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.