We will rock you

Denim and Tartan mood boards.

Costume Construction - Historical costume

The two pictures above are my historical costume mood boards. They are green and blue because I have chosen my historical costume colours to be blue and green.

The three pictures above are mood boards that I have created. They explain with good detail about fibres and different fabrics that are used in costumes.

PQA audition at Royal Academy of Music

On Sunday 12th December I went to London to the Royal Academy of Music to audition to be in the Pauline Quirk agency. I work at Pauline Quirk Academy(PQA) on a Saturday morning and I am then a student in the afternoon, 9.45am - 5.45pm.

Before PQA started the academy was called BOOST, I was in the BOOST agency but my agent who was the principle of the academy then had a few family things she needed to attend to so therefore jobs for me and many others became unavailable. 

As soon as I heard that there was going to be an agency involved in the academy I knew that I was definitely up for it but unfortunately the audition for it was 31st October and as it was half term I was away on holiday so I was unable to attend to it and I wasn’t happy about not being able to go at all. Thankfully my boss told me that there was another audition for other PQA’s and that even though I wasn’t part of the schools, I could still turn up for an audition which I then became very happy about!

I was emailed a script that I had to learn for the on screen camera test and I was playing the role of Jess, it was pretty easy to learn as I don’t have much trouble learning lines. I also had to have two songs prepared, my first one was ‘Your Song - Ellie Goulding’ and my second song was ‘On my own - Les Miserables’. We only had to sing one of them and I was told that Simon (creative director of PQA and Pauline’s husband) was going to chose which song. I was also told that whilst the other students were going into their singing auditions and having a one-to-one with Simon, the rest of us were doing improvisations with Lisa Millar who is the musical theatre teacher at my PQA and as I work along side with her every Saturday I was very relaxed and I wasn’t nervous about doing improvisations in front of her, I was fine doing them in front of the other students as well but thats because I didn’t know them so I didn’t mind if I did an embarrassing one.

We were to arrive at the Royal Academy of Music at quarter past 12 so that we were ready to go into the auditions at half 12. I went with my dad and it was all fine as we turned up at 10 past 12. My boss/principle of PQA Hemel Hempstead was there and so it was nice to see a familiar face. Adam took us into the improvisation room where Lisa was sat at a desk, we were told that the whole thing was 1 hour long and so I knew I would be doing quite a few improvisations. 

I would say that the age range in the group I was in was 13-16 so I was used to working with students of a similar age. It was a lot of fun doing the improvisations as they had quite a lot of humor in them. I did things like convincing the owner of a club that I should play at the club as I am a very good DJ and sleeping at a haunted house. Each student was called out one at a time for their individual audition and I was 5th person to be called out. Adam took me into the room that Simon was in and I did ‘Your song - Ellie Goulding’ and I thought it went well, the on screen test was a bit nerve wracking but I managed to make Simon smile and give compliments so I left the room feeling relaxed and happy with my audition. I also had some photos done for the spotlight on the PQA website which I didn’t like as I’m not very photogenic!

So overall it was a pretty good audition and I was then looking forward to do some shopping and having a big Mcdonalds! 

'Dance That Means Something!'

On Friday 10th December the B-TEC Performing arts students put together a showcase ourselves to show friends and family what we have been learning and what we have achieved in the last 11 weeks.

Our first half of the show was all about DV8. Although, the first dance we did wasn't a DV8 dance but it was cleverly choreographed by our teacher Miss Dolan and she made up the moves to be very sharp and very powerful which we hopefully achieved to open up the show successfully. Alice, Kelly and Myriam moved straight on after the dance and used Kelly's power point presentation on DV8 to help the audience understand exactly what we have been focusing on.

