Worked example · Dance · Year 10
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem solving and modelling
A secure Year 10 response, annotated so you can see which success criterion each part meets. It is also the answer key. Step 2: 28 counts, 2 quarter turns, ending facing upstage. Step 3: 10 counts, 16 counts, 13 counts. Step 4: Cai’s score really lasts 34 counts and turns 450°, so the dancers overrun the music by 2 counts and finish facing stage right. The three bugs: retrograde written as 4, 3, 1, 2; the canon line counted as 3 when it lasts 5; five quarter turns instead of four or eight. Practises GCSE Dance Unit 1, content 1.1.2, and Unit 3, content 3.1.3. Practice only, not NEA work.
| Line | Instruction | Actions danced, in order | Counts | Quarter turns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PERFORM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 8 | 1 |
| 2 | RETROGRADE [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] | 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 | 8 | 1 |
| 3 | REPEAT 2 TIMES [PERFORM 5, 6, 7] | 5, 6, 7, 5, 6, 7 | (2 + 1 + 1) × 2 = 8 | 0 |
| 4 | HALF SPEED [PERFORM 1, 2] | 1, 2, each over 2 counts | 2 + 2 = 4 | 0 |
| Totals | 28 | 2 (180°) | ||
(a) 28 counts is 3 eights and 4 counts. 4 more counts are needed to fill 32.
(b) 2 quarter turns = 180°, so the dancer finishes facing upstage, with their back to the audience.
(c) PERFORM 3, 3, 6, 7. That is 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 counts, making 32. It adds 2 quarter turns, making 4 in total = 360°, so the dancer finishes facing the audience, still, on action 7.
Every line is traced in order, with the working for the counts shown. The fix in (c) is checked against both conditions: the count and the facing. Evidences criteria 1 and 3.
(a) 1 | 1, 2 | 1, 2, 3 | 1, 2, 3, 4. That is 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 actions and 10 counts, because each of actions 1 to 4 lasts 1 count. Action 3 appears twice, so 2 quarter turns (180°).
(b) 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15 actions. Action 5 appears once, in the last round, and lasts 2 counts, so 15 + 1 = 16 counts. That is exactly 2 eights, so the accumulation ends right on a phrase of the music.
(c) The pattern “5, 6” happens four times in a row.
REPEAT 4 TIMES [PERFORM 5, 6]PERFORM 7
(2 + 1) × 4 + 1 = 13 counts. Two lines instead of five, and the number 4 tells a dancer at once how many swoops there are.
Part (b) spots the one action that breaks the pattern (action 5 lasts 2 counts). Part (c) finds the repeating pattern and uses iteration to make the score shorter and clearer. Evidences criteria 1 and 2.
| Line | What really happens (actions) | Real counts | Quarter turns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A and B: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 8 | 1 |
| 2 | A and B: 4, 3, 1, 2 as Cai wrote it (retrograde should be 4, 3, 2, 1) | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | A: 5, 6 on counts 1 to 3, then holds. B: 5, 6 on counts 3 to 5. | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | A and B: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4 | 12 | 3 |
| 5 | A and B: 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | A and B: hold | 4 | 0 |
| Real totals | 34 | 5 (450°) | |
| Bug | What is wrong, and what happens in performance | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Line 2 is not a retrograde. The reverse of 1, 2, 3, 4 is 4, 3, 2, 1. Cai’s version puts the rise (1) before the arms open (2), so the audience would not recognise the motif played backwards. | UNISON: RETROGRADE [1, 2, 3, 4], danced 4, 3, 2, 1. |
| 2 | Line 3 lasts 5 counts, not 3: dancer B starts 2 counts late and needs 3 counts to finish. The score really lasts 34 counts, so the dancers are still moving for 2 counts after the music stops. | Count the canon as 5 and shorten the final hold (see the full fix below). |
| 3 | Action 3 is danced 5 times: once in line 1, once in line 2 and three times in line 4. 5 × 90° = 450°, which is 360° + 90°, so both dancers finish facing stage right, not the audience. | Repeat line 4 only 2 times. That gives 4 quarter turns in total = 360°. |
The fixed score:
| Line | Instruction | Counts | Quarter turns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UNISON: PERFORM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 8 | 1 |
| 2 | UNISON: RETROGRADE [1, 2, 3, 4] (4, 3, 2, 1) | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | CANON (B starts 2 counts after A) [PERFORM 5, 6] | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | UNISON: REPEAT 2 TIMES [PERFORM 1, 2, 3, 4] | 8 | 2 |
| 5 | UNISON: PERFORM 5, 6, 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | UNISON: HOLD 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Totals | 32 | 4 (360°) | |
Check: 8 + 4 + 5 + 8 + 4 + 3 = 32 counts. 4 quarter turns = 360°, facing the audience. Both dancers finish still, together, on count 8 of the fourth eight. Other fixes are fine too, as long as the counts add up to 32 and the number of quarter turns is 4 or 8.
The trace is done line by line before any fixing, which is how the hidden counting error in the canon is found. Each bug is explained by its effect on the performance, not just marked wrong. The fixed score is checked against every part of Cai’s intention. Evidences criteria 1, 3 and 5.
| Line | Instruction | Device | Counts | Quarter turns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UNISON: PERFORM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | Unison; the motif | 8 | 1 |
| 2 | CANON (B starts 1 count after A, C starts 2 counts after A) [PERFORM 5, 6, 7] | Canon | 2 + 4 = 6 | 0 |
| 3 | UNISON: RETROGRADE [1, 2, 3, 4] | Retrograde | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | UNISON: REPEAT 2 TIMES [PERFORM 3, 6] | Repetition | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | UNISON: HALF SPEED [PERFORM 5, 6, 7] then HOLD 2 | Change of tempo | 8 + 2 = 10 | 0 |
| Totals | 32 | 4 (360°) | ||
What it is about: a flock of swallows gathering to leave Wales in autumn: they start together in unison, scatter in a canon like birds taking off one by one, turn and circle in the repeated turns, and slow down into one last, shared swoop at half speed before they settle.
Five devices, one of them a REPEAT. The canon line is counted correctly (C starts 2 counts late, so the line lasts 2 + 4 = 6), and the total of 32 counts and 360° has been checked. The idea links each device to a meaning, which is what Unit 3 asks pupils to explain about professional works. Evidences criteria 4 and 5.
ACCUMULATE [1 to 7]: 1 + 2 + … + 7 = 28 actions, plus 3 extra counts because action 5 (2 counts) appears in rounds 5, 6 and 7, so 31 counts. Action 3 appears in rounds 3 to 7, so 5 quarter turns = 450°: facing stage right. Only 1 count is left in 4 eights, but 3 more quarter turns (3 counts) are needed to face the audience, so it cannot fit 4 eights as it is. Fix: extend to 5 eights with PERFORM 3, 3, 3 and HOLD 6 (31 + 3 + 6 = 40), or accumulate only to 5 (16 counts).