Strengths and Weaknesses (Jazz Technique) - 28/09/15

Strengths and Weaknesses in Jazz:

In todays Jazz lesson, our dance teacher; Julia's main aim was to focus and clean up our Witches routine. In this lesson, I felt like I achieved a lot. This is because I had no negative comments and I knew all the choreography. Also, I managed to clean up the routines and focus on my technique. This meant that I had a lot of technical strengths this lesson and not as many weaknesses. In this post, I will talk about my main strengths and weaknesses and how I can become technically better. 

Strengths:

• In my dance lesson, one new strength I found was that I managed to stay in my formation during the routines. This meant that the routines looked clean. Also, it shows the audience and my dance teacher that I know where I should be and what the routine is. I believe this will continue to be a strength of mine as now I know the whole routine, I will focus on the formations and my technique. 
• Another strength of mine was getting to my place in time. Although this was a strength in my last blog post; my dance teacher was not in my last dance lesson, so did not know I got there. However, as she was in this dance lesson, she was able to see me get to my place in time. This is a strength because now that I have got there more then once, I now know I can do it. Also, when I wasn't getting to my place in time, I knew that I was ruining the whole routine, so this pushed me more to get there. 
• As one of the above was a strength from a previous lesson, I thought it best to add another new strength. This is my stamina. I know this is a strength as I was able to go full out throughout the whole routine and keep my energy and effort high throughout. This means it has improved a lot since last week which I think may be because I have practiced at home full out to improve my stamina. I am proud of this as last week I found it difficult to get through the whole routine without getting really tired. 

Weaknesses:

• One of the weaknesses which I started to notice today was my actual technique/presentation of my moves. This is because although I know the moves, I do not think about where I should actually be (e.g. where my arms, feet, head should be). This is a weaknesses because as a dancer, you should focus on performing and the moves, just as much as your technique. I will focus on this by going through the routines slowly in front of a mirror and thinking about where my arms/legs etc should be. This will help my technique to improve and so overall my performance of the routine. 

[Both of these next weaknesses are the same as one of my previous lessons. However, I do not find this an issue as it will take much more time and practice before I see any real improvement. I think both of these points will be in my blog posts for at least the next couple of weeks until I see a real improvement. Even if I do see any real difference, I will not put them in my strengths, as I do not think they're ever going to be strengths. Instead, at the end of one of my Jazz Technique posts, I will write about the improvement of them.]

• One of my main weakness, which I have found very obvious over the past few lessons is my strength. This is because I have found that my upper and lower body strength isn't as good as it should be. For example, in some moves which involving using upper body strength, I do not have enough force behind my moves, so they look lacklustre and weak. I will need to focus on this by doing exercises which will improve my strength until I see a real progression.
• My final weakness which is also from the previous lessons, is my agility. Although this has improved a little bit since my last lesson, it has not improved to the level which I want it to be. This means that I have to focus on it until it is better. I will improve this by doing moves which need to use a lot of agility over and over again until I feel that it is at a reasonable level.

Strengths and Weaknesses (Contemporary Technique) - 24/09/15

Strengths and Weaknesses in Contemporary:

In todays Contemporary lesson, we only had Josie. In this lesson we cleaned up the opening routine and created a brand new routine. This routine was more Jazz based, however it did have elements of Contemporary. Because of the fact I only did a little bit of Contemporary, I will only say two weaknesses and two strengths. I have found that during the lesson, some of my strengths and weaknesses have stayed the same and some of them have changed. In this blog post, I will talk about which strengths and weaknesses have changed and how I will improve my weaknesses.

Strengths:

• The first strength I noticed in todays lesson was that my spacing has continued to improve. This is because I was able to stay in my place throughout the whole routine without moving into a different gap/position. This is a strength for any dancer as it means you can be confident with your moves, without worrying about moving from your place. I will now continue to focus on this to always make sure that this is a strength of mine. 
• A weakness from last lesson has now become a strength of mine. This is the transitions between my moves. This is because I focused on it since last lesson to make sure that this lesson it looked clean and precise. I am happy with the transitions between each move in the Contemporary dances I have learnt so far. To continue to make sure this is a strength, I will make sure I focus on it and practice at home and in the studio.

