Evaluation of Process and Performance of Jazz Lyrical Mirror Dance

EVALUATION OF PROCESS AND PERFORMANCE

JAZZ LYRICAL MIRROR DANCE

How it went overall?

• Overall, I believe that the performance went very well for me personally and for us as a group. I feel that we danced together as one instead of individuals on stage dancing together. It felt together. I personally struggled with the dance as it isn’t my personal dance style so I didn’t have a lot of confidence originally with this dance. I also struggled with my flexibility but I made a lot of progress over the rehearsal period. I worked hard on what I didn’t feel confident with, like the double pirouette but I feel that my hard work payed off as I felt that the performance went really well. By the actual rehearsal I felt more free with the dance and felt that I was able to express not only myself but the emotion of the dance well and communicate the emotion to the audience successfully. I landed the double pirouette well which I was very happy about as that was something I was apprehensive about. My partner and I’s duet section went very well as we were well coordinated with one another which made our section visually pleasing. The group section went the best it ever has. We were very coordinated for the most of the dance break section. There were a couple times where we weren’t fully in-sync with one another. Overall, I am very happy with how the dance went and I felt good while dancing it. 

Performance Success / Where progress was made

1. Double Pirouette - In my partner and I’s duet section in the dance, Rob (our dance teacher) challenged us to do a double pirouette instead of our original single pirouette. When we were only doing a single pirouette we had time in the music where we were just standing after the pirouette. This made our section loose its flow which is a key element in the Jazz Lyrical style. In a Jazz Lyrical dance, the movements are meant to flow as if they are all one big movement. It is want to connect and run smoothly. Our section did not when we only did one pirouette as we had time after it before our next movement. A double pirouette filled the time and allowed us to flow into the next movement a lot easier. To begin with, my partner and I struggled to be able to do a double pirouette. I definitely struggled with the double pirouette at the start. What makes this element of the dance a success in the performance is because it had a lot of positive progress and we both successfully completed the double pirouette well. Over the rehearsal period for this dance, I personally lost my balance multiple times and struggled to complete 2 full turns in the pirouette but I practiced a lot and was very dedicated to being able to do this double pirouette. In the actual performance, I successfully completed the double pirouette in our duet section. 
   
   
   
2. Facial Expressions - When it came to facial expressions, this was something I struggled with in rehearsals. I found it difficult to express the emotion of this dance through my face. I was also concentrating on my movements which then lead me to forget to also focus on my facial expressions. This style of dance is one that I am not very confident with and one that I struggle with. This in turn led me to not being able to fully express the emotion on my face as I was personally not that confident/comfortable with the dance. As rehearsals went on, I became more confident with the dance as a whole and I gradually worked on my facial expressions. I would say this expressive skill was a success as I progressed a lot with it and worked hard on being able to fully express the emotion of the dance. When it came to the actual performance, I feel that I successfully conveyed the emotion of the dance with my facial expressions. 
   
   
3. Coordination on ‘Tilt Jump’ - In rehearsals, this was a movement that my partner and I struggled to do with good coordination. The timing in the music for this jump was tricky to get. This is something that I recognised during the rehearsal process so we did work on our timing to make sure that we were jumping at the same time. This movement in the dance is a success
   
   as I had a lot of progress during the rehearsals. In past rehearsal videos you can see us jump at different times to one another and the jump doesn’t look that refined; our legs could be higher, straighter and stronger. In the actual performance, we successfully compete the jump I unison which we were very happy about as it was something that we did originally struggle with. 
4. Cross Section - In the rehearsals, this is the section that I would say we refined and worked on and developed the most. Some original ideas for the section didn’t work so we change them to fit more with the music and to make them easier so that we can ensure we are fully coordinated. Working a lot on this section did allow us to get a feel of the music and the timing as it was something we fixated on and allowed us to get as much
   
