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In School
Dance
AS-Level dance
We can honestly say that when asked to do this article,
we struggled to find the right words to describe AS-Level
dance, but came to the conclusion that it has truly been a
rollercoaster ride full of highs and lows. The year has been
jam-packed with learning a wide variety of styles including
Martha Graham technique, Jazz, Ballet, Cunningham
technique and workshops on Horton and Musical
Theatre. As well as expanding our dance vocabulary and
knowledge of dance theory, we also worked on our Solo
Choreography tasks and Duets for our exam in March. AS-
Level dance has not only required us to push ourselves to
the next level but has also been a thoroughly rewarding
and enjoyable year.
The year began with a series of workshops which was
effective in helping us to bond as a class, which comprised
of former GCSE students, new students and consortium
students from the JAM academy and St.Bernards. We were
lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with Maisie,
a former Tring student, who became our artist in residence
and choreographer for our exam Duets. She taught us
mainly in the style of Jazz and focused on our technique
and performance, helping us to improve our own dance
repertoire. After an intense start to the year, it was time to
start preparing for our practical examination.
On top of the Duet, we also had to choreograph a Solo
based on one of four questions provided by the exam
board. These questions ranged from poems to music
acting as a stimulus which we had to base our dance on.
We found that AS-Level choreography was a huge step
up from GCSE and was certainly a challenge for both of
us. Focus was placed on the originality of the movement,
continuity of the piece and how well it related to the
stimulus. This took up the majority of the year, leading up
to the final exam which was, it has to be said, a relief to
complete.
However, there was no time to relax as the day after our
exam the Senior Dance Show was upon us and it was time
to show our family and friends what we had spent the
year working on. We performed our exam Duets as a class
which was a nice way to showcase all of our hard work. We
even got the chance to paint ourselves fluorescent! It was,
as always, a fun evening for all involved.
You would have thought that after the show we may have
had a small break, however this was not the case as the
theory exam was nearing and a whole host of set works
needed to be carefully analysed and learnt. On top of this,
we had to study the human anatomy and how it relates to
dancers. This was the final hurdle to conquer in AS Dance
and was sat just last week meaning the course has now
been completed!
Having finished our AS-Level dance, we can look back at
the year and truly appreciate what an experience it has
been and onewhich could not have been donewithout the
constant support from Mrs Hindley, who is always willing
to go the extra mile for her students. We look forward to
A2-Level dance and the challenge it will certainly present.
Zoe Burlison and Ellie Downey Y12
Pulse and Dance Leaders
As dance leaders, our year has included a wide variety of
events and classes. We have covered dance lessons, led
weekly lunchtime classes, assisted regularly in curriculum
classes and even started to work with local primary
schools. Both of us enjoy helping others to reach their full
potential in dance and find it rewarding when a dance
piece comes together under our influence and hard work.
One of the highlights of our year as dance leaders was no
doubt watching Pulse perform in the Senior Dance Show
and seeing how everybody in the club had developed and
improved throughout the year.
Pulse is the senior girls’ Hip-Hop club that runs weekly
at lunchtimes. This year we were inundated with new
members from Year 9 who were very enthusiastic about
learning a new style. We got straight to work on a piece for
the Senior Dance Show,“Spectrum”, working alongside the
girls to create a piece that they would both enjoy learning
and performing. They worked so hard and it really showed
on the night of the performance with Pulse being chosen
to open the Bucks Youth Games at Stoke Mandeville
Stadium later this year. This is a very exciting opportunity
for all of us and we can’t wait to show them what we can
do at the games!
Aswell as leading Pulse, as dance leaders, we are constantly
on standby to cover curriculum lessons in a new project
launched this year where Dance Mentors can take the
lesson assisted by a Learning Mentor. This is beneficial
to the students as they can continue their practical work
instead of spending the lesson in a classroom unable to
use the studio space. At first this was a slightly daunting
prospect as we were taking on a full class of students at all
ages and levels. However, over time, it became something
we looked forward to and eventually started to enjoy. It
did at times present challenges but working through them