Weaknesses:

• The first weakness I found in my Contemporary lesson was my performance skills. This is because I had to act like some characters during my class. For example, at one point I had to be a Witch and use facial expressions which they would use. I found this challenging as I could not stay in role for long periods of time. Also, I sometimes felt a little unconfident with the role. To improve this, I need to start performing every routine I do, whether its a rehearsal or actual performance.
• Another weakness which I have noticed again in Contemporary is my placement of my arms. This is because occasionally they are not in the right place and so consequently look strange and out of line. This means that people may think I do not know where my arms should be. To become stronger at this, I will need to now focus on my arms and where to place them during parts of the routine. I can do this by dancing in front of a mirror to see what my arms look like or filming where they should be in comparison to where mine are. 

Evaluation of Todays Class and Strengths and Weaknesses (Jazz Technique) - 24/09/15

Evaluation of todays Jazz Class:

In todays Jazz lesson, Julia - our teacher was not in. This meant that we had a cover teacher and was given the task through email. In this email, we were told to run The Witches number we had learnt in the past few lessons and to learn Robbie and Lucy' groups choreography. This lesson to some extent was successful, however I personally feel that it was not exactly like normal. This is because not everyone would be involved when we (as a class) were trying to clean the routines.

Moreover, something which was defiantly successful was learning the groups choreography. When I originally watched it, I was a bit worried as the counts were odd and it looked complicated. Also, it looked a bit like an urban routine (which some people in the class do not do). However, when I learnt it I was surprised. This was because everyone in the class, whether they had done urban before or not, learnt the routine and it looked really good. Below I put a link to the video which our supply teacher took for us. In the routine, we are not in set positions and we had only learnt it five minutes before filming it.

Even though this was successful, one part of the lesson was not. This was when we were told to clean and perfect The Witches routine, which Julia had taught us. This was not successful as people did not listen to one another and not everyone went through and cleaned the routine. Also, we only did the routine full out once, which was not good as it looked messy later on when we showed it to Josie. When we showed it to Josie, we did not realise that Julia was watching us from outside. This makes me worried as she saw us perform a messy routine which we had one hour to clean and make neat. This means that she will be annoyed with our class and the routine as we have not done what she has asked. Consequently, this will mean that we will have to take another lesson to clean the routine.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Because we did not have a teacher, I do not have many strengths or weaknesses for this lesson. Instead of having two strengths and three weaknesses, I will just talk about the main one from each section which sticks out most in my head.

Strength:

• The main strength I found from this lesson was that I got to my place in time. Throughout all my rehearsals, I have been unable to get to my place in time in The Witches routine. However, this time I did in both rehearsals. This is very successful as it means that I do not ruin the routine because I can not get there in time. I will now continue to focus on this to make sure I ALWAYS get there in time. 

Weakness:

• The main weakness I found from this lesson was my stamina. This was because we kept going full out with Lucy and Robbie's routine and I kept giving 100%. Although this wasn't an issue, after a while I became a bit slower and less cleaner with my moves. However, I do feel I have improved since the last lesson which means that I become more stronger. As it a result of this, it meant that I kept dancing for a longer period of time without getting as tired or out of breath. To improve even more I will continue to focus on this, so that I am ready and able to get through the whole show.

Strengths and weaknesses (Contemporary Technique) - 21/09/15

Strengths and Weaknesses in Contemporary:

In today's Contemporary lesson with Julia and Josie, I have found that both of my strengths have continued to stay the same. I have also found that some of my weaknesses have improved and I have also found a couple of new ones too. In this blog post, I will explain a few of my main strengths and weaknesses of this lesson and how I will improve my weaknesses.

Strengths:

• In my contemporary class today, I found that I have continued to be versatile. This was because I had to not only work by myself, but in a pair and also in a group with people that I don't usually dance or talk to much. This is one of my top strengths as I have become more confident as a person and as a dancer. It also meant that this lesson I could help come up with new choreography with my group and pair. 
• A new strength I found in this lesson was my spacing. This was because I knew where I was meant to be at what count. This meant that I was able to keep my spacing throughout the whole routine, whether it was travelling movement or not. I feel this is a strength as it means that the routine will look more clean and connected as a group because everyone will be in the right place. 

Weaknesses:

• A new weakness which I have noticed over the last couple of Contemporary lessons are my placement of arms. For example, I find that sometimes my arms will look more like Jazz arms and not fluid like they need to be in Contemporary. This is a weakness as it will not look like the correct style of dance which also means that it will look like the correct move. This can be improved by looking in the mirror while dancing and looking at whether my arms are in the correct place and whether they look exactly like the arms which were set. 
• Also, another weakness which I have found over the last couple of Contemporary lessons are my transitions between moves. This is because sometimes they will look messy. This could give the person watching me the impression that I do not know what I am doing and do not have the correct technique. I feel like I could improve this by recording myself doing it wrong and then watching myself. I can then see where the movement looks weird and where I need to focus on. I can then practise and then re-record myself to see whether the transitions have improved or not. 
• The last weakness I have found, which I also had as a weakness in the previous lesson is my flexibility. This is because when I need to put my legs in certain positions, I find that the flexibility in my hips stops me from doing this. I know that now I need to stretch on an everyday bases and practice to become more flexible. Although it has come up on my weakness list twice in two weeks, I am not upset or disappointed with this. This is because I was not born with natural flexibility which means I have to work harder then some others to become more flexible. 

