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.
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