   practice as possible in this section to ensure that it is a success. This section is a success in the dance as we completed it at the right time with the music and we were well coordinated with one another. This section had a lot of development and progress which allowed it to go very well in the dance. 
5. Group Dance Break Section - In the rehearsals, this was the section that we repeated and went over many times to make sure it was really refined and so that we can work on dancing as a unit and not just lots of individual dancers on stage at one time. Repeating the dance multiple times allowed us to have good stamina when it comes to this section. Our stamina allowed us to do this section repeatedly and still maintain the performance standard. The section also had movements that we, as a group, struggled with. The high jumps/kicks weren’t coordinated well and we weren’t familiar with the timing of these movements within the song. This is why I would this section was a success a as in the actual performance, we progressed as a group and completed this section very well. It still had movements that
   
   weren’t necessarily fully coordinated but the overall look and effect of it was impactful. I thin it went very well and it was the best time we did it. We were very together as a group especially with our arms when we flowed the blue fabric above our heads. It looked very effective to an audience and to me appeared to look like water. This works for the dance style as the move to are all meant to flow into one and be continuous, like water. 

Performances Weaknesses

1. Relevé / Balance - This particular movement looked effective to an audience and I think my
   posture and alignment was good with it but my core strength wasn’t. I got very into the zone
   with the dance so I did forget to fully engage my core strength. This in turn did cause me to slightly wobble and lose balance. I still remained up but I wasn’t still in my movement, I had to
   
   almost step and move my feet so that I would remain upright. This made it look a little messy as I wasn’t perfectly still. This is why this particular movement was a weakness. In future, I need to remember to fully engage my core strength to allow me to be able to balance and stay stable. I think the move looked pleasing to an audience and I did manage to remain up right but I wish I could’ve stayed balanced and stable for longer than I did. 
2. Dance Break Beginning Kick - This is a weakness in the dance as we all have different abilities and levels when it comes to flexibility. In my opinion, the kick didn’t look uniformed and appeared slightly messy as all our kicks are at different heights. Some of us in the group are highly flexible and are able to kick their legs higher unlike others in the group. I personally can’t kick my leg very high so my leg is one of the lower legs. I am doing stretches recommended to me by my dance teacher to help me to develop and improve
   
   my flexibility. One thing we could have one to improve this movement was to agree on a height that we could all kick to that is within all our abilities. Doing this would have made the kicks all  at the same height and appear coordinated which would in turn be visually pleasing for an audience to watch. 
3. Dance Break Section Group Jump - In the group dance break section, there are 2 jumps that we do. In my opinion the second jump went very well and we are
   
   well coordinated but when it comes to the first jump we aren’t coordinated. We jumped at different times and like with the dance break beginning kick we have different levels of flexibility so when we jump our back legs are also at different heights. This is why I believe this jump was a weakness for our group as it didn’t look as together as it could have. We also weren’t perfect with our timing. As you can see in the image to the left, some people landed before others, making the jump more canon or like a ripple instead of jump that is coordinated and happening at the same time. 
4. Dance Break Extended Kick - This kick happens towards the end of the dance break section. We extend our leg out in front of us. This, to me, is a weakness within the dance as our legs are at different heights and we started and finished the kick at different times to each other. Some of  us held the kick for longer than others. This made the kick look untidy and rushed which is why I would say it is a weakness. To improve this, we could have communicated with each other more to decide a height for the kick to make it more uniformed and neat. 
5. Eye line in Group Section - Eye line for me is definitely a weakness within the dance. It’s something that I have had the tendency to do since I was very young. I do it subconsciously. I don’t realise I’m doing unless it’s pointed out. I believe I did it for this performance so that I could make sure I had the right spacing so I looked a the floor to see where I was in relation to the stage space and my peers around me. To improve, I need to look up and just trust that I know my positioning. Looking down closes off the dance, when it is unintentional, as it breaks that connection from dancer to audience. This is something that I need to be more conscious of so that I can develop my eye line. Overall, my eye line was good for the whole of the dance. I did engage with the audience and have good eye line; I looked up and followed my arm movements but when it came to movements where I was lower, that’s when my eye line was towards the floor. Below are examples of when my eye line was focused towards the floor.

