14/9/17
The very first task of my BTEC was to make a quick piece about time in a group of other people. Immediately my mind went to think about chair duets; (a form of drama that frantic assembly coined) and then altered my idea slightly to have the people in it never look at each other in a attempt to convey how all people are going through time at the same time but do not recognise that they are in that collective journey. One of the other members in my group had the idea of having all the chairs face at 90 degree angles to each other and that we should eventually walk around them to symbolise a clocks turning. I also came up for the idea to have synchronised movements in with we all perform at the same times to reinforce the message of our piece. After rehearsing it a few times our dance teacher came up to us and suggested that we should have it where the same movements and seat changes happen again and again but gradually get faster and faster to simulate the felling of how time appears to be faster when experiencing the same stimuli over and over. While I was happy with the quality of our piece in the small amount of time we were given there were some things I wish I had done. I made the mistake of having all our people travel around the chairs in an anticlockwise motion which would go against the whole reason we added that set changing in the first place. Also I believe that my timing of the movements was not perfectly synchronised with the others and I wish I had more time to rehearse so that I could be in sync with the rest of our group.
21/9/17
After a short break we were taught how to get “in and out of the floor” in multiple ways. Then we used them to create a small piece with the theme of an invisible force that you avoid. I came up with the idea of a pendulum which sways from side to side and that we go “in and out of the floor” to go under itself. My partner, also came up with the idea for us to be segmented on different sides of the pendulum and that we follow it with our eyes. After displaying it once we were told to improve it by adding to the segmented part. We did this by swaying our bodies with the direction of the pendulum and also skipping to one side of it so that if it were real my partner would have to optimal time to cross it. I was impressed how I managed to incorporate new moves I learnt in two hours prior into performance with relative ease. However, I think I could have improved my piece by adding more “in and out of the floor” moves as I only used two in the piece. Also I could have improved by having the way I get up from the floor faster and smoother as it looked unpolished when I did it.
28/9/17
28/9/17
this lesson we went and did our third dance lesson. We were segmented into groups of four people and told to create a piece in which we were manipulated by an invisible hand, quite similar to a former lesson. We needed to create three movements of or own and then all of the group would make a sweeping action and travel across the studio. We would then redo our own movements and then do the person on our lefts three movements before then making another sweeping motion in unison. After this we would do our movements, the person on our lefts movements and then another person’s three movements and one more sweep. I choose to do my movements quite violently to portray how I was being manipulated against my will. I also came up with all the ideas for the traveling across the studio, which included a slide, a knee leap and a jump and spin. While these all did look acceptable I forgot that the brief stated that they had to be sliding motions and as a result I should change that. I continue to be impressed that I have been able to incorporate movements that I have learnt very recently with success, and also how I can manage a group and merge their ideas with my own.
5/10/17
today we went into our fourth dance lesson. In which we filmed a basic rhythmic warm up, in which I was the most in sync with the rest of the class demonstrating my improvement in that area. Afterwards we learnt a new phrase of moves, and then were told to devise a small eight count phrase relating to being rushing but confined. When creating mine I stressed out movements and had myself speed up and slow down movement and also change levels to demonstrate stress and the anxiety that comes along with it.
We then went into our dance lesson. We focused on creating more material for our performance, I learnt a more sophisticated phrase and was told to teach the entire group my own panic phrase and after we decided to create a crosscutting style piece in which I slide across the floor. We were then told to add the phrase I made in week 3 however I made the suggestion to my teacher that the length of the piece made the phrase drag and therefore we made cuts around it. This undoubtedly was my most productive dance lesson yet, as I was incorporating my suggestions as well as quickly learning and revising dance phrases and I continue to be amazed by how competent at dance I appear to be considering that I have had no previous experience before the start of this academic year.
19/10/17
After a break we had another dance lesson. We started by doing a warm up. After this we would split off into groups of two and perform it to them, they would give feedback and we would then do the same to them. Here is a video of my warm up xx
After this had all ended we looked at the feedback and then redid the warm up again trying to improve whatever was mentioned. I believe that I had successfully improved the straightness of my arms which was the feedback I was given. We then revised the structure of our dance performance, which I find to be increasingly easy with every session, and were told to make a solo dance piece for 32 counts. Mine consisted of mixing up the dance phrases previously on the performance but also incorporating some of the moves I have in rock challenge as it allows me to display my strengths in that area of dance to the audience.
