Aural Settings and Performance Environments
How dances use sound and space: the aural settings that create mood, from song to silence, and the performance environments where a dance is staged.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
The sound of a dance
Every dance is performed to an aural setting, the sound or accompaniment that goes with the movement. This might be music, but it could also be spoken word, natural sound, body percussion or even silence. The aural setting shapes the mood and helps the audience feel what the dance is about.
Words for sound
Learn these four terms before you study how sound and space are used.
Three performance environments
A performance environment is the space where a dance is staged.
Say why silence works
To reach the top grades, explain the effect of a choice on the audience. Say why silence can make a moment feel tense, or how staging in the round lets the audience see a dance from every angle, rather than just naming the setting.
Match the sound to its meaning
- song
- instrumental
- spoken word
- natural sound
- music with a singing voice
- music played by instruments with no singing
- words that are spoken rather than sung
- sounds from nature, such as wind or birds
Match the space to its layout
- proscenium arch
- end stage
- in the round
- site-sensitive
- the audience sits at the front and the stage is framed
- the audience is on one side facing the stage with no frame
- the audience sits all the way around the space
- a non-theatre place chosen to suit the dance
What is an aural setting?
What is an aural setting?
- The sound or accompaniment that goes with a dance.
- The space where the dance is staged.
- The costume the dancers wear.
- The lighting used during the dance.
Spot the environments
Select the TWO performance environments.
- In the round.
- Proscenium arch.
- Body percussion.
- Silence.
Order the choices
Put these choreographer choices in a logical order, earliest first.
- Choose the aural setting for the dance
- Choose the performance environment
- Stage and perform the dance
- The audience experiences the mood
Summarise the choices
The _____ is the sound that goes with a dance, and it might even be _____, where the audience hears only movement. Sound made by clapping or stamping is called _____. The space where a dance is staged is the _____. When a dance is performed in a non-theatre place chosen to suit it, this is _____.
Count the spaces
How many performance environments does this module cover: proscenium arch, end stage, in the round and site-sensitive?
Find the aural settings
Tap the TWO aural settings.
- Body percussion
- Proscenium arch
- Silence
- In the round
- End stage
Sound or space?
Decide what each description is.
- The dancers make sound by clapping and stamping
- The audience hears no sound at all and watches only the movement
- The dance is staged on a beach that is chosen to suit the piece
Explain a choice
Choose one dance and explain how its aural setting and its performance environment work together. Explain the effect that each choice has on the audience.
- Name the aural setting and the performance environment
- Explain the effect of the aural setting on the mood
- Explain how the space shapes what the audience sees