The Six Set Works: Overview and Context
An overview of the six professional set works in the GCSE Dance anthology: their choreographers, companies and dance styles, from contemporary ballet to hip-hop, and one distinctive feature of each.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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The dance anthology
For GCSE Dance you study six professional works called the anthology. Each was made by a different choreographer, in a different style, from ballet to hip-hop. Learning the choreographer, style and main idea of each work is the first step to writing about them well. This module gives you an overview of all six set works.
Words for the anthology
Learn these four terms before you study the six set works.
Ballet next to hip-hop
The anthology covers very different styles. Compare two of them.
Name the maker and the style
When you write about a set work, always name its choreographer and its dance style. A strong answer might say that Infra is a contemporary ballet by Wayne McGregor, then describe what happens on stage. Knowing the six works and who made them is the foundation for the whole exam.
Match the choreographer
- Artificial Things
- A Linha Curva
- Infra
- Emancipation of Expressionism
- choreographed by Lucy Bennett
- choreographed by Itzik Galili
- choreographed by Wayne McGregor
- choreographed by Kenrick Sandy
Match the style or feature
- Shadows
- Within Her Eyes
- A Linha Curva
- Artificial Things
- a contemporary work about a family facing danger
- a contemporary dance filmed for camera
- a lively work with a Brazilian samba feel
- a contemporary work by an integrated company
Which one is hip-hop?
Which set work is a hip-hop dance?
- Emancipation of Expressionism.
- Infra.
- Shadows.
- Within Her Eyes.
True facts about the anthology
Select the TWO statements that are true about the anthology.
- The anthology has six set works.
- Emancipation of Expressionism is a hip-hop work.
- Every set work is a ballet.
- All six works have the same choreographer.
How to appreciate a work
Put the steps of appreciating a set work in order, earliest first.
- Watch the professional set work
- Name its choreographer and dance style
- Describe the staging, costume and lighting
- Explain the choreographic intent
Complete the set work facts
_____ is a hip-hop work made for Boy Blue Entertainment. _____ is a contemporary ballet made for The Royal Ballet. _____ is danced by an integrated company of disabled and non-disabled dancers. The work filmed for camera is _____. The choreographer of Infra is Wayne _____.
How many works remain
The dance anthology has six set works. If you have already studied two of them, how many set works are left to study?
Find the McGregor and Bruce works
Tap the TWO set works created by Wayne McGregor and Christopher Bruce.
- Infra
- Artificial Things
- Shadows
- A Linha Curva
- Within Her Eyes
Name the set work
Read each description and choose which set work it is.
- A hip-hop work by Boy Blue Entertainment about freedom of expression
- A contemporary work danced by disabled and non-disabled dancers together
- A dance made for camera in which one dancer never touches the floor
Introduce a set work
Choose one set work from the anthology. Write a short introduction to it, naming its choreographer and its dance style, and describing its main idea.
- Name the set work and its choreographer
- State the dance style or genre
- Describe the main idea or feature of the work