9/11/17
After
a small break we rehearsed our dance piece. Since we had no time to remember
all of our dance phrases, the first run through wasn’t the smoothest. I myself
made a few mistakes such as skipping bits in my reverse version of my solo and
going out of time with one of my groups. However, after ten minutes of choosing to work on what you
needed to we ran the show again. It was a lot smoother this time and compared
to the run threw I did prior; it was better as I kept in time with my group and
did my reverse solo the way it was meant to be done. At the end of the session
some people who were watching us praised by use of a kick up and slide in my
solo, which I believe displays that I have created an interesting and enjoyable
solo on my first try, which I’m quite impressed by
16/11/17
After a break we went into another dance lesson. We began by
having a few minutes to discuss our costume and to recall our phrases and
solos. As I hypothesised from 1st week’s lesson, giving us this time frame to
revise our movements made the first run though we did go a lot smoother. I
believe I managed to do an almost perfect run though as I did all my phrases
and my solo and retrograde solo without error and kept in the neutral position
when I was not doing any moves. We then all sat down and talked about the
theory behind developing a phrase. I came up with the suggestions of working
with the drama mediums I used back when I was doing my GCSEs such as levels,
pacing and action reaction. I then learnt that in dance terms pacing is known
as dynamics. Here are the sheets that my partner and I created in this time
period:
23/11/17
On this day did a run though we went onto our own dance show in a week. We
gave it a run though without rehearsing it before, however there were no
mistakes that I noticed from myself or anyone else. I believe that this is due
to how we have been working on this five minute dance show since the start of
our course in September. I am confident that all will go well on Tuesday when
we are performing our piece; even more so as we are doing a tech run beforehand
as well.
28/11/17
After another break it was finally time to
perform our dance piece for the first time. I will list what went wrong and
what went right.
After a break, we went into another dance lesson. We began with doing a filmed warm up in which our teacher would teach us a sequence of moves and then we would do then in time with a partner in front of a camera. In this, I was annoyed with myself by how I forgot a roll at the end of my sequence of moves thus needing to go back down after I had picked up myself from the floor. However, I will try to rectify this in future lessons by practicing these warm up sequences while I am in line to perform to the camera. Here is a link to my warm up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hobkWjm3pDE&index=36&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ
We were later instructed to teach the phrase we made to the rest of the class. I had the idea to segment the piece into thirds and have on person from the group teach one third each, however one of my members disapproved of this method and given how we had no time to discuss this I could not convince them. As a result in the video you can see that were are segments in the video where others cut my sentences off or even talk over me. This is to be expected as without a clear structure in most scenarios there will be conflict, in this case between who is teaching the rest of our class. To try and avoid this happening again I will try and propose a similar idea to my splitting the phrase into thirds to the group in question but at a nearer time as seconds before we go into teaching is not the most opportune time to suggest teaching methods in hindsight. However, I do think we still managed to teach effectively, we explained moves which others found difficult and helped them one on one to assist them with the more involved moves. Here is a link to this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hobkWjm3pDE&index=36&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ
As I came on, I kept in my neutral pose and
stared directly forward. I continued to do this for the rest of the parts I was
not performing anything of my own. I
believe that this was a good thing to do, as this allowed the audience to focus
on the phrases that were happening at the given time as if I hadn’t there is a
possibility that they would of gotten distracted by how I was not still and
composed while I was at the side.
When my first phrase came on, I made the
intentional point of slowing my movements down, as others would have to match
my speed later on. Since they were not as familiar with it as I was, due to how
I created it, I cannot expect them to go at the pace of which I started with a
few months ago. My choice to slow down this section was a good one as it
allowed the rest of the group to synchronize up with me.
The next phrase I made a similar decision
to slow down my movements to allow myself to match the speed of the others
doing the same phrase.
The next phrase I did was the one when I
react to being pulled by an invisible force in a line. Unfortunately, I believe
that this was the worst part of my performance as I wasn’t able to make the
jump everyone else was due to how I had my right leg forward. However, I did
not let this mistake show too much and carried on regardless. Later on, I noticed
how when all the members in the line skip and turn out of the line is not in
complete unison. And as a result doesn’t look as good as it would, I rectify
this I would have the skip and turn be cannon instead of unison as this would
intentionally harness how we are not in turn and make it into a move that looks
a lot more better.
During my solo I made no noticeable
mistakes, however I do think I could have reached more with my limps to make my
piece look more refined. Also in my reverse solo, I ended up not having any
pauses between my moves and therefore they lost a bit of their impact. I
believe that this was due to how I had never done a dance show before and got a
bit nervous and therefore sped up without realising.
Overall, I do believe that I did an
expectable first dance show regardless of the few mistakes I made.
30/11/17
After the break, I was then told to devise an alternate way of playing the first scene I am in, as my teacher is not too fond of how she originally blocked it. As we had recently been given, a small note from the writer of the play to include something Christmas related with the assistant. As a result, I came up with the idea to have the inspector sit down on a chair with a laptop as the assistant enters with Christmas music allowing the audience to infer both the setting of the play and the assistant’s personality at the same time. Then the assistant looks over the inspector’s laptop then giving the queue for the dialog to kick in. However, if we choose to do this scene this way we would need a white laptop to fit in with the rest of the props and costume.
30/11/17
After the break, I was then told to devise an alternate way of playing the first scene I am in, as my teacher is not too fond of how she originally blocked it. As we had recently been given, a small note from the writer of the play to include something Christmas related with the assistant. As a result, I came up with the idea to have the inspector sit down on a chair with a laptop as the assistant enters with Christmas music allowing the audience to infer both the setting of the play and the assistant’s personality at the same time. Then the assistant looks over the inspector’s laptop then giving the queue for the dialog to kick in. However, if we choose to do this scene this way we would need a white laptop to fit in with the rest of the props and costume.
