The IB DP dance course takes a holistic approach to dance, and embraces a variety of dance traditions and dance cultures—past, present and looking towards the future. Performance, creative and analytical skills are mutually developed and valued whether the students are writing papers or creating/performing dances. The curriculum provides students with a liberal arts orientation to dance. This orientation facilitates the development of students who may become choreographers, dance scholars, performers or those, more broadly, who seek life enrichment through dance. In addition, the course enables students to: • understand dance as a set of practices with their own histories and theories, and to understand that these practices integrate physical, intellectual and emotional knowledge • experience dance as an individual and collective exploration of the expressive possibilities of bodily movement • understand and appreciate mastery in various dance styles, traditions and cultures familiar and unfamiliar • recognize and use dance to create dialogue among the various traditions and cultures in their school environment, their society and the world at large. II. Curriculum model overview Component Composition and analysis The development of the creative aspect of making dances • Composing original work World dance studies The development of a comparative knowledge of several dance styles from more than one culture and/or tradition • Exploring dances, gaining both a physical and theoretical understanding • Individual investigation Performance The development of an understanding of and facility in performing dances Recommended teaching hours 60 30 60 • Movement skills appropriate to the dancer’s performance • Clarity in relationship to space, time, dynamics and movement qualities appropriate to the work •