https://hitahhchi.cargo.site Carmen Yih Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:27:16 +0000 https://hitahhchi.cargo.site en https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Home Sat, 06 Aug 2022 03:38:17 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Home &nbsp;Carmen Yih Enter ︎︎︎ https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Bio Fri, 05 Aug 2022 11:08:31 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Bio Carmen Yih Carmen’s practice skates along the boundaries of hybrid dance-theatre and multimedia art, telling stories that draw on forgotten histories and marginalised voices. UpcomingOpera for the Dead Album Launch - 11 July.https://events.humanitix.com/opera-for-the-dead-album-launch <img width="5454" height="3636" width_o="5454" height_o="3636" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/413098378de63918913aec69dd0c438f0948ae25c95f80f8ae0f6811bff7ea26/20241205-GregoryLorenzutti-BEID-0043-1.jpg" data-mid="229186853" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/413098378de63918913aec69dd0c438f0948ae25c95f80f8ae0f6811bff7ea26/20241205-GregoryLorenzutti-BEID-0043-1.jpg" /> <img width="1125" height="750" width_o="1125" height_o="750" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7196a54698495cb40eebbc1b88958c6c4829aef31fa8582e841b5e80170dd44e/Carmen_MaddieRoux.jpg" data-mid="229186857" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7196a54698495cb40eebbc1b88958c6c4829aef31fa8582e841b5e80170dd44e/Carmen_MaddieRoux.jpg" /> <img width="5568" height="3712" width_o="5568" height_o="3712" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e00bb4ff07af5544dbe9b3414c74c38c636c657cdffcd6ed07358e338e960c37/20241205-GregoryLorenzutti-BEID-0042-1.jpg" data-mid="229186854" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e00bb4ff07af5544dbe9b3414c74c38c636c657cdffcd6ed07358e338e960c37/20241205-GregoryLorenzutti-BEID-0042-1.jpg" /> <img width="5568" height="2854" width_o="5568" height_o="2854" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f3b2ff0e89941a3573164845ea785fae316c0384bb84a8f5df78ec280994e4b3/20241205-GregoryLorenzutti-BEID-0053-1.jpg" data-mid="229187130" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f3b2ff0e89941a3573164845ea785fae316c0384bb84a8f5df78ec280994e4b3/20241205-GregoryLorenzutti-BEID-0053-1.jpg" /> <img width="4806" height="3605" width_o="4806" height_o="3605" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/09b31d82a22427e64d92e7f0fb253ff66840636926fbf764356b018e2515bec5/Copy-of-IMG_0089-copy.jpg" data-mid="229186856" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/09b31d82a22427e64d92e7f0fb253ff66840636926fbf764356b018e2515bec5/Copy-of-IMG_0089-copy.jpg" /> <img width="1600" height="1128" width_o="1600" height_o="1128" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0ebf4bd09210d11861f60f0865d36030e88f02beda85481192d60c277c1789d1/452983012_1417780518906131_783613432628380857_n.jpg" data-mid="235160876" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0ebf4bd09210d11861f60f0865d36030e88f02beda85481192d60c277c1789d1/452983012_1417780518906131_783613432628380857_n.jpg" /> Cred. Maddie Roux, Gregory Lorenzutti, Lewrece&nbsp; Bio Carmen Yih (she/her) is an emerging Chinese-diasporic artist graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts' Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance). Carmen’s practice skates along the boundaries of hybrid dance-theatre to tell stories that draw on forgotten histories and marginalised voices. Across theatrical, community and filmic contexts, Carmen works with movement scores and structures heavily influenced by non-Western narrative world-building techniques, immersive theatre, long-form narratives and street dance practices. In 2025, Carmen premiered her solo work&nbsp;‘to disappoint a god.’ for the 2025 Melbourne Fringe Season&nbsp;supported by Dancehouse and the&nbsp;Abbotsford Convent Maggie Maguire Residency.&nbsp;Most recently she was commissioned by Stephanie Lake Company to develop AUSSIEAUSSIEAUSSIE for ESCALATOR at Abbotsford Convent. In 2024, Carmen presented M_N as part of the Creative Brimbank Be Bold Residency program, tackling the impact of toxic masculinity on youth mental health through street dance-theatre. She has presented numerous works including ‘Texture of Absence’ at Platform Arts and ‘Holding Absence’ at Geelong Arts Centre&nbsp;with Jiawen Feng - a quiet ode to grief and loss, 'Home' at Union House Theatre, and ‘REGENESIS’ at Amplify: Bridge, Bluestone Church Arts Space, and Club Luv, Alt House. She is also a 2024 Dancehouse ICP Participant and Class of 2025 Converse All Star.