Monday 29th February 2016 - Peter Pan Personlality Research

The idea of Peter Pan  

He is thought to be a charming and charismatic character, who is childlike and never wants to grow up. He is able to do things that other children cannot such as flying. Peter Pan is the leader of a group of boys also known as the Lost boys, he leads these children on adventures with fairytale creatures like fairies, pirates and mermaids. However he longs for a mother and a family, because of this he entices a girl called Wendy and takes her and her two brothers back to Neverland with him. 

Peter Pan Syndrome 

Peter Pan syndrome is a psychological disorder was first recognised by Dr.Dan Kiley in 1933, it is thought to affect many people, but mostly men. These people have gone passed puberty but are stuck in adolescence however they want to grow up. This is also the idea of wanting to grow up but on the other hand not wanting to be responsible for anything or anyone. They usually have issues with irresponsibility, anxiety, loneliness and a poor memory. It is very common that although they may show they have lots of confidence and are happy and healthy, they actually have very low esteem. It is thought by Dr. Kiley that the cause of this is down to fault of someone's parents, usually distant fathers and weak mothers. Other signs and symptoms include... 

• Excessive outbursts of emotion or blunt behavior. 
• High levels of anger 
• Happiness that turns into extreme panic 
• Frustration, self-pity and depression. 
• Difficulty expressing feelings of love 
• Always feeling guilty 
• Difficulty relaxing 
• Undependable 
• Manipulative tendencies 

This disorder is not recognised by the World Health Organisation, neither is it acknowledged by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental disorder. It is regarded as Psychopathology. 

Monday 29th February 2016 - Elizabethan Theatre

Monday 29th February 2016 - Devised pieces (Lesson 1)

What went well - I have been working on the difference of movement and character in the two sections - the happier section and the dark section. I want there to be a clear distinct between these, in both the movement material and the use of interpretive skills I use when dancing. I have thought about this when choreographing and in response to this I have made the second half a lot slower with few sharp movements, this shows that he is dark and sly, this then builds up and the movements get bigger and faster, this shows how Peter is spiralling out of control. I am happy with the movement material that I have choreographed, I think that it is appropriate to the theme of the dance. I have include movements that relate to Peter Pan, for example i have used the idea of sword fighting by including an arm sequence that circles and twists around, i repeat this movement on two levels. 

Even better if - I need to work on the timing of this dance, this is because everyting i dance with the music the timing changes, this means that i have to work more with the music to make sure that i am dancing at the right time in the music. As well as this i need to focus on my focus and eyeline when dancing, when i was rehearsing i noticed i was looking down at moments in he choreography, i need to work on this in the next rehearsals to make sure that in the performance i am looking up throughout. 

Thursday 25th February 2016 - Character Improvisation

In todays lesson we looked at the concept we are going to use, we are looking at the difference between those who are very well off and those who are displaced, for example refugees. We started by doing an improvisation task based around scenarios that could possibly occur in a refugee camp. This was helpful as we got to explore the way that a "displaced" person may live, we really got to look into different types of characters as we had to come up with a scenario - ours was, we had arrived to the camp in a crowded bus, there was a couple and two children who had lost their parents. We then had to interact with others from different groups, this allowed us to build our ideas further as our characters had met new people. We had different activities that needed to be done such as finding food and putting up a tent for shelter, because of this we had to communicate with each other like if we were actually refugees, because of this we were able to build the improvisation to make it more realistic.


We then looked at the upper class people, we started by having to pose for a family picture, through his we had to show wealth, power and hierarchy. We had to use different body language in this exercise compared to our last task this is because the refugees are vulnerable, have no possessions, their social status is very low and struggling to survive. The two social groups are at complete opposites and therefore the way that we hold ourselves, facial expressions and the way we communicate with each other needs to show the audience these differences. After this we had to do a second improvisation task where we had to act as if we were at a family dinner, when speaking we had to project more and make sure that every word is pronounced and articulated correctly, this is because usually upper class people are very well spoken compared to those who are perhaps lower classed, this is linked to the quality of education that different social groups are likely to receive. For example refugees are likely to receive no or poor education however royalty and other wealthy families are more likely to receive a higher quality education. As well as this the priorities of the different groups also vary, one example of this is refugees main priority would be to survive with basic food and shelter however those with more power and wealth care more about the quality of the possessions they own and they way they live their lives.


