Jazz Lyrical Mirror Dance - Week 6 [14/2/24]

   Jazz Lyrical Mirror Dance 

DANCE DEVELOPMENT

Our Jazz Lyrical Dance - Progress

• In this lesson/rehearsal of our dance, we made a lot of improvements and developed the dance further. We started with spacing. We rotated the dance so that we would be facing where the audience will actually be when we perform it. We also mapped out roughly how big our performance space will be. Before this, we have juts been very spread out performing the dance so now we have shrunk the space. This enables us to get used to the space we will actually have and allows us to focus on our individual spacing so that when we dance we can see if we will end up off stage. When we first went through the dance break, half the group ended up 'off stage' so for a good amount of time we focused on how we could make it so this doesn't happen. We are travelling backwards an awful lot, causing some of the group to end up off stage. We are now doing some of the movements/steps on the spot so that we are travelling less. 
• We also changed the choreography for the crouched down section just before the dance break. It used to have a joint clap but we have eliminated that from the dance as we all really struggled to do it at the same time and at the right time in the music. Instead we made it so that some of the group jump up to their feet on the beat the clap used to be and then jump back down again. We do this twice now but with different people jumping up each time. I Jump up the first time round. I like this movement a lot more than the clap as it looks a lot neater and adds a range of levels. 

 VIDEOS OF THE DANCE

14/2/24 - Final Take

What Went Well?

• Final Take: When we do the the dance break section and any stuff as a group, our coordination has improved by a lot. We have gone over these movements a lot over the last few rehearsals which means we have had a lot of practice so we are all more used to the movements and their timing in the song. Watching back the video, I can see that are movements are much more precise and we are all ,more or less, doing them at the same time. They are a couple slip ups but overall, we are much more in sync as a group. I would say the same for my partner and I's duet section in the dance. We are very coordinated overall. They are again a couple little slip ups but these can really be focused on in the next few rehearsals before the actual performance. Our timing as a group has much improved too when it comes to the dance section. We just need to remember the timing for the over-the-head cannon section before the dance break. In my partner and I's duet section, I think we both did well to elongate our movements even longer, making them flow more smoothly and really lengthen each phrase in the song. To further improve this, I would say we could experiment with that and push it even more.

Even Better If?

• Final Take: I think this dance would be even better if I personally worked on expressing the dance more through my facial expressions. On the video, you can't tell due to the camera quality and that it is being filmed quite far away from us. In the lesson, I feel that my face is more of a concentration face as I am focusing on where I need to be and what I am doing and my timing so I haven't really put much thought into my facial expressions. Having more expression in the face will add much more emotion into the dance so I need to make sure I focus on it. 

AREAS OF SUCCESS - 6 Physical Skills 

1. Stamina - As a class, I think we all had good stamina as this video was filmed at the very end of the lesson. This was a final take yet are physical stamina remained the same and strong. We maintained physical and mental stamina throughout this rehearsal and that can be shown through the video. 
2. Coordination - There were a couple of slip-ups that caused us to not be fully coordinated with one another but as a whole, I think coordination is still an area of success due to the development and improvement we have made in this area. We are much more in-sync as a group and the dance looks much more aesthetically and visually pleasing as we are hitting movements at the same time, on the same beat in the song. 
3. Posture & Alignment - Watching back the video, I can see that, as a group, our posture and alignment is an area of success, particularly in the dance break section. When we relevé we have good alignment and when we hold the beginning pose to the dance break our bodies are very well aligned from our arms down to our back foot.  

AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT -6 Physical Skills 

1. Balance - This is an area of development for me personally. When I watched back the video, I can see myself slightly lose balance after my pirouette and during my relevé in my partner and I's duet section. I need to find a spot in the room to focus on to help me stay balanced.
2. Strength - This is also ana area of development for me personally. It goes hand-in-hand with the skill, balance. I need to engage my core strength more during my relevé and my pirouettes. Rob (our dance teacher) is challenging my partner and I to do 2 pirouettes at the start of our duet section. I personally struggle with doing 2 pirouettes so they are something I need to individually practice and work on. 
3. Flexibility - Flexibility is a personal area of development for me and has been throughout this process. Rob gave me a daily exercise I can do to help improve my flexibility. I have been doing them now and again but for me to be able to see a difference, I need to be more consistent with the exercise and work on them daily.