Dance Tek Warriors

This dance is based on a Play Station's game Tekken

In this dance we can see different dance styles as hip hop, contemporary, martial arts and voguing. The dancers pretend to be spiritual warriors. What does spiritual mean? For me it means to relax, to feel what I want, to let all the bad energy go, get a contact with another world. It means reformation, recovery. Being with myself, feeling a peace, also being very focussed and careful.

Tek warriors dance has 7 different sections. Some of the show how spiritual warriors get power, spread  the energy. In the last section warriors lose their powers, they are exhausted.

During our classes we were doing many different exercises. We did duet work, linking with each other, trusting each other, also lifting movements. I think it is really important to develop a trust between two partners as some movements can be risky and both partners need to be sure that they can do it. Also we needed to do as many connections as possible because this dance is mainly about how connected can spiritual warriors be. Sometimes it was hard to keep physical contact all the time when we were exploring new cominations improvising but depending on each other. On the next lesson we were practising to do some supportive work but not using our hands. I found it very challenging. It was easier to keep the partner on my shoulder without using arms. Everyone had different personalities as everyone understands spiritual warriors differently. Spiritual warriors personality can be dominant, peacemaker, brave, timid and determined, focused which is mine. Also we use different dynamics, first it can be fast and then become slow, moves can also be heavy or light, sharp, sudden or fluid, this dance let's a dancer to do what they think is the best and mostly suitable.

As I can see, I really need to work on my face expressions, also my moves should be more sudden and stronger, I should remain really concentrated but make it less noticable. It would be better if I used more different movements in my improvisations, for that I need to check Tekken game to have a bigger range of movements in my head and be able to use them. Dance Tek Warriors requires perfect physicality, so I need to improve my strenghts, muscles.

On 2nd complicite lesson we all got folders with some papers inside and they were about different protests. We read one about Emily Pankhurst and women's right. After we read it we decided to do some freeze frames showing women's rights.

This freeze frame shows a woman on the floor and 3 men around are pulling her because she tried to stand out for her rights. She doesn't have a right to talk.

This freeze frame says that men are using strength to stop women. A man smiles with derision because he knows that he has much more power that the woman.

Here we can see 4 women who are protesting and are not scared of being hurt

Remembering all freeze frames there were some really strong ones and everyone really got into it.

Bob Fosse biography

Bob Fosse was an American dance, musical theatre choreographer and director, actor, screenwriter and film director. He was born in June 23, 1927 and died in September 23, 1987 at age of 60. Bob Fosse got heart attack and everyone was really saddened because of his death.

He had three wives:

             Mary Ann Niles,                      Joan McCracken                           Gwen Verdon

       who was his dance partner                    dancer                                    dancer/actress

                                               

Fosse's career begun at age of thirteen when he started "The Riff Brothers" collaboration with his friend dancer Charles Grass. They were touring many theaters and then Bob Fosse moved to New York. There he met his first wife and he appeared in "Call Me Mister" with her what brought him to the attention of  Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. He came to Hollywood when signed the MGM contract in 1953.
George Abbott hired him to choreograph "The Pajama Game" musical. This musical was a huge success and that's when he won his first Tony award.

Bob Fosse rehearsing with dancers

As an artist Bob Fosse was known for his modern dance style. He always used jazz hands, both hips and shoulder rolls appear frequently, turned-in knees, sideways shuffling and white gloved, single handed gestures. His dances were seaxual and physically demanding or even the most highly trained dancers.

Bob Fosse's choreography in "The Rich Man's Frug"

Ken Alan's tap dance performance inspired by Bob Fosse's show in "Redhead" (1959)

Links:

main - http://www.fosse.com/features/fosse_an_introduction2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fosse#Personal_life

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bob-fosse/

Complicite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvM4hTmZvrc&index=1&list=PL739228189F349AD2

Take a look of how complicite looks, more information to be continued...

Today our dance lesson was really excited. This time it wasn't even a dance lesson, because we got a big black box from Complicite. We found many interesting and different things: a hat, an umbrella, money, a small suitcase, a video camera, a protesting paper. a speaker. All these props tell us that this is gonna be something about protests and I'm really looking forward to find out what exactly they are for, but for the first lesson we did a warm up to understand how complicite works.

WARM UP

For warm up we played games, ball games. They all where about being together and feeling each other and we needed to be very focused. For example:

In this game we were supposed to stop at the same time, then watch and after some time start to reach something in the same direction and then step back. It was really exciting when we actually did everything at the same time and at the same direction. Also we played 9 squares game and the grid. First one was more fun because we play with the ball but we still needed to stay focused otherwise you will lose, and while playing the grid you need to be really concentrated and feel if people at the same line start to move at the same time and if it is a right amount of people. These warm-up games really help to get the concentration and right focus for the lesson.

