Reflection 12

I think that making a video is not what I set out to do with this project. I wanted to learn how to dance and do some choreography, but making a presentation like that is making me stressed out because it is a lot of work that I am not finding to be fulfilling, and it is making me feel disillusioned with this project. I can't believe my plan was to spend so long working on this video because that is not what I think I should be spending my last weeks doing. I enjoyed choreographing some of the dances, but teaching other people the dances and video editing is not something that I'm excited or passionate about, so I think it is a waste of my last few weeks of project time.

I've found that the specific genres of "ballet" or "modern" are keeping me from trying the types of dance that are more interesting, which are just choreographed dances that don't fit a specific label. That is what I spent last week learning to give myself a break from the video, and I ended up enjoying it more than what I was working on, so I think I will spend the rest of my time just learning for myself, and not for a presentation or a genre, because that it what I have found to be the most fulfilling.

Reflection 11

I was not able to make any progress on my final project this week, but what I did do was review other types of dance that were not originally what I set out to learn. Lots of people who do dance will choreograph steps to popular songs, and I ended up watching some videos and trying to learn those steps. These types of dance are not necessarily one genre, but I think it was helpful to my project just to keep practicing and learning new kinds of dance.

Reflection 10

This week was prom! I didn't get much done as far as filming, but what I did accomplish was comfort in my dancing in public. It was freeing to have the experience of prom after having made so much progress in this project. I felt confident even though I looked kind of silly! That was really my goal in this project. As much as it will be a rewarding experience to finish the choreography, when I set out to do this project, I wanted to learn about a few dance types and become comfortable with dancing, and I think I've achieved that.

Reflection 9

I dedicated this week to finally picking the songs I want to use for each type of dance. My friend has agreed to help me with the choreography as she is a dancer and my choreography is not the best at the moment. I hope to film the Jazz section next week. It is my goal to leave myself the last week before the due date just to edit the video, so if I film one section per week, I should have enough time to edit. I think my budgeting of time is not the best because I have no baseline of how long these sections should take, but I am figuring it out along the way! 

Reflection 8

This week, I taught two of my friends the dance for the video. I decided I would do 30 seconds of each type of dance, each with its own music. I taught my friends the dance for jazz, because that's the one I find the easiest. It was strange to actually teach others how to dance when I've only started learning myself a few months ago, but it was a fun experience! Weeks like this one make me happy I picked dance as my 20% project because this is an experience I never would have had otherwise!

Reflection 7

I started choreographing my dance this week! I only actually got through maybe 5 steps, and that is because
1. coreography is harder than I thought
2. I still haven't finally picked a song.

Picking the song will definitely be a challenge, but I have narrowed it down to a few. I am considering, however, using separate songs for each section of the dance and putting all of that together in a video. Choreography will surely be the hardest part about this project, but I am looking forward to trying it!

Reflection 6

I began to try modern dance this week. It is not what I expected at all! Modern or contemporary dance doesn't have specific "basic steps" the way ballet and jazz do. It is very interpretative and uninhibited. What makes it different from random flailing is the precision it requires. It requires much more specific and minute movements than other dance styles to look right! I would not entirely consider myself an expert in the field of "precise" dancing. I can follow the coreography in the YouTube videos, but I think it will be difficult to choreograph a modern dance routine myself. Next week, I will try to improve on my modern dance abilities.

Reflection 5

This week I attended Relay For Life. I was at school all night to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The track went through Magnet and APA, and there was a DJ in the lobby of both schools. People were dancing all night, and when I was walking by, I would occasionally throw in a shimmy or two. My friends and I, while walking around the track, would dance down the hallway, and in my room specifically, there were people playing dance music. There were a lot of people around and that has always been something that has kept me from dancing, even though it is something that brings me joy, but I think I made progress in getting over the self-consciousness that I feel when people see me dancing.

Reflection 4

I started learning ballroom dancing this week! I watched some YouTube videos and practiced at home. To be honest, I didn't make as much progress as I had expected. My best friend practiced the dances with me, but since she had not done any research beforehand, we were all over the place and I wasn't able to actually try to execute the basic steps that I saw in the video. 

I think next week I will try to practice more ballroom dance, but I will ask one of my friends who is an APA dancer to be my partner. This way, I can properly practice the techniques, and I'll even have someone who is experienced in dance and can correct my form if I do anything wrong. 

Reflection 3

In class on Friday, I spent my time watching jazz dance videos. I went home and practiced dancing, and again, I was not able to go to the dance studio! However, I did clear out a space in my basement to practice dancing. I think it will be easier to motivate myself to practice and keep working at it if I have a space in my house dedicated to this project. I have been making slow progress and improvement, and hopefully, the speed at which I progress will increase now that I have changed my approach.

Reflection 2

This week, we did not have class time to work on our projects because of the changes in scheduling. Additionally, I did not get to use the dance studio at APA because we haven't had co-cirricular time. Despite these obstacles, I did manage to make some progress in my project. I practiced in my house the different ballet steps. I reviewed the videos I watched last week and found some new videos for this week and really focused on learning a few moves really well, which I think I managed to do! Plus, I found a video with a basic choreographed routine, which I practiced as a way to put all the steps together. Next week, I will start researching on jazz dances and practice those (hopefully) in the dance studio.