It was then time to perform our own paired dances that we each choreographed ourselves, Myriam and Kelly performed theirs first, then Alice and Shannon did theirs and they were amazing. I was next to perform along with the rest of my trio - Chloe S and Ellie, and then so on with the other pairs. We used the song teardrop by massive attack because it was to highlight the mood of the dance. It had been great doing a trio with Chloe and Ellie as each rehearsal went by we were progressing towards the middle section of our dance but then we decided to re-do our dance as we weren’t happy with it as we believed we could produce a better standard of work. Our dance was based on a goal which was getting to the box, in a three we took it in turns to try and get to the box which was choreographed so that one of us would try and get to it somehow but the other two would do something to stop that person getting to it. In the second dance we kept the whole idea of two of us would stop the other person trying to get to the box and so we choreographed and worked on the dance and we worked well, but as we hadn't got as far in the dance we had hoped when it came to only have 2 and a half weeks left, we didn't panic, we used our lunch times to do extra rehearsals in the performing arts classrooms which turned out to be a huge help and got a big laugh out of it as well which was what I enjoyed so much with working with them two.

All of the pairs had performed their dances on DV8 and so it was time to perform the first group dance which involved Shannon, Danielle and myself doing the street side of the dance and Alice, Kelly and Myriam doing the ballet/contemporary side of the dance. We used the song ‘It was all in your mind’ by Wade Robson, we used this as the music was great for both style of dances and it worked well with the choreography we had made up for the story. The class decided that this group dance was going to close the show so we knew we had to come up with something for the audience to be talking about when they have their biscuits and tea. We used our different dance styles to help show bullying as Alice, Kelly and Myriam did their contemporary bit first and used powerful yet elegant moves and then me, Shannon and Danielle then did our street bit to show the differences between the two dance bits, the story progressed to show that the contemp girls tried to over-power us street dance girls and mess with our heads, we used lifts and different levels to make this clear. It was a lot of fun to do and we got a lot done in all rehearsals which was great to have done as a group.

To open the second half of the show, the other group dance performed their story with dance, the group were made up of six girls, Chloe G, Chloe S, Ellie, Shauna, Louise and Laura-Anne. Their dance was a great opening to the second half of the show.

We then had other acts performing such as Ness who performed a very moving piece of dance, Ness is an inspiration to us girls as she is clearly really into her dance and always makes her dances mean something very powerful. Ness is also a big part of Rock Challenge at Kings Langley School so we get to know her more through that which has been great.

Also there was a paired dance with Alice from B-TEC PA class and her little brother Jack, they are both great ballet and contemporary dancers and did a fantastic dance showing their amazing talents. Another paired dance was Chloe G and her friend from her dance class outside of school, they did a really great and funky disco dance and got the audience clapping and cheering all the way through. Also we got a special performance from Chloe S as she performed her majorettes solo to the song ‘One night only’ from Dreamgirls, it was so good! We were all holding our breaths as each time Chloe through the baton in the air she did a clever move and we were hoping she wasn’t going to drop it but she did fine as she caught it behind her back and under leg! An outstanding performance!

After Chloe’s performance we did our final group dance which involved all of the B-TEC PA students, it was choreographed by Miss Dolan and it was called Ramalama. It was a brilliant dance which was supposed to be powerful, weird and abstract at the same time, it was a great way to end the show and it was my favourite dance to perform.

All the money that we raised went towards the B-TEC PA class and the CRY charity which was a great success as we raised a good decent amount of money for both the B-TEC and charity for Cardiac Risk of the Young.

Overall I think that the night went very well and I enjoyed every minute of it!

My DV8 power point presentation. Assignment 1 - Task 1.

Introduction

In 1986 DV8 Physical Theatre was formed, and since the beginning it has been led by Lloyd Newson. 16 highly acclaimed pieces have been produced by the company, they have all toured internationally, and have won four award-winning films for television. DV8 has received project support from The British Council, but that’s not all it receives, DV8 also receives regular funding from Arts Council England and is known to be an Artsadmin associate company.