&nbsp; As a performer she has performed in Miet Warlop’s One Song (2024), Jonathan Homsey’s Solarpunk and Thoughts on Destiny (2026, 2024), Amelia Jean O’Leary’s CODED (2025), James Batchelor's Gesturing, Weaving, Unfolding (2023), Alleyne Dance’s HOME (2023) for Shepparton Festival, SWARM at Science Gallery Melbourne (2022) and Butterfly Soupe at La Mama's War-rak Banksia Festival (2022). During her time at the VCA, Carmen was awarded the University of Melbourne Lionel Gell Foundation Scholarship and Paul and Donna Dainty Award for her excellence in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance).In her screendance practice, Carmen has developed&nbsp;‘一层一层/Layer by Layer’ (2022) for the 2022 Signal Arts Screen and Sound Commissions for which she was awarded Most Outstanding Senior Performer by Form Dance Projects, and 'Empty Your Plate' (2023) for the 2023 Blackbird Protostars program. Her film ‘The Panopticon’ (2021) was officially selected for the Mobile Dance Film Festival.Carmen is the founder of Space Generate - an interdisciplinary freestyle jam session facilitating storytelling through art, bringing together musicians, dancers, and writers in a mixed-medium conversation. Interested in street and club dance forms, Carmen is influenced by dance-style ‘Punking/Whacking’ originating from 1970s LA underground gay bars - most recently learning from last living originator of the style, Viktor Manoel, and Burncity Krump, training in the 2000s street dance form originating from South Central, LA. In 2025, she spoke at the Australian Youth Dance Festival panel on ‘Connection with Street Dance Community’ and in 2026 industry advisory roundtables for the new federal cultural policy. In 2024, she was assistant producer for (nexus) x Next Wave at High Note. In 2023, she produced VCA Student Works and stage managed L2R Block Party. With Flare Dance Ensemble, she led the committee as the 2022 Vice-President in the production and promotion of two full-length productions, delivery of weekly free casual dance classes to students, streamlining of fee-for-service performances and the implementation of initiatives that responded to the growth in interest in street dance freestyle forms. Click to see Curriculum Vitae Click to see shortened biography and personal lineage ContactInstagram: @hitahhchiEmail: hitahhchi@gmail.com https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Lineage Sun, 24 Sep 2023 05:12:59 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Lineage Carmen Yih <img width="2730" height="4096" width_o="2730" height_o="4096" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/879942a017f2524e7a8acebedb2fb3bd613056f0a5327c89e9af9939bdc10e4e/received_1677063196002601.jpeg" data-mid="191685768" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/879942a017f2524e7a8acebedb2fb3bd613056f0a5327c89e9af9939bdc10e4e/received_1677063196002601.jpeg" /> <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1fc756bc8c0c52c0ff8ad77c11fbdfcfa8a8d9e50651519c8aef6e6263ee5a63/received_1689845908033602.jpeg" data-mid="191685769" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1fc756bc8c0c52c0ff8ad77c11fbdfcfa8a8d9e50651519c8aef6e6263ee5a63/received_1689845908033602.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="3073" width_o="2048" height_o="3073" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c271a0b0446bc8ab39c3aaf13403704708034aff7f240a1784eb522f0361864e/290531827_5448796528476062_8862721297116078133_n.jpg" data-mid="191685765" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c271a0b0446bc8ab39c3aaf13403704708034aff7f240a1784eb522f0361864e/290531827_5448796528476062_8862721297116078133_n.jpg" /> Cred. Nam Chops The JourneyCarmen began her dance journey jamming alone in her bedroom to the tunes of Kylie Minogue and High School Musical. Growing up, her grandmother frequently shared her stories of Chinese Opera and traditional dance, instilling Carmen with an innate sense of awe and appreciation for the performing arts. In those years she found what would be the heart of her practice today - a celebration of the authentic expression and empowerment found through dance. Carmen studied ballet, commercial jazz and commercial contemporary under the tutelage of Monique Shipp before continuing her dance studies at Denise Utz School of Dance predominantly in the Cecchetti Method of Ballet. She completed Advanced 1 in the Cecchetti Method with Honours and was awarded the Cecchetti Ballet Winter School Scholarship. During this time, she explored her interest in choreographing; competing and achieving runner-up in solo contemporary choreography for 3 consecutive years at the Cecchetti Choreographic Competition adjudicated by Marissa Yeo. During her high school studies, she regularly choreographed for the extra-curricular dance program, with her ballet and contemporary teams becoming national medallists at the DanceStar National Championships. After competing in Form Dance Projects’ Sharp Short Dance, she was awarded a scholarship to Seet Dance’s Intensive with Lee Serle where she developed her knowledge of modern and contemporary dance lineages through connecting with the founder of Seet Dance and former Union Dance company dancer - Charemaine Seet. After this experience, she was inspired to pursue the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts where she had the opportunity to learn from artists including: Sade Alleyne, Lloyd Newson, Kialea-Nadine Williams, Siobhan Mckenna, Kimball Wong, Antony Hamilton, Stephanie Lake, Monica Lim, Julie Ann Minaai, Brianna Kell, Kyall Shanks, Brooke Stamp, Georgia Rudd, Rachel Coulson, Samantha Hines, Kalman Warhaft, Jonathan Homsey, Efren Pamilacan, and Philipa Rothfield. While pursuing tertiary studies in contemporary dance, she