The Language of Performing Arts Essay Example

of my dance, I established a complementary relationship between the music and dance.

During rehearsal, I recognized the significance of the music's accents on the dance and adjusted my movements accordingly to ensure they complemented each other. As a solo performer, there are both advantages and disadvantages. While I had full control over my performance, receiving external feedback to assess my movements' effectiveness was difficult. Moreover, establishing connections with other dancers while performing alone on stage posed a challenge.

Utilizing choreographic techniques such as unison and cannon can heighten the effectiveness of a dance, while working alone offers benefits including efficient decision-making and rehearsal coordination. Dedication to rehearsing builds assurance in executing movements with accuracy and clarity. A triumphant performance depends not solely on performing the steps flawlessly, but also on the performer's showmanship and capacity to express emotions to spectators - qualities exemplified by Alvin Ailey in his creations. As he once stated, "While muscle memory may guide your movements, stepping onto the stage involves much more than just steps."

When preparing for a performance, it is crucial to have purpose and avoid going through the motions. This applies to all aspects of oneself, particularly in rehearsal and preparation. By remaining focused and dedicated to each section, I discovered the importance of engaging my entire being throughout the process. This played a pivotal role in achieving success during both rehearsals and the final performance.

During rehearsal, I ensured that I utilized the performance area effectively by marking out my dance. However, during the actual performance, I encountered difficulties in focusing due to nervousness and the daunting effect of the audience. To enhance my confidence, I plan on rehearsing

in front of an audience more frequently and seek out advice from a third-party perspective. In our drama production, we presented a segment from 'my mother said I never should', featuring four children playing in a wasteground. My character was depicted as a timid individual lacking self-assurance.

In order to further explain our process of characterisation, we utilised various improvisation techniques. Our initial approach involved engaging in a hotseating exercise, whereby we were encouraged to embody our character instinctively and answer queries about their thoughts and actions. Through this activity, I was able to gain an understanding of my character's emotional disposition and conduct.

After observing my 7-year-old cousin playing with his friend and considering the dialogue and physicality of characters, numerous ideas about children's physical behavior and interaction with each other emerged. These insights were then utilized to bring the script to life.

At the beginning of our creative process, we practiced the script to build up our confidence and concentrate on how to portray our characters in their given circumstances. To convey each character's unique personality traits and emotional states, we experimented with different voice patterns. For instance, I opted for a soft-spoken yet purposeful tone to embody my shy character. Additionally, to intensify our emotional range, we engaged in an impromptu performance that relied heavily on body language and facial expressions as a form of mime. This exercise allowed us to further explore each character's physicality and their interactions with one another. Throughout this journey, we also explored proxemics as an essential aspect of our artistic development.

During our analysis, we observed how the characters' relationships were depicted based on their seating arrangements. Jackie occupied one

side of the stage with Rosie sitting beside her. In contrast, I sat on the other side with Doris seated between Rosie and me. This arrangement highlighted Jackie's leadership role, with Rosie being a loyal follower accepted by Jackie. On the other hand, Doris was also close to them but sympathized with my character, who was constantly belittled by Jackie and Rosie. After exploring various possibilities, we collaborated to determine the most effective and mood-appropriate seating arrangement for our performance.

Our focus was primarily on the opening sequence as it sets the tone for the entire performance. To create a sense of tension, we aimed to showcase the darker side of the play's conclusion. Starting with portraying ourselves as children playing together, we split the rhyme into two and recited the first two lines with no emotion while facing different corners of the room. Then we swiftly changed the mood by joyfully singing and skipping around in a circle during the next part. The outcome was successful overall.

Regarding our performance, I believe we achieved the desired effect on the audience. One example is how they felt sympathy for the character I portrayed. The most challenging part was the beginning sequence, which I enjoyed performing. Although we didn't do as well during the performance as we did in rehearsals, we still conveyed the intended message.

As for my music piece, my focus was on singing a song. However, before selecting a song, I researched various voice training techniques. This was essential as I wanted to make sure my voice was warmed up prior to singing to ensure optimal results.

To enhance my airflow and diaphragmatic support, I engaged

in exercises and focused on my breathing while singing scales. Additionally, I practiced singing the song "Torn" originally performed by Natalie Imbruglia. To do this, I searched for multiple backing tracks online and decided to rehearse with three different midi files to determine which one complemented my voice the most.

In preparation for my performance, I researched the original versions of Torn, You've got a friend by Carol King and What Can I Do? by the Corrs to study each artist's unique vocal style. My focus was on their tone quality and how they used it to convey emotions. Ultimately, Torn was the selected song due to its wide range of dynamics and intense emotions. The powerful and abstract lyrics required careful consideration during rehearsal, where I spent significant time analyzing them in order to fully understand their meaning and influence on my performance. Overall, the passion conveyed through the song's hidden meanings make it one of my favorites to perform.

