Task 2: Bollywood Ensemble Dance - Rehearsals

 Rehearsal one - Wednesday 4th January 2023

In rehearsal today we had to get into small groups and create still images in the style of Bollywood dance. We had to consider our positioning, precision, control, balance, awareness of dynamics and awareness of space when creating these images. We then had to create transitions from one to another. This is something me and my group struggled with as our transitions weren't as high energy and in unison as they should have been. I need to make sure that throughout this dance, I am keeping my energy up and really communicating the fun Bollywood style. Here are some examples of these positions:

Position one

With some influence from pictures of Bollywood dance we had already seen; we came up with this as the first position. In order to construct proper mudras, we had to first ensure that our hand positioning was strong and precise. In order to ensure that our arms were in the right position and at the right height to provide the desired illusion, we had to be very conscious of our spacial awareness. 

Position 2 

This second position we used different levels to create more depth. We made sure to extend our arms and legs to create a nice shape. We also made sure to stretch our fingers to create a proper flexed mudra. 

Position 3

 

This position we wanted to create a connect shape as Bollywood is all about sharing and connecting energy to each other. We again, created different levels to make a gradient from the floor with our bodies. We made sure to stretch and extent our legs and arms to make the shape flow. We isolated our heads to look forward to continuing the growing line illusion. 

We then had to make transitions from one position to another to create a short piece of movement. For the next lesson I need to make sure that I am striving to match the energy of Bollywood with upbeat and fast movements as I felt I wasn't doing that so much this lesson. We also need to work on our timing to look more precise.  See video below: 

We then were told to join the two class groups to put all movement together which I think looks successful. This is because we merged our positions together to create a big picture all as one group which looks very effective. See video below

Rehearsal two - Wednesday 11th January 

Today's lesson, we began with going over last lessons phrase with music. Our timing was off the first time, so we went over the transitions and hearing the changes in the music so we could understand when to change position. 

We then began learning the start phrase of the dance. In this section we use a lot of unison which is very fast paced, this needs to be precise and in time to have the desired effect. We all have to make sure we keep our feet in correct positioning, starting with having them turned out and keeping them turned out when we move into different positions, changing to parallel feet when needed. Feet are a huge part of the Bollywood style, so this stylistic feature is vital. There is also a gap in the choreography and then a strong and sudden movement we have to strike, it's important that we stay in time and strike this position with strength to match the music. From watching the rehearsal video back, I need to work on my timing for the end of the first phrase, I will do this by going over the counts from this session and practicing this grounded movement with music to improve for next session. I also need to work on my facial expressions as that is a big part of Bollywood, I plan on learning the choreography properly and fully, then applying facial expressions later on in the rehearsal process.  

Next lesson I plan on improving my timing as I went off a numerous amount of times. I will do this by watching back the video from this week, listening to the music and counting them.  

Wednesday 18th January 

I was unfortunately absent from this lesson so I need to catch up with the choreography. After discussing with my classmates, they decided to teach me the short added phrase. The added phrase is all about timing so the correct effect can be created. I also need to make sure I am keeping my strong hand gestures consistent to properly carry out the Bollywood style. 

I also went over the choreography in my own time and went over the timing I was unsure of and rewatched the video and listened to the counts/rhythm of the music. I made sure to go over it a couple of times to make sure I had a full understanding of what I was doing. This repetition got the choreography solidified in my head, same with the counts. 

Wednesday 25th January 

At the start of this session, we made sure to fix the spacing of the still images placed after the first phrase. We went over this new spacing, making sure we were creating symmetrical images that look pleasing to the audience. To complete this we need to make sure we are fully extending out arms and hands to complete each Mudra properly. We also went over our transitions from one image to another to make sure they were seamless and worked for each position, adding in turns and different transitional movements to complete this. I think this section now flows a lot more, overall looking a lot smoother. 

We also went over the first phrase again, looking specifically at the timing of the scooping motion nearing the end of the phrase. This was helpful to me as my timing on that part was incorrect the last time, we had run the dance, after listening to the music/rhythm of the song, the timing is a lot clearer to me now and now this movement looks a lot cleaner. After watching back the video I do need to make sure I am fully in the plie so that I can complete this movement with strength and accuracy. 

As I was absent last week me and 3 other members of my class were instructed to create three counts of eight to fill while the other members do the line sequence. This was a bit of a challenge as we wanted simple movements to perform at the side that were still fully in the Bollywood style. We started with a swishing movement, extending our arms and hands in the shape of a mudra for the first 4 counts of 8, following with our hands above our heads, dropping them on the second fourth count. We then used a flower like mudra and small arm movements to finish the phrase. This looked effective however, as seen from the video, we need to work on the timing for that section.  

We then also were put into groups of four to create 2 counts of eight after the line section, my groups can be seen above. Me and my small group need to make sure we are fully finishing each movement, looking into the quality of over movements and positions. I also feel that in the second count of eight, the spacing is slightly off which is something we can improve on for next lesson. I do however feel that this section is simple yet effective and works with the timing and overall rhythm of the music. 

For the next lesson I need to work on my performance skills and quality as I was mainly focusing on the movements which is shown on my face. I also need to fully immerse myself in the Bollywood style and attack the movements a bit more to make them stronger and more effective. Overall, I need to make sure I am performing a lot more to enhance my movements and fully communicate the fun of the Bollywood style. 

Wednesday 8th February 

We improved what material we had at the start of today's lesson because the prior lesson had been cancelled, so we hadn't gone over the choreography in a week. We had to go back over and tweak a few timing issues before we ran it properly, such as the timing of the opening dance segment and the timing of each held image. We then went over the newly added sections again, fine-tuning the timing and spacing. During this segment, I believe my timing and musicality have substantially improved, and I believe I attacked the moves with much more strength and power.

We also re-choreographed the section we created in small groups last week after receiving comments that it required some more flair to better portray the lively and colorful Bollywood style. We added a few more movements, and after reviewing the video, I can say it is now lot more energetic and appropriate for the style. We made an effort to incorporate more fast-paced motions, utilizing our dynamics to perform ascents in the music and our musicality to truly integrate each move with the rhythm of this section of the song. I believe this piece now fits much better with this section of the music, keeping up with the tempo and vibrancy. 

We added a few extra sections to finish the piece, after watching back the video I can see that we need to work further on the transitions from each positions nearing the end of the piece as it looked slightly messy/unfinished. I personally need to do this as well as you can see, I turn in a very static way when moving into the end circle. I also need to make sure I refine my movements for the newly added choreography as you can see in the video, I do forget some of it and mess up on timing. I also feel that I am rushing the new added movements as I am unsure of them, making my arm gestures slightly lazy and unfinished. I need to make sure I am extending and elongating my arms right through into my hands to create the proper images and gestures in this dance to really show the intricate hand placements that come with the Bollywood dance style.