Alston - Overdrive

This dance was about angles, energy and use of different directions. Whole piece looked really good and our, as a group, dynamics were really good. Most of them time my angles were really sharp. I found use of different directions to be a bit difficult in the beginning, I used to lose my balance, but I did improve :)

During whole dance I was really focussed and confident, my face probably showed it and I really wanted audience to notice it.

I think that in 1st section’s first phrases of this piece my timing wasn't really good, unfortunately. Also I remember that at one moment I lost my balance, so I didn't extend a move as I could, but it wasn't really noticeable for the audience. My feet could be more pointed and I think I should have put more energy in the beginning when we were running through our first phrases. I remember that I tried my best with putting energy but maybe because I was quite nervous in the beginning and it happened because when we just went on a stage I saw that the audience was really big. Although it didn't look like I did during a few moments. I found it easy to do back kicks when I put my arms up and then flipped them to the back and at the same time kicked my leg back and spinned 180 degrees, but it was harder to do a butterfly because I didn't feel that I spin my arms enough and a jump could be higher. A rond de gambe move was quite difficult as well, it was hard to keep my back straight and turn 180 degrees when my one leg should have been straight and on 90 degrees in the air.

Mine and Cagla's part looked really good and it was really strong, even face expressions have improved, angles were really clear. Crossings with Ruth, Sonia, Daneille and Nancie were quite good, but at one moment I needed some more space, because of it I accidently hit Daneille, but I did not lose my focus and carried on.

I think we did really well in creating our motifs because it looked really nice with the whole piece. 

I really like how I performed in Section 2 in first and second phrases. My moves were sudden and strong, but they could be more extended. But I found it hard to do the jump in last phrase. My jump in last phrase should have been more high and extended, leg wasn't straight. Also I had a lack of space in 3rd phrase when we all run to the one corner.

Also I really liked our going on and off stage. Especially before repeating the first section. We did a circle thing and it looked really nice, I did a great dancers walk ! And going off stage after the first section looked interesting, when we directed our arms to the left and half of us run in that direction and other half run to the other side, it looked as a good opening for Nancie's and Daneilles section as well.

Here are couple pictures from our rehearsals:

We practised a lot especially on the day before performance and it did show its results.  To be honest, in the beginning of rehearsals I didn't really feel this music, and in order to dance at the same time for the whole group we used to not listen to the music beats, but to watch at certain people and start at the same time as they do. My weakness was lack of energy, moves were not extended enough and angles were not sharp enough. But in the end I got it and I was happy that I learnt all the moves, and didn't forget them. There were quite a lot of them :)

In my opinion during the last term my flexibility has improved and my pointed toes improved a bit. Also my balance got better, but I still need to work on these things. After this performance I really saw that my class can do really well and it encourages me to learn more and more dances, it kind of motivates me to work harder.

I'm setting myself a couple targets to improve my dancing in future dances:

• Add more energy (I will do it by going  to sleep earlier so I can get enough sleep and energy, also eat more fruits :D)
• Work on flexibility (I will do stretching exercises every day, even if I don’t have a dance lesson)
• Work on balance (there are some good exercises to improve it: http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Balance-Through-Exercise)
• Be focused during every lesson
• Look more carefully at my spacing next time

Role analysis 

My role I have assigned in ‘The best of British’ Showcase is Laura from Matilda’s musical. This musical is done by Roald Dahl and it was written by Dennis Kelly.

Autobiographical facts

I am Laura. I have a great family. I have one brother I like to fight with. I go to Trunchbull’s school and I am in Matilda’s class. I am really healthy and energetic kid.

Interests

I like drawing and singing, also playing with my friends. 

Physical description

I am 6 years old cute girl. I wear a grey uniform and burgundy tie for school, outside school I like to wear colourful clothes. My favourite hairdo is two topknots from different sides.

Successes and failures 

I played a few trick on Miss Trunchbull. The best one was when I hided all her pens. But once, when I tried to hide her important documents’ folder, she noticed me and I was sent to a corner for 2 hours. But I still continue doing tricks on a Miss Trunchbull.

In the scenes

In the scene I am in the school. My class and some older kids from Miss Honey’s class are being revolting against Miss Trunhcbull. We sing, make noise, are being angry and intend to get revenge for how we’ve been mistreated. Everyone is copying Miss Truncbull, or fighting. I am throwing paper balls. I am really friendly person, and I get on well with all kids. I support my friends and I am being supported by my friends.

To act this role, I need to feel the hate for Miss Truchbull, and really want to succeed in our ‘mission’. Give all my energy, use many emotions, facial expressions.

To prepare for this, I should put a lot of effort during our lessons/rehearsals. Also I am seeing my brothers and cousins soon, who are 5-6-years-old, so I will remember how children at this age behave, how they react to things, how they talk, how they make a mess and noise. Our singing part is quite fast so I will practise it and do some exercises to be able to sing faster and clearer.