HSC dance external exams will include up to three performances under new syllabus
The first in a reworked series of controversial HSC syllabuses will be released to schools today. Here’s what’s changing and what future dance students need to know.
The first in a reworked series of controversial HSC syllabuses will be released to schools on Wednesday, after backlash from performing arts teachers and the industry saw education authorities scrap their draft documents and go back to the drawing board.
In the new HSC Dance syllabus, the major study — which is currently worth 40 per cent of students’ external marks and requires students to choose between a performance, their own choreographed work, a written paper or a technology-based project — has been scrapped.
Instead, all students will be assessed on three elements of their studies — performance, composition and “appreciation” of dance.
Students must perform two “contrasting” routines for 35 per cent of their marks, create choreography to be performed either by themselves or another student based on the works of an acclaimed choreographer for another 35 per cent, and complete a written exam for the final 30 per cent.
The changes give students an extra chance to dance, from a maximum of two performances in the current syllabus to three.
Set to be introduced into classrooms in 2027 and assessed in the 2028 HSC, the new dance syllabus includes extensive changes from a draft version which was released for consultation in December and attracted widespread criticism from educators and performing arts industry figures alike.
Concerns centred on a new “integrated study” to replace the major study in the draft course, which introduced an additional mandatory written assessment and pared back the weighting of external performance exams.
Draft syllabuses for HSC music and drama were even more widely panned, with acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller, Boy Swallows Universe director Jocelyn Moorhouse and Lime Cordiale guitarist Oliver Leimbach among the critics.
The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is due to deliver revised syllabuses for both courses before the end of the year, with the documents still a work-in-progress.
NESA CEO Paul Martin said the new syllabus strikes a balance that would put any concerns about a reduced emphasis on performing to rest.
“We’re a listening organisation; we’re not perfect,” he said.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on is that consultation is real. If we hear that our emphasis is wrong – or there is a strong argument against doing something – we change.”
However he also added that the authority is “unashamed about these being knowledge-rich and skills explicit syllabuses”.
“The content lends itself to creativity,” he said.
Natasha Comelli, vice president of the Dance Educators Professional Association, said while the critical feedback from teachers was not universal, the near-even spread of marks across curriculum components in the new syllabus would ease their “uncertainty”.
Under the old regime, she said, students who have trained for years outside of school had inherent advantages and “are far more likely to succeed … than a kid that enters that space in Year 11”.
“(The new syllabus) really opens the doors for equity, so that any student can come in and learn from the ground up … and have success in this course,” Ms Comelli said.
Year 11 dance students at Engadine High School Halle Exton and Alana Cousins will complete the current course ahead of the new syllabus being implemented, but agreed the upcoming changes – including removing the major study – would be beneficial for their younger peers.
“It’s a more positive approach to the curriculum; it’s sad we don’t get to experience, but I’m sure the other students will really love it,” 17-year-old Halle said.
“(Dance) gives a lot of us confidence … it helps people who are shy to come out of their comfort zone and try new things, and give kids a voice who find it hard to speak,” 16-year-old Alana added.
‘Ambushed’: Scots College student speaks out about stunt