This lessons has helped me understand the concept we are using for Antigone, as we practically got to see and understand the difference in the two groups of people that we are basing the show around - the "displaced" and the royalty.

Monday 22nd February 2016 - Gernica

Our stimulus that we used for this lesson was Pablo Picasso's, Guernica. Which is a painting based on the bombing of Guernica this is a village in Spain, for this task we had to come up with different emotions and adjectives that would be associated with this painting.

• Panic
• Fear
• Chaos
• Desperation
• Anger
• Destruction
• Distress
• Escape
• Grotesque

In this lesson we learnt a few motifs that represented different things for example we learnt a floor motif that showed people crawling away from something and trying to escape. We also learn a jumpy motif that represented the chaos of the situation, as well as this the impact of the bombs continuously dropping. We then had to work on solos, this was made from a range of positions that we came up with from the adjectives that we just discussed. Once we had done this, we had to individually link them using interesting transitions, I wanted to use different movements to link, this is because the painting is very abstract therefore I didn't think that simple common movements would be appropriate for this stimulus. I enjoyed doing this task as it gave me a chance to come up with my own choreography and interpret the painting in my own way. We then got into groups and started to choreograph a group dance using the solos and other motifs that we had previously learnt. We decided to use choreographic devises to develop our dance, we used fragmentation, retrograde and repetition. We also changed the spacing and directions so that we can interact with each other. As well as this we worked on a contact sequence, this shows that we are scambling through each other and the rumble left by the bomb, there are also moments in the dance where we break away from each other, this shows that people lost each other and were running around trying to find safety. At the end of the dance we all scramble to each other and collapse as if to lose hope.

Friday 19th February 2016 - Mask Workshop

In todays lesson we did a mask workshop, this is because masks were commonly used in Greek theatre, therefore we were exploring the use of them in performance. We got into pairs and worked on a section of the chorus, we had to come up with appropriate movement to go with the lines that were written. Me and Holly worked well together on this we started by coming up with singular movements and then linking them together with transitions to make it more fluid. Once we had choreographed this we had to do perform it with masks on, there were many challenges to this...

• It is hard to project your voice when wearing a mask, this is because there were no mouth holes and therefore you have to speak a lot louder and clearer to make sure that the audience can hear you. Speaking with a mask on naturally sounds more muffled and the sound is not traveling out, it is being blocked. Although I tried to project my voice as much as possible I think I could improve this, when we use the masks in the final performance I would have had practice doing this and therefore my voice will sound clearer.
• When performing with a mask on you have to rely on your body language more as your facial expressions are being hidden. This means that actions we do have to be more exaggerated to compensate, this helps the audience to keep engaged as we are fully projecting out.
• The masks sometimes fall down your face and as the eye holes are small and therefore you cannot see. This means that when you rehearse you are aware of everyone and everything around you so that you can be spaticially aware when performing with the mask on.

In the second half of the lesson we looked at another part of the chorus, we split into groups and looked at how the rhythm of the lines affect how it is said. Because a rhythm is used the chorus sounds more like a song rather than speech. My group decided to use a round, each person took a verse and once each person had said theirs, they choose one line from it and repeated it whilst there were other things being said. This gave it more depth as we had used layers instead of just one person saying one verse at a time, if we had had more time we could have developed this further and experimented with taking bits in and out and using dynamics and tempo to make it sound more interesting.

Monday 22th February 2016 - Greek Theatre

What are the key dates of Greek Theatre?


700BC - 400BC


Three Key Types of drama?


There were three types of drama used in Greek theatre, these include satyr, tragedy and comedy. Satyr is an ancient Greek comedy that mocked Greek mythology and included a chorus. Greek tragedy was a drama based on human suffering. Comedy included three genres, old, middle and new these were based around the mocking of stereotypes.

What are the differences between Greek and Contemporary Theatre?