After a break, we went into another dance lesson. We began with doing a filmed warm up in which our teacher would teach us a sequence of moves and then we would do then in time with a partner in front of a camera. In this, I was annoyed with myself by how I forgot a roll at the end of my sequence of moves thus needing to go back down after I had picked up myself from the floor. However, I will try to rectify this in future lessons by practicing these warm up sequences while I am in line to perform to the camera. Here is a link to my warm up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hobkWjm3pDE&index=36&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ
30/11/17
After this had ended, we learnt a new
phrase in which we were constantly on the floor and continued our motion
throughout. I learnt this phrase without too much trouble.
Later we were given the task of creating a
piece of physical theatre with the theme that two people were manipulating the
third. I was the first to suggest a move; I came up with the idea of having the
two manipulators push the knees of the third person with their legs allowing
the third person to go from a neutral position to a second position. I did this
a way to subtly display power through levels as the two manipulators would be
higher than the third person due to their position. I also had the idea to then
push around the second person, as this would further develop the idea that the
third person was under the will of the two others in the group. Others had
their ideas and we all incorporated them into the piece, I believe that this is
an example of how well we worked as a team in this part of the lesson.
We were later instructed to teach the phrase we made to the rest of the class. I had the idea to segment the piece into thirds and have on person from the group teach one third each, however one of my members disapproved of this method and given how we had no time to discuss this I could not convince them. As a result in the video you can see that were are segments in the video where others cut my sentences off or even talk over me. This is to be expected as without a clear structure in most scenarios there will be conflict, in this case between who is teaching the rest of our class. To try and avoid this happening again I will try and propose a similar idea to my splitting the phrase into thirds to the group in question but at a nearer time as seconds before we go into teaching is not the most opportune time to suggest teaching methods in hindsight. However, I do think we still managed to teach effectively, we explained moves which others found difficult and helped them one on one to assist them with the more involved moves. Here is a link to this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hobkWjm3pDE&index=36&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ
12/12/17
On this day among
other things were filmed the perception dance piece due to the footage being
lost. I do believe that this run through was slightly better than the true one
as I had managed to get the jump with happens in the line phrase correctly and
also extend my limbs as much as I could which was the things I needed to
improve on last time. However, in the solo I messed up the kick up and had to
catch myself with my hand. I believe this happened, as I did not have enough
time to previously prepare for this. I literally had five minutes to revise my dance
pieces and one mock run though. For the show, I had hours. Apart from the messing up on the kick up move,
I cannot see another point of improvement to my part in the piece.
22/2/18
On this day, we had a dance lesson with Kat. To begin with,
we started with a basic foot warm up. After running it, a few times, we filmed
it and the video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqCENfdRYok&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ&index=74
. During this part of the lesson I get the feedback of not bending my backwards
leg when straightly extending the other, I managed to improve on this before
the filming began and I believe to be valid proof of my ability to improve upon
criticism. After this was over, we split off into smaller groups of approximately
four. Our group was led by a person who also did A level dance. He was tasked
to create a series of moves to create a dance phrase with many swings inside.
During this, I offered suggestions on potential moves, which were used in the
piece. This is yet more evidence of my competent teamwork ability in devising
dance phrases. This phrase was recorded and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeweUaRA_-4&index=79&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ.
After this was over we were tasked with learning all the other groups dances
and the reiterate them while being filmed. They can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql8_j_XRQhQ&index=78&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ
, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhuQE520kZY&index=84&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ
. To improve I believe I needed to practise the second phrase while on the side-lines
as I made the mistake of conflating the stationary jumps with the 90 degree turn
jumps. I asked by teacher for what I could improve on the first one and she
replied with “practice getting out of that downward dog more smoothly, and
decrease the height of your shoulders on the next move”, if I were to do this
again I would take this advice and use
it to better my technique.
After a small break, we had our final dance lesson on the
contemporary unit. We focused on further developing our dance manipulation
trios. In the last lesson, due to
another person coming into our class, we had to do the dance multiple times,
subbing in one person with another. However, this time one of our original
dancers got sick, while unfortunate; it was beneficial, as we did not have to
fill in the extra person of every detail changed. Another problem was present,
the only other original dancer had sprained their angle meaning that we would
have to adapt other the beginning in which she bends into a second position,
and at the end where she is on the floor. We overcame this by instead just
having her stand at the start, and instead using a different person go on the
floor. To further develop the piece we made a conscious effort to add more levelling,
swinging and contact into the phrase. We added more levelling by expanding on
the end where a person is on the floor. They now do a series of moves, which
are about 15 seconds long; whereas before today they were about half as long. We
improved the pieces lack of swinging by adding swings in places where a person
was not doing any move at the present time due to waiting for the two others to
finish theirs. Added more contact by making the manipulation near the end
involve more grabbing and by adding the ending in which myself and another
person encase the one other person with our hands. We recorded the dance and it
can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj3dtoi7CBo&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ&index=91
After the video was filed we did another about reflecting on it, which can be
found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uT5Iw05bIU&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpIe67uUNntZeX1BBe47w8MZ&index=89
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