Term 3

DANCE

💃 What’s It About?
A fun and active program that lets children explore dance through movement, music, and imagination

🕺 What Students Will Learn:
Basic dance steps and body movements

• Moving to the beat and using rhythm

• Following simple choreography

• Expressing feelings through dance

🎶 Music and Dance Styles:

• Age-appropriate, upbeat songs

• Creative movement and storytelling through dance

• Introduction to different dance styles in a playful way
  
  

Drama

Focus: Storytelling, role-play, using voice and facial expressions

Key concepts:

• Pretend and role play (e.g. being animals, community helpers, fairy tale characters)

• Exploring emotions through facial expressions and body language

• Improvising short scenes or stories

• Using props and costumes to create characters

• Following and creating simple narratives
  
  

DANCE

Body Awareness & Control

• Explore different body parts and movements

• Practice balance, posture, and coordination

Basic Dance Techniques

• Learn fundamental steps (e.g., jumps, turns, slides)

• Introduction to rhythmic movement and timing

Musicality & Rhythm

• Move to different tempos and beats

• Identify and respond to musical accents and phrasing

Choreography Skills

• Learn simple sequences and routines

• Practice repeating and memorizing movement patterns
  
  

Creative Movement & Improvisation

• Use imagination to create original dance moves

• Experiment with different styles and moods

Dance Styles Exploration

• Introduce styles like jazz, hip hop, contemporary, or folk dance

• Discuss cultural origins of certain dance forms

Group Work & Team Dance

• Work in pairs or small groups to coordinate movements

• Develop spatial awareness and cooperation

Expressive Performance

• Focus on facial expressions and storytelling through dance

• Perform short pieces for classmates or small audiences

Drama

✨ Cross-Curricular Ideas:

• Link performing arts to literacy by dramatizing stories or poems.

• Tie into history by exploring historical dance/music or re-enacting events.

• Use science concepts like sound or movement as themes for exploration.

🎭 Drama

Key Goals:

• Develop imagination

• Build confidence speaking and performing

• Encourage cooperation and empathy

Activities:

• Improvisation games (e.g. freeze frames, role play)

• Mime and expression – using body language and facial expressions

• Character creation – using voice, movement, and costume props

• Simple scripts – learning to read and perform short scenes

• Storytelling through drama – acting out traditional tales, or creating their own

• Ensemble work – group performance activities to build teamwork

DANCE

Explore and Express Ideas

• Use dance to communicate ideas, stories, and emotions

• Experiment with abstract and symbolic movement
  
  

Develop Technical Skills

• Refine body control, coordination, and balance

• Practice advanced dance techniques (e.g., complex turns, jumps, and floor work)
  
  

Choreography & Composition

• Create original dance sequences individually and collaboratively

• Use elements of dance (space, time, dynamics, relationships) to structure choreography

Respond and Interpret

• Analyse and interpret dance works by peers and professionals

• Reflect on how movement communicates meaning and intention
  
  

Cultural and Historical Contexts

• Investigate dance styles from different cultures and times

• Understand dance as a form of cultural expression and storytelling

Performance Skills

• Develop confidence and presence in front of an audience

• Use expressive skills including facial expression, dynamics, and energy
  
  

Health and Safety in Dance

• Practice safe warm-up and cool-down routines

• Understand body care and injury prevention during dance activities

• Collaborative Work

  1. Work effectively in groups to create and perform dances

  2. Demonstrate respect and teamwork during rehearsals and performances
     
     

🎭 Drama

Focus: Character development, storytelling, performance, and group work.

Skills & Topics:

• Improvisation – quick thinking, creativity, reacting in the moment.

• Scripted Performance – reading and acting from short plays or scenes.

• Characterization – voice, body language, emotion.

• Stagecraft – basic understanding of staging, blocking, and props.

• Devising – creating original performances from themes or prompts.

• Voice projection & clarity – speaking to an audience with confidence.