During rehearsal, I had to try out various methods of playing the tune in order to convey the intended vulnerable sentiment depicted in the line "lying naked on the floor." Furthermore, I observed that in the initial version there was a homophonic texture where the voice carried the melody and a repetitive guitar background played throughout verses. It was crucial for me to have a solid grasp of the lyrics so that I could feel confident and focus on elements like volume and tone while singing.

During rehearsal, I aimed to maintain a light and bright tone that could project well. However, when performing for a small audience of only four people, my nerves overwhelmed me.

This audience was intimidating as they were known to be highly critical. Sadly, I didn't perform at my best during the show and felt unappreciated by the audience despite putting in effort during rehearsals. To improve future performances, I need to focus on voice training techniques like vocal co-ordination, tone production and resonance.

Our combined piece focused on the theme of war, which we believed would be the most impactful for our expressive intentions. We chose to approach this concept symbolically, dividing the performance into three distinctive sections that represented different aspects of war. These included the effects of war on women, the staggering number of soldier casualties, and the influence of media during those times. To begin the performance, we read an excerpt from a soldier's letter to his wife.

During the performance, my character, a young and emotional woman, felt heartbroken upon receiving news of her husband's call-up. Throughout the speech, she experienced a range of emotions. Our characterisation process involved improvisation exercises where we experimented with both dialogue and physicality. For the second section of the choreography, we incorporated two motifs: one representing the confined space inside a coffin and the other representing a dead body. We transformed the dead body motif from a duet to a group movement by altering the spatial element of the choreography. Our dancers were situated on opposite sides of the stage and entered using different floor patterns to support the dead body.

The section expressed the women's contemplation of their deceased husbands. The portrayal concluded with a dynamic contrast showcasing four of the dancers remaining motionless while one dancer assumed the role of the grim reaper. Moving amidst

a sea of bodies, the solo dancer's gliding motion produced an eerie tension, thus emphasizing the stillness of the remaining bodies. All dancers on the floor simultaneously rose to their feet in a canon formation representing the souls' departure from their bodies and stood facing away. Employing levels were integral to the performance such as floor work in the coffin dance and a raised individual overlooking the bodies at the end.

Our interpretation of the levels of the exhibit was that they symbolized the concept of death and burial, highlighting the delicate connection between life and death. The final section presented a contrast to the first two. Additionally, we composed promotional text emphasizing the significance for civilians to enlist in war efforts.

We drew inspiration from World War II recruitment posters to create a different effect for our audience. By doing this, we highlighted the hypocrisy of propaganda and showed how the media encouraged people to fight for their country without revealing the reality of the situation. Each performer delivered strong and aggressive lines in a steady rhythm. We decided to use this piece to end our performance as a contrast to the eerie mood of the death scene, creating tension and leaving the audience shocked with the strong dialogue. Our originally composed piece of music accompanied the middle section of our performance.

We purposely utilized complete silence at the beginning and end of the performance to create a spooky ambiance. Our aim was to maintain a consistent mood throughout, which we attained via music. Although silence contributed to the mood for most part of our performance, we approached our dance uniquely by blending sounds with a gloomy

tone to create an eerie effect. We carefully selected five different sounds that we believed would produce the desired outcome.

Each sound was taken individually on separate tracks. Improvisation on the keyboard was started individually by each of us. After each improvisation, the tracks were fitted together by listening to the texture and emotional effect of the music. Experimentation was necessary until the right mood was created. We did not focus on set meter or rhythm, instead, we improvised and played notes when they felt right. During rehearsals, we concentrated on group awareness, especially with our developed dead body motif in dance. It was essential for us to support each dancer's body by running on and offstage, watching other dancers, and being careful with our timing to prevent a dancer from falling.

During our actual performance, we focused on practicing our voice projection for both the first and last sections. It was crucial to ensure that the audience could hear us as it would have a negative impact on the overall effect of the performance. Interestingly, we presented a unique perspective on how war affects people, which strayed from the conventional story of soldiers being on the front line. Despite facing many last-minute changes that resulted from inefficient rehearsal planning, we managed to cope with them superbly and executed every task necessary. We made sure to mark the space appropriately during preparation to avoid any errors during the performance. As I reflect on our improvisation and rehearsal techniques and analyze our execution of all four pieces, I have discovered various connections between different art forms.

When creating choreography for a dance, the dancer must consider musical elements like

timing, rhythm, and dynamics, as well as character to convey emotion and relationships. The combination of art forms enhances the visual appeal of the performance for the audience and enables the performers to choose the optimal medium to express a mood or concept.