Swansong Dance - Full scheme of work Year 9

• Inspired by the professional dance work, ‘Swansong’, (Christopher Bruce 1987)
• The unit makes cross-curricular links with citizenship, dealing with the process of false imprisonment and interrogation and Human Rights.
• The unit focuses on an emotive and moral issues.
• Technical skills are further developed in this unit in particular contact work, lighting and weight bearing, soft shoe tap, the use of props and an introduction to a simple abstracted ballroom technique (tango)
• Expressive skills are a key emphasise of this unit. Pupils will be asked to play contrasting roles, taking on the role of the interrogator and that of the victim. As the dance progresses the intensity of each role deepens. The guards are expected to show extremes, one moment being the comedy act, the next a cold harsh interrogator.
• Use of focus and facial expression along with the variety of technical movement and repeated phrases support the intensity of the work.
• Choreographic skills pupils will reflect the structure of the dance work and the narrative. Pupils will use mainly trio formations and relationships, with some opportunity for a victim’s solo and a duet cane/tango dance.