PERFORMING ARTS

This is an exciting BTEC course that develops your performance skills, technical skills, choreographic abilities and analysis of your own process and the work of professional practitioners.  Each unit requires learners to research, analyse and evaluate the work of various artists and apply this knowledge to their own practice through practical exploration. Units can be adapted to suit individual specialisms.

Students will develop the following skills over the two years:

• Essential knowledge and understanding of different Dance, Music and Drama practitioners
• A deep appreciation of the physical, expressive and technical skills required for effective performance
• Competence and confidence in a variety of performance skills
• Their interest in and enthusiasm for the subject, including developing an interest in further study and careers associated with the subject.

BTEC Performing Arts is equivalent in size to one A Level. It consists of 4 units, of which 3 are mandatory and 2 are external. External assessment will form 58% of your final mark. The Extended Certificate is for learners who are interested in learning about the performing arts sector alongside other fields of study, with a view to progressing to a wide range of higher education courses, not necessarily in performing arts. It is designed to be taken as part of a programme of study that includes other appropriate BTEC Nationals or A Levels.

• Unit 1: Investigating Practitioners; This unit focuses on developing critical analysis skills. It gives learners the opportunity to undertake research into influential practitioners, relevant to their interests, whose performance work and ideas may engage and inspire them.
• Unit 2: Developing skills and techniques for live performance;  In this unit you will gain understanding of the nature of work as a performer and through practical training, explorations, workshops and assessments, you will develop essential physical, vocal and creative skills to be able to realise performance material in different styles.
• Unit 3: Group Performance Workshop; The emphasis of the unit is on exploration and development of original performance material and the selection and application of appropriate performance skills. Learners will devote much of the unit therefore to experimenting with devising and/or choreographic methods, and using discussion, improvisation, staging and compositional techniques to put together a short performance.
• Unit 4: Unit four is an optional unit that will be selected to meet the strengths of the group, and the subject that students have a keen interest in developing.