discovered her place in the street dance community, becoming an active member of Burncity W_ack - Naarm’s community of dancers specialising in the dance form of ‘Punking/Whacking’ originating from the underground gay bars of 1970s LA and Burncity Krump - Naarm’s community of dancers specialising in the LA’s South Central-born early-2000s street dance form of ‘Krump’. She furthered these new avenues of interests by seconding with not-for-profit street dance organisation L2R Dance, Sydney Dance Company, and with Monica Lim and Rianto in their developmental residency. She also co-designed Next Wave’s World+ program produced by MaggZ and supported by VicHealth. Her interest in the intersection of street dance and contemporary dance spaces led to the beginnings of Space Generate - a community all-styles jam focussed on movement exchange and experimentation open to movers of all styles and abilities. Shortened Bio Carmen Yih (she/her) is an emerging Chinese diasporic artist graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts' Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance).&nbsp;Carmen’s practice skates along the boundaries of hybrid dance-theatre, telling urgent stories that draw on forgotten histories and marginalised voices. In her theatrical work, Carmen uses movement scores and structures influenced by non-Western narrative world-building, immersive theatre, and street and club dance forms. Carmen’s major works include: ‘to disappoint a god.’ (2025) at Dancehouse for Melbourne Fringe,&nbsp;M_N (2024) at Bowery Theatre, tackling toxic masculinity’s impact on youth mental health through street dance-theatre, and&nbsp;Texture of Absence (2025) at Platform Arts Geelong - a quiet ode to the complex experience of ageing and loss. She was selected for Stephanie Lake’s ESCALATOR, as one of five up-and-coming choreographic voices and developed AUSSIEAUSSIEAUSSIE for the program. Carmen is the recipient of the Abbotsford Convent Maggie Maguire Residency 2025-26. Beyond her major projects, she has created and presented various site-specific, video and community-based works including ‘REGENESIS’ (Club Alt, Bluestone Church Arts Space), ‘Home’ (Union House Theatre), ‘SWARM’ (Science Gallery Melbourne), ‘Empty Your Plate’ (Bunjil Place, Sharp Short Dance, Blackbird Protostars), and Holding Absence (Geelong Arts Centre).Carmen is the founder of Space Generate - an interdisciplinary freestyle jam session facilitating storytelling through art, bringing together musicians, dancers, and writers in a mixed-medium conversation. Interested in street and club dance forms, she also practices the 1970s LA freestyle dance form of Punking/Whacking. Click to see Curriculum Vitae ContactInstagram: @hitahhchiEmail: hitahhchi@gmail.com https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Teaching-Experience Tue, 19 Sep 2023 09:28:16 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Teaching-Experience Teaching Carmen has 8 years of professional dance teaching experience. She currently teaches part-time at Emerson School while pursuing a Master of Teaching (Secondary). She has taught for St Albans Secondary College, Haileybury,&nbsp; Hornsby Girls High School, Korowa Anglican Girls School, Dance Dynamics, Jing Dance Ballet, Seet Dance, and Flare Dance Ensemble. Teaching Ethos Carmen aspires to create safe and energetic environment for people of all ages and abilities to explore movement as a form of creative expression and emotional regulation. She is interested in creating more accessible avenues for learning ballet and contemporary foundations particularly for adult beginners, changing the perception that it is ever ‘too late’ to start dancing. ContactInstagram: @hitahhchiEmail: hitahhchi@gmail.com <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4f2275d754dcd1cb52b8531d85251604b0ca7e4081f6e11cac50d291ddb7147b/ReinaCarmenWorkshop.png" data-mid="235159942" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4f2275d754dcd1cb52b8531d85251604b0ca7e4081f6e11cac50d291ddb7147b/ReinaCarmenWorkshop.png" /> <img width="1080" height="810" width_o="1080" height_o="810" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f68b91c9ed771968b036746f6f7aac20c35cc9f7b13a21450c5da2efc158e14/420136555_18392843410064502_4196560374140880665_n.jpg" data-mid="235159940" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5f68b91c9ed771968b036746f6f7aac20c35cc9f7b13a21450c5da2efc158e14/420136555_18392843410064502_4196560374140880665_n.jpg" /> <img width="1128" height="1600" width_o="1128" height_o="1600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/23f723665f14ba0171f3af0a902d8377429fe36353fa88380d737cbc221e5b42/450095181_461307073409937_7982992155676074109_n.jpg" data-mid="235159941" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/23f723665f14ba0171f3af0a902d8377429fe36353fa88380d737cbc221e5b42/450095181_461307073409937_7982992155676074109_n.jpg" /> <img width="720" height="899" width_o="720" height_o="899" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/15d03860db1c9189876cf2c0e47a0960acdc560e272900aff45523a6f71111b3/438267330_1662973594511559_167062486784964151_n.jpg" data-mid="235159944" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/720/i/15d03860db1c9189876cf2c0e47a0960acdc560e272900aff45523a6f71111b3/438267330_1662973594511559_167062486784964151_n.jpg" /> Click