For the past few weeks in Performance Arts Class, we have worked on choreography pieces created by different people in the class. Each person in the class was given the chance to be a choreographer. The choreographers would choose other students to act as performers in their dance. The choreographers would choose the performers based on the movement styles they had shown in previous classes. Not only were the students choreographing their own dances, but they were also performing in an average of three other dances.
In this amazing experience, we were given the opportunity to put our creative and expressive qualities into our dance and those of our classmates. In this experience, I performed in three dances and was able to choreograph a dance with two of my classmates. I was able to use all of the different things I learned throughout the year in these pieces. I was able to see how I improved in being both a choreographer and a performer. I also learned about my abilities, while I worked in both of these roles, and how I perform and express myself through the art of movement.
In this performance class, I learned many new and different things that I had never thought about, or used while expressing myself through movement. One thing that I was able to improve on were my movement qualities. Although we learned about theses important parts of movement last year, I felt I was really able to connect and practice each of these important qualities. Through the exercises and movements we learned this year, I felt I was able to use these different qualities easily and was able to make my movements more interesting.
The movement qualities, such as collapse, percussive, suspended, sustained, swing, and vibratory, make my dancing more emotional and they convey a point about my story line. When I was performing and choreographing dances during this class, I always keep these qualities in mind, since they give so much more depth to the movements. Another thing I learned through these classes is how to choreograph a group of dancers, while not being in the dance. This is something I have never done.
When I have performed dances, I have always either just been the performer, or been a performer and a choreographer. This is something I really had to work on, because when I choreograph dances I usually like being in control of the movers and I find the best way in doing this is to be in the performance. Being in control is something that I am trying to work on, not only in performance arts class, but also in every class. When I am less in control I am able to play off of other people’s strengths, instead of my own.
Even though I found this hard, with the help from the performers in my dance, I was able to choreograph a dance that was right for them and right for me as a choreographer. I also learned something about myself and my abilities as a dancer. By experiencing with different styles of movement I was able to find that I am more of a contemporary and classical dancer. This information is important, because it enables me to create movement pieces with the knowledge of what I am good at and what I like to do.
Even though I am glad to know this, it will not keep me away from trying different and new styles of dance. My abilities in the contemporary area, I think are better because of the amount of practice and work I have put into this style of dance. I feel my abilities in the other styles of dance are not as good, but in the learning and nurturing environment at Leahurst, I feel that I am able to try any style of dance no matter my abilities. In this class, I feel comfortable to try new styles and I know I will not be judged.
I hope that I can make others in my class feel the same way. I feel that I have improved a lot in the past two and a half months. I have become more confident dancing in front of others, I have learned how to choreograph a group, I have performed in dances choreographed by my classmates, and I have most importantly learned about being a leader and a learner. This experience has not only improved my movement skills, but has improved my skills on working with groups and scheduling time. I feel that the skills that I have learned in this class can help me throughout my life.
Throughout my years of schooling, and during any job, I will be required to work in groups. Overall, I had a good experience while working with different groups. Personally, the group that I choreographed was very excited and ready to learn the choreography. They all made an effort to come in at lunches and practice the dance. Even when I gave them corrections, or asked them to change something in the dance, they would take it willingly and would improve. I was extremely proud of them, and I was so glad that my group was as excited about the dance as I was.
Our hard work on this dance paid off, and we were all glad with the end result. This experience was different when I was choreographing my solo, since I was not in a group. Surprisingly, I found it harder to create my dance, because I did not have others to bounce ideas off. I found it also a little stressful knowing that I would have to perform by myself, but with the encouragement of others in the class, I felt ready and the performance went well. My solo went well and so did the other two dances I performed in.
They were very well choreographed, but I did find that the leaders of the group got distracted while creating the dance and they both did not seem as serious about practicing weekly. I did not feel as ready for these dances, but the performances did go well even though we did not practice as much. I really enjoyed being both a performer and a choreographer, each of these roles were fun to play in this class. I really enjoyed being a performer, because it was exciting to be given movement pieces and get to come together with the other performers and the leader.
It was less stressful, because you did not have to worry about creating the choreographer, but only learning it. It was also cool to see the dances that my classmates had come up with. It was fun to see their creativity shine through. I also really like performing pieces, so this was a great opportunity to show our dances to others and to share what we had done. I also really enjoyed being a choreographer. I loved choosing the song, movements, dancers, and costumes. This was such a good experience and I loved doing it.
It was so fun coming up with choreography for other people and I loved playing off of their strengths. This is something I have never really done before and I know understand what it takes to create the amazing dances I see on stage. I found this experience very rewarding and I believe that my group thought so as well. I think that I preferred the choreographer role, I just found that this was an amazing experience and it was so much fun letting my creativity shine through. I loved working with my group and I was so happy with the ending product.
Before this class, I would usually chose to be the performer in a movement piece instead of the choreographer, I now know how amazing this role is and I believe that my decision would now be different when asked between the two roles. This course has helped in many different areas of my life, it has taught me responsibility: when working or being in change of a group, compromise: when I cannot always get my way in a group, understanding: when something does not go right I should not get angry or upset, and attentiveness: listening to others ideas and taking them into consideration when making a decision.
All these lessons are important and I will use them in my everyday life. I learned so much in this class and these lessons will not be forgotten. Overall, I had an amazing time in this class, I learned so much and I feel that I have become a better choreographer, performer, and overall dancer. I had a lot of fun working with my classmates and seeing their amazing abilities as well. I really enjoyed this experience and I am excited to see what I will continue to learn from this class in later years.