Lloyd Newson

• Since 1986, the director of DV8 Physical Theatre, Lloyd Newson, has had a dynamic impact on theatre and contemporary dance.
• Lloyd was born in Australia and went to Melbourne University and studied psychology, whilst doing this Newson’s interest in dance arose.
• He has consistently received major awards in his DV8 stage and film work.
• His interest in dance grew rapidly and this led him to a full scholarship at London Contemporary Dance School.
• Before starting his own company, Lloyd choreographed and danced for many companies such as, Extemporary Dance Theatre, Impulse Dance Theatre/New Zealand Ballet Company, Modern Dance Ensemble and One Extra Dance Theatre.
• Because of its narrative underpinnings, Newson believed that his work would translate well onto film.
• Filmmakers Clara von Gool and David Hinton translated three of DV8’s stage works into film with Newson directing DV8’S last film, The Cost of Living, himself.
• Rather than performing existing plays or reinterpreting classical ballets, Newson decided that he was interested in conceiving original work.

Who inspired Lloyd Newson?

Martha Graham was one of the few people that inspired Lloyd.

Martha Graham was born in 1894 and died 1991. She was an American dance choreographer and was recognised as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance.  For seventy years Martha choreographed and danced, and during those years she was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House.

Martha also has her own company called The Martha Graham Dance Company, it was founded by Martha in 1926. It is the oldest and most celebrated modern dance company in the world. It is in the city of New York and is on tour, which is featuring an international list of today’s most talented dance artists. There is the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, its arts education programs involve New York area students in exploring Martha Graham’s genius and her creation of art form – American modern dance.

Isadora Duncan

Isadora Duncan was also an inspiration to Lloyd Newson.

Isadora was born in 1877 and died at the age of 50 in a terrifying car accident in 1927.

In 1909, Duncan moved to two large apartments and lived on the ground floor and used the first floor for her dance school.  Duncan became very famous and gradually inspired authors and artists to create sculptures, jewellery, poetry, photographs, prints and paintings of her.

Duncan performed at Rio de Janeiro’s Theatro Municipal in Brazil in August of 1916 and writer and journalist Paulo Barreto, known as Joao do Rio, claimed to have seen Isadora dance ‘naked’ in the forest of Tijuca, in front of Rio’s most famous waterfall.

Throughout her career Duncan did not like the commercial aspects of public performance, she just wanted to concentrate on the creation of beauty and the education of the young.

Merce Cunningham

"You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. It is not for unsteady souls."

Merce Cunningham

That quote is an inspiration to most dancers who have heard of and/or researched Merce as it is aimed at dancers who aspire to be successful in the dance industry.

Merce Cunningham was born 1919 and died 2009, he was a leader of the American advance guard throughout his seventy-year career and is considered one of the most important choreographers of our time. Not only did Merce expand the frontiers of dance, he also expanded the frontiers of contemporary visual and performing arts.

Cunningham began his professional modern dance career at 20 with a six-year tenure as a soloist in the Martha Graham Dance Company. He received his first formal dance and theatre training at the Cornish School in Seattle.

In 1944 he presented his first solo show and in 1953 formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

DV8 and their performances and history

Newson’s personal interests in political, psychological and social issues are linked to DV8’s work. He uses contemporary dance ideas and then transforms them into conceptual and/or narratively driven work.

In 1986 Wendy Houstoun came to a DV8 workshop and began performing with the company shortly thereafter. Since Wendy left DV8 which was in 1992, she then guested with the company in Bound to Please, Living Costs and has been involved in editorial capacity for To Be Straight With You.

Newson says that ‘DV8 work is about subject matter. Dance isn’t about anything. DV8 is about something. Lloyd’s concern is to try and present images through movement and to talk about the whole range or social and psychological situations. The cost of living is very much about those people who don't fulfil the market value — in the sense of playing on the words 'the cost of living' in terms of the financial issue — and looking at what happens through experience as you live.’

