Section B · Duet / Trio Performance
Mental Skills
The FRO framework — Feedback, Reflection, Outcome
What you'll learn
- The 10 mental skills across rehearsal and performance contexts
- How the FRO framework structures a 3-mark answer
- How to write 3 complete FRO cycles for maximum marks
- How to link mental skills back to your dance intention
Mental skills are what you bring to the process of preparing and performing. They cover how you rehearse, how you respond to challenges, and how you sustain commitment through to performance. In Section B, a 3-mark mental skills question asks you to explain how one mental skill was used — and the FRO framework (Feedback → Reflection → Outcome) gives you a clear structure for a full mark answer.
The 10 Mental Skills
🧠 All 10 skills — tap each to expand
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During performance: Mc3 — Movement memory, Confidence, Commitment, Concentration. During rehearsal: My Students Plan Rehearsals Really Carefully — Mental Rehearsal, Systematic Repetition, Planning Rehearsal, Response to Feedback, Capacity to Improve.
The FRO Framework
📐 What is FRO and how do I use it?
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Mental skills answers use FRO instead of PEE. Each cycle covers three things:
F
Feedback
What feedback did you receive? (teacher, peer, video, self-observation)
R
Reflection
How did you respond? What did you change or practise?
O
Outcome
What improved? How did this serve your intention in performance?
3 FRO cycles = full marks
A 3-mark mental skills answer needs three complete FRO cycles — one for each mark. Each cycle should use a different skill or a different moment. Always end the Outcome by linking back to your dance intention.
FRO Step-Through Builder
🔨 Build a full 3-mark answer step by step
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Intention: soldiers with PTSD. Click through each step to build the full answer.
🧠 Mental skills — PTSD duet — "Explain one mental skill you used to improve your performance."
Annotated Level 3 Model
✍️ Full answer — river trio — tap sections to annotate
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Intention: a river and its changing emotions. Question: "Explain how mental skills helped you prepare for your trio performance."
FRO model — mental skills — river trio · tap sections
I performed in a trio. Our intention was to explore the journey of a river and its changing emotional states.
My teacher gave me feedback that my weight-sharing in the contact sequence was too hesitant — I was resisting rather than trusting my partner's support.
I reflected on this and spent the next three rehearsals doing slow weight-sharing exercises with my partner, focusing on releasing my centre of gravity rather than catching myself.
As a result, the contact sequence became genuinely fluid — and the physical trust we built communicated the river flowing around and through obstacles, which was central to our intention.
I also reviewed a video recording of a run-through and noticed that my movement quality in the turbulent section looked tense and effortful rather than powerful and inevitable. I used mental rehearsal before each run-through, visualising the river as a force of nature — unstoppable, not fighting the space — and practised releasing tension from my shoulders and jaw. This improved my dynamic quality significantly — the turbulent section looked driven rather than tense, communicating the river's unstoppable force rather than struggle against it.
A peer also observed that in the unison sections, my timing was slightly behind, breaking the visual unity of the trio. I used systematic repetition on those sections — isolating just the first eight counts and repeating until the internal rhythm was secure without relying on watching my partners. The unison became precise and the trio moved as a single body — essential for communicating the unified, relentless quality of a river, where all three channels merge into one force.
I also reviewed a video recording of a run-through and noticed that my movement quality in the turbulent section looked tense and effortful rather than powerful and inevitable. I used mental rehearsal before each run-through, visualising the river as a force of nature — unstoppable, not fighting the space — and practised releasing tension from my shoulders and jaw. This improved my dynamic quality significantly — the turbulent section looked driven rather than tense, communicating the river's unstoppable force rather than struggle against it.
A peer also observed that in the unison sections, my timing was slightly behind, breaking the visual unity of the trio. I used systematic repetition on those sections — isolating just the first eight counts and repeating until the internal rhythm was secure without relying on watching my partners. The unison became precise and the trio moved as a single body — essential for communicating the unified, relentless quality of a river, where all three channels merge into one force.
🔵 Feedback — Source named (teacher), specific problem described (hesitant, resisting). Clear and concrete.
🔴 Reflection — Specific strategy (slow weight-sharing exercises), specific focus (releasing centre of gravity). Not vague — shows the process.
🟢 Outcome + Intention — Improvement named (fluid), then linked directly to the river intention. This is what earns the mark.
🔵 Feedback — Source named (video), different problem (tense/effortful vs powerful). Second FRO cycle.
🔴 Reflection — Mental rehearsal named explicitly, technique described (visualising the river as a force of nature). Detailed and believable.
🟢 Outcome + Intention — "Driven rather than tense" — precise language. Connects back to "unstoppable force" of the river intention.
🔵 Feedback — Source named (peer), specific problem (timing behind). Third FRO cycle begins.
🔴 Reflection — Systematic repetition named. Strategy is specific (first eight counts, without watching partners). Shows real rehearsal discipline.
🟢 Outcome + Intention — "Trio moved as a single body" — excellent image. "Unified, relentless quality of a river" links to intention powerfully. Three FRO = full marks.
Feedback
Reflection
Outcome
Activity: Missing Step
❓ Which part of FRO is missing?
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Each answer below is missing one part of the FRO cycle. Identify which part is absent.
Question Bank
📋 Practice questions with model answers
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Mini Test
10 questions. Answer all, then submit. 📸 Screenshot your score.
📸 Take a screenshot of your score now and paste it into your ePortfolio.
🗂️ Revisit This — 6 Key Facts
FRO not PEEMental skills use Feedback → Reflection → Outcome. Three cycles = full marks on a 3-mark question.
Name the sourceSay where feedback came from: teacher, peer, video recording, self-observation. Don't just say "I got feedback."
Opening sentence"I performed in a [duet/trio]. Our intention was…"
Name the strategyIn Reflection — say which mental skill you used: mental rehearsal, systematic repetition, response to feedback, concentration etc.
Outcome + intention linkEvery Outcome must say what improved AND how it served your intention. Don't just say "it got better."
Mc3 vs rehearsal skillsMc3 = performance context (Movement memory, Confidence, Commitment, Concentration). Rehearsal = systematic repetition, planning, response to feedback, mental rehearsal, capacity to improve.