Strengths and Weaknesses (Jazz Technique) - 21/09/15

Strengths and Weaknesses in Jazz:

In today's lesson of Jazz, I found that I overcame one of my weaknesses, however I also found that I became weaker in one of my strengths from my previous lessons. I also did not have the best lesson as I injured my shoulder during rehearsals and so consequently found it difficult to do all the moves full out. In this blog post, I will compare what went well in this lesson and what didn't go so well in class.

Strengths:

• In my dance lesson this week, I found that I continued to pick up the choreography easily. I managed to pick these routines up in a professional and quick manner, which meant I was able to start cleaning the moves and transition between each moves while some people were still picking up the choreography. For example, I was out of the lesson for 10 minutes today and when I came back I managed to stand at the back of the class and learn it without any help from anyone. I feel this is a strength of mine as I can easily and quickly pick up routines, clean them quickly and then possibly help others with the choreography. 

Weaknesses:

• Something I have found very challenging to do in my Jazz lessons is getting to my place in time. This has been a weakness as I have to run behind a couple of girls to get to my place, however I never get there in time because there is not enough room to run past them to get to my place. I am currently trying to resolve this issue by finding another way to get past the girls and also I am starting to run a little earlier then everyone else. This is something I know I definatly need to improve on by next lessons.
• Another weakness I have found is my agility, which was also an issue in last weeks blog post. Although I have improved and got a bit better, I still feel there will always be room for improvement. However, saying that I know I can and WILL improve it. I can improve this by practicing going from the floor to standing quickly so that my agility improves. This means my moves will become cleaner as I will be able to get down to the floor or back to standing without feeling like I am rushing the movement.
• My final weakness - which was also a weakness of last weeks lesson, is my strength. This is because I have found that some of the moves which involve using upper or lower body strength have been a little challenging and to some extent look messy. Now that I know this, I will continuously improve my strength by doing daily exercises which will over time improve it. 

Even though two of my weaknesses from last weeks lessons are still weaknesses, I am not disappointed. This is because although they are still on there, I know that it takes hard work, dedication and time to improve them. I also know that over night they are not going to become brilliant, which means that it will take more weeks and possibly months before I see any substational difference. 

Turning Scenes from The Witches into Routines (PPP) - 19/09/15

Scenes To Dances Ideas And Overview:

When watching The Witches, I came across some scenes and certain characters which could be easily turned into routines. When looking at these scenes and the characters involved in them, I thought about the movement, music and genre of dance which would suit the scene/character best. I also looked at what types of actions they did, they way they acted and what the mood is like. In this blog post, I will talk about the individual characters, how we could portray them in the show and what type of dance style I feel would suit them best.

The Witches:
One of the main parts in The Witches are the Witches themselves as they have a key role to play throughout the show. Many of the movements/actions they tend to do in the scenes can easily be translated into dance moves. For example, the Witches have disguises which they wear. These disguises they remove quickly and in a certain order (e.g. fake skin, wigs, fake teeth, shoes, gloves etc). This can easily be incorporated into a dance routine as its quick and simple to do. Another main focus of witches are their hand movements and their facial expressions. This is because their fingers are extremely long which means that when they move their hands, your eyes are automatically drawn to them. This means that when we choreograph routines for the Witches, they should involve lots of movement with ours hands. They also move their hands and arms in unusual and peculiar ways. This means that we should also have a focus on their arm movements and try to incorporate them into it. Also, they use their faces a lot to scare and intimidate people. As well as this, I have found that the Witches tend to stare at people. This could be shown in a dance by staring at other people in the routine or at the audience. This will also give the audience the impression that we're meant to be portraying Witches (even though we will be in costume). I feel that any routines which involve Witches should be a Jazz routine. This is because the actions they do are more like jazz rather then contemporary. Also, they move very quickly (e.g. running, hand movement etc), which is just like Jazz.

