Task One: Performance of SIX the musical

Performance of SIX the musical 
The discussion of my personal performance and feedback from audience members
 
1.1 Style: How accurate was my interpretation of the choreography and my execution of the style in which we were working?

I personally think my interpretation of the choreography was strong and true to the style we were dancing in. An example of this was in ex-wives which was a hip hop, upbeat dance with jazz dance influences (splayed hands, low center, use of dynamics etc..) and I personally think I executed these styles through the whole of the number accurately, using jazz techniques to communicate the sassy and upbeat nature of the choreography. I also had positive feedback on the use my use of isolations, contractions and overall strength in the dance break of this number, again communicating the styles and techniques of jazz dance. I also included a heavy amount of sensuality, another quality of jazz dance, I completed this through the use of my facial expressions and my movements. Contrasting to this, the choreography for Heart of Stone is in a lyrical/jazz style, showing flowing, gentle movements with the use of pointed legs and feet to create beautiful but strong lines. I think I communicated the qualities of this style confidently throughout this number through the use of fluidity in my movements. Feedback from this number stated my understanding of the extension and storytelling throughout this whole number. 
Feedback from teachers told of my accuracy of my movements throughout my performance, an example of this being in 'No way', pointing out my sense of style and understanding of the musical theatre jazz dance style and really communicating the clarity of my movements. These qualities made my interpretation of this choreography really enjoyable to watch as told from feedback. 

1.2 Qualities: How accurate were my dynamics, technique, use of space, expression, musicality and rhythm?

Overall, from feedback given I can confidently say that the quality of my performance and movements were up to a high standard. 
I used my dynamics in a variety of different ways throughout this performance, always using them to enhance the movements and communicate the choreographic intent. The use of my dynamics is evident in the dance 'Heart of stone' where I used soft and flowing dynamics to communicate the sadness of the song, contrasting with this, I used sudden and strong dynamics in this dance to communicate the anger felt in this song. I used dynamics across the show to really communicate the meaning of each number through my movements and not just my facial expressions. 

I know from feedback that my performance was also technically strong throughout the whole of the show. This is because I really focused on the accuracy of my movements to ensure a technically accurate performance. I made sure to elongate my limbs and finish each movement with strength and precision. The technical aspects can be seen in the dance 'Ex Wives' in the dance breaks. I always made sure that my angular movements where always strong and accurate, I also made sure I was fully doing each movement, as the dance breaks are fast it was easy to skip movements however, I made sure to go through each movement with strength and accuracy. 

My use of space was accurate throughout this production, however, ask already mentioned it is something I could improve on. My use of space was used well in the number 'Heart of Stone' as I felt all of the dancers worked together with spacing accuracy however in the V formation, I did find myself being slightly too near to the right instead of the left, making the formation look uneven. I plan to improve this through really focusing on my spacing and using my peripheral vision in future dance lessons/classes. 

My use of expressions where a huge strength in this production, being something, I have really improved on. From feedback I can confirm the quality of my facial expressions where to a high standard throughout. I made sure to use my facial expressions and body language to communicate the meaning of each number and the attitude of each queen. For example, I made sure in 'All you wanna do' that I was channeling a the young, sassy and innocent nature of Katherine Howard through my facial expressions. Gaining the feedback 'Excellent and consistent use of performance skills shown using facial expressions and body language.' 

My musicality and Rhythm worked together to deliver a strong performance musicality wise. From feedback, my musicality was consistently spot on throughout. I made sure my timing was always accurate and if it wasn't I made sure to go back over counts like in 'Ex-wives' I noticed I was too fast on the final section of the final dance break, so I made sure to go back over the counts with music and asked peers for correction. 
 
1.3 Context and interpretation: How did I communicate the meaning of the dance through my performance? 

I can say that I confidently communicated the meaning of each dance consistently throughout my performance. I completed this through my characterization, mirroring the meaning and nature of each song and its choreography. I also did this by echoing the characteristics of each of the queens when singing their individual songs, for example, in 'don't lose your head' Anne Boylen comes off as a bubbly, sarcastic and feisty so I took all of these characteristics on board when rehearsing and performing this number, adding them to my expressions and movements. I made sure I was full of energy throughout this number, using my facial expressions to imitate the characteristics of this song and queen to really elevate and complete the choreography. I gained a lot of feedback from this particular number, saying I was very watchable and caught people's eye in this number which was very positive for me as I used a lot of energy and stamina in it every time, we performed it. Gaining the feedback of 'Excellent and consistent use of performance skills shown using facial expressions and body language'. 
Another piece of positive feedback was from the dance 'No way' in which I was told that I really projected the dance idea and story through my movements and facial expressions as well as a strong sense of accuracy in my movements specifically during the dance break of this number. 

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