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3.1 What are choreography skills?

Mini Site 2 — Choreography Knowledge Base

What Are Choreography Skills?

The four areas of choreographic knowledge — and how they connect in the exam.

Page 2.1  ·  Overview

What you'll learn

  • The four areas of choreographic knowledge and what each one means
  • How choreographic content is organised into its three sub-categories
  • Where choreography knowledge is tested in Sections A, B and C of the exam
  • How to correctly categorise key terminology — including the tricky ⚠ ones

You already know what it feels like to make a dance. But the AQA exam asks you to talk about it — and that means having the right words in the right boxes. Choreographic knowledge is split into four distinct areas, each doing a different job. Get them straight now, and every exam question about choreography becomes easier to answer.

2.1.1   The Four Areas of Choreographic Knowledge
Area 1
Choreographic Processes

How the dance is made — the steps a choreographer takes from first idea to finished piece: researching, improvising, generating, selecting, developing, structuring, refining and synthesising.

Area 2
Choreographic Content

What is in the dance — the umbrella term covering movement content (RADS), choreographic devices and structuring devices. See Section 2.1.2 for the full hierarchy.

Area 3
Choreographic Intent

What the dance is trying to communicate — the mood, meaning, idea, theme and style the choreographer aims to express.

Area 4
Choreographic Approach

The choreographer's individual way of working — including their stimulus, the collaborative or solo methods they use, and their distinctive style.

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Analogy Anchor Think of a film director. Processes = how they make the film (scripting, rehearsing). Content = what's in it (scenes, edits, structure). Intent = what they want the audience to feel. Approach = their personal filmmaking style. Same four ideas, different art form.
2.1.2   How Choreographic Content is Structured

Choreographic Content is not just one thing — it's an umbrella term with three distinct sub-categories. Knowing which level each term belongs to is an exam skill in itself.

🗂 Choreographic Content (umbrella term)
Movement Content — RADS
Actions
Dynamics
Space
Relationships
Choreographic Devices — MR CHUM
Motif & Development
Repetition
Contrast
Highlights
Climax
Unison & Canon ⚠
Manipulation of Number
Structuring Devices & Form
Binary
Ternary
Rondo
Narrative
Episodic
Unity / Transitions ⚠
Logical sequence

The four areas of Movement Content (RADS) each have a fixed colour used throughout this portal — you'll see them on every set work page:

A — Actions D — Dynamics S — Space R — Relationships
⚠️
Watch Out — Transitions Transitions sit under Structuring Devices, not Choreographic Devices. They describe how the dance moves from one section to another — that's a structural principle, not a device used to shape movement content.
⚠️
Watch Out — Unison and Canon Unison and Canon are Choreographic Devices — they describe how the choreographer organises movement for effect. They are not Relationship Devices (mirroring, contact, lead and follow — those sit under Movement Content).
2.1.3   How Choreography Appears in the Exam

Choreography knowledge isn't just tested in one place — it runs through all three sections of the paper. Here's where each area appears:

Section A
Design Your Own Work

Apply choreographic skills on paper — using stimulus material to design movement content, devices and structure for a hypothetical piece.

Section B
Explain Your Own Choreography

Explain how you used choreographic content, processes or structuring devices in your own Component 1 choreography — using specific examples from your work.

Section C
Discuss Professional Works

Identify, explain and discuss choreographic content in the six anthology works — applying RADS, devices and intent to what you have seen.

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Examiner's Eye Knowing the correct category name matters. Saying "the choreographer used structuring devices such as binary form" is worth more than just "the dance had an AB structure." The category label proves you understand the concept — not just the word.
2.1.4   Which Category Does This Belong To?

Select a term from the bank below, then click the correct category zone to place it. Click a placed term to remove it. Watch out for the ⚠ tricky ones.

Travel
Unison ⚠
Binary
Motif & Development
Levels
Transitions ⚠
Mirroring
Canon ⚠
Sustained
Narrative
Contrast
Highlights
Movement Content
Choreographic Devices
Structuring Devices
Tricky ones explained:
Unison & Canon — these are Choreographic Devices, not Relationship Devices. Mirroring, contact and lead-and-follow are relationships (Movement Content). Unison and canon are tools the choreographer uses to create effect.

Transitions — these sit under Structuring Devices because they describe how the dance moves between sections. Students often confuse them with Choreographic Devices, but devices shape movement content, not overall structure.
2.1   Revision Check

✍️ Revision Check

10 questions covering all four areas. Answer every question, then submit.

1. Which of the four areas of choreographic knowledge describes how the dance is made?

2. Choreographic Content is best described as:

3. What does RADS stand for?

4. Which of the following is a Choreographic Device, NOT a Relationship (Movement Content)?

5. Transitions belong under which sub-category of Choreographic Content?

6. Choreographic Intent refers to:

7. In which section of the AQA exam would you be asked to discuss choreographic content in the six anthology works?

8. Which of these is a Structuring Device, NOT a Choreographic Device?

9. The Choreographic Approach of a choreographer refers to:

10. In Section B of the exam, students are asked to explain:

📸 Take a screenshot of your score and paste it into your ePortfolio so your teacher can see your progress.

📌 Revisit This — Key Points from This Page

4 Areas Processes (how made) · Content (what's in it) · Intent (what it communicates) · Approach (individual style)
Content Hierarchy Choreographic Content = Movement Content (RADS) + Choreographic Devices (MR CHUM) + Structuring Devices
RADS Colours Actions = orange · Dynamics = sage green · Space = purple · Relationships = amber — consistent across all set works
⚠ Transitions A Structuring Device — NOT a Choreographic Device. It describes how the dance moves between sections.
⚠ Unison & Canon Choreographic Devices — NOT Relationship Devices. Relationships (mirroring, contact, lead & follow) sit under Movement Content.
Exam Spread Section A = design your own · Section B = explain your own choreography · Section C = analyse professional works
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