Personally I think the main difference between Greek and contemporary theatre is that Greek theatre included a chorus that sang and danced as well as the main actors. Some types of contemporary theatre like musical theatre use a chorus however in plays the use of chorus is typically not used. As well as this the main actors in Greek theatre came from actor families, today this still occurs in some cases as people may follow tradition in their families. However the arts are now part of the national curriculum, therefore more people are encouraged to go into a career of acting. There are more script writers being published now compared to Greek theatre, giving more variety to audiences rather than just having three main writers at the time.


This is an example of a Greek text, this is an extract from Antigone.  Many scripts were written in sonnets and verses so that they have a rhythm to them.

Monday 1st February 2015 - West Side Story Movement Evaulation

1. What character/s did you play?

          I played a character called Pepe, who is a member of the Shark gang, therefore a friend of Bernardo's, he also has a flirty relationship with the character if Consuelo who is one of the shark girls. However it isnt actually stated in the script that she is his girlfriend, it is implied, one example of this is that she is his partner in the gym dance and in America. Pepe is a loyal member of the the gang and has a hatred towards the Jets, he is involved in every conflict with the Jets, which helps prove his alliance to the sharks.

2. What movements did you perform to show your character? Give a specific example from at least 2 different movement scenes…..

          My character is involved in the prologue, gym dance and America, in these numbers i play my character, however i show different sides to my character dependant on who is in the number and the situation my character is in. For example my character has a very different attitude in the prologue compared to the gym dance and America. In the prologue Pepe is focused on having a conflict with the Jets, to prove to himself, Bernardo and the rest of the Sharks that he is a loyal member of the gang. In this scene my character is alert and ready for conflict, he acts angry and gets into a fight with Diesel, which proves that he can stick up and fight for himself. 

          On the other hand he has a very different attitude in the gym dance, where he flirts with consuelo and dances a set dance that is performed by the jets and sharks. In this section i dance with Consuelo which shows my relationship with her and therefore this shows the audience that all of the guys in the scene act differently around their girls, they do not fight or argue directly with the opposite gang, it is only harmless mocking and name callling that shows each gang trying to be better than the other. This suggests that the girls do not know the seriousness of the rivallry between the gangs, as everyone has a more civilised attitude when they are around them. There is also a dance battle between the two gangs where the movements that my character performs shows that he is a proud Puerto Riccan man, the dance movements are smooth but sharp and are performed with fluidity and elegance, this contrasts the the jet movements which are faster and are not as elegant as the shark dance. 

          In addition to the gym dance when we dance in America i showed my relationship with the girls and also my friendship with the other gang members. Because of the movements that the boys perform it shows that we are proud of our heritage as many of the movements are typical of Spanish/Latin dance, as well as this the way that the boys react to the girls movements suggests how we are flirty with them and we have a strong relationship with each other because we can joke around as well as sticking up for each other.

3. What was your contribution to creating movement for the show, did you create movement for certain scenes? Give a specific example from at least 2 different scenes…..

          I helped choreograph America with Amber and Kat as well as imput from some of the other dancers in this scene, me and Amber rehearsed seperatly from the rest of the group at the start of the choreographic process to begin to come up with some initial movement ideas, we started with the dance breaks, Amber mainly focused on the girls section while i focused on the boys section, although we helped each other as well. We decided to start with this as we thought this would be the hardest part as it has the most movement material to choreograph and would be the hardest to teach. After teaching the rest of the dancers these motifs we started to work on the rest of the movements in the song that would go with the lyrics that are in the song, we used elements of physical theatre to do this especially for the line"free to wait tables and shine shoes" we decided that the boys would act out exactly what the lyrics said. 

          In addition to this number i also contributed towards the Shark section of the dance battle in the gym dance scene. I didnt choreograph large sections of this like i did in America however i gave movement ideas that could be used, as a group we experimented with parts of this to see if the would work, some of them did whilst some of them didnt. One example of this is when then the girls walk forward with the boys behind them towards the Jets, this was partly my idea and allowed us to work on the rest of the motif from a starting movement.