The Grandma:

A key character in the film is the Grandma. This is because she introduces us to the Witches before we meet them and also tells Luke about the Witches. However, unlike the Witches, there are not as many moves that we can take and place in our routines. This is because she does not do things which make her stand out or can easily be put into routines. Even though it may be difficult, we can include the fact that she only has 4 fingers. We can emphasise this by using movements with one hand fully and hiding the other one. In the film, she is very family orientated and will protect Luke with her life. This could be shown in the scenes when she does certain actions. (e.g. hugging, surrounding Luke etc). We can incorporate this into our dance by making sure that the moves the Grandma does are like the actions she does to make us think she is family orientated. As well as both of these points, I have found that the Grandma's moves are slow and to a certain degree, graceful. This is because she is old and so we do not see her running or anything too active. Also, she is ill for the majority of the film which means she's even less active then she may usually be. This means that our moves should be very slow and controlled, like hers. Because of all the things I have discussed, I have come to the conclusion that if we were to do a routine based on the Grandma, it should be Contemporary based. This is because she is slow and controlled and we never see her do any fast paced or sudden movements.  

Luke:
The main character of The Witches (other then the Witches themselves) is Luke. Many of the movements that Luke does are child-like and not unusual. This means that the majority of his moves can be easily taken from scenes and placed into dances. For example, during one of the main scenes, you see Luke running away from the Witches. This can easily be placed in a routine with the witches at some point in our show. Also, Luke tries to get the least amount of attention possible. For example, he will stay quiet when necessary and is very introvert. This means that are dances should not completely focus on Luke, unless needed. Finally, Luke is very family orientated and cares a lot about his Grandma. For example, when she is ill, he cares for her and looks after her even though its his birthday. This means that we should do actions and moves which show he is close to his Grandma (e.g. hugging, caring for her etc). Also it means that we should make sure that at some points, the Grandma and Luke should have moments on stage where its just them two alone. So after looking and discussing all the possible moves we could do for Luke, I have come to the conclusion that both Jazz routines and Contemporary routines would suit Luke. This is because in some scenes he moves quietly and slowly (for example, when he is hiding while the Witches meeting is happening) and sometimes his moves are quick and high energy (for example, when he is running away from the Witches or when he turns into a mouse).


Mice:
In The Witches, the mice are meant to be the two characters Bruno and Luke, who have been turned into mice by the Witches. However, in though the mice are meant to be the two characters, their personality and movements are completely different to how they're in their human form. For example, Bruno is very confident when he is a human, however when he turns into a mouse, he becomes very shy and introvert, like Luke used to be. Where as, Luke goes from being very shy and quiet to the one who comes up with all the plans and becomes more confident. We could show this in movement by Luke being in front of Bruno. We could also use different levels to show how Luke is more confident then Bruno and that he has taken charge. For example, we could have Luke and Bruno doing the same movements, except Bruno is on the floor doing the same movements as Luke and Luke is doing them all standing up. Another thing I have found is that Luke is more adventurous. I know this because when they went to put the potion in the soup, Luke climbed up the shelfs in the kitchens. We could incorporate this in our dances by getting Luke (now a mouse) climbing on the set at the back of the stage and getting up on top of it in unusual and different ways. The final thing I know about the mice is that there moves are going to be much smaller and intricate then anyone who is playing a normal human. We could do this also with levels or just by using only certain body parts (e.g. hands, feet etc). Overall, I think that the mice could do either the Jazz or Contemporary style of dance. This is because even though their moves will be slow because they're mice, they will have to move quick to get away from certain things (e.g. members of staff, Witches, Liebschen - the cat, kitchen staff etc).


Bruno:
Another character thats featured a bit in The Witches is Bruno. For the majority of the film he is a mouse, however when we first meet him he is a young boy. When we meet Bruno as a boy, he is a very loud, over confident boy who tends to like to be the centre of attention. This can be shown in moves in routines by certain moves he may do (e.g. possibly moving people out of his way, the way he stands, certain poses etc). It could also be shown in his facial expressions and the way he looks at the audience/other members of the cast. As well as this, he also only likes certain types of food. For example, in one of the scenes you see him asking the waitress what type of food it was because he didn't like the ones from the day before. This could be shown in a dance also with certain actions. For instance, you could have him eating food while dancing, or putting food in his pocket. You could also have him holding food while trying to dance at the same time. However, even though in most scenes he is very confident, in one scene when he walking through the Witches meeting, he looks very worried and slightly intimidated. This could be shown in a dance by certain facial expressions he makes and also his body language (e.g. very small and closed). Personally, I think that the style of which would best suit Bruno would be Jazz. This is because its speed is quick compared to contemporary. Also in some respects the music is quite loud, which is a bit like his personality.

