performances as you can to see how established choreographers present their work
- watching a variety of YouTube videos of dances and different VCE solo choreography
- visiting the VCAA website to familiarise yourself with the criteria for the solos and read through the Chief Assessor’s report from previous years to gain greater understanding of what is expected
Things to have a look at
Alice’s Solo from Alice in Wonderland
Alice’s Solo by Chrostopher Wheeldon (Royal Ballet)
Singin’ in the Rain from the movie musical Singin’ in the Rain
Singin’ in the Rain choreographed by Gene Kelly