Dance 2019 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• personalise choreography to suit individual anatomical structure and ability level using dance technique and safe dance practices to support these qualities
• work with their teacher to ensure performance pieces address syllabus outcomes
• avoid relying on pre-prepared responses such as memorised syllabus definitions
• focus on demonstrating the application of their knowledge to the question(s) being asked in the interview
• in the Major Study, work from the perspective of the dancer, not the choreographer
• actively participate in the interview and ensure appropriate examples are being chosen to demonstrate and/or analyse concepts
• during the interview, support the physical demonstration of knowledge seen in the dance  
• adhere to the time limits as set by NESA in the Assessment and Reporting document.

In better performances, students were able to:

• fully apply safe dance practice, dance technique and performance quality during the interview and address both the ‘how’ and ‘why’
• acknowledge physically and in discussion, their application of aspects of space, time and dynamics and how this enhances their performance quality
• execute a high level of body articulation, coordination and complex body skills in multiple ways
• choose the appropriate skills to best showcase the dancer’s abilities, demonstrating control and consistency throughout the performance
• apply their understanding of their anatomical structure to their dance therefore demonstrating control of alignment, flexibility, strength and/or coordination
• display a good level of endurance to sustain a consistent level of performance.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding their own physical capabilities and limitations in relation to the complexity of the chosen movement
• general fitness levels
• applying safe dance, dance technique and performance quality to the performance of the dance as a whole, not one area in isolation of the others
• avoiding the use of acrobatic skills that do not enhance the interpretation or demonstrate the skill of dance
• personalising the movement to ensure the link between the dance choreographed and the performer is strong and demonstrates understanding of the syllabus outcomes
• avoiding the use of pre-prepared movement examples in the interview
• ensuring examples that are used directly relate to the questions asked in the interview.

Students should:

• develop an appropriate and achievable concept or intent
• organise the work into achievable sections rather than many small parts
• ensure the rationale is within the 300 word limit
• understand why manipulation supports the concept or intent
• show an understanding of how the exploration of the elements of dance supports their concept or intent.

In better responses, students were able to:

• establish motif(s) in relation to the concept or intent
• construct well-formed phrases driven by the motif
• develop phrases of movement that clearly establish, reinforce and extend the motif to support the selected concept or intent
• consider choices in how they manipulated the motif in relevance to the concept or intent
• demonstrate logical phrase development throughout the dance
• cleverly apply transitions
• demonstrate physically and orally the reasons for the movement choices and the relevance to the concept or intent
• prepare their dancer so that they were confident in their performance.

Areas for students to improve include:

• incorporating a clear resolution to create unity
• demonstrating an understanding of variation and contrast to enhance the choreography
• showing a greater understanding of the choices or types of structure
• demonstrating the need for a greater understanding of the difference between repetition and restating or developing the movement to support the concept/intent
• showing the relevance of two or three dancers in relation to concept or intent in Major Study (Composition)
• demonstrating the choreographer’s point of view through movement
• ensuring the rationale matches the movement.

Students should:

• open the dance film with their candidate number and the title of the film
• understand the equipment being used
• check the film equipment before the exam
• be prepared and know their work so that they can find examples quickly
• ensure they are the choreographer, director and editor, and not one of the dancers in the film
• adhere to the process of creating a film and work with the concept or intent as the guiding force
• prepare physical and film examples to enhance the elaboration
• ensure that the rationale is only 300 words.

In better responses, students were able to:

• make editing decisions that best supported the content/intent
• consider the ways in which the editing of the movement supports the concept and intent
• show how the elements of dance are used to enhance the movement choices supporting the concept and intent
• demonstrate how the success of unity in the film is the correlation between movement and editing choices
• show an ability to edit movement into phrase(s)
• be quick and efficient when finding examples from their film to support the elaboration.

Areas for students to improve include:

• selecting appropriate locations in which to set the dance film
• appropriateness of the concept or intent
• using the elements of dance to make choices when manipulating both movement before, during and after the filming process and editing
• considering the quality of the movement choices before filming
• considering the appropriate costume to enhance but not distract the concept or intent
• demonstrating awareness that personalisation of movement occurs through both the physical realisation and the editing of the film
• a greater understanding of the expectations of the film option
• preparing their elaboration and accompanying examples to clearly expound and expand their rationale
• being mindful that the twelve-minute time limit includes the time it takes for students to find and play examples from the work.

Students should:

• address all aspects of the question
• demonstrate a substantial level of knowledge and understanding of the work, linking parts of the question by referring to relevant examples
• provide appropriate detail when explaining the examples
• structure their response with clear, concise sentences, forming paragraphs with a consistent focus
• introduce their response with a strong opening paragraph which directly refers to the question, clearly establishing their intended structure, which is then followed throughout the response
• answer the questions asked rather than recalling information about the work and/or choreographer or providing lists of information
• structure responses in a logical and coherent manner, using appropriate and relevant dance vocabulary and terminology.

