Movement Logbook

Movement in performing arts - The Jungle

When we first started rehearsing for the jungle, we began by learning a dance as a group that could possibly feature in the performance. We watched a news report of the Calais Jungle to use as a stimuli and used this to create dance movements. This was done throughout the whole lesson, as well as rehearsing the dance. In the next lesson we were split into groups of 3 and were then given 6 pictures to use as stimuli. We had to use this to create a dance as a 3 which would then be performed in the final show. We also had to find text we could use as stimuli on our own. As a group we used the picture (see below left) as part of a stimuli for some of our dance movements, as well as a video of Diversity. We used these pieces of evidence to help give us ideas for dance movement for the performance, as well as what style it would be in. We used the picture and decide that our performance should seem violent as the picture we used shows riots and conflict.We made our piece seem violent by adding a lot of fast paced dance moves and moves that require a lot of energy and movement.

At the beginning of each rehearsal, we sat down as a group and discussed any ideas we had to follow on from what we did during the previous rehearsal as well as anything we had seen which gave us ideas while researching the topic.We then ran through these ideas to see how effective they were and whether they worked with the dance we had already. We did this by running through what we had already come up with and adding new ideas at the end. We had to change some ideas in other moves so that they would fit in with new ideas effectively.

During our dance we wanted to create a sense of desperation and determination, by using our body language to portray our feelings as our characters. This would help to give the dance a better sense of reality, which could help to keep the audiences attention. We rehearsed this as a group by discussing what sort of character we would each be, and what our character situation and feelings would be, and then focusing on the characterisation.

To help with my characterisation, I watched a clip from a documentary about the Calais Jungle. In this documentary, people were interviewed about their situation. By listening to these interviews, I learned more about what actually happened in the jungle, how they feel, and learned about their day to day life in the jungle. I used this as inspiration to help build my characterisation, by putting myself into their shoes. This really helped me when i interacted with the audience, as I used facts in my characters story, to make the performance seem more real, and help the audience interact with us as characters.

One thing that i found difficult was learning new movements for the dance. I found this difficult because a lot of movements were very fast paced and took a lot of effort to learn. However once i learnt them, they proved to be very effective within the rest of the dance, and they were then easy to remember.
I also found it difficult researching ideas that would fit with our ideas and stimuli, as well as our music. I also had to make sure that any new movements would fit in with our previous moves. However once i had found some good moves, I would practice them to make sure they worked well with the rest of the groups dance, and if they did, then I would share with the group and include them in our dance.
Another thing i found difficult was remembering all the moves that we had added to the dance in total. It was difficult because we were constantly adding new dance moves so it was a lot to remember, especially a long with the timing of the moves. However once we had rehearsed the dance enough times, the dance became muscle memory, and therefore was easy to keep remembering and meant it was easier to add new moves, without having to worry about trying to remember the whole dance.

One idea that I contributed to our dance was the jump/lift that was in the beginning of the dance, which i feel worked well with the change in the tempo of the dance. Another idea that i contributed was the idea of using Diversity as a stimuli, so we could use them as inspiration for some of our dances, for example the little hop that is at the beginning of the dance. Another idea that i contributed was at the end where the group circles someone in the centre.


Compared to the dance we performed for the pantomime (Peter Pan), I feel like the dance for the jungle was much more effective, as the pace was a lot faster. This creates effectiveness as it shows the desperation that people in the jungle would be feeling. The jungle dance was very serious and seemed a very angry dance, whereas the pantomime dance was a very happy, bubbly dance. This shows the difference between the two dances and helps the comparison become more obvious.
The movements in the jungle dance were a lot sharper and aggressive, however in the pantomime dance, the movements were much calmer and slower.
To help with the dance for peter pan, we filmed ourselves dancing, as well as looking while we danced in the mirror to help make sure we were in time with the music. I also asked for feedback on my dance, and used the feedback i received to improve my dance.
Before we started rehearsing the dances, we drew a visual stimuli using the music for the peter pan dance, to help us have a better understanding of the music.

One strength that i had throughout the rehearsal process for peter pan was being able to pick up the timing of the music very easily, which helped the dance as a whole as i was able to stay in time through the whole dance.
However i did find it difficult to learn new movements in rehearsals, they took a lot of effort to learn and remember.

One target I set myself was to ensure that i had learned the dance moves we had so far ready so that I could come to the nest rehearsal confidently. This helped me remember the dance and perform it with ease and confidence. Another target i set myself was to research in my spare time ideas to use as stimuli so that I could contribute in rehearsals. Another target I set myself was to ensure I warmed up properly in rehearsals so that i could dance effectively and give 100 percent effort in rehearsals.







Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaiJawAUyJ0






Annotations and ideas of picture

-Violence
-Rebellion
-Desperation
-Determination
-Fighting
-Fast paced moves
-Unison
-Cannon
































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