The task was to participate in rehearsals for and three evening performances of a variety show. Leading up to the show, we were given the opportunity to audition and we attended various technique classes, in order to help improve ourselves as performers.
Before we began working on the variety show, we were assigned a number of task. For example, we were told to prepare and perform a duet and we had to sing a song that we had an emotional attachment to. I started off feeling very nervous about singing in front of the class, which made me sing either too quietly or shakily. However, after completing these tasks, I felt a lot more comfortable singing in front of the class and singing in front of people in general. We also did various movement tasks, which involved balancing, lifts and choreographing short routines. These tasks helped me to get a little faster at picking up choreography. They also helped me to realise that choreographing isn't as difficult as I thought it was once you have a little inspiration and you practise the routine until it's fixed in your movement memory.
My strengths include my willingness to work hard and to dedicate myself to improving myself as a performer. I made sure that I rehearsed for the dances 5 times a day each, in front of a mirror, during my free time. I did this to improve my technique (by watching myself dance in front of a mirror, I was able to notice mistakes in my movement and I was able to work on each movement separately, until it looked as it was choreographed) and my movement memory, but I ended up helping others to remember the routine. This further improved my movement memory and helped me to feel more confident about the dances. I also spent a lot of time learning the lyrics to the songs and I recorded my voice so that I could attempt to improve my singing voice, with vocal technique in mind. Another strength is my ability to perform confidently on stage, although I am always critical of my performance upon reflection offstage, onstage I perform for the moment and trust myself to deliver the best performance I can. I maintained a smile throughout the dances and worked to develop a character when necessary (e.g. for 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious').
I am able to remain focused throughout performances and I can alter movements if I feel that they are not as I have previously rehearsed. For example, if I feel my posture is incorrect when a dance routine begins, I will usually change it as soon as I realise the problem. I am able to perform with a lot of energy, though, at times, I feel I put too much energy into performances and my control, balance and technique suffer. I need to learn to find the correct balance between energy input and technique, which I can learn through more tutorial videos and technique lessons. In addition, I have the strength necessary in my arms, legs and core muscles to enable me to swiftly get up off the floor or to easily fall to my knees, get up and then fall again, which was particularly useful during 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'. Also, I am quite flexible which enables me to incorporate 'the splits' into choreography and allows me to lift my legs high or to touch the floor without bending my legs when necessary.
My main vocal strength is my ability to belt. By engaging my diaphragm and opening my throat I am able to sing loudly and to hold notes for a long time. This could be further improved by applying the correct breathing technique. I also don't have to much of a problem switching from my lower vocal tone to my higher vocal tone/mixed voice and I am better able to sing and dance at the same time than I was last year.
My major weakness is the length of time it takes me to pick up choreography. Although my movement memory has slightly improved since Panto (due to technique lessons and to the number of routines I've had to learn within that time), I am still very slow at picking up choreography compared to most people. It doesn't help that I still get confused with my lefts and rights and I often end up going the wrong way or putting the wrong leg forward, etc.. My timing is also poor and it takes a lot of concentration to dance or move in time with everyone else. The thing that seems to help me to begin resolving these problems is practise. For timing and knowing which way to go and which leg to put forward it is important that I rehearse with others, otherwise I end up learning the wrong moves on my own. Another weakness of mine is my inability to be consistent when I dance. Although I worked on perfecting each movement, I felt that my dancing was nowhere near the standard I had set myself during Panto. I used the same amount of energy, put my technique was poor in comparison. This is likely to be due to the fact that, during Panto, I watched a lot of dance technique tutorials on youtube and I didn't consider using them to practise for this show. In the future, I will remember just how much I benefit from them and I will use them again.
I found it difficult to adapt to the style of 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'. It was hard to balance dancing messily and applying the necessary technique. I later found that energy was the key, but I still could have improved on my controlling my movement. Even though, I have worked on improving my balance by doing balancing exercises in my free time and in warm-up session my balance is still poor. For instance, when I did the turns at the beginning of 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', I found it difficult to stay in a straight line and to travel where I wanted to go. Throughout the dance, I found I was a bit 'wobbly'. I also found that my turns have worsened since last year. I always used to 'spot' automatically, but now I have to really think about it and so my turns aren't executed as cleanly. I can improve this my engaging in more 'corner work' in my free time, in which I should turn (while 'spotting') across the room. My posture also needs work, as sometimes my chin isn't up and I forget to 'pull up' and I believe that revisiting ballet tutorial videos will help to improve this. I also need to always remember to engage my core, as this will help to improve my balance further and I need to focus on 'extending' more as this is something I nearly always forget to do. Also, throughout the performances I needed to increase my state of tension, as this often left me with 'weak arms' which ended up moving all over the place at times. I can develop this by participating in 'state of tension' type exercises.
In addition, I have poor vocal control. I have a tendency to sing out of tune or too low. I have worked to improve this during technique classes and youtube tutorials, but I still need to work on getting past the break in my voice and learning when to use which vocal tone. At times, particularly when singing R&B or Soul songs, my diction is poor and I struggle to pronounce certain words. I need to engage in more tongue-twister type warm ups in or to help me to improve this. I also need to develop my use of tongue placement. Another major weakness is my struggle to sing notes that are presented to me correctly. I find it discern notes correctly and so at times, I sing the wrong ones. I can improve this by participating in more scales and by developing my knowledge of music theory and by practising singing along with my keyboard.
In conclusion, I feel that I worked hard to improve my performance during this show, but I feel that I still wasn't dancing at the standard I had set myself during Panto. I am definitely a more confident singer than I was last year and I remembered to try and tell the story of each song through movement and facial expressions. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and I will work hard ensure that I improve my performance for future shows.
