Creating a routine and Strengths and Weaknesses (Devising + Jazz/Contemporary Technique) - 19/11/15

Creating a new routine:

In todays lesson, we created a new routine. This routine is for the part of the show where the Grandmother tells Luke about the witches. Im not too sure whether this routine is going to part of the film playing in the background, or something we perform live in the show. We were separated into our groups from the beginning routine. This included: the Witches, the Pillow Fight, the Playground and a couple of others. As I am one of the witches, we were separated into each of the 'children' groups. I was placed with Ella, Camay, Max and Dylan. This was good as I work well and effectively with these people.

We had to create four counts of eight when the children realise that I was a Witch. It was to involve lots of contact work. Julia suggested that because our group had two boys in it, they should lift me up. However, as Camay could not do one of the moves, her and Dylan swapped so Camay and Max were lifting me instead. Our routine included lots of contact work. Personally, I really liked our routine. It looked good, even though we did not complete the four counts of eight. We were all hard working and worked effectively together. We listened to each others ideas and included everybody's ideas. Although everyone worked really hard, the one person who worked the hardest and created the most amount of our routine was Ella. This was because she had thought about what looked good and what didn't and also what flowed into each move.

Strengths and Weaknesses

In todays lesson, we had Julia and Josie. In this lesson, we were working more on our Dining Room scene, started to learn Josie's new routine and created a new routine. Overall, this lesson was mainly focused around Jazz, however there were some Contemporary elements. Also, as we were making up more routines then performing them, I do not have many strengths and weaknesses. In this post, I will talk about both of my strengths and my weakness and why I think this may be.

Strengths:

• My first strength, which has fluctuated between being a strength and/or weakness, was my stamina. This is because I personally believe it has improved significantly. I know this as I was able to perform more routines without getting tired. I know that stamina will never be an actual 'strength' of mine, however I think for this lesson, it was definitely one. To continue to have this as one of my strengths in lessons, I will continue to dance full out throughout all rehearsals to insure it improves.
• My second and final strength, which is something I have not spoken about before, is my determination. This is because no matter what happens in rehearsals or in the performance, I continue on. This was proven in this lesson when I nearly fell over in one of the routines. I kept going and smiled it off so it was not noticeable. This makes it a strength as some people would stop or show they've gone wrong. To continue to have this as a strength, I will carry on no matter what happens.

Weaknesses:

• My first and only weakness that was noticeable this lesson was my spacial awareness. Although my spacial awareness it usually very good, today proved differently. In todays lesson we were dancing in a large group and there was very little space. I did not think about how much space I had or needed and got too close to people. This made it difficult for not only myself, but others to dance. To improve this, I definitely need to think about how much space I have in comparison to what I need, so I do not effect mine or others routines.

Strengths and Weaknesses (Jazz Techniques) - 12/11/15

Strengths and Weaknesses

In todays lesson, we had Julia and Josie. In this lesson, we were focusing on Lucy and Blaze' choreography and also the Dining Room routine. We went through, practiced and choreographed more of the routines, which look really good. Because both of these routines are Urban/Jazz, so my strengths are focused on them, rather then Contemporary. In this blog post, I will explain each strength and weakness and why they're there. Also, both of my strengths are there because I have seen improvements and not because I think they're strengths.

Strength:

• My first strength that I noticed during both the routines in Jazz was my technique. I know this is a strength because not only myself noticed it, but also others noticed and commented on the improvement. Also, I felt that since some of my other lessons, it has improved significantly. This is a strength as it means I have improved since my previous lessons and also people have noticed. To continue to have this as a strength, I will focus on my technique to improve it more.
• My second and last strength, which has mentioned a lot in my previous blog posts, is my alignment and posture. This is because I have seen an improvement over the last couple of lessons. I have also felt an improvement. This is a strength as it means that I have improved. To continue to have this as a strength, I will work in front of mirrors to check my posture. I will also slow down movements to check I have the right leg or arm alignment. 

Weaknesses:

• My first (and only) weakness I noticed this lesson was my stamina. I believe the main reason for this is because I am ill and it has effected my stamina. As a result, I found it challenging to finish routines without coughing or being out of breath. I think I definitely need to improve because if I am ill when I am performing, I need to continue to perform. To improve this, I will try to not be ill for the show - although you cannot guarantee anything. I will also continue to dance no matter how ill or tired I feel.

Creating the Dining Room Routine (Devising) - 05/11/15

Creating the Seated Dining Room piece:

In todays lesson, we had a cover teacher. Although we did not have our usual teacher, in the previous lesson Julia told us the two tasks we had to complete which are the following:

1. "In groups of 4, create a unison routine using the notes you got from last lesson. It has to include gestures, be sitting throughout and be at least two counts of eight."
2. "After creating your two counts of eight, create another routine. This one should include more dance movement such as: moving objects and swapping chairs with people. This should NOT be in unison and there should be no point where you're doing the same thing as someone else. Remember to use the table and chairs and make the routine at least four counts of eight."

As I was already sitting on a table of four, I did not need to get into a group. In my group was Indea, Camay and Dylan. I think overall we worked together effectively and to the best of our ability.

In the first task, we originally couldn't come up with many ideas. However, after a couple of ideas that weren't very successful, Camay and I finally came up with two counts of eight. The first count was created by Camay. It included us reading our menu and deciding what we wanted. The second count was created by myself. I came up with the idea of using our cutlery to create a beat on the table, but because we did not have a table or cutlery, we could only move our hands. However, I personally think that it will sound good when it comes to the actual show. Overall, I personally liked our first two counts of eight because it looked good and fitted the task we were set.

