Viva Voces

1
Viva Voces

• How to be successful when answering a Viva Voce
  question in your Dance Studies.

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What is a Viva Voce?

• A Viva Voce is the oral component of the
  practical examination that is either at the
  beginning or end of the piece. Students are given
  a question to answer based on their work and
  course material.
• The viva voce is an integral part of the
  practical exams. Its purpose is to enable you to
  relate the theory components of the course to the
  practical demonstration of the exams. It enables
  you to demonstrate greater knowledge of dance as
  an artform and apply knowledge and skills to your
  work developed in both core and major study.
• In order to maximise your viva voce marks, you
  need to have an in-depth understanding of the
  Areas of Study. The viva voce question will be
  drawn from any of the dot points under the Areas
  of Study headings, which are found in the
  syllabus.

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What do you talk about?

• Viva Voce Questions are based on the Areas of
  Study found in your Syllabus. To view the
  syllabus you should look at the NSW BOARD OF
  STUDIES WEBSITE.
• Examples of Areas of Study taken from the Core
  Performance Syllabus include
• 3. Safe dance practice
• warm-up/cool-down
• stretching
• alignment
• body awareness
• body limitations
• causes, prevention and treatment of injury
• environmental
• body maintenance.
• 4. Variety of structures/components of a dance
  class which may include
• floor work, barre work, centre work, moving in
  space, jumps and aerial work.

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How long is a Viva Voce?

• The lengths of the Viva Voces vary depending on
  whether it is a Core or Major.
• Core Performance Core Composition
• 2 minute preparation
• 4.5 minute warning bell
• 5 minute Viva Voce
• Major Performance Core Composition
• 2 minute preparation
• 7.5 minute warning bell
• 8 minute Viva Voce

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When do you do the Viva Voce?

• When you are completing your Practical
  Examinations.
• Core Performance Major Performance
• The Viva Voce is completed after the student has
  performed their work.
• Core Composition Major Composition
• The Viva Voce is completed after the student has
  performed their work.

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How are Viva Voces marked?

• Students must answer the question as thoroughly
  as possible in the time allotted,
• demonstrate a clear understanding of the concept
  based on their work,
• use terminology correctly,
• demonstrate and explain clearly, and
• use relevant examples.

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Viva Voce Preparation

• In order to maximise your Viva Voce marks, you
  need to have an indepth understanding of the
  Syllabus Areas of Study.
• Use correct terminology and definitions, and show
  that you can apply the key aspects of the
  question to the areas of study and your dance /
  work.

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Tips for the exam

• Use your preparation time to identify key aspects
  of the question and outline a structure for your
  answer
• Address all components of the question equally
  (sometimes questions will ask you about 2 or more
  concepts in an area of study)
• Demonstrate (physically) your understanding
• Use relevant examples from your work to
  illustrate your answer.

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How to Prepare For a Viva Voce

• A good way of preparing for viva voce questions
  is to construct flow charts or mind maps based on
  the areas of study. These mind maps will give you
  the basic structure from which to answer the viva
  voce question.
• Have a thorough understanding of the concepts in
  the Areas of Study and know how to relate them
  all to your piece of work
• After the first reading of the question, you have
  two minutes preparation time. Use this time and
  your mind map to help you structure your
  response.
• You may write down points on the Viva Voce
  Examination Sheet in your 2 minutes preparation
  time.
• DO NOT write sentences, only trigger words, dot
  points etc

10
How to Conquer your Fear of Public Speaking

• Public speaking is a common source of stress for
  everyone. Many of us would like to avoid this
  problem entirely, but this is hard to do. Whether
  we work alone or with large numbers of people,
  eventually we will need to speak in public to get
  certain tasks accomplished. And if we want to be
  leaders or achieve anything meaningful in our
  lives, we will often need to speak to groups,
  large and small, to be successful.
• The truth about public speaking, however, is IT
  DOES NOT HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL! If you correctly
  understand the hidden causes of public speaking
  stress, and if you keep just a few key principles
  in mind, speaking in public will soon become an
  invigorating and satisfying experience for you.

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Principles of Public Speaking

• Principle 1--Speaking in Public is NOT
  Inherently Stressful
• Principle 2--You Don't have to be Brilliant or
  Perfect to Succeed
• Principle 3--All You Need is Two or Three Main
  Points
• Principle 4--You also Need a Purpose That is
  Right for the Task
• Principle 5--The Best Way to Succeed is Not to
  consider Yourself a Public Speaker!

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Principles of Public Speaking

• Principle 6--Humility and Humor Can Go a Long
  Way
• Principle 7--When You Speak in Public, Nothing
  "Bad" Can Ever Happen!
• Principle 8--You Don't Have to Control the
  Behavior of Your Audience
• Principle 9--In General, the More You Prepare,
  the Worse You Will Do
• Principle 10--Your Audience Truly Wants You to
  Succeed

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Hidden Causes of Public Speaking Stress

• Thinking that public speaking is inherently
  stressful (it's not).
• Thinking you need to be brilliant or perfect to
  succeed (you don't).
• Trying to impart too much information or cover
  too many points in a short presentation.
• Having the wrong purpose in mind (to get rather
  than to give/contribute).
• Trying to please everyone (this is unrealistic).
• Trying to emulate other speakers (very difficult)
  rather than simply being yourself (very easy).

