IB Diploma Programme Dance HL (first assessment 2016; 2014 guide). This topic equips the HL-only DEPTH of the course: the third composed work with compositional contrast across two of the three submitted dances, the longer dance investigation, the in-depth comparative discussion of two short dance excerpts from two cultures, and the analysis and evaluation of the influence and significance of connections from all three course components in the making of one composition. This handout teaches the depth tasks. All worked examples are original.
Must-know for hl depth: sustained inquiry:
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Content
third work
the third composed work: contrast across two of the three
excerpts
two short excerpts from two cultures, discussed in depth
connections
how composition, studies and performance fed one composition
evaluation
influence AND significance: what it did and why it matters
sustained
depth over one term: one inquiry carried to the end
4.2
The third work and cross-work contrast
The third work is where HL depth shows first: compositional contrast 对比 must be demonstrable across two of the three submitted works, so the third is planned AGAINST the others (if the first two are flowing and floor-based, the third is vertical, sparse or unison-based). The contrast is named in the analytical statement: the examiner must see that the maker can change approach, not only repeat a strength.
Worked example. “Counting House”, the third work: built only from accumulation (cells stacked, nothing retrograded), vertical and unison against “Reach”'s floor-flow and “Doorframe”'s stopped gestures: the contrast axis (device and level) named in the statement.
The comparative discussion 比较讨论 of two short excerpts 选段 from two dance cultures goes deeper than the investigation's overview: one moment from each, described in the elements move by move, their differences explained by context and training, and their similarities weighed for what they reveal about dance itself. The discussion is in depth: thirty seconds of film can carry a page of honest analysis.
Worked example, continued. Twenty seconds of the hula kahiko's entrance against twenty seconds of contemporary's opening phrase: the bent-kernel stance read as readiness with meaning (the ground as ancestor) against the contemporary's neutral stance as blankness before choice; similarity: both open by establishing the torso's authority before any travel.
The HL essay task asks the maker to analyse and evaluate the connections 关联 from all three components (composition, world dance studies, performance) in the making of ONE composition: the influence 影响 (what each component contributed: the motif discipline from composition, the torso-as-text finding from the investigation, the clarity standard from performance) and its significance 意义 (why it mattered: the work would not exist in this form without it).
Worked example, concluded. “Reach” traced: the collapsing motif from composition class; the weighted collapse with audible breath from the investigation's finding that meaning rides transmission; the shrinking repetitions kept clean from performance's smaller-not-sloppier standard: each connection evaluated for what it changed, not merely listed.
The third work planned against the others; the contrast axis named (third work).
Two excerpts described move by move, explained by context (excerpts).
All three components traced into one composition (connections).
Influence AND significance evaluated, not listed (evaluation).
The worked “Reach” connection trace understood (worked).
Boundary notes: the examiner must see the making: compositional decisions visible, sources attributed, the performance interpreted. All worked examples are original.
Supported preparation: HL sustained development
Scope and prerequisites
IB dance first assessment 2014; 2029 creative-process course tracked separately. Study dance traditions through embodied practice and research with safe supervision. Current composition, investigation and performance differ from 2029 investigating/experimenting/presenting and the new HL project.
Mapped preparation outcomes: ib_dance_hl.4.1, ib_dance_hl.4.2. Read the matching native lesson first. Actual approved choices, evidence and final learner work remain separate.
Map introduction, transformation and return of a motif across sections. Link research and rehearsal evidence to decisions about structure, not simply a longer duration. The recorded 2014 course remains distinct from the future 2029 model.
Task: a motif returns unchanged after a contrasting section. Evaluate whether changing its timing might clarify development.
An unchanged return could communicate stability; changed timing could communicate an altered state. Choose through intention and actual performance evidence, not a universal rule that variation is better.
Independent transfer
Compare an unchanged motif return with a faster return and formulate an audience question.
Attempt independently before reading the model.
Checked original model
Map the unchanged return as possible stability and the faster return as possible urgency after contrast. Ask what change in state viewers perceived and which visible timing supports it. Use actual responses cautiously; neither structural choice guarantees the intended reading.
These are authored formative expectations, not official IB descriptors. Accept other justified arguments with evidence and material limits.
Source and task holds
This supplement teaches the method for this part of the course. The full assessment criteria and any texts your school chooses come from your teacher.
Interactive lessons on this topic
Work through it step by step, with instant-check exercises.
