Show log week 4

Monday 11/5/15

Today in drama we split into our groups and discussed each of our characters. I came up with a good idea that my character (Anna) should be younger than Imogen's (Tricia) because Anna looks up to Tricia. We also briefly discussed the setting and costume. I am not really sure if I like our script because it is a bit strange and not funny, however when we perform it properly I might enjoy it more. I aim to start learning my lines so I am prepared to perform it properly.

In modern we recapped the dance because we were having trouble remembering it. Then we added a bit more on. I am still enjoying this dance and I quite like the style of it. 

Tuesday 12/5/15

Today we had two lots of solo studio time. I found this really helpful as I have now choreographed just over a minute of my solo. I tested out some moves that I thought might seem impressive and I added a speaking section in the music at the beginning to make the story of my dance more apparent. I think it also shows variation and makes my solo stand out. I am pleased with my time keeping and aim to roughly finish it for next week to show to Mary. I can then work on cleaning it.

In today's commercial we recapped the dance and also added on a bit more. I remembered the choreography from last week quite well. I struggled with the style in the rap section, however I aim to practise this so I can get the right feel for it.

In the afternoon's studio time we started with the singing trio. We sang through the song and learnt which parts each of us had to sing. We struggled a bit with harmonies so Mary is going to teach them to us next week. At first I felt really nervous because it was the first time that I sang in front of others, however after a few practises I think my confidence grew and I was able to sing a bit louder. I am looking forward to this number in the show and I think it will sound quite good. I aim to start to learn the lyrics so I can concentrate on the harmonies. 

In the second part of studio time me and Tierney carried on with our contemporary trio. We didn't choreograph as much as we would have liked to have done, however e discussed movements and ideas that we could include. Next week we would like to choreograph quite a lot so that we don't run out of time.

Wednesday 13/5/15

In street we learnt two more sections that would be in our group piece; "peanut butter" and "work". We started with "peanut butter" and Emile went through it really slowly and lots of times. Then he gradually built up the speed so we were able to do it faster. I found this really helpful and doing it a lot of times helped me to remember the choreography. There was a little bit that I struggled with because the hips had to move one way and the hand had to go the other way, however I practised this a lot in class and at home and I can now confidently do this move. Then we learnt "work". I really enjoyed this routine and found that I picked up the choreography really well, especially the faster bit at the end. Because I didn't have to worry too much about the choreography I was able to get the correct feel for this style of dance and perform it more. I aim to learn all of the sections this well so that I can do the same and perform it all confidently with the right attitude. I really like the street piece so far and am excited to perform it in the show.

Thursday 14/5/15

In tap we recapped the routine step by step to make sure that everyone knew what they were doing and were in perfect unison. Last week I struggled massively with the "shuffle pickup tap" move on the left foot, however I was able to do it in some of the run throughout and I will continue to practise it so that I can do this move confidently in every run through. I am excited to perform this piece and I now need to work on standing in the correct place and being aware of people around me because at some moments I felt like we weren't in the correct formations.

Today in contemporary we were informed that the group piece was changing to something that uses more characterisation. I really like this dance because I enjoy playing a character when I dance as I like connecting to different emotions besides my own. I struggled with the backwards roll into the splits however I feel that I will be able to do it with practise. Then we were put in our places and we ran the choreography in formations.

Singing vlog 13/5/15

http://youtu.be/Yv68ztyEOik

Singing vlog 6/5/15

https://youtu.be/xWmgLBh_UnQ

Singing vlog 29/4/15

https://youtu.be/SlFYFZbSNkE

Singing vlog 22/4/15

http://youtu.be/nOMFvFq3R2Y

Show log week 3

Tuesday 5/5/15

Today in commercial we recapped the show dance. We cleaned some of the harder and more intricate moves, which I found really beneficial as I was unsure on some of the moves. Then we added a bit more on to the dance. I found it difficult to pick up the fast movements in the rap part of the song, however I will watch the video and practise this for next week. I really enjoyed the rest of the choreography and I think the group works well together in this number to watch each other and keep in time.

In the first part of studio time me and Tierney continued to choreograph the contemporary trio. We were able to think of a few moves, however without all three of us being there it was hard to think of ideas and movements that everyone liked. Due to the fact that we don't have a lot of time left and we wanted to choreograph a lot in this studio time, towards the end we suggested that Millie could come and join us. This was a lot more helpful because we could get more movement ideas and see the formations easier. 

In the second part of studio time we split off into our rock and roll group. We didn't add as much choreography on as last week, however we thought of a little bit more, and we discussed and tested out some lifts. I suggested one lift where someone is on the floor and jumps onto their partner's back (like a piggy back). This went down well with the rest of us and we decided to put it into the routine. I struggled a bit with one of the lifts where I roll over Shannon's back because I felt like I couldn't get far off the ground enough and I was a bit scared of hurting her. Therefore, as a collective, we decided to change it to a cartwheel over the legs. Later on in the dance, on a climax, we all agreed to do a double cartwheel section with our partners, which I am really looking forward to.

Wednesday 6/5/15

In ballet today we continued to choreograph the group piece, after recapping. In the first week I struggled with a certain turn section because of my balance, however after practising at home I feel that I was able to execute this movements quite well. I now need to work on getting my leg higher on the developpe. In today's class I made sure that I kept to my timings in the cannon sections and I watched other people to make sure I was doing the correct moves.