Reflection 1

In class on Thursday, I spent most of my time finding YouTube videos of basic ballet steps. I've decided that I'm going to spend the 2 weeks researching each of my four dance styles, and the remainder of the semester on choreography and filming. 

I worked on the basic steps at home and familiarized myself with the vocabulary of ballet steps. One obstacle I did not foresee is my lack of equipment. I don't have a ballet bar, I don't have ballet shoes, and I don't have a mirrored room for dancing. Luckily, the APA dance room is open during co, so next week, I will practice there.  

Second Semester Proposal

For my second twenty percent project, I want to learn how to dance. I'd like to do this by watching YouTube videos and having my friends teach me what they know. My goal is to learn how to dance in 4 different styles: ballet, ballroom, jazz, and modern, and put them all together in a music video. Some challenges I will face include ability and perseverance. No matter how hard I try, I might not be physically capable of conforming my body to dance correctly. One thing I do have going for me is my enthusiasm for this topic! As someone who loves acting, dancing should come easily in the sense that I won't be afraid to be on stage. As for my skill level, that is something I look forward to exploring this semester!

Reflection 11

Although I was not in class for 20% time this week, my work outside of class consisted mainly of practice. As a suggestion by one of my friends who goes to APA, I sat in front of the mirror and tried to bring all of the skills that I've been researching into play. I tried to be loud and speak clearly, I tried to commit myself to the character, and I tried to improve on the little details of my performance. I think everything has come together nicely, and I'm proud of my progress.

Reflection 10

I missed Friday's class time doing Speakeasy. Speakeasies were underground bars in the 1920's during the prohibition era, and in history class, everyone picks a famous person from the 1920's and dresses up like that person. We spend the whole morning in character acting like our famous person, and people all across campus are welcome to see us. This was an incredible acting experience for me. I was able to practice staying in character in an unusual environment. My friends and classmates interacted with me normally, but I had to keep acting like my character. What I learned from this was mostly improv skills. I had to carry out unscripted conversations with people and answer whatever questions they threw at me. Of course, I had done research beforehand, but it was still a challenge that helped me grow as an actor.

Reflection 8

With the announcement of the presentation dates, it seems this project is going by so quickly. I look back at my performances before my work and admire how far I've come.

Last Thursday's class was spent watching YouTube videos of actors performing monologues. I observed their techniques and subtle actions. In my research and practice, it has become increasingly difficult to simultaneously take advice and observe other actors' performances while also maintaining my own personal acting style. This is something I think I have had trouble doing. I would watch a monologue, find the script, and practice the monologue myself, but my performance would be very similar to the video and similar to the way in which the other actor chose to present it.

Reflection 7

On Friday, I spent my class time researching tips on comedic acting. One suggestion that stuck with me was to "find your funny." I think "my funny" is usually silly and over the top, hence my focus on accents. I would like to make my funny in to a more situation-humor type of funny. The article suggests doing that by sticking to the script and practicing it with the specific gestures and timing that you plan on doing on stage, and that is something I worked on in my comedic monologue that I am improving on!

Reflection 6

I was not in school on Wednesday the 19th when we had 20% time, but earlier that week, I had lunch with a good friend of mine who goes to APA. She told me about her experience as a theater student, and I asked her some general questions about performing. What she said about performances had to do with technical presentation. She said to focus on breath control and volume. Breath control was important because when someone's voice sounds a bit shaky, it makes him/her look nervous. Anything that detracts from the actual performance is to be avoided. Volume was important because it is another thing that can detract from the performance. If the audience can't hear you properly, or they can hear shakiness in your voice, your performance will not be as strong. Next week, I hope to work on volume in my performances.

Reflection 5

I spent Thursday researching "the Alexander Technique. The Alexander Technique teaches actors to be aware of the physical habits that impede an actor's performance. Being on stage can cause unnatural breathing and tension in an actor, this technique teaches to overcome those things. I feel like this technique ties in to what I wrote about last week with regards to "letting go" because it is important to become your character in both mind and body. As this is the most difficult part involved in my project, it's no surprise that I will have to spend more time on it. With drama club as my creative outlet, I look forward to trying out the Alexander Technique on stage!

Reflection 4

On Friday, I read a blog post on actortips.com called "Going from Good Acting to Great." In it, the author focused on "letting go" of yourself and completely becoming a character. This was by far the most influential thing I've read in my research thus far. The author not only discussed letting go, but why people don't let go. 

"Holding back has many other causes: fear, lack of imagination, lack of respect for acting as an art, laziness, cowardice, not knowing that there is such a thing as “letting go,” willingness to “settle” for good or mediocre or competent or embarrassing rather than demand the totality of your talent. "

Wow. In my last blog post alone I demonstrated my fear of letting go! I was afraid to try acting in my accent because I worried that I wouldn't be good enough! This article not only taught me that letting go is something I need to work on, but techniques on how to go about doing that. The steps in letting go will be my next goal to reach.