4. How did you use your physical skills throughout the show? (posture; alignment; co-ordination; balance; participation of whole body; strength; extension; elevation; flexibility)

I           think in the final performance i used my extension and flexibility well, this was especially in the kicks used in the dance breaks, this is because in previous dance rehearsals i have worked on improving my flexibility by continious stretching as well as warming up properly before dancing. This is done by cardiovascular exercise, mobilisation of the joints and dynamic stretching, this has helped me improve my flexibility over time. I have improved my extension in dance by working with the mirrors in the dance studio, this has helped me by allowing me to see whether or not i am fully extending my limbs when i dance, when watching back America i noticed that the extenion was good in my arms as well as my legs in the kicks as well as the turns when my arms have to reach up. 

          On the other hand when watching the video back i noticed that i could have improved my posture and alignment, this is especially obvious as my character should have been portrayed a confident hispanic man. Therefore i should have stood up straiter with my head held eyer to show the audience who my character is. To improve this i am going to work on this in my future dance lessons and rehearsals. In addition to this i could have improved my balance, i noticed that in some movements such as the fatser turns i lost my balance slightly. For my next dance performance i am going to work on this so my balance will be visabley better, i am going to do this by doing more balance exercises during my own time to improve. As well as this i think that my co-ordination in the gym dance was not great at times, i noticed this especially after turning Phoebe multiple times, i noticed that we both lost our positioning and spacial awareness slightly. 

5. What interpretative skills did you use to communicate the theme/your character? (Focus/eyeline; projection; energy; emphasis; dynamics; facial and bodily expression; projecting and communicating ideas.)

          I think that the interpretive skills that i used well include my facial expressions during the dance performance and projection and energy. This was especially in the America dance, i thought that my characterisation was good, this was a combination of the reactions to the girls and the other boys and the amount of energy that we projected to the audience mostly in the dance breaks. I thought my facial expressions were the best the girls come right up to us and flick their hair in our faces at the start of the song, i acted annoyed as well as shocked, i think this worked well with my character as i am supposed to be having an argument with the girls. I also think that my facial expression were good in the "la la la la la America" section, this is where we are mocking the girls for liking their new lives in America. All of the boys have over the top smiles on this bit, this shows the audience that we are making fun of the girls as our smiles are obviously fake. I think that my projection was good in the gym dance especially in the begingn motif and the mambo section. I worked on making my character very over the top in this section because of my characters heritage, it is typical of spanish people to be very enthusiastic when dancing.

          On the other hand i think that i could have improved my eyeline and focus when dancing, i notices in some parts of America and the gym dance that i was looking down, if i looked up and out to the audience i would have improved my overall projection even more. To improve this for my next dance rehearsal i am going to work on my eyeline by filming myself dancing and picking out the times when i am most likely to look down and make these sections my priority for improvement. 

6. What were your strengths and weaknesses, in terms of your movement? Give specific example from at least 2 different movement scenes…..

          In my opinion i think my main strength is my extension in my extension in my arms and legs in the boys dance break in America, this is shows when we have to kick or when we have to have strong arm placements whilst completing particular movements. I think this was also show si the begining of the gym dance when we have to bring our arm up and then back down again. This is because i worked on this in previous dance rhearsals and lessons by using the mirrors to make sure that i was extending as much as possible. 

          I think that my biggest weakness is my balance when dancing i have noticed this in other dances that i have done before, this needs to be one of my top focuses in dance that i need to improve for my next dance performance. I am going to work on this in my own time to make sure that i am improving, i found that i had problems with my balance in America when turning and travelling fast. I think that my biggest weakness in the gym dance was that i lost some of my eyeline and focus when dancing some of the movements, if i had a better eyeline it wouold have improved my overall projection and therefore my performance. 

7. What do you need to improve in terms of your movement, and WHY? Give specific examples from at least 2 different movement scenes…..

          My main target for the next dance performance is balance this is because i think it is visably noticable to the audience that i sometimes stumble or lose my balance, i am going to work on this by engaging my core more when dancing particular movements that i typically struggle with.  I am also goign to work on my eyeline and focus from watching back America and the gym dance it is obvious to me that i need to look up more to engage the audience more into the performance and project more.