Dance - Hurstpierpoint College

Dance

Dance is a subject that is fully supported throughout the College and participation is encouraged for both boys and girls. Our philosophy is that whether you consider yourself to be a natural dancer or not, the real importance lies in simply being open to the experience, gaining an appreciation of the subject and utilising the variety of transferable skills that dance can provide. Creative subjects are being increasingly seen as playing an integral role in providing a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.

Dance provides an increased awareness of physical and expressive skills, an appreciation of the cultural and social context, employment of lateral thinking in response to creative tasks, the development of interpersonal skills and an acute awareness and appreciation of the human body.

Studying A-level Dance provides students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the subject, delivered through practical and theoretical studies. Students are encouraged to discover their own original movement vocabulary as well as increase their own performance ability to a high standard and to think creatively and analytically, which fittingly primes them for higher education in general or more specific performing arts courses. We follow the AQA specification, with all exams taking place at the end of the course.

Co-curricular opportunities

We run an extensive co-curricular dance programme that includes a variety of styles such as Contemporary, Ballet and Street Dance. These can be taken as part of the co-curricular activities programme or as an after-school club.

Full details about our co-curricular Dance opportunities can be found on the Co-curricular Dance page.

Facilities

Hurst has a purpose-built dance studio, interlinked with our New Bury Theatre which opened in 2018. The theatre is state-of-the-art with tiered seating, professional lighting and sound systems and is ideal for large-scale dance performances, in addition to the dance studio.

Higher Education and career opportunities

A-level Dance is highly respected as an academically and practically demanding course and therefore provides a solid foundation of knowledge and ability for anyone wishing to pursue a career in the Performing Arts. A-level Dance can lead to further study in Dance, Theatre Studies and Performing Arts in Higher Education at degree level. This can potentially lead to a career in the Performing Arts industry or within the education and community arts sector.

A-level Dance compliments a range of subjects, such as Theatre Studies and the visual arts, due to the concepts which underpin the process of creating dance and the analytical skills used to gain insight and appreciation of the work. The course’s ability to foster imagination and creativity, as well as promote personal and social development makes it an invaluable asset in many fields of work that require presentational skills, teamwork and lateral thinking, such as within media, marketing, advertising and public relations.

I am hoping to go on to study Medicine at university and taking A-level Dance has benefitted me greatly as it has helped me to develop an acute awareness of the body. I love the anatomical theory aspect of the course and how I can relate it to my own body through dancing. Also, taking dance helps to differentiate me from other medical applicants as it shows I have interests beyond the Sciences. A-level Dance student