Successful DSA-SEC Admissions In 2024 ~ Mr Gregory Li

20 Jan 2024
All About Dance Dance Competitions Dance Performances Direct-School Admissions (DSA-SEC)
DSA-SEC Admissions In 2024 - Our Student's Success Stories


In an academically driven society as Singapore where every parent's primary concern with school-going children is their educational results, we have encountered first-hand when dance is often sacrificed for extra tuition classes when a student's academic results need improvement. However, we are of the humble opinion that dance actually offers students an outlet to engage in an activity that betters their mental and physical wellbeing, leaving them recharged for their academic pursuits.


In recent years, our nation's leading education authority - Ministry Of Education has been pushing for a broad-based multifaceted learning approach as evidenced by the introduction of the new Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) scoring system - Achievement Level (AL) since 2021 and the introduction of Subject-Based Banding (SBB) in Secondary Schools from 2024 onwards. Thus, pursuing dance while striving for academic excellence at the same time is now a very viable option through MOE's DSA-SEC admission programme that takes into account a student's talent in Dance when they are vying for a spot in their preferred Secondary School. For our full in-depth review of this topic, please visit this link: https://stepup.sg/blog/DSA-SEC-How-Dance-Can-Complement-Your-Child-s-Admission-Into-Their-Preferred-Secondary-School.

 



Shown above are the 2022/23 Dance Competition achievements of Mr Gregory Li who managed to receive a confirmed offer from his preferred Secondary School through DSA-SEC via the talent area of Dance. Read on to find out more of his personal insights with regards to his successful DSA journey in 2023: 


1. What are the most important personal attributes in a student for success in DSA using dance?
 
Commitment and perseverance are the important personal qualities as DSA is a 4-years journey in Secondary School. Also, a candidate needs to have an open mindset to try out/explore different types of dances which would be helpful for long term growth as DSA-Dance may not just consist only of Hip Hop styled dances. 


2. How have the DSA preparations at StepUp contributed to your success in DSA?

StepUp organises an annual DSA Webinar for all parents/students, where the school researched and explained in details about DSA, and list out the available options of the Secondary Schools offering dance as a DSA talent area. 


3. How has the dance journey at StepUp contributed to your success in DSA?
 
StepUp provided a platform via their Performing Group for Solo dance training to prepare for participation in Dance Competitions. They also have dedicated and caring teachers, like Mr Chia, who mentored me through the years and developed my training in Solo and Group Competitions. He encourages and ensures that I achieve my goals and build up a good portfolio of my dance journey. Mr Chia is always patient in teaching different dance techniques as well as taking care of the student's well-being, such as educating and ensuring the proper discharge of a student's training to minimise/prevent injuries, and nurturing their interest in dance. 


4. Why did you decide to take up DSA-SEC?

DSA-SEC has provided me with admission into a Secondary School which is in a good location and provides for an excellent academic education. It also allows me to select a School that I believe will help me gain even more exposure to Hip Hop dance in the future. 


5. Who would you recommend DSA-SEC to and why?

I would recommend DSA to students who would like to gain admission into their desired Secondary School and are ready to commit to their selected DSA talent area for the next 4 years. DSA supports students by providing the opportunities to get into the choices of their interest and talent (e.g. Dance), as well as a place in a School that they can achieve well academically. 


6. What was the toughest part of the DSA-SEC submission?

One of the toughest part of the DSA-SEC application process was the audition which I not only had to perform a Solo dance routine in front of a panel of 4 teachers, but I also had to improvise a dance on the spot without knowing the type of music that was going to be played. During the audition, I was asked to improvise a dance to the music that was of a different genre that caught me by surprise. But special thanks to Mr Chia, my dance teacher, who sets aside training time during class to prepare us in improvisation after my parent feedback to him that it was one of the selection criterias prior to the audition. I had also practise in improvisation at home to prepare myself for the audition. 


7. If you could redo the entire DSA-SEC submission again, what improvements would you undertake?

I would strive to practise or gain more exposure in improvisation to various types of music. I would also prepare myself with more information about the Integrated Programme (IP) program instead of just the regular Secondary School curriculum, as the interview portion consisted of both the IP and regular learning programmes.


8. What was the differential between your average Achievement Level (AL) from Primary 4 to the actual PSLE results, and the AL cut-off score required by Catholic High School?

My average AL was within a 25% differential from the requirements of Catholic High School.


Thanks to Gregory for sharing his DSA-SEC journey and inspiring our juniors at StepUp with his success story! 

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