Jazz Lyrical Mirror Dance - Week 9 [13/3/24]

      Jazz Lyrical Mirror Dance 

DANCE DEVELOPMENT

Our Jazz Lyrical Dance - Progress

• This lesson/rehearsal was used to go through the dance as much as possible. Going over it multiple times will allow us to feel as comfortable and confident with the dance as we can. The more we go through it, the more we will remember the dance so that it becomes muscle memory for us. We also rehearsed the dance in the back performance space which is where w will actually be performing the dance. In all previous lessons/rehearsals, we have practiced in the front performance space which is where the audience will be sitting when we do the actual performance. Rehearsing in the actual space we will be performing the dance allows us to get a feel of how much space we actually have to perform. We need to be conscious of the fact that we have less space to perform it in than what we have rehearsed it in. This means that we need to lightly adapt our spacing to fit our performance/stage space.  In the last rehearsal, we tried going through the dance with costume. Our costume for the actual performance is gong to be black leggings, black long-sleeved top with our blue piece of fabric. We originally tied the fabric to our writs but we found that the fabric was hard to control and was more likely to fall off of our wrists. This led us to the decision of tying the fabric to our right index finger. By doing this instead or attaching it to our wrist, we can hold onto the fabric more easily and have more control over it so it doesn’t fall off. 

What Went Well?

• Final Take: I think as a group we did really well with our coordination. It has improved so much over the last few rehearsals. Coordination in total makes a performance more visually and aesthetically pleasing. This also applies to each duet/ group of 3 dance section. We are all well coordinated with each other in our individual duet/group of 3 sections. I personally think I did very well with my facial expressions and with expressing the emotion of the actual dance. I also think I did well with lengthening my movements. I wore my foot thongs for this rehearsal so that I can practice in them before the actual performance. I found them so much easier to dance in than bare foot or with socks. Due to this, it allowed me to be able to do a double pirouette with a lot more ease. 

Even Better If?

• Final Take: As today’s rehearsal was about spacing and adapting to the performance space, I don’t think our spacing was the best. Our group cross section spacing could have been better but as the rehearsal went on we did get more of a feel for our stage space. We nee to be conscious of spacing but not so much that we loose focus on the actual dance. Throughout the dance, I did feel that I was losing balance slightly or not holding my positions as strongly as I should. I just need to work on spotting and engaging my core strength even more. 

AREAS OF SUCCESS - 6 Physical Skills 

1. Stamina - Overall, our stamina was an area of success as we went through the dance continuously throughout the lesson/rehearsal so that we could get a cut practice in as possible before the actual performance tomorrow. We al maintained the standard of the dance for each run-through. Dancing a lot can lead to the dance becoming more sloppy as we are getting more tired but I didn’t feel that this was the case in the lesson/rehearsal. I feel that we went through the dance each time with as much effort as the last.  
2. Coordination - Like I said in for our ‘what well well’, coordination was definitely an area of success as I fell we definitely danced as one not as separate dancers all on the stage at the same time. We were very together with our movements. Especially in our duet/group of 3 sections. We have worked on our coordination a lot in the last few rehearsals and that is really showing as we are hitting movements at the same time as one another. I think what is helping this is that we have become way more familiar with the music, the beats and the timing of it so we know exactly when movements are mean to happen in relation to the musical. 
3. Posture & Alignment - I would say this skill is an area of success as I think as a group we are way more aligned when we hold the beginning position to the group dance break section. I personally feel that I am also more aligned and have good posture when I relevé. I think this has improved a lot since the last rehearsal as it is something that I have noticed so I have worked on it to make sure it does improve. Having posture and alignment when dancing does make the dance look more refined, clean, professional and strong. 

AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT -6 Physical Skills 

1. Flexibility - As I have said throughout this process, flexibility is definitely my weakest link in dance but that is something I ma trying to change by improving. When dancing I can feel a difference and see a difference as my leg can extend higher. Saying this, this skill is still an area of development as there is still a lot of room for improvement but I am slowly improving. I am doing a stretch recommended to me from my dance teacher, Rob, but I need to be more consistent with it. 
2. Balance - Even though posture and alignment was an area of success for me personally with my relevé, my balance with it could have been better. I was holding the position in the correct way but I needed to hold it with a lot more strength by being more balanced. I was very focused on my actual alignment that I lost my balance a couple times throughout the lesson/rehearsal. I need to remember to find a spot on the wall to allow me to keep my balance and make this position even stronger. 
3. Strength - This skill is an area for development as it links to the skill balance. In order to balance well, you need to engage your core strength which is something I don’t tend to do while balancing as I am more focused on the overall look and alignment of the position instead of how balanced I am. Saying this, I hold my positions with a lot of strength but when It comes to positions that require a level of balance, my strength lowers. I just need to re bear to engage my core strength every time I need to balance as it will allow me to hold my positions with so much more strength. 

PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS

• My pre-show thoughts and feelings is that I am feeling overall pretty confident with the dance when it comes to the group section. Dance isn’t my strongest area particularly when it comes to contemporary, jazz lyrical style as it’s more precise and floaty and I overall struggle with it and don’t feel that confident with it. Due to this I am feeling nervous for my duet section as it is only my partner and I on stage so everything we do either well or badly can be seen as there’s only us and mistakes will be obvious a if 1 does something and the other doesn’t it will be really obvious. I am mainly anxious for my balance for the relevé and my double pirouette. Pirouettes are something that I struggle with but due to that it is something I have individually worked really hard on. They went well in rehearsals, but I am anxious that my nervousness and lack of confidence with it will cause me to loose balance. I just need to be confident in what I am doing and just get lost in the dance. I do really enjoy dancing so I need to use that sense of enjoyment to let me really let loose and get stuck into the dance. I know the dance and the movements and the timing of it well, I just need to believe in myself. 
• Saying this, I am much more confident with the group section as there is more of a sends of security as everyone is on stage at the same time. I just need to have fun with the dance as it is something I enjoy doing. I am very excited to do the dance equally.