to see Curriculum Vitae https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Middle-Years Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:28:11 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Middle-Years Move to Learn Zine + Rationale Year 10 Assessment Task + Reflection References ︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎ Year 8 Unit Plan + Rationale Year 8 Assessment Task Unit Plan Resources Teaching Middle Years Dance © 2026 Carmen Yih&nbsp; https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Senior-Years Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:23:25 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Senior-Years VCE Dance Unit 3 &amp; 4 + Statement ︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎ Teaching Senior Years Dance © 2026 Carmen Yih&nbsp; https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Move-to-Learn-Zine-Rationale Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:29:33 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Move-to-Learn-Zine-Rationale Move to Learn Zine︎︎︎ Rationale︎︎︎ Dance is a multi-faceted subject that develops a multitude of transferable and subject-specific skills essential to the holistic development of the child. Perceptions of dance as elite, irrelevant and gendered continue to act as barriers to participation and broader acceptance of dance education (Miller, 2021; Keane, 2025). Meaningful engagement in the study of dance requires confronting and dismantling pre-existing ideas of what is dance and who can dance to recognise that dance yields great benefits to all who participate in its study. By studying dance, students are thrust into inter-disciplinary conversations that question underlying assumptions and encourage critical thinking (Dils, 2004). By engaging with the histories and cultural contexts of different dance forms and questioning their underlying assumptions regarding who can dance and what is dance, students understand how to draw from historical research to critically examine the perspectives of themselves and others, and respectfully exchange and communicate in inter-cultural contexts. These skills reflect the Victorian Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priorities of: Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Capability, Intercultural Capability and Personal and Social Capability. Dance also has innumerable benefits for a student’s physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual wellbeing. Narikbayeva in 2025 found that dance has immense positive impacts on improving participant mood and energy levels, communication skills, team collaboration, memory and concentration. These interdisciplinary skills reflect multiple general capabilities, foundational skills and cross-curriculum priorities as cited in the Victorian Curriculum (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024). Dance provides an invaluable avenue for non-verbal self-expression and emotional regulation, a building block of literacy (Koch et al. 2019; Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024). Specifically, the act of performance (listed as ‘Presenting’ in the Victorian Curriculum strands for Dance) develops the skill of regulation and adaptation of emotional expression to environment and context (Koch et al., 2019; Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2026). Lee and Seo (2018) also found that the emotional artistry necessitated in dance performances assists in building emotional awareness and empathy, improving interpersonal relationship building. Begal et al. (2022) corroborates Narikbayeva’s 2025 research findings, discovering that through learning dance, students improve proprioceptive awareness, balance, flexibility and coordination, enhancing athletic ability and general physical safety. Begal et al. (2022) also noted improvements in social and cognitive functioning of students in the form of improved memory, concentration and executive functioning through learning dance. These improvements transfer to positive impacts in subjects such as Health and Physical Education and can indirectly improve subjects such as Science and English through the development of fine motor skills and improved executive functioning. Morris (2023) found that the attendance of dance classes among youth reduced anxiety levels, increased self-confidence and willingness to seek new opportunities. These improvements in sense of self may be in part due to increased resilience fostered through the processes of goal-setting, practice, and self-directed training common within dance education (Lee &amp; Seo, 2018). Chuning et al. (2021), Martín-Pérez et al. (2022) and Song et al. (2021) all name resilience as a powerful protective factor against depression and anxiety. While studying dance in school can be a stepping stone to a professional performance career, studying dance does not only lead to a future as a professional dancer or choreographer. Dance equips students with transferable skills, interdisciplinary understanding and personal capabilities that extend