Mātauranga Māori constitutes concepts and principles that are richly detailed, complex, and fundamental to Māoridom. It is important to remember that the practice of these are wider and more varied than their use within the proposed NCEA Achievement Standards and supporting documentation.

We also recognise that the cultures, languages, and identities of the Pacific Islands are diverse, varied, and unique. Therefore the Pacific concepts, contexts, and principles that have been incorporated within NCEA Achievement Standards may have wide-ranging understandings and applications across and within the diversity of Pacific communities. It is not our intention to define what these concepts mean but rather offer some ways that they could be understood and applied within different subjects that kaiako and students alike can explore.

The intent of the Standard

The purpose of this Standard is for ākonga to demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the cultural context and key features of a dance genre or style.

It is intended that ākonga will develop theoretical knowledge of the features of their chosen dance genre or style through both research and practical exploration. Through research, they will gain an understanding of the influence of cultural context on their chosen dance genre or style.

By engaging with a dance genre or style, ākonga will explore how culture is embodied through dance. Ākonga will gain an understanding of how dance is a powerful language with which to carry and express our cultures, identities, and whakapapa. Ākonga will develop their appreciation for how every dance genre or style has a unique history.

In this Standard, ākonga have the opportunity to explore design components if these are key features of their chosen genre or style. Through doing so, they will gain understanding of how design components:

• help to carry the cultural expression of a dance genre or style
• can be used to enhance mood and aesthetics to communicate ideas effectively, creating a more impactful performance.

Design components can include:

• music
• costume
• props
• staging
• makeup.

Cultural context includes the social, historical, geographical, or political conditions and circumstances that define, inform, or influence a dance genre or style. For example, ākonga may investigate factors such as characteristic movements, costume, settings, or rituals which reflect the origins of the genre or style.

Making reliable judgements

To meet the Standard, ākonga need to describe the features of the chosen dance genre or style and their relationship to the cultural context of that style or genre.

At higher levels of achievement, ākonga will explain how and why the features connect to the cultural context and examine the ways in which features have been influenced by the cultural context. Analysis of the relationship between the cultural context and the key features of a dance genre or style could involve consideration of:

• the extent to which different factors in the cultural context have influenced dance features
• the ways in which dance features and cultural context contrast with each other
• the ways in which dance features and cultural context complement each other
• the ways that dance features reflect the values or beliefs in the cultural context
• the impact of cultural context on the development of a dance genre or style.

Standard Exclusions

This Standard has one or more exclusions, or Standards that assess the same or similar learning. These Standards are excluded against one another to prevent assessing the same learning twice. You can only use credits gained from one of these standards towards your NCEA qualification.

Find out more about the NCEA Level 1 Exclusions List.