Task Two: Workshop/audition for a dance in a new style

Task one - Skills audit

At Suffolk One, we have been able to study and explore an array of contrasting dance styles. So far we have been graded on contemporary, jazz and kathak dance styles. This allowed me to gain an understanding of what dance styles I excel in, contemporary dance being the one I enjoyed and felt I did the best in. This is one reason I have chosen contemporary dance as my chosen style. 

Prior to Suffolk One, I attended lyrical/ballet, modern, acro and jazz classes with Louise Kate Dance where I completed ABD exams across all classes. These classes allowed me to improve my flexibility and technique greatly, widening my performance skills also. I was able to perform in shows such as the Nutcracker with this company which again allowed the development of my performance skills. Being introduced to lyrical/ballet styles was an eyeopener and something I picked up quicker than the other styles I was learning. Lyrical and Ballet both hold major characteristics in contemporary dance as explained in the stylistic features blog this is one reason contemporary dance and its styles is my chosen dance genre. Again, acro and modern dance also introduced me to characteristics that can be seen in contemporary dance which again shows my experience with this dance style. 

Throughout Suffolk One, I was able to perform a lyrical/contemporary dance solo as a part of an external assessment which I was graded highly on. This gave me the opportunity learn a contemporary dance and explore in more depth the styles of contemporary. I also performed a contemporary duet with a classmate in Suffolk One's 'spotlight at One' showcase which allowed me to create and explore a dance in a contemporary style.  

Martha Graham sequence 

This workshop for a solo audition piece consisted of learning and executing a contemporary dance in the style of Martha Graham, a famous contemporary dance practitioner. This video below was one of the first times we went through the piece completed. This sequence consisted of the techniques and styles of contemporary and Martha Graham's personal style, below, I explain some self-reflection and brief dance music relationship. 

Although this video is recorded in a group, we had a focus of performing as a soloist. After watching back this video, I feel that my core strength is one area that I need to strengthen and focus on for this piece. Many of the positions and actions in the choreography necessitate strong core muscles. I can feel and see my body wobble when holding and doing some of these poses, indicating that my core strength has to grow in order for me to hold such postures with greater comfort. I believe I could improve at the time stamp 2:00, when I fast slide down to the floor and then back up. This particular movement is fairly quick, but after reviewing it, I realized that I did not come up quickly enough, indicating that I need to strengthen my general strength to assist me get off the ground. Another point of improvement is at 2:20, when we complete two sets of plies. My time was inaccurate on the initial sets of plies since I didn't use all of the counts while moving down and coming back up; the plies are very slow and regulated, which is something I need to work on. Another point of improvement comes at 2:51, when we open our arms and take a sidestep. Looking back at my performance, I observed that I began to lose my posture and arm placement on both sides of this action; to correct this, I need to concentrate on my posture and make sure my arms are held out in a solid stance throughout the entire movement, not letting them drop. There were a few times during the piece when I lost my balance and wobbled, which indicates that I need to work on my balancing skills. 

When it comes to dance and music relationship, At 1.39 in the song we are using, 'Retrograde,' the melody abruptly changes. As the loudness rises and more instruments are heard, the music becomes thicker and louder overall. We do a rapid and powerful movement in reaction to this accent in the song. We immediately raise both arms in a curved position to the ceiling, focusing skyward. Our left leg is bent, but our right leg is straight and pointing upward. We do this dance during the song's emphasis, intensifying it with this quick and powerful moment in the choreography. The constant and sustained quality in the music demonstrated across most counts is reflected throughout the floorwork portion; we use all counts to ensure we hold and sustain the quality.

The video above is the final performance of this sequence. I personally think there is a large improvement from the first draft of this sequence. It is evident that I have embodied the contemporary style and was now performing the movements. I think I successfully demonstrated the techniques of Graham with accuracy also.

Spiraling was a characteristic of Graham's approach that I believe I successfully illustrated. The Martha Graham spiral is defined as a torso rotating around the spine. This is demonstrated during the floor sequence, and I believe I did it successfully since I used my lower and upper bodies to twist in opposite directions to generate the spiral movement. I felt like I stretched out the contour with my cupped arm movements to produce a strong and controlled position.

Giving into gravity is one aspect of Graham's approach that I believe I could improve with after watching my final performance. During the floor phase, there comes a point where I must give to gravity and fall to the floor rapidly. After reviewing the film, I saw that I did not allow myself to give in to gravity, causing the action to appear stiff.