into all aspects of life. Through engaging critically with movement, culture, history and performance, students develop creativity, resilience, empathy, collaboration, communication skills and self-awareness. Dance provides meaningful opportunities for self-expression, cultural understanding and holistic wellbeing. The skills, mindset and personal growth fostered through dance education remain valuable regardless of future career aspirations, making dance an essential and deeply relevant area of study for all students. https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Year-9-and-10-Assessment-Task-Reflection Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:30:06 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Year-9-and-10-Assessment-Task-Reflection Year 10 Sample Assessment Task︎︎︎ Reflection︎︎︎ By analysing student responses to my summative assessment task, I am able to evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching practices in facilitating the achievement of Year 9 and 10 Dance and Personal and Social Capability curriculum outcomes (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2026; Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024). Assessment Task Part 1 consists of a collaborative performance task centred around themes relating to the cross-curriculum priority of Sustainability and combines both summative and formative assessment types. The Week 7 formative assessment helps qualitatively gauge areas of shared confusion among students prior to the final due date. This understanding assists my planning of lessons leading to the assessment, allowing greater focus on remediation of unclear concepts through explicit and embodied teaching strategies. The Week 9 summative task provides more detailed quantitative data on the distribution of understanding across curriculum areas. This data can signify a need for increased explicit teaching of unclear areas in future redesigns of the unit. If students progress into pathways such as VCE VET Dance, these insights can also inform future topic prioritisation, increasing time spent on concepts overlapping with areas of weakness identified in Years 9 and 10.The formative assessment also provides insight into group dynamics before major disruption of the task can occur. As the task is collaborative, early intervention is needed if groups show signs of power imbalance, disruptive behaviour, or bullying. Observations during both assessment stages can provide insight into students’ ability to collaborate effectively with peers, assessing achievement of Personal and Social Capability outcomes (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024). Group contexts may also reveal strengths not always evident in individual assessment tasks. For example, working collaboratively may highlight a student’s proficiency in leadership through organising peers, facilitating collaboration, and applying creative problem-solving skills in the choreographic process. These insights can assist the design of learning experiences that capitalise on individual strengths.The Week 7 formative assessment also provides students with equitable opportunities to receive constructive feedback prior to final submission. Comparing formative and summative performance provides a broader snapshot of student ability, allowing growth or decline to be identified over time. Improvement following formative assessment may indicate that feedback and scaffolding effectively supported student growth, while decline may suggest confusion surrounding feedback, increased pressure from interim deadlines, or the need for redesign of the formative phase in future assessment iterations. Assessment Task Part 1 intentionally includes a dance glossary containing examples of choreographic devices, style-specific techniques, and production elements alongside the required number of inclusions for each achievement band. This allows evaluation of students’ ability to use assessment criteria and checklists to self-assess. Students who successfully include the required elements demonstrate effective cross-checking between the rubric, task instructions, and choreography. This data can indicate if a cohort requires an assessment task breakdown (if students do not meet the required number of inclusions) or a cohort that may benefit from extension (if students feel limited by the restriction of inclusion numbers). The provision of the dance glossary aims to shift the focus of the summative assessment from recall and identification to application and manipulation of choreographic devices, style-specific techniques and production elements targeting the Level 9 and 10 Achievement Standard (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2026). Where students struggle to physicalise glossary terms in choreography, this may indicate the need for increased explicit modelling of how glossary terms translate to physical choreography. Assessment Task Part 2 consists of an individual written rationale and reflection. Comparing the collaborative and individual components can reveal workload imbalances, alongside student preferences, strengths, and weaknesses in group versus independent tasks. The written nature of Part 2 contrasts the performance-based assessment of Part 1, allowing me to assess student adeptness across the curriculum strands of Developing Practices and Presenting, targeting VC2ADA10D02 and VC2ADA10P01 (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2026). These insights can inform my prioritisation of different curriculum strands when designing future units as well as teaching strategies - for example: utilising more performance-based activities to engage students weak in written analysis.