Jazz Lyrical Mirror Dance - Week 8 [6/3/24]

     Jazz Lyrical Mirror Dance 

DANCE DEVELOPMENT

Our Jazz Lyrical Dance - Progress

• The aim of this lesson/rehearsal was to refine the dance and try it with our costume which is a piece of fabric attached to one of our wrists. In this lesson/rehearsal we were paying attention to detail making sure that this dance is as technically precise as possible and look as aesthetically pleasing as possible. For example, neatening up our spacing and arm movements. The aim is to also go through the whole dance as many times as we can in the time we’ve got. Doing this will firstly help with our physical stamina and will also help with us all becoming more confident with the dance so that the actual movements become muscle memory/second-nature so that we are able to equally focus on our actual performance. Each time we went through the dance, someone in the group sat out so they could look at the dance and give the rest of us feedback. This allows us to receive notes to work on as it’s a fresh perspective looking at the dance. 

 VIDEOS OF THE DANCE

6/3/24 - Final Take

What Went Well?

• Final Take: What I think went well for me personally is that I was able to do a double pirouette during our run-throughs of the dance. This is one thing I have been personally working on so I am very happy that I did a double pirouette. I did go through the dance wearing my socks folded so my heel was bare. I really struggle to do a pirouette or any kind of turn without wearing socks as I have too much grip top the floor when I am bare foot. We aren’t allowed to wear socks during the actual performance, so I will be using foot thongs in our actual performance and in our last rehearsal before the show, that is next week. I’ll use them in the rehearsal next week to get used to them before the show. The foot things will allow me to still do a double pirouette without wearing socks. Another thing I think went well for me personally was my facial expressions. In previous rehearsals, I have been less confident with my facial expressions but I feel like I have really progressed and am able to communicate my emotion and the emotion of the dance well to the audience. When it comes to my partner and I’s duet section in the dance, I think the thing that went well is our coordination with one another. We are very well coordinated throughout our duet section. We do slightly lose our coordination when it comes to the jump at 2minutes 23 seconds in the video. To solve that timing issue we just need to pay more attention to that part in the next rehearsal. 
• As a group, our coordination in the dance break section has very much improved compared to the last rehearsal. When I watched the video back, we all jumped at the same time which was aesthetically pleasing to watch and it looked neat.  

Even Better If?

• Final Take: Personally, I need to work on my balance when I do the beginning movement to my partner and I’s duet section. When I watched the video back, I could see myself wobble slightly while doing that starting movement. As it is the first movement, I need to make sure it’s strong so that I can gain the audiences attention immediately. I just need to engage my core strength more during this movement so that I can make sure I stay balanced. During this lesson/rehearsal, as a group one thing we really struggled with was the cross-spacing section at 3 minutes 15 seconds into the video. I did stand in the wrong place but I corrected myself as we went through the rehearsal. I am in the top section of the cross so I can’t see where I am in relation to who is behind me. I just need to make sure I don’t go too far forward so that I am behind Harrison as he is the point of the cross on my side. Rob helped us fix the cross-spacing and the refined result can be seen in the video attached to this blog. We just need to remember where we were stood in relation to everyone around us so that we can keep the cross shape prominent like it is in this video. 

AREAS OF SUCCESS - 6 Physical Skills 

1. Stamina - In the lesson, we went through the dance at least 9 times as everyone sat out and watched it back. We ha very god physical stamina as a group as we still managed to do the dance that many times to a high standard. The video attached to this blog was the last run-through we did in the lesson/rehearsal and we are still doing are movements with expression and holding ourselves and our poses with strength.
2. Coordination - As a group and in our duet/group of 3 sections, we are all very coordinated with one another. When I watched the vid back, you can clearly see our coordination with one another as we jump/hit movements at the same time. Our coordination has improved a lot compared to previous rehearsals and the dance looks at lot more refined and neat which in turn makes it more aesthetically pleasing. 

AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT -6 Physical Skills 

1. Flexibility - Throughout this whole process, I have struggled with my flexibility. I have been doing the stretches advised to me by my dance teacher, Rob, and I am feeling more flexible in comparison to when I started. I feel like my hip joints are much more looser and when I doing lift my leg up or do any kind of stretch, I feel like I am able to do it with a lot more ease. I still have a lot of room for development but I am slowly improving.  
2. Posture & Alignment - For the last few rehearsals, I have noticed that posture and alignment has been an area for development due to the same movement. The beginning pose we hold before the group dance break section doesn’t look properly aligned and it can be seen in the video at 3 minutes and 35 seconds. We aren’t all fully aligned and we are holding the pose at different angles so that we don’t appear aligned with one another. This is another little detail that can be focused on and fixed in our last rehearsal next week before the actual performance. 

AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESS -6 Physical Skills 

1. Balance - I have placed these 2 skills as both an area of success and development a they both have something that is could and something that still needs to be improved. For balance, It is an area of development for me due to that beginning pose/movement my partner and I do to begin our duet section. I just need to focus on a spot and engage my core strength me to help me with this pose/movement. As a group it is a success as during our group dance break section we are all well balanced during the relevé and other strong poses that require balance. 
2. Strength - Strength is also both an area of success and development. For me personally, it is an area for development as it links to the skill, balance. In order to balance, you need to engage your core strength and that is something I didn’t do enough of which then lead to me being unbalanced during the beginning pose/movement to my partner and I’s duet section. As a group, our strength is an area of success as, linking to balance and the relevé, we all were well balanced and engaged our core strength, I just need to make sure I use my core strength for that beginning pose/movement.