A Level Dance Topics: Full List

A Level Dance splits its topics across performance, choreography and critical engagement. 

This article includes an official and complete breakdown of the topics you need to revise for A Level Dance. We’ve summarised the subject content from the only exam board currently offering this qualification – AQA (opens in a new tab) – to show you exactly what you need to know. We’ll also explain how to use topic lists for effective revision.

Key Takeaways

• AQA is the only exam board currently offering A Level Dance

• Topics are split across performance, choreography and critical engagement

• Use topic lists to create a revision plan and document your practical work

Why It's Important to Know Your Exam Board

Although subject content often overlaps across exam boards, each exam board has a different syllabus. This means that the same subject can be taught very differently in one exam board compared to another, with varying topics, skills and assessment methods.

Knowing exactly which topics your exam board covers means you can create a focused revision plan. You won't waste time studying content that won't be tested, and you'll know exactly what to expect when it comes to exams.

Only AQA currently offers A Level Dance, so if you’re studying this qualification, AQA is your exam board. Fortunately, only having one exam board makes it much easier to work out what you need to revise!

AQA A Level Dance Topics (7237)

AQA A Level Dance has three core content areas:

1. Performance

• Safe practice: correct alignment, technical accuracy, appropriate dancewear and presentation of self and a healthy approach to training, including the lifestyle of a dancer

• In a solo (linked to a chosen practitioner) and in a quartet: physical/technical skills, spatial elements, dynamic elements and interpretative/performance skills

• Documenting the performances: clear information on chosen practitioner, stylistic features or style(s) and dance idea(s)
  
  

2. Choreography

• Researching, developing and experimenting with dance ideas through studio and non-studio investigation

• The rehearsal process

• Documenting the choreography: clear information on the work’s choreographic intention and how it relates to the assessment task
  
  

3. Critical engagement

• One compulsory set work (Rooster, Christopher Bruce, 1991 – choreography, music, costume and lighting designs and first performances) and area of study (Rambert Dance Company, 1966–2002 – stylistic features, choreographic approach, practitioners’ works, genre and context)

• One optional set work and corresponding area of study (considering the same elements as those listed above) from the following: 

  • Giselle (Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, 1841) and the romantic ballet period

  • Appalachian Spring (Martha Graham, 1944) and the origins of American modern dance, 1900-1945

  • Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952) and American jazz dance, 1940-1975

  • Sutra (Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, 2008) and the independent contemporary dance scene in Britain, 2000-current

The table below shows what comes up in each component:

How to Use Topic Lists for Revision

Create a revision plan

Print or write out your topics into a checklist. Use the traffic light system (opens in a new tab) to prioritise weaker areas, and tick each area off as you revise. Seeing progress is really motivating, and it stops you from accidentally skipping anything important.

Document your practical work

Your performances and choreography need to be submitted alongside evidence, including a programme note. Knowing which topics come under performance and choreography will help you to document your practical work more clearly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to revise all A Level Dance topics for the exam?

Yes, as all three subject areas are compulsory.

Are these topics the same across all exam boards?

AQA is the only exam board currently offering A Level Dance.

If other exam boards offer A Level Dance in the future, the content will overlap, but specifications and exam formats will remain distinct.

How do I know which topics I struggle with most?

Check which past paper questions you find the hardest. You can then use the traffic light system to prioritise revising whichever areas you’re least confident in.

Do all topics come up in every exam paper?

No. Component 1 is a practical exam testing your performance and choreography skills, whereas Component 2 is a written exam focused on critical engagement. You will, however, be using similar skills and knowledge across both papers.

Final Thoughts

Using topic lists to structure your A Level Dance revision means you'll know exactly what to study, and how to allocate your time between each area.

Bookmark or print this page, and use it as your roadmap. Work through each topic, tick it off as you go, practise answering past paper questions, and persevere to improve your knowledge and skills for both exam papers.

References

• How to Use the Traffic Light System to Improve Your Marks (opens in a new tab)

• AQA A Level Dance (opens in a new tab)