AvÐÔ°® Christi is proud to offer Dance as part of its curriculum across Years 7-12, with recent results demonstrating the quality and value of our courses. As an art form that embodies our ideas, thoughts, emotions and values, it’s a subject that provides a unique opportunity for our students to develop physically, intellectually and spiritually. With state-of-the-art facilities, including our dedicated dance studios and the Caroline Payne Theatre, students are given a learning environment where they can strive for their best.

Year 7

Students in Year 7 undertake a compulsory one term course where they learn the core elements of dance, create their own warm up routine and, for the first time this year, perform as a group in a ‘flash mob’.

Year 8

Year 8 Dance is another compulsory one term course, where students extend on their knowledge from Year 7 Dance, and begin to focus on hip hop techniques. The students analyse Dance movements and technique to enhance their safe dance practices, and are given the opportunity to choreograph a small group routine in their chosen genre. The students select a picture to use as a stimulus, and are encouraged to apply the elements of Dance when creating their composition task.

Year 9

After this experience with movement and teamwork, students then have the option in Year 9 to take Dance as an elective. Students electing to study Dance for either a semester of the full year in Year 9 focus on Jazz and Contemporary, exploring the technical aspects of these genres while also aiming to increase fitness, strength and flexibility. With development in technique and choreography, students acquire a repertoire suitable for public performance.

Year 10

Year 10 Dance explores the entertainment potential of dance, centering on Theatrical Jazz and Hip Hop in addition to Contemporary. As students continue to upskill and collaborate, the focus turns to composition, with Classical Ballet and Street Dance also explored. Health, safety and injury prevention is also taught – especially relevant as students increase their repertoire by training and performing as part of their classes and also in extra-curricular options.

Year 11 & 12

At Senior School level, students can elect to undertake an ATAR or General pathway in Dance. The ATAR course interrogates the role of dance in our popular culture, including in the Australian context and with a view to the voice of our youth. With a further sophistication of choreographic ideas and staging, students elevate their solo and group dance skills to a more elite level. The General pathway also extends students to a higher level of movement, presentation and creative process.

Additional Opportunities

Complementing the curriculum are various offerings to further immerse students in the world of dance, from incursions with guest choreographers, excursions to performances, after-school clubs – including Boys Dance – and the opportunity to perform at College and inter-school events.

In recent years, an impressive number of AvÐÔ°® Christi students have been accepted into the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) to study Dance, validating their dedication and hard work, as well as their teachers’ belief in them.

In encouraging artistic creativity and the active use of the imagination, Dance truly allows students to embrace our Vision for Learning, ‘Ignite the Spirit’.