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Curriculum Focus

The Performing arts strand can be undertaken either with a single discipline focus (Dance, Drama or Music) or by using the performing arts disciplines in combination.

Dance

Students explore the elements of dance – space, time, energy – through structured improvisation and in response to set tasks. They develop dance ideas by selecting, organising and combining dance elements using stimuli such as themes, storylines, props, music and the environment. Students learn to use devices such as repetition, unison and canon to plan, create and present movement sequences and short dances for particular audiences or for particular purposes. They use dance terminology such as level, direction or pathways in discussing and structuring their work. They perform and discuss dances from their own and others’ cultures and demonstrate awareness of different themes, rhythms, tempos and characteristics. For example, students celebrate a cultural festival through learning the repetitious steps of a circle dance and linking hands to perform it with gradually increasing speed. Students learn about and incorporate in their dances aspects related to presentation, such as sound accompaniment, costumes and props. Teachers assist students to identify the purpose and describe key features of a dance and the ways in which the elements of dance and presentation add interest and expression to movement in their own and others’ works. For example, they talk about shapes, movements, timing, focus, use of space, costumes and lighting. They evaluate their dance experiences and compare examples of dance presented in a variety of electronic media, such as video, CD-ROM and the Internet. They discuss the function of dance in their community.

Drama

Students re-enact characters and situations they have observed, using their imagination to extend these situations into improvisations which incorporate dramatic elements. The teacher assists them to select, organise and combine elements such as voice, movement and gesture and dramatic forms such as mime and puppetry. When they choose their own topics of interest for improvisation, the teacher introduces the dramatic element of focus to assist students in shaping their drama. They develop skills in using stagecraft elements such as sound effects and props in order to enhance the meaning of their drama. Teachers introduce the drama of different cultures to assist students to identify dramatic features such as the use of mask during carnival time in Venice. Students make their own props and/or masks to incorporate into their own improvisations. Students work in groups to plan, rehearse and present their work to particular audiences for particular purposes and they learn to distinguish between acting space and audience space. Teachers encourage students to use appropriate drama terminology, such as improvisation, prop, costume, when discussing the making and shaping of their work. Students describe features of performances they have seen, such as plot or story, voice levels and use of stagecraft. They write their responses, using computers when possible. They identify key features of performing arts works from their own and others’ cultures and discuss the function of drama in the community.

Music

Students explore and describe ways of making and changing sounds to communicate ideas and feelings. They experiment with the elements of music individually and in combination to plan, improvise and compose short works for particular purposes. For example, they improvise a work, using only rhythmic elements, and then add other elements, such as melody, and evaluate the effectiveness of the use of additional elements. They imitate and create rhythmic harmonic and melodic patterns. Students use and interpret conventional and unconventional notation representing sounds of different pitch, duration, loudness and tone color. They experiment with techniques and processes for producing and organising sound using their voices, acoustic and electronic instruments. They use techniques of composition derived from their own and other cultures. They rehearse and perform short vocal and instrumental works from their own and other cultures. When singing, they use a natural voice and aim to achieve accuracy in pitch, rhythm, dynamics and phrasing. They develop skills in controlling their performances to reflect the purpose of the music. This might involve talking about the meaning of the words and how they could affect the way the song is performed and presented. Students identify and describe key features and expressive qualities of music, such as melodic shape, repeated patterns, structure, rhythm, metre, tempo, dynamics, timbre and texture. Teachers guide students in using appropriate music terminology when discussing musical characteristics of works from their own and others’ cultures. They discuss the function of music in their community.