← All qualifications

Skills that use Conceptual understanding

1. Counts, rhythm, tempo and timing

   Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

   Rhythm, timing and change of tempo are named technical skills and choreographic devices, so learners count phrases, halve and double speeds and fit material to music. Performances must meet set times, with a solo lasting 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

   Numeracy: Measurement, Strategic competence, Calculation, Conceptual understanding

   Getting pupils ready

   Year 7

   Pupils learn a phrase in counts of eight, then time their performance with a stopwatch and record it in minutes and seconds.

   Year 8

   Pupils perform a motif at half speed and double speed and work out how many counts of eight each version now takes.

   Year 9

   Pupils plan a solo to last 1 minute 30 seconds by working out how many counts of eight fit at the music's BPM, then time a run to check.

   Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

   Where it is in the specification: Appendix A, Choreographic Devices, page 25; Unit 2, page 12

   “a structure of movement patterns in time; a movement with a regular succession of strong and weak elements”

   Progression step 3

   • I can carry out practical activities involving timed events and explain which unit of time is the most appropriate.

   • I can time events in minutes and seconds, and order the results.

   Progression step 4

   • I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.

   • I can use the four operations and the connections between them, e.g. apply division as the inverse of multiplication.

   Progression step 5

   • I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.

   • I can draw on my understanding of the basic structures of mathematics and can apply them in different contexts.

2. Space, direction, turns and formations

   Assessed: In the exam and in coursework (NEA)

   Learners use and describe space through levels, facing, planes, pathways and formations such as lines, curves and circles. This draws on angle as turn, position on a stage grid, two-dimensional shape and symmetry.

   Numeracy: Angle, Position, Shape and space, Conceptual understanding

   Getting pupils ready

   Year 7

   Pupils perform quarter, half and full turns and name each one as 90, 180 or 360 degrees.

   Year 8

   Pupils mark a floor pattern on a nine-area stage grid, such as upstage left to downstage right, and draw the pathway with arrows.

   Year 9

   Pupils draw a floor plan of the studio to scale showing their group formations, such as a line, a circle and a diagonal, then use it to stage their piece.

   Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

   Where it is in the specification: Appendix A, Structural Devices, page 26; Unit 3, Section 3.1.1, page 16

   “where dancers are placed on stage in relation to each other. These can form patterns such as lines, curves, scattered and circles.”

   Progression step 3

   • I can use angle as a measure of rotation.

   • I can use coordinates to find position.

   • I can use mathematical language to accurately describe two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes.

   Progression step 4

   • I can apply understanding of bearings and scale to interpret maps and plans, and to create plans and drawings to scale.

   • I can measure and draw angles.

   Progression step 5

   • I can measure and draw angles.

   • I can represent a concept in different ways, flowing between different representations including verbal, concrete, visual, digital and abstract.

Source: WJEC GCSE Dance specification, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028, © WJEC CBAC Ltd 2025 (no version number printed).