38 6.1 and 6.2 Dance A Level students took to the stage for a special showcase ahead of their March exams. This performance provided an invaluable opportunity to present their work, gain feedback, and experience performing before an audience.

For their final assessment, 6.2 students must perform a solo and a quartet, as well as choreograph a piece for a small group based on an exam board question set in September. They work with 6.1 dancers, who serve as performers, giving them valuable experience ahead of their own assessments next year.

A key challenge in the choreography component is adhering closely to the given exam questions. The students must research the topic, explore associated themes, and craft a performance that reflects their findings. Unlike the solo and quartet performances, which are judged on technical skill, choreography is assessed on movement choice, use of dancers, spatial patterns, and musicality.

This year’s questions required choreography based on a poem, a sculpture, or cause and effect in history, nature, or science. With limited rehearsal time—just 30 to 60 minutes per week—choreographers had to work efficiently with dancers they may not have worked with before. From October onwards, they refined their pieces in preparation for the showcase.

Kathryn Stallwood, Teacher of Dance A Level, praised the students, saying, “I have been particularly impressed with this year group for being so committed to having a finished piece for the dance show. Even though their work could have been presented as ‘work in progress,’ the dancers were determined to showcase only their best. There were no ‘last-minute’ sequences being taught in the corridor before stepping onto the stage, as has sometimes happened in the past!”

The showcase was a celebration of hard work and a crucial stepping stone in exam preparation.

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