Conclusion

I think that DV8 is incredibly unique and interesting in many ways. I have drawn to that conclusion because from what I’ve researched, ie, looking at images, reading text and watching videos, the stories that each piece of dance shows is very clever, clear and I have learnt about the importance of connecting with emotions and using life situations in pieces of dance.

I am going to expand on this piece of work because I believe I could add more. I am going to add how Merce Cunningham, Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham inspired Lloyd.

Performing arts week 4

This week in costume design we concentrated on our historical costumes that we shall be using in July. So far we have been experimenting with different types of historical patterns and colour schemes, by doing this we made mood boards that clearly showed us the colours we would be using (I am using blues and greens)  this week I made a mood board that was covered with examples of a range of blue shades. I did this by cutting out examples from magazines, cutting material and finding paper that Miss Hearne provided which had blue colours/patterns on it. I finished my first mood board and found that it helped me recognise how many shades and/or patterns of blue that I can include in my costume.

On the dance side of performing arts, this week we continued to look at DV8. The main aim of this week’s learning objective was to learn how to use natural flow. We got into a group of 6 and tried to work out how to get from one side of them room to another by using the natural flow idea. At first this seemed difficult because none of us were used to doing natural flow, therefore without saying let’s do this step and after than go into this shape, instead, we went along with the natural flow and tried to get to the other side of them room whilst constantly moving, just like Lloyd Newson. This seemed new to us because it is a new unique way of dancing which  we were not familiar with, by using Lloyd Newson’s natural flow idea we experienced a whole new way of dancing and developed more appreciation towards DV8.

Week 3 in performing arts!

Tuesday we had a double practical lesson! It was very tiring, but I had been looking forward to it and it was definitely very enjoyable, we went over our contemporary dance for heartbeat and got into two's or three's and made up another two counts of eight. I went in a group of three with Shannon and Ellie and we made up our theme which shows a story about what our emotions are when our hearts have been broken. Following this idea we experimented with different moves and developed our story in to a count of eight and worked on the next stage.

On Wednesday we were looking at Assignment one tasks and we had them explained to us in great detail, for our first task we are to do either a powerpoint presentation or write an essay. I have chosen to do a powerpoint as I know I can keep everything to the point and clear by presenting my work in this way.

I am looking forward to this Assignment on DV8 because I know they are unique and different in a good way which is inspiring to watch and research.

In our costume design lesson this week we started to make our mood boards. We were given magazines to look through and cut out images of the colours that we shall be using for our historical costumes. We stuck down the images onto our own mood boards so that they looked presentable, most of us have not yet finished so this will be developed into something great next time we work on them.

I am looking forward to getting stuck into my assignment one task and also focusing on DV8 physical theatre a lot more in practical lessons, this shall be hard and exciting at the same time and it should be great to work on and develop.

Performing arts week 2!

Monday 13th September
On Monday we had Miss Dolan and we got our first assignment which is assignment 3 the research project. It looks challenging, but by working hard and putting a lot of effort into it I'm hoping I could produce a high standard piece of work.

Tuesday 14th September
Our first practical lesson in our performing arts course! We got changed into our black practical clothes and went into the hall to see Miss Dolan. We did our warm up first and then started dancing, Miss Dolan had made up a dance and we all learnt it and went over it with the music until we all got it.  It was really good fun and we were all worn out by the end of it which sums up a great lesson.

Wednesday 15th September
On Wednesday we had our other performing arts teacher, Miss Hearne. We do costume design with Miss Hearne and we did colour schemes. We have all chosen what colours we would like to use for our costumes in July, I would like to use greens and blues for mine, so during this lesson we did colour pallets so we could recognise the different shades that we could use by just using one colour. I have never done this before but I thought it was very enjoyable.

Thursday 16th September
Thursday we had our second practical lesson and we all got ready and went to the hall where Miss Dolan was sorting out the music for our contemporary dance that we did last lesson. We learnt more of the dance