Dance 2020 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 and support the capabilities of students
• avoid relying on pre-prepared responses such as memorised syllabus definitions and references to the areas of study
• focus on demonstrating the application of their knowledge to the question(s) being asked in the interview, consider “how” and “why” this information relates to the student’s performance
• 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 responses, students were able to:

• consistently apply safe dance practice, dance technique and performance quality during the performance and 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
• sustain endurance to 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
• sustaining endurance throughout the performance
• 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/intent
• organise the work into an appropriate form relevant to the concept/intent
• ensure the rationale is within the 300 word limit
• demonstrate an understanding of how the exploration of the elements of dance supports their concept/intent
• understand why manipulation of the elements of dance supports the concept/ intent.

In better responses, students were able to:

• establish motif(s) in relation to the concept/intent
• construct well-formed phrases driven by the motif
• use motif(s) to create phrases of movement that clearly establish, reinforce and develop the concept/intent
• consider their choices in relation to the concept/intent when manipulating the motif
• demonstrate logical phrase development throughout
• purposefully apply transitions between phrases, sequences and sections
• demonstrate, physically and orally, the reasons for the movement choices and their relevance to the concept/intent
• choose an accompaniment that is relevant to the concept/intent.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating understanding of the structure of a phrase
• 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 in the elaboration and the physical demonstration
• demonstrating greater understanding of the difference between repetition and restating or developing the movement to support the concept/intent
• demonstrating the choreographer’s point of view through movement
• ensuring the elaboration matches the concept/intent through purposeful movement choices.

General feedback

Students should:

• read each question carefully to ensure they recognise the key words and intent
• develop a plan to assist with structuring information which is succinct, logical, easily read and understood
• support the ideas in the introduction with in-depth discussion in each paragraph
• demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge in answering the question and depth in the detail of the examples
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the appropriate aspects of the dance work and the choreographer(s) where applicable
• present a clear understanding of the work using relevant, significant and detailed movement examples to support ideas
• refer to relevant concepts using appropriate descriptive language and dance terminology
• conclude the response by summarising and affirming arguments and making clear interpretive statements
• write legibly using clear paragraphs and sentences.

Question 1

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the terms, “variation and contrast”, and how they contribute to the work through the exploration of movement
• provide relevant movement examples which support their statements on the creation of “variation and contrast”
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Frances Rings exploration of movement throughout Terrain with depth and breadth provided in explanations.

Areas for students to improve include:

• consistently addressing the terms “variation and contrast” in relation to exploring movement, rather than simply describing aspects of the work
• explaining rather than restating the question, recalling or listing information about the choreographer and/or the work and/or the company
• providing detail when explaining movement examples, such as referring to the elements of dance and/or choreographic devices and/or motif and/or dancers and their relationship and/or fusion of styles and/or analysis of sections.

Question 2

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify Jiri Kylian’s relevant influences, such as his early life, training, dance styles, mentors, music and thematic preferences
• make clear and accurate explanations about Jiri Kylian’s influences and how they contribute to movement choices in Sarabande.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying relevant and appropriate influences and movement examples rather than irrelevant information about the choreographer and/or his background and training, personal life and body of work
• providing specific and relevant explanations of Jiri Kylian’s influences and/or movement choices
• elaborating on and explaining aspects of Jiri Kylian’s influences, including artistic, socio-cultural and historical influences, to demonstrate a clear understanding of his contribution to movement choices in Sarabande
• demonstrating an understanding of the context of the work and its relevance to the movement choices in Sarabande
• linking statements to movement examples and/or the influences.

General feedback

Students should:

• read each question carefully to ensure they recognise the key words and intent
• develop a plan to assist with structuring information which is succinct, logical, easily read and understood
• support the ideas in the introduction with in-depth discussion in each paragraph
• demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge in answering the question and depth in the detail of the examples
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the appropriate aspects of the dance work and the choreographer(s) where applicable
• choose relevant, significant examples, when citing movement from the dance work
• ensure their writing is coherent by using succinct language and referring to relevant concepts using appropriate descriptive language and dance terminology
• conclude the response by summarising and affirming arguments and making clear interpretive statements
• write legibly using clear paragraphs and sentences.

Question 1

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate strong links between their understanding of the artist, dance as an artform and specific examples from the works
• display depth and breadth of knowledge and understanding of the artist and their impact on dance as an artform
• provide examples from several works.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding and describing the choreographer’s key artistic qualities and characteristics as they relate to dance as an artform
• strengthening their knowledge of the artist’s body of work and the artistic, sociocultural and historical era in which they lived
• understanding examples from the works do not necessarily mean movement examples but could also relate to other aspects such as challenging traditional themes, artistic or theatrical conventions.

Question 2

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a strong understanding of the choreographer, the era in which they lived and examples from the work
• identify and make judgements based on past, present and future artistic, sociocultural and historical events and trends
• identify the key sociocultural/historical/political events or trends of the era and associate these with the artist’s works.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying works and examples from works which reflect aspects from the chosen era
• explaining how the chosen dance works reflect the era throughout the response
• choosing a number of the works based on social, cultural, political and/or historical significance.

Question 3

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the artist Mats Ek, his distinctive choreographic style and ability to communicate the central ideas of Appartement.
• identify significant aspects of Mats Ek’s distinctive style such as stylised pedestrianism, imaginative interpretations of storylines, expression of modern and everyday life through movement, movement idiosyncrasies, humour, props and staging, gender roles and commentary
• make an evaluative judgement about Mats Ek’s distinctive style, rather than simply identifying his distinctive style within the work.

Areas for students to improve include:

• structuring the response to identify aspects of Mats Ek’s distinctive style and associate these with examples from the work, rather than providing a simple descriptive re-telling of the work
• developing awareness of Mats Ek’s body of work to help identify aspects of his distinctive style.