PERFORMANCE STRENGTHS - TEACHER & PEER FEEDBACK

STYLISTIC QUALITY

• TEACHER FEEDBACK: A deep and comprehensive understanding for feel and expression for the given style which was demonstrated throughout the performance.

PHYSICAL SKILLS  - PEER FEEDBACK

• Extension - You extended your movements really well throughout the dance, particularly in the duet section where you and your partner reached towards each other. 
  
  
  
• Posture & Alignment - This skill was really good as there were quite a lot of movements where you and your partner were on different levels. As a duet you really contrasted in your posture and alignment as one of you was down and one of you was up, it was really good. 
• Coordination - Had very good coordination in your duet section especially when you and your partner had slightly differently movements and different timings, you still were well coordinated.
• Balance - Balance was good. You had a lot of difficult movements where you had to balance. Particularly in your beginning pose, you held that really well. 
  
  
  
• Strength -  When you held your positions in your duet section, you held them with a lot of strength and purpose which was really nice and it added a lot of emotion to the dance. 
• Flexibility - Flexibility overall was good, you had a lot of kicks throughout your duet section. Could really see your development with your flexibility over the rehearsal process.
• Stamina - Stamina was really good as my duet section to the group section was very close together so I feel like you managed your stamina really really well.
• TEACHER FEEDBACK: Adequate range of physical skills applied demonstrating good stability and use of core and alignment.

EXPRESSIVE SKILLS  - PEER FEEDBACK

• Facial Expression - Throughout the dance you had very good facial expressions that really conveyed the emotion of the dance to the audition well. 
• Phrasing - You phrasing in the dance was very good, you did well to connect each phrase to make your duet section really flow.
• Focus - Throughout the whole 9 weeks of rehearsals and in the actual performance there was very good focus. You were very in the zone with the dance and your focus on the audience was good. 
• Projection -  You did well to project the emotion of the dance to the audience. 
• Spatial Awareness - Your spatial awareness was very key and was very good. You knew exactly where to you needed to be stood on stage. In rehearsals, you did struggle when it came to the cross section spacing but you corrected that in the performance. 
• TEACHER FEEDBACK: Excellent sense of connection displayed throughout the performance, consistently and of a high performance level.

MUSICALITY 

• TEACHER FEEDBACK: A good sense of musicality and timing demonstrated throughout which led to a smoother and pleasing level of performance.

PERFORMANCE AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT - TEACHER & PEER FEEDBACK

STYLISTIC QUALITY & MUSICALITY

• TEACHER FEEDBACK: Areas that would help you to develop as a practitioner and continue to refine your skills would be mostly on a practical level. Continue to work on flexibility, stamina, technique and technical difficulty. Have you considered joining an evening session of jazz, commercial or contemporary classes? Your stylistic and musicality quality pretty much go hand in hand in terms of development. Practice listening to different pieces and styles of music and start to create a mental image of how you would visualise the aesthetic and feel of the piece.

PHYSICAL SKILLS  - PEER FEEDBACK

• Balance - Sometimes your balance was a little bit off but that is definitely something to improve on. You remained upright but you could have been more balanced for longer. Your balance depended on what part of the dance you needed balance for. It is especially a weakness for the relevés throughout the dance.
• Strength - There were some parts where the strength wasn't as strong as it could be, especially when it came to your core strength and the relevés throughout the dance. 
• Flexibility - I feel like you could improve on flexibility further. I can see your development with this skill throughout the rehearsal process but I thin there is still room for you to improve.   

EXPRESSIVE SKILLS  - PEER FEEDBACK

• Spatial Awareness - Overall, you had good spatial awareness but in the last cross section near the end of the dance, you became slightly out of that cross shape.