Assessment 1– Individual Project (80%)
The planning and implementation of a major project, negotiated with tutors. This should be supported by evidence of project management and reflective practice.
[1, 2, 3, 4]

Assessment 2– Individual Report (20%)
A 2,500 word report evidencing understanding of a range of occupations within the dance and associated industries, and evaluating the project in a national and international context.
[4, 5]

Formative Assessment
Peer presentation explaining how your proposed major project is relevant to the contemporary national and international arena for arts practitioners.

Students must submit work for both assessments

Whilst the role of a professional dancer is highly creative and in many ways exciting, often requiring travel, sometimes to exotic destinations, it is also physically demanding with a high risk of injury. Working hours are typically irregular in such a profession and fierce competition can impact on the frequency and nature of work. Though some will aim to perform professionally, many others will aspire, from the outset, to pursue alternative dance careers. Given the nature of the industry it may be advantageous to be diverse in working practices across a range of roles. Some may find a need to seek alternative dance related work as a consequence of sudden injury, whereas others will accept the physical demands of a professional performance role have simply become too much for their body later in life.

This module is an opportunity for you to explore the diverse range of employment prospects within the dance and related industries, those predictably recognised and others not so. This should not only help you to make choices about the direction of your career as you enter the industry, but also raise your awareness of alternative applications for your skills should this become necessary or desirable at a later date.

The module is designed to link to the Creative Influences module in semester 1, through which you presented a proposal for an industry project. In this module you will execute this industry project, taking personal responsibility for a major brief and building on the experience of the whole learning programme. You will be able to show that you understand how dance practitioners work across the associated industries to achieve success, whilst also demonstrating the relationship between a dance performance role and alternative associated occupations.

For example, your project may be to mount a large-scale dance production in a professional venue to an audience. In support of this you may choose to take excerpts of your performance to local schools in order to promote the production to a young audience in a workshop setting. Or, you may choose to establish yourself as a dance therapist, not only needing a structured programme of therapeutic sessions, but also wishing to produce a supplementary exercise video with promotional materials. Whatever your project you must consider how this relates to the national and international creative context.

A key theme that you will work with is one of being self-directed, because you will be expected to identify potential projects and generate appropriate responses to fulfil a clearly articulated need and/or aspiration. You will be expected to identify and engage with a client or clients (who may be academic), work creatively and innovatively and successfully promote your work. Targets and timescales should be action-planned as part of a well-managed project that fully embraces professional considerations: these should include financial and time management, health and safety, legal and ethical requirements and a wide range of communication methods.

As you will be working on a negotiated project, tutorials will be an important aspect of the module. If you are intending to take an academic progression route, counselling regarding the nature and suitability of the assignment should be sought: a written academic study of an appropriate depth and breadth could be the most appropriate way to prepare yourself for further study, and this might be the major project you undertake for this module.

Strategies in this module are active and practically focussed, industry facing and requiring a significant amount of self-direction.

Learning will be facilitated through activities such as:
• Seminars exploring employment prospects in the dance and associated industries
• Proposal review workshops
• Project management workshops
• Communication and report writing recap
• Client liaison
• Tutorials including project negotiation activities
• Health and safety recap / Risk assessment activities
• Reflective practice recap
• Tutorials and progress review
• Group critique
• Independent research and project development (individual or collaborative as applicable to major project)
• Presentation activities

Bremser, M. (2011) Fifty Contemporary Choreographers: Routledge*
Franklin, E. (2004) Conditioning for Dance: Human Kinetics*
Institute for Career Research. (2016) A Career in Dance: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Kintish, W. (2014) Business Networking – The Survival Guide: How to make networking less about stress and more about success: Pearson
Lepecki, A (2006) Exhausting Dance: Routledge
Moon J. (2000) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice: Routledge Falmer
Newton, R. (2007) Project Management Step by Step: How to Plan and Manage a Highly Successful Project: Pearson Business
Trommer-Beardslee, H (2013) Dance Production and Management: Princeton Book Company

*Core Text on Foundation Degree Dance Performance and Industry – Newcastle-under-Lyme College

WEBSITES AND ONLINE JOURNAL
International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (including Journal of Dance Medicine and Science (JDMS): available at www.iadms.org
Dance Education in Practice: available at www.tandfonline.com
DANCE – Arts Journal: available at www.artsjournal.com
Dance Research Journal: available at www.cambridge.org

PERIODICALS
Dance Magazine
Dancing Times

Seminar Room
Computer access / internet access
Rehearsal space / studios
Venue / performance space
DV Cameras
Project specific items, for example licensed performance materials and costumes/props will be resourced by students as required.
VLE

1. DEMONSTRATE KNOWLEDGE AND CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING A MAJOR PROJECT IN THE DANCE AND ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES. (Knowledge & Understanding)

2. PREPARE DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR A SPECIFIED DANCE RELATED PROJECT THAT ARE THOROUGHLY SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH FINDINGS, INCLUDING REFERENCE TO THE CURRENT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT. (Enquiry)

3. DRAW TOGETHER YOUR DIVERSE EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES OF PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING A MAJOR PROJECT IN THE DANCE AND ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES. (Problem Solving)

4. RECOGNISE HOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS RELATE TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR MAJOR PROJECT, AND EXERCISE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DECISION MAKING IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH MAJOR PROJECT INTENTIONS IN LINE WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE INDUSTRY. (Reflection)

5. CRITICALLY ANALYSE THE APPROPRIATENESS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS WITHIN THE DANCE AND ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES IN ORDER TO INFORM OWN PROGRESSION. (Analysis)