Strengths and Weaknesses (Contemporary Technique) - 14/09/15 & 17/09/15

Strengths and Weaknesses in Contemporary:

In dance over the past week, I feel that I have explored and found out my strengths and weaknesses in my Contemporary classes with Julia and Josie. Now that I have found out these points, I will know focus on them and continue to try and improve. In this blog post, I will explain the strengths and weaknesses Ive found, why I think this may have happened and how I will (if needed) improve.

Strengths:

• In my dance lesson this week, I found that one of my strengths was being versatile. This was because I was able to work independently and in a pair/team to create or clean a routine. This is a strength as it means I can work more confidently in both. It also means I will be able to create or clean routines no matter what situation (group/pair/solo etc) I am in.
• During my Contemporary lessons, I also found out that I can easily pick up the routines and in a pressured and professional environment. This is a strength as it means that in the future, I will be able to pick up dances in any situation I am, whether stressful or not. It also means that I can then start to clean routines, even when some people are starting to learn the routine. 

Weaknesses: 

• Over the past couple of Contemporary lessons, I have found that my flexibility has become an issue. This is because some of the moves which need more flexibility in places such as the legs, I find more challenging then others. I already knew this before these classes, however these classes has made it more evident. Because of this, I will now really focus on my flexibility by stretching on an everyday bases and practicing my splits everyday. 
• Also, over the past couple of Contemporary lessons, I have found that the fluidity of my moves and the transitions between them have not been as clean as I would like it. This means that I need to start breaking down the routines slowly into sections and focus on how fluid I need to be and what elements need to be more elegant then others.
• My final weakness I found this week while in lessons was my performance. This was because although I knew the routines, I did not feel confident enough to perform them. This is because I generally like to clean and perfect the routine to the best of my ability before starting to perform it and adding in facial expressions. I feel like this will always be a weakness until I have cleaned a routine because it is the way I like to learn routines. 

Research into The Witches film and book (PPP) - 19/09/15

Research into the Plot and Characters in The Witches:

About The Book and Film:
The Witches is a Fiction book created for Children. It was written by Roald Dahl and was first published in London in 1983. Since the book was published, it has been turned into: a stage play, a movie (released 25th May 1990), an audio reading and an opera. The story has been kept the same though out all, however some elements were slightly adapted to make it different from the book.

Information On Where It Was Filmed And A Short Summary Of The Story:
The story is mainly set in The United Kingdom. It was filmed at The Headland Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, however they changed the name to Hotel Excelsior for the film. Also, some of the scenes were also set in Norway and was filmed in Bergen in Norway.
The story follows a young boy and his Grandma and how their life gets turned around when they discover that Witches really do exist.

The Full Plot:
The story mainly focuses on a young boy named 'Luke' and his Grandma 'Helga'. In the opening scenes of the film, you get introduced to Luke and his Grandma. In these scenes you see Luke's Grandma talking to Luke about her experiences with Witches. She tells him about how her best friend from when she was younger was kidnapped by witches and was never seen again. That night Luke's mother and father went out to an event, of which they never returned from. This is because they were killed in a car crash. This resulted in Luke permanently living with his Grandma. Later on in the film, you watch as Luke and his Grandma move to the UK. This is so they can move into the house of which he has inherited from his parents and start a fresh life. When they arrive at the house, you hear the grandmother warning Luke about the English witches as they were known to be some of the cruelest in the world. Then, on Luke's birthday Helga becomes unwell. When the doctor arrives she suggest that if she went to the seaside, she may feel better. Because of this they go to stay at Hotel Excelsior in Cornwall.

When they arrive at the hotel, Luke meets a rich young boy named Bruno and they become friends. Soon after this Mr Stringer (the hotel owner) discovers that Luke has mice in his room. He orders them to be removed from the hotel, however Helga persuades him to let them keep them as long as they were in their cage. Soon afterwards, Luke takes the mice and puts them in his pocket. He then sneaks into the ballroom downstairs and into a quiet corner to teach his mice some tricks. This was a big mistake as the members of the 'Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children' had arranged to hold their annual meeting in there. Despite the fact they called themselves this, they were actually the English Witches which Luke had been told about. He discovers this because during this meeting they remove their 'disguises' of which were wigs, shoes and fake teeth, skin and hands. As soon as he realised this he tried to look for the nearest exit, however they had locked all the doors so that they would not be disturbed. This meant that Luke was trapped.