&nbsp;As dance and its relationship to the assessment theme may be subjective, the performance and rationale operate hand-in-hand. The rationale component allows students to articulate intentional creative decisions, providing qualitative insight into student formation of their artistic practice. Collectively, these insights support ongoing teacher evaluation by informing future curriculum planning, pedagogical decisions, differentiation strategies, and assessment design. https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Yearly-Unit-Plan-VCE-Dance-Units-3-4 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:27:16 +0000 Carmen Yih https://hitahhchi.cargo.site/Yearly-Unit-Plan-VCE-Dance-Units-3-4 Yearly Unit Plan – VCE Dance Units 3 &amp; 4 ︎︎︎ Contents: Page 1 - 4: Statement Page 5 - 6: References Page 7 - 65: Unit 3 &amp; 4 Planner Statement︎︎︎ The above 2026 Yearly Unit Planner details the structure, content and timeline for teaching VCE Dance Units 3 and 4 within a predominantly high-achieving and high-SES mainstream government school context such as Albert Park College. The overall planner reflects principles of backward design, beginning with the required learning outcomes and assessment requirements before determining the knowledge, skills and learning experiences necessary to prepare students for successful completion of both school-based and external assessments (Lungu, 2025). Across the planner, practical and theoretical learning is interwoven, with theoretical understanding consistently reinforced through practical experiences, while practical learning is strengthened through theory. Due to the significance of summative assessment in VCE Dance, the planner prioritises the meeting of teacher-directed goals, pre-determined criteria and assessment outcomes at the expense of inclusive and socio-emotional aspects of dance education (Stinson, 2015). Through professional learning including collaborative planning with VCE Dance teacher networks, this planner may be adjusted to better balance these contending demands. Week 1 begins with a diagnostic pre-test, intended to understand student skillset and interests to inform content delivery, teaching strategies and differentiation for the year (Karumpa K &amp; Agus A, 2025). Unit 3 prioritises explicit teaching of prescribed solo analysis alongside the development of the skills-based solo and learnt group dance. In Unit 3, students will study two prescribed solo works (AoS 1) - Act V by Daniel Riley and excerpt from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon, which were chosen due to the availability of resources on the choreographic process of both works, diversity of dance styles across the works (contemporary, ballet), and inclusion of First Nations perspectives (VCAA, 2019). The works are discussed together from Term 1 Week 1 - 9 to allow for student knowledge generalisation across the works, assisting the development of their ability to apply key VCE Dance concepts and terminology across a range of work types - an intentional pedagogical practice informed by expertise research (Sweller, 2024). Students complete weekly open-book practice SAC questions and scaffold tables in provided digital workbooks to build ownership, confidence and automaticity in shaping well-structured rubric-responsive answers (Eisner, 2002; Sweller, 2024). Scaffolds are introduced initially using explicit teaching strategies including I Do-We do-You do, group construction, teacher modelling, and worked examples before progressing to independent practice, gradually releasing student responsibility (Martin &amp; Evans, 2018). By Week 9, students should have a completed scaffold and practice response for each required analysis element and prescribed solo work as detailed in the VCE Dance study design in preparation for the Semester 1 Week 8 written SAC. These scaffolds and responses are a continued source of formative self, peer and teacher assessment as students review, refine and consolidate these materials across the year. Concurrently, students work on the development of the skills solo (AoS 2) and learnt group dance with a guest choreographer (AoS 3) culminating in a multi-night performance of both works in Semester 1 Week 15. The skills solo progression follows the ‘realising a dance work’ process, exploring the VCE Dance concept through application to improve student recall (Markant et al., 2016). However, progression through stages is flexible, Although students are encouraged to follow the pacing of the ‘realising a dance’ stages, they can accelerate with teacher approval. The skills solo digital journal provides ongoing opportunities for self-reflection and documentation