Dance GCSE at Warlingham is about more than performance, it is about expression, creativity, and confidence. Our GCSE Dance course encourages students to explore a wide range of styles, stories, and techniques while developing their own artistic voice. It’s an inclusive and inspiring subject that fosters a lifelong love for the arts and helps students grow in resilience, teamwork, and self-belief.

This GCSE Dance course is designed to give students plenty of time to develop their skills before completing all exams and assessments at the end of the course. They will explore a wide range of professional dances from different cultures and communities, helping them appreciate the diversity of the dance world. Students also have the chance to create their own original choreography, expressing ideas, themes, and emotions through movement, while building confidence, creativity, and teamwork.

Course Content

The course is built around three key areas:

• Performance – Developing control, physical skill, and expression through solo and group dance.
• Choreography – Creating original dances, either solo or in small groups, inspired by a chosen theme or stimulus.
• Dance Appreciation – Learning to analyse and evaluate professional works and reflect critically on one’s own performance and creative practice.

Assessment

Component 1: Performance and Choreography (60%)

Performance:

• Solo performance of set phrases from AQA (approx. 1 minute).
• Duet/trio performance (up to 3 minutes within a dance lasting no more than 5 minutes).

Choreography:

• Solo (2–2.5 minutes) or group dance for 2–5 dancers (3–3.5 minutes).

This is assessed internally and moderated externally by AQA.

Component 2: Dance Appreciation (40%)

• 1 hour 30 minute written exam.
• Tests knowledge and understanding of performance, choreography, and the six professional works from the GCSE Dance anthology.
• Students analyse their own practice and demonstrate critical appreciation of the wider dance world.

GCSE Dance gives students the opportunity to celebrate their individuality while working together creatively in a supportive and inclusive community. It allows everyone to grow as a performer and as a person, building confidence, communication, and teamwork skills that extend far beyond the dance studio. Through dance, students learn to express themselves, collaborate with others, and appreciate the diversity and richness of the art form.