Specification: WJEC-GCSE-Dance
The WJEC GCSE Dance specification covers 4 topics with 0 learning objectives (WJEC-GCSE-Dance). Use the topic browser below to explore subtopics, exam tips, common mistakes, and key terminology for each area of the course.
This subject will help you develop key knowledge and skills required for exam success.
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Objectives
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Exam Tips
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Pitfalls
The WJEC GCSE Dance course invites students to explore dance as an art form through performance, choreography, and critical appreciation. It is designed to develop both creative and analytical skills, giving learners the confidence to perform, create, and evaluate their own and others' work. The specification encourages a practical, hands-on approach where you will build technical and expressive skills in a range of dance styles, including ballet, modern/contemporary, jazz, and cultural forms such as bhangra and capoeira. Throughout the course, you will learn safe practice, choreographic devices, and how to analyse professional dance works, helping you become a well-rounded dancer and thinker.
The course is structured around two main units. Unit 1 (Performance and Choreography) is non-examined assessment (NEA) and makes up 60% of your final grade. In this unit, you will perform two solo or group dances and create your own choreography piece, demonstrating your ability to generate movement ideas and shape them into a complete work. Unit 2 (Critical Analysis of Dance) is a written examination worth 40% of the qualification. It tests your knowledge and understanding of dance appreciation, including the analysis of your own performance and choreography, as well as the study of professional repertoire from the four areas of study. This balanced structure ensures you are assessed fairly on your practical skills and your theoretical understanding.
Across the two years, you will engage with four key areas of study: ballet, modern/contemporary, jazz, and cultural dance. Each area explores performance skills, choreographic approaches, and the contexts and features of professional works. For example, you might study a classical ballet like 'Swan Lake' and then compare it with a contemporary piece or a vibrant bhangra routine. The specification also places a strong emphasis on the choreographic process, from initial stimulus to final production, and on developing a critical eye for evaluating the effectiveness of dance works. By the end, you will have produced a portfolio of practical work and have the ability to articulate thoughtful responses in a formal exam setting.
The WJEC GCSE Dance qualification is assessed through two components. Unit 1: Performance and Choreography (60%) is internally assessed by your teacher and externally moderated by WJEC. It carries a total of 100 marks, split into 60 marks for two performance pieces (solo and group) and 40 marks for one choreography piece. Unit 2: Critical Analysis of Dance (40%) is a 1 hour 30 minute written examination worth 80 marks. The paper includes questions on your own performance and choreography, as well as on professional works from the four areas of study. Final grades are awarded based on the combined marks out of a total of 180, with grade boundaries set each year.
Perform dance, reflecting choreographic intention through physical, technical and expressive skills
Create dance, including movement material and aural setting, to communicate choreographic intention
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of choreographic processes and performing skills
Critically appreciate own works and professional works, through making analytical, interpretive and evaluative judgements
Demonstrates comprehensive and accurate knowledge
Applies knowledge effectively to new contexts
Develops sophisticated analytical arguments
Give a single fact or term
Name, select, or recognise
Set out main features briefly
Give an account of what something is like or what happens
Give reasons with developed cause→effect chains
State similarities AND differences (both required)
Examine in detail showing cause→effect→consequence chains
Weigh up BOTH sides, reach JUSTIFIED conclusion
Make judgments about importance with justification
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