For our second task, we created four counts of eight. This task was much easier then the first as we all had to do different things and not work together. However, we did decide on what counts we were going to work together (e.g. moving seats, pair work etc). We did movements that not only used the floors, but also the objects/props around us such as the chairs and objects on the table. Overall I found we worked well on this task and I personally preferred this task to the first one. 

Strengths and Weaknesses and Learning a New Routine (Jazz Technique) - 02/11/15

Strengths and Weaknesses:

In todays lesson, we only had Julia taking us for Jazz. In this lesson, we started to devise a new routine. This routine is for the part of the show when the Witches eat the soup and get turned into mice. It is Jazz, which is good because I personally like Jazz. We also learnt a new routine with Lucy (one of our Assistant Choreographers). She taught us an Urban routine - which I will be talking about in the other section of this blog post. In this lesson, we did not do any Contemporary, so this blog post  will be purely about Jazz technique. I found that in this lesson, I noticed more strengths then I did weaknesses, which is why I only have one weakness. In this blog post, I will discuss each strength and weakness and whether they have improved or not.

Strengths:

• The first strength that I noticed during my lesson today was my flexibility. This was because I found that some moves (which I have done previously) that needed flexibility, was easier. Also, I managed to get my leg higher in things such as kicks compared to how they used to be. This may be because I have been stretching everyday to improve my flexibility. To continue to have this as a strength, I will carry on stretching everyday and doing the moves that involve flexibility often.
• The next strength that I found during the lesson today was my balance/strength in my ankles. I noticed this because during my lesson, I was articulating my feet more then usual. Also, I found that while doing some of the routines, I was able to hold my releve for a longer period of time. I believe this is because everyday I have also been doing things such as releve's to improve the strength in my feet. To continue to have this as a strength, I will carry on doing this so that they improve more. 
• My final strength that I noticed this lesson, which I feel has been a strength of mine for a long period of time was my ability to pick up the choreography. Although all dancers need to be able to do this, I am able to do it quicker then other dancers. This means that I can then help others and clean the routine to make it perfect. It also means I can focus on performing it more. As it is has always been one of my strengths, I do not think I have improved this since my previous lesson. It also means that I do not need to focus on it to continue to improve it. 

Weakness:

• My first and only weakness that I noticed this lesson was remembering the routine. This is because although I know the routine, when I try to perform it with facial expressions, I sometimes forget either transitions or smaller moves which lead into larger moves. This has never been an issue of mine, however recently I have noticed it more often. To improve this, I will keep practicing the routines with facial expressions until I know it perfectly. 

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Learning A New Routine:

In todays lesson, we also learnt a new routine. This routine was choreographed by Lucy, who is one of the Assistant Choreographers. This routine is for the part of the show where all the children are at the seaside having fun with their friends. There will also be Witches in disguises selling sweets to the children. The style of the dance was Urban with some Jazz elements, which I really liked. I personally really liked the routine. This is because it brought some people out of their comfort zones. Also, it incorporated new and interesting ideas which looked really good. Below is a clip of the routine we learnt (you can see me just off-centre to the left at the front). We had only just learnt the routine, so I personally think it looks really good.

Creating The Poison Routines (Devising) + Notes - 02/11/15

Creating The Entrance To The Dining Hall:

In todays dance lesson, we created the entrance to the Dining Hall. First of all; Julia told us to get into pairs, so Indea and I picked each other. The style of dance was Jazz with a slight touch of Victorian moves (e.g. Ballroom type of dancing). We were then told to create at least two counts of eight of material. In this we were to include things from the list below and also any other ideas we may have.

At first, myself and Indea did not have many ideas, however we did decide that we wanted to be clumsy/unpredictable witches. I then suggested we should read through the list and take some of the ideas and incorporate them into our routine. We then read the list and we managed to create a lot of choreography. I think we were well together, not only because we're friends, but also because we listened and incorporated both of ours ideas.

When watching others, our routine was different to everyone else's. I personally liked it as we made ours look unique and so we portrayed different characters to everyone else. I think if we could change one thing about our material it would be that we should've included more moves to make it look more interesting and eye catching to watch.

Next lesson, I know that we will be put into groups of four to create two different types of routines.


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Notes On The Witches At Dinner:

What do the Witches do when they walk into the dining hall?

• Looking around
• Jumping
• Waving at friends
• Composed to impress the Grand High Witch
• Chasing etiquette
• Talking to friends/other Witches
• Fix Clothes
• Socialising
• Sitting down
• Drinking Tea
• Folding the Napkins
• Looking at the Menu
• Pouring a drink
• Calling over a Waiter 
• Fixing your wig
• Moving the Cutlery
• Adjusting/Moving the chairs
• Changing places with other people
• Passing items over the table/to other tables

How do the Witches react when they're being poisoned?

• Hands Shaking
• Twitching
• Almost like a burning sensation inside of them
• Contractions
• Melting Action
• Jittering
• Steam from the ears
• Shrinking/Dissolving
• Grabbing things for balance
• Panic
• Screaming
• Eyes: Widening, popping, rolling 

How do people/other Witches react when they see them being poisoned?

• Scared
• Agitated
• Waving Hands
• Fast movements
• Bumping into things
• Crowling/Running
• Pushing things over