Question 1

In better responses, students were able to:

• successfully demonstrate their understanding of the link between the work (consisting of its movement aspects) and ideas, images and emotions that may be conveyed to or experienced by the audience in relation to “Spirit of Place”
• provide relevant and appropriate movement examples which are significant in terms of the communication within the work
• explain cause and effect in relation to all aspects of the question
• develop and layer their response throughout, using the information provided, the example, explanation and links, building on each aspect to form a synthesised response
• demonstrate skilled understanding of the question – through depth and breadth of knowledge
• make links between the question and various examples, including references to movement, elements of dance, choreographers background, choreographic devices, culture
• introduce a concept to explain how and why Frances Rings explored “Spirit of Place”
• develop judgements about the work in relation to the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing the response beyond their knowledge of the choreographer such as Frances Rings and/or the work Terrain
• developing the response beyond recalling information, forming it as a narrative which directly answers the question
• introducing key ideas/concepts to follow and expand on throughout
• referring to specific ideas, images, emotions, examples from Terrain in relation to "Spirit of Place"
• providing a coherent line of thought throughout the response, making links between paragraphs
• providing supporting evidence from the work, for example, how the space has been explored and reconsidered
• identifying the key concepts in the question
• providing information beyond restating the question, listing information, making statements.

Question 2

In better responses, students were able to:

• contextualise the work and the movement choices in order to explain the spatial elements to communicate masculinity
• discuss movement examples in terms of space as well as stylistic features of movement to communicate masculinity
• sustain an argument, introduced in the introduction and discussed in depth through a broad range of arguments in each paragraph
• provide multiple movement examples which complement each other as evidence for an argument
• make clear and insightful judgements about spatial elements and use effective and appropriate movement examples to support judgements
• present a strong understanding and interpretation of the work with relevant and detailed movement examples used as evidence to support an argument in relation to “masculinity”
• discuss the spatial elements in depth, unpacking identified "masculinity" in detail and giving them thematic or social context
• holistically conclude their response by summarising and affirming their arguments and making clear interpretation statements
• demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge in answering the question and depth in the detail of the explanations
• consistently address and answer both aspects of the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• answering the question and addressing both aspects of the question
• focusing on what the question is asking rather than what they know about the choreographer and/or their background and training
• making more specific statements about the spatial elements of the work
• elaborating and explaining aspects of "masculinity" to demonstrate a clear interpretation or understanding of the work or movement
• identifying relevant and appropriate movement examples
• showing an understanding of the context of the work, providing evidence and explanation showing its relevance to the meaning of movement
• linking statements to movement examples and/or the spatial elements.

Question 1

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate strong links between their understanding of the choreographer, dance as an art form and examples from the work
• demonstrate a sophisticated response, consistently making strong links to the question
• display depth and/or breath in relation to knowledge and understanding of the artist and their impact on dance as an art form
• provide a coherent and logical response.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using specific language
• including specific examples from the work to support the response
• making links to the question and demonstrating relevant knowledge
• enhancing their knowledge of the artist studied
• directly answering the question, rather than providing information known about the artist and/or works
• identifying the significant concepts in the question and answering these consistently within the response, for example, demonstrating understanding of the artist and the body of work in relation to the question.

Question 2

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate strong links between their understanding of the choreographer, the era and examples from the work
• identify and make judgements based on past/future
• provide specific examples from works in depth/breadth with justification to support the response
• display depth and/or breath in relation to knowledge and understanding of the artist and relevant social issues
• demonstrate heightened knowledge of the artist and works
• make judgements and provide relevant supporting explanations.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding key words and what the question is asking, for example, acknowledging throughout the response how the dance work reflects the past or influences the future
• selecting information about the artist, era and works, relevant to the question
• enhancing their knowledge of the artist, the era and their works
• acknowledging throughout the response how the dance work reflects the past or influences the future
• identifying the significant concepts in the question and answering these consistently within the response, for example, understanding the artist and interpreting the body of work in relation to the question.

Question 3

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a coherent, well-structured response with elaborations that were specific in detail and related to the question
• demonstrate a heightened understanding of the question, making consistent links between the artist and why the work is considered seminal
• provide specific examples from the work and support these with relevant explanations
• demonstrate strong knowledge of the artist and the workand apply thorough interpretations.

Areas for students to improve include:

• attending to the coherency of their response
• developing informative paragraphs related to the question, rather than a descriptive re-telling of the work
• breaking down the question, demonstrating an understanding of choreographic choices and how these convey meaning to the audience
• enhancing relevance and detail of examples provided
• identifying the significant concepts in the question and answering these consistently within the response, for example, understanding the artist and interpreting the work in relation to the question.