of the ‘realising a dance’ process from Week 1 - 18, to be consolidated and reviewed in preparation for the Week 18 Written Skills Solo SAC. Weekly journal documentation functions as a metacognitive tool that encourages students to record choreographic decisions, justify artistic intentions, evaluate rehearsal feedback and reflect upon their creative process (McCrindle &amp; Christensen, 1995). In Semester 1 Week 6, students will travel to the Top Class showcase for an excursion to improve their understanding of the assessment standard for VCE dance performance. Learnt group dance lessons encompass technical training and choreographic development with a guest choreographer to diversify and strengthen student physical skills in different choreographic styles. The learnt group work digital journal encourages documentation of the learning, rehearsal, pre and post-performance experiences of the group dance work, providing ongoing opportunities for self-evaluation and written response practice in preparation for the Week 15 Learnt Group Dance Performance SAC and VCE Written Examination. Formative check-ins of both skills solo and learnt group dance journals are embedded into the teacher marking schedule to provide timely feedback and support to students (Hattie &amp; Timperley, 2007). VCE Dance Unit 4 begins in Semester 1 Week 19 and is the exclusive weekly class focus until Semester 2 Week 3. In VCE Dance Unit 4, students analyse one prescribed group dance work - Colossus by Stephanie Lake (AoS 1),&nbsp; and analyse, choreograph and perform a cohesive composition solo (AoS 2) (VCAA, 2019). The skills explored in Unit 4 possess similarities to the prescribed solo work analysis (AoS 1) and skills solo (AoS 2) of Unit 3 hence, the sequence of Unit 4 mirrors that of Unit 3 AoS 1 and 2. Colossus by Stephanie Lake was chosen as the prescribed group work to ensure diversity of gender representation in showcasing skilled choreographers, accessibility of resources and connection to local dance networks. In Unit 4 AoS 1, students analyse Colossus by Stephanie Lake by completing weekly scaffolds, research and practice questions. The topic of the weekly scaffolds and practice questions shift with reference to the key skills and content of AoS 1, covering: intention, sectioning, movement vocabulary, choreographic devices, spatial relationships, group structures, elements of spatial organisation, choreographic influences and choreographic impact and legacy (VCAA, 2019). Instructional delivery of the scaffolds progress from teacher modelling to independent practice across successive weeks as students build skill and confidence (Martin &amp; Evans, 2018). Scaffolds and responses undergo stages of peer-assessment and self-evaluation, providing opportunity for students to develop critical thinking skills through consistent refinement of student study resources (Ross, 2019). By Semester 2 Week 6, students will be completing intensive preparation for the VCE Dance Written exam, including timed practice questions. Alongside Unit 4 AoS 1, students simultaneously work on their cohesive composition solo, maintaining physical fitness (AoS 2). The cohesive composition solo progression follows the ‘realising a dance work’ process while providing additional guidance through the integration of weekly guided choreographic explorations before independent devising. This is due to the choreographic demands of the cohesive composition solo which extends beyond physical skills to the application of choreographic devices and spatial organisation as acknowledged in the rubric (VCAA, 2019). Integration of weekly guided choreographic explorations help students develop understanding of choreographic tools and their method of application in a guided environment before independence (Eisner, 2002). Like the Unit 3 Skills Solo, students are provided with a cohesive composition solo digital journal to record evidence and build confidence in self-analysing their solo in preparation for the VCE Dance written examination. In Semester 2 Week 4, Unit 3 content is re-integrated into all weeks to prepare students for the VCE Dance examinations which will cover Units 3 and 4 (VCAA, 2019). Students revise the performance and process of their skills solo, and cohesive composition solo, and analysis of prescribed solo, group work, and learnt group dance. In Semester 2 Week 8, students complete a mock VCE performance examination of their skills and cohesive composition solo and in Semester 2 Week 10, students sit a full-length practice VCE Dance Written Examination. References︎︎︎ Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. Yale University Press. Hattie, J., &amp; Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; /https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487 Karumpa K, A., &amp; Agus A, M. (2025). The role of diagnostic assessment in the preparation of learning strategies that focus on the needs of students. AL-ISHLAH Jurnal Pendidikan, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v17i3.7115 Lungu, I. (2025). Backward design – an innovative instructional model in planning higher education courses. 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