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Hidden Causes of Public Speaking Stress

• Failing to be personally revealing and humble.
• Being fearful of potential negative outcomes
  (they almost never occur and even when they do,
  you can use them to your advantage).
• Trying to control the wrong things (e.g., the
  behavior of your audience).
• Spending too much time overpreparing (instead of
  developing confidence and trust in your natural
  ability to succeed).
• Thinking your audience will be as critical of
  your performance as you might be.

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Examples of Composition Viva Voces.

• Discuss the way in which you have used the
  elements of SPACE to communicate the intent of
  your Core Composition Dance.
• Discuss the way in which you have used the
  elements of TIME to communicate the intent of
  your Core Composition Dance.
• Discuss the way in which you have used the
  elements of DYNAMICS to communicate the intent of
  your Core Composition Dance
• Discuss the way in which you have used the
  process of generating movement in the development
  of your Core Composition Dance
• Discuss the way in which you used motif and
  manipulation to assist with the development of
  your Core Composition Dance

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Examples of Composition Viva Voces.

• Discuss the way in which you have used sequencing
  to communicate the intent of your Core
  Composition Dance
• Discuss the way in which you have used repetition
  in your Core Composition Dance
• Discuss the way in which you have used variation
  and contrast in your Core Composition Dance
• Discuss the way in which you have used
  abstraction in your Core Composition Dance
• Discuss the way in which you have used the
  process of appraisal and evaluation to develop
  your Core Composition Dance

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Examples of Performance Viva Voces.

• Describe the importance of having knowledge of
  body awareness in dance. Demonstrate with
  reference to a phrase from your dance.
• Describe the importance of the principles of
  alignment and body placement in dance.
  Demonstrate with reference to a phrase from your
  dance.
• Discuss the elements to be considered when
  performing elevation in your dance.
• Discuss the elements to be considered when
  performing turns in your dance.
• Why is the concept of warm up / cool down
  important for dance preparation?

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Examples of Performance Viva Voces.

• Why is stretching an important element in SMART
  dance?
• What is the importance of body maintenance to the
  performance of your dance?
• Select a phrase from your dance. Analyse your
  muscle usage within this phrase.
• Select a phrase from your dance. Analyse the way
  that you have utilised the elements of space and
  time in this phrase.

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What do you do now?

• Study Areas of Study from Syllabus
• Use your Process Diary to relate concepts to
  piece of work
• Learn and practice using dance related
  terminology
• Ask questions and complete all homework tasks
• Endeavour to find and read 2 extra articles from
  Closed Reserve on each topic.

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Why is the Process Diary so important to our Viva
Voce Preparation

• The Process Diary provides a means of
• Developing and practising skills in observing,
  recalling and recording information
• Using dance terminology in a meaningful and
  relevant way
• Expressing personal ideas and opinions
• Evaluating their own work through personal
  reflection and critical analysis
• Maintaining a record of their learning,
  knowledge, understanding and dance experiences.

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What could your Process Diary include for Core
Performance

• Definitions of dance terms and the elements of
  dance
• Notes, information and class work sheets
• Descriptions and explainations of exercises and
  their purpose
• Information and research on the physiology of the
  human body
• Research or information on the common causes,
  prevention and care of dance injuries
• Discussion and reflection on performance quality,
  interpretation and dance characteristics
  experienced
• Individual reflection and peer evaluation of the
  students own performance

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Lets have a go.

• QUESTION Explain why the concept of warm up /
  cool down is important for dance preparation?
• Underline the key words.

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Lets have a go.

• QUESTION Explain why the concept of warm up /
  cool down is important for dance preparation?
• Underline understand the verb.

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Lets have a go.

• QUESTION Explain why the concept of warm up /
  cool down is important for dance preparation?
• Introduction
• Reiterate question
• Define key words
• Introduce concepts that you will discuss

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Lets have a go.

• QUESTION Explain why the concept of warm up /
  cool down is important for dance preparation?
• Draw a mind map 2 give you structure to the
  question
• List reasons for warm up and cool down

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Lets have a go.

• QUESTION Explain why the concept of warm up /
  cool down is important for dance preparation?
• Be able to give specific examples from your work
  that relate to the concept.
• Have practical demonstrations in mind

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Lets have a go.

• QUESTION Explain why the concept of warm up /
  cool down is important for dance preparation?
• Conclusion
• Reiterate question
• State briefly the reasons
• Personalise

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Now all you have to do is.

• PRACTICE!!!
• Should you have any queries or questions do not
  hesitate to ask or refer to the following
  websites
• http//www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/
  syllabus2000_listd.htmldance
• NSW BOARD OF STUDIES
• http//hsc.csu.edu.au/dance/
• NSW HSC ONLINE