Today in street we started by discussing what music we would like to use for the street piece. Then we went on to learn a section that will be in our show group dance. This was very different to the section we had previously been learning ("trini dem girls") because it was more dynamic and we had to bend our knees more on certain moves to get the correct bouncy feel. I was able to pick up the choreography, however I will go home and practise getting the correct feel for it. 

Thursday 7/5/15

Today in tap we recapped what we had already learnt and then we added some more on. I was able to remember the choreography and pick up the new choreography quite well, however I struggled with the 'pickup spring shuffle' move. I will practise this at home and maybe ask someone who does tap to help me with it because I don't want to be behind for next week.

In the last class we went over our street number "trini dem girls" and cleaned it. Emile had each of us teach a count of 8, which I found really beneficial because it made sure that I remembered it. After running it once I found that I had remembered the choreography really well, however Emile gave some corrections to the class (such as hand placements) and I can now focus on executing the moves correctly. I think I applied his corrections really well and u will continue to practise. 

After street we recapped the contemporary group piece. I could remember some of the things, however I think everyone struggled to remember the choreography. Therefore I will watch the video and prepare myself for next week. Emile said that once he had watched the video he noticed that no one did an important move (circular leg swing after getting up from the floor). I made sure that I applied this correction in the class, which allowed me to understand that I should always do it as it  is a more interesting way of getting up without just standing straight up. 

 

Show log week 2

Monday 27/4/15
Today in drama we were given our pieces that we would perform in the show. We got in our groups and read through our play then selected which bits we would like to use. My groups play is 'journey to the centre of the earth'. At first I didn't really like the play because I found the language a bit strange and we found it difficult to find an interesting section to use. However, after talking to Anna we decided to use these strange things to our advantage by taking the piece seem more comical than dramatic. We also decided on our characters so that we could go home and start learning our lines so we are prepared to start working on other things like back story, units, objectives, tempo, intentions and traits of our character.
In musical theatre today we did our normal warm up and corner work exercises and then we went on to continue learning the group piece. I found some of the new choreography quite fast and hard to pick up, however I will make sure that I go home and practise so that I am not behind next week. I still enjoy this dance and I like playing this certain character as I think it will help improve my confidence as a dancer. I had a little bit of input in this lesson where Kelly asked me (and two others) to come up with a pose that everyone would copy.
During studio time I mindmapped some ideas for my solo; ie props, costume, music, floor work. I am still struggling to chose a song so I have left a little extra time for me to decide. To make sure that I used the studio time productively I experimented with some moves that I would like to include and I also researched some other dances for inspiration.
Lastly, in modern today we started learning the group piece. I enjoy the choreography, especially mine, Tierney, Shannon and Amber's section because the music gets a bit faster. I will make sure that I practise at home and that I think of something that I can do on the floor section where we have to improve something.

Tuesday 28/4/15
In commercial we changed the group piece to a routine that we had already started learning a couple of weeks ago. I think that everyone was pleased about this because the new dance was more fun to do and suited us better as a group. I found that I was able to pick up the choreography quickly, however I need to go home and work on building a character for this piece, as I am not normally connected to this style of dance.
In studio time me, maddie, imogen and shannon started to choreograph our rock n roll semi group. We had already decided on music ("broken heels" by Alexandra Burke) so we were able to start choreography straight away. I feel that I had a lot of good input into this piece and I hope to continue to confidently put my ideas across in this and other numbers. We started by doing individual movements as this went well with the start of the music, then we went into pairs to do some lifts. We were able to choreograph about 20 seconds of the dance, which is a really good start. Then we mindmapped ideas we had regarding costume, props, canon, unison, music, etc. I am really excited to continue to choreograph this piece as I think we all work really well together to create a good dance with everybody's input.
In the second half of studio time, me, Millie and Tierney started to choreograph our contemporary semi group. We decided to use "high on your love" by Sharon Doors on as there are some repeated words and beats that could be good for canon sections. We start the piece by joining in one at a time on the intro, then doing unison. I enjoyed doing this piece because I felt comfortable to experiment with some moves and put my ideas forward. We choreographed 20 seconds of the dance and made another mindmap of our ideas (costume, music, canon, unison, floor work, contact, props, etc)

Thursday 30/4/15
Today we continued to learn the tap piece. We had to change the formations slightly however this didn't really affect me. I didn't really have many problems with the old steps because I practice's a lot at home, however with the new steps I struggled with the section where we turn and go round in a circle. I was OK with the tap spring shuffle ball-change steps however I found it difficult to do them whilst turning. Like last week, I will go home and practise this so that I am not behind next week.
Today in contemporary we started learning the first part of the group dance. This was really different to the section that we learned last week, however I prefer this style as I find it difficult to be sharp on certain moves and I like performing the 'pretty' and flowy style of contemporary. I found some of the choreography difficult to pick up as it was repetative but different (eg arm comes over head into a turn, arm comes over head into a hop). Therefore I will watch the video and practise at home so that I know the moves confidently and can start to work on making my movements flow and keeping my body on the correct angles.