A German woman then walks with her assistant (Miss Irvine) to the front on the ballroom and onto the stage. She then also removes her disguise to show herself as the Grand High Witch (GHW). She tell all the Witches about how she had created a potion 'Formula 86' which would turn any person who drank it into a mouse within two hours. Then, a women at the back (who was also a witch) placed her disguise on and opened the door to Bruno (as he was promised a chocolate bar from the Grand High Witch earlier that day). She guides Bruno to the front of the Ballroom and Luke watches in fear as his friend gets turned into a mouse. Bruno - now a mouse, flees under the stage.

Then as the GHW declares that the meeting is over for another year, one of the witches sniff around and says that there is someone in the room. Luke then runs and escapes through a fire exit. He continues running though the hotel and out to the beach. He then hides behind a rock. As he is doing this, he watches as one of the witches push a pram with a baby inside it towards a high cliff and the sea. He manages to save the baby and then escape back to his hotel room. When he arrives back at his room he finds that his grandmother is asleep and is not waking up. The GHW and her assistant then enter through the other door and capture Luke. They take him back down to the Ballroom and also turns him into a mouse. However, instead of letting Luke flee like Bruno, the Witches try to kill him by stamping on him. He manages to escape and hide under the stage like Bruno and is reunited with him. They then come up with a plan to steal the formula off the witches and plot revenge. They climb up to the Grand High Witches room and retrieves a bottle with a near-death experience when the GHW cat Liebschen tried to kill them. They then take it back to Helga who is now awake.

At dinnertime, she sneaks Luke into the Kitchen to put the formula into all the witches food. When doing so she overhears that the all the witches are ordering soup, so she instructs Luke to put it in the soup. After nearly being killed by the cooks, he manages to put the bottle in the soup and escape with only a cut tail for an injury. The soup is then taken to the witches and they eat the soup. They all then turn into mice, including the Grand High Witch. The only witch that did not was the GHW assistant as she was told not to come to the meal. Instead she was in her room packing as she had quit. Members of staff then enter the room killing all the mice. While this is happening Helga and Luke escape, leaving Bruno (still a mouse) with his parents, packed their bags and left the next day. Many days after this event, Luke and Helga receive a suitcase full of the Grand High Witches money and diary. Then later on that evening, Miss Irvine arrives at the cottage and turns Luke back into a human and gets him a new pair of glasses. This meant she had turned into a good witch and so had normal hands and real human hair. She then waves them goodbye and goes to Bruno's to repeat the process.

Information On The Main Characters:
Luke: A 9 year old boy orphan. The type of boy who will set himself a goal and achieve it. At first, he does not believe in witches but by the end he does. Always puts his family first and makes sure nobody gets hurt, unless necessary.
Helga: A caring Grandmother who will do anything in her power to look after her family (family-orientated). Has always believed in Witches since her friend was kidnapped 60 years ago.
The Grand High Witch: A manipulative German women/Witch. She hates all children and always uses her power for bad. She also does not think about other peoples feelings.
Bruno: A greedy, rich boy who finds any way possible to get attention from his parents. Likes to eat lots of food and does not care what anyone else thinks.
Miss Irvine (GHW assistant): Originally a cruel women. Thought she was very important as she was the Grand High Witches personal assistant. Soon realises she is not important and uses her powers for good.

Creating a new routine (Devising) - 17/09/15

Creating a new Jazz routine:

In todays lesson, I was put in a group with: Indea, Camay, Nina, Ella, Malachy and Chyna. We were asked to create a minimum of 2 counts of 8 to be put into our show. In this routine, we were told to include parts of the motif which Julia taught us and change it to make it original. We were also allowed to include our owns moves if we wanted to.

When we first started to come up with ideas, not everyone agreed with them. Some people thought they were good and some thought differently (for example, because they may have thought it didn't suit the style of dance or didn't look right). As a group, we had decided at the beginning that if some of us did not like a move; it would not be placed in the routine as it would of been unfair on the people who didn't like it. But finally, after many discussions and ideas, we came up with one count of eight. Ella created most of the first count of eight with help from Chyna and Nina, however I took the chance to add in some of my own ideas. I personally thought it looked really good and suited the style of dance perfectly. It included different elements of the dance Julia taught us, but in a different and unusually order. Once we'd completed the first count of eight, it was much easier to add on more.
We then created the second count of eight which was mainly just part of the routine which Julia had created, however at the end we added our own twist to make it more like our own choreography. It look good as it flowed from what we had created into what she had originally created. We then finally came up with a third count of eight which incorporated Malachy', Ella', Nina', Chyna' and myself' ideas and it looked really good. This is because we look like the characters we were meant to be portraying - Witches.

When Julia came and watched it, she said it look really good and that it fitted into a gap which she had for our routine. She then instructed us to teach it to the rest of the class so that we could perform it together. Ella and myself stood at the front and taught it, while Nina and Indea were at the back teaching it. Malachy, Camay and Chyna were in other gaps so that people would be able to see us all from different angles. When we all finally performed it and Julia put us into our places it look good for the first rehearsal of it. I know that we know need to clean and perfect the routine and also make sure that everyone knows the timing so they're on the right count.

First Production Meeting discussion overview (PPP) - 17/09/15

First Production Meeting Overview:

During the first Production meeting, I found out who was in my group and we started to discuss ideas on what we would have to do as part of Marketing, Publicity and Fundraising. The people in my group are: Nina, Eden, Maya, Emilia, Malachy and Max. I feel that I will get on with them easily and we will produce the best work possible as a group.

In the group we first spoke and wrote down some ideas we had in mind and what we would have to do to achieve them. Then, later on in the lesson Julia came over to us and we discussed our ideas. We also spoke about our ideas for the Programme. She said that they were good but that we needed to prioritise our ideas and put them into three individual groups. She also told us that our two main priorities were to get the name of the show itself and a name and logo for our company. When she left, we then discussed some names for our company - some of them I liked and some of them I didn't. We said that we would make a list and then discuss it with the rest of the class and see what they thought. The names for our Company that we've come up with so far are: Poison Dance Company, Nightmare Dance Company, Caldron Dance Company and Witches Dance Company - however we know that we need a few more before we could open it out to the class. We did not discuss a title for our show yet.


Below is a list of our ideas and where they would come if we had prioritised them:

1. Come up with a title for the Show
2. Come up with a Company Name and Logo
3. Create Posters/Stickers to put up around school and in the local area
4. Create Social Media accounts (e.g. a Facebook page, Instagram account, Twitter account etc)
5. Make and Create hoodies and t-shirts which we can wear around school and in the local area.
6. Fundraising events (e.g. Car Wash, Flash Mob, Dance competition, Cake sale etc)
7. Have Donation Buckets in reception and also carry them around
8. Decide on the Programme layout and what it will look like and then create it

Strengths and Weaknesses (Jazz Technique) - 14/09/15 & 17/09/15

Strengths and Weaknesses in Jazz:

Over the past week, I feel that I have had many strengths in my Jazz classes with Julia. I also have had some weaknesses which I now know that I need to focus on and improve. In this blog post, I will explain the strengths and weaknesses I've found, why I think this has happened and how I will improve.

Strengths:

• In my dance lesson this week, we have been learning a few new and exciting Jazz routines which will be featured in the show. I have found that during these lessons, I have been able to pick up the routines easily and in a quick and professional manner. This is a strength as I am then able to go and help others in the class if they are unsure on a part of the choreography or improve my performance of the routine more.
• During my dance lessons, my confidence has improved a lot. I have realised this because I have been contributing more of my ideas and getting more involved in group discussions. I have also found that I have been able to count the counts of the routine. This means I feel more confident not only speaking in front of my class but also taking a sense of leadership.

Weaknesses: 

• Over the past couple of lessons, I have found that there had been many moves which involve using some sort of strength (e.g. core strength, upper body strength etc). I have found some of these moves challenging and so I have come to the conclusion that I need to improve my strength in my body. Now that I know this, I will now start to focus on this and start doing exercises to build up my strength. 
• Once I had learnt the routine, I tended to find that my eye line/focus and was not facing the audience or where I was meant to be looking. Also, I found that I did not perform it to my full ability. This is generally because I do not feel confident enough to perform a routine when I've only just learnt it. Now that I know this, I will start to focus more on my eye line and my performance once I feel confident in the routine. This means I will start to practice this while I am in rehearsals.
• My final weakness I found this week was my agility. This is because I found that when I had to move quickly from the floor to standing, I found I wasn't there on the correct time. It was generally only a count behind, which isn't too bad because I would catch up with the next movement. However, I feel this defiantly needs to be improved so that I'm on the right count and that my agility improves. I can do this by building up my stamina and my strength, so that I am capable of getting in and out of the floor easily. 

Marketing, Publicity and Fundraising Roles and Responsibilities (PPP) - 15/09/15

Marketing, Publicity and Fundraising:

During our dance lesson on Monday morning, we found out which role (other then performing) we will be taking part in for our production. I was given my second choice which was Marketing, Publicity and Fundraising. I am happy with this as I feel comfortable with the tasks I will have to undertake and I am confident that I will succeed in this role. Being part of Marketing, Publicity and Fundraising is one of the most crucial parts of the Production. This is because if we do not do our jobs to the best of our ability, then people will not come and see the show or even know its on and also we would not have any funds to run the show.

When being involved in this department, there are many tasks and responsibilities which need to be undertaken. Here's a list of all the main tasks that I will be in involved in:

• One of the main tasks you have to do when being involved in Marketing and Publicity is promoting and advertising the show. The main way many companies promote their shows nowadays is by Social Media. This is because many people generally have social medias accounts. Also, the majority of young people tend to be on social media a lot; so when they see the advertisement, they will share it with their friends and look at it.
• Another task you have to do when being involved in Marketing and Publicity is creating and producing the programmes, social media accounts, posters and other types of advertisement. This will be on different types of media such as online and in newspapers and magazines. This is so people will be able to see the advertisement and know when its on a what its about. It is best if its on all different types of media because not all people are on social media. 
• Sometimes, one of the tasks involved in Publicity is creating a summary of what the show is about to go in a local newspaper. This is because people will be able to read a full summary of what the performance is about instead of looking at a poster of it. This summary would include a blurb of what the show is about, who the main target audience is, where it will be held and what times it is on. 
• When being involved in Fundraising, you will have to come up with events or ideas which could help bring in extra money. For example, you could come up with an event such as a cake sale to bring in some more money. A good idea would also be to do an event which incorporates what type of performance you're doing. For example, you could do a dance workshop/competition if your show has dance elements. 
• Another crucial part of Fundraising is getting sponsors, charities or partners. This is so you can get more money for your show. An example of this is asking a dance shop (for example Dancia) to sponsor our show and in return we would put advertisements for their shop in our programmes or wear some of their clothes if it fitted with the theme of the show. We could also get local dance schools to do the same. This means we would get some more money to help make our show better without having to spend any of our own money.
• One of the biggest responsibilities you will have is going to meetings. In these meetings you will be told what your tasks are for that week, when the deadline is and you will discuss what happened the previous week (e.g; what was created and who contacted who). You will also talk about how many tickets you may have sold and whether your publicity is reaching everyone or whether you need to do more to get it seen by more people. As well as these, you will speak about the layout of things such as posters, articles and websites and what needs to be included on them. 

Also, when being involved in the Marketing, Publicity and Fundraising of a show, you have to liaise with lots of people. Here is a list of who I will have to liaise with and why:

• Marketing and Publicity Manager: This person is in charge of the whole of that department. They will tell you what you have to do, when you have to do it and the deadline. They will give you specific tasks which suit your specialities and the skills you are best at. 
• Director/Producer: You will need to talk to the Director and Producer to ask about the show and what its about. You will also need to ask about who the target audience is and when and where the performance will be. 
• Front Of House Manager: You will need to talk this person so you can find out how many tickets have been sold and whether you have made more money. You will then know whether you need to create more advertisements or whether you have made enough. 
• Rehearsal Director: You may want to talk to this person to ask whether you can take some photos of the performers during rehearsals to put onto advertisement or programmes. 
• Sponsors/Local Companies: If you are part of fundraising you will have to speak to local companies to ask whether they will sponsor your show and what you will do for them in return if they did. You would also speak to local newspapers or radio stations to ask whether they would put an advertisement about your show in their newspaper/station/website. 

Production Role Application (PPP) - 11/09/15

Application For A Production Role:

The role that I wish to apply for is the role of Assistant Choreographer. The first reason I am applying for this role is because I am creative and so can come up with different ideas that some people may not think of. Also, over the last year, I have learnt many new styles of dance and new moves, so I can easily incorporate them into the routines. I am also very good at sticking to a specific criteria if I'm given one. The second reason I am applying is because I have a lot of previous experience in choreographing routines. Over the past few years, I have choreographed many pieces for different types of events and for soloists, duets and small groups. These routines have been in different styles of dance including: Modern, Jazz, Contemporary/Lyrical and Tap. As a dancer, I am very versatile as I can work well in a team to create and clean routines as well as individually. This means that I listen to other peoples opinions/ideas when in groups so that we can create the best piece of work that we possibly can. 
Overall, I feel that this opportunity would be something exciting and memorable. I feel that I am able to do this role with confidence and initiative, which is why I believe I would be fitting for this role. 


However, if  I am unable to get this role, I would like to do the role of Marketing and Publicity. This is because I use social media on an everyday bases and so know the best places to put advertisement up and which target audience it would suit. Also, in the past I have done some advertisement for shows, performances and competitions - whether I have been requested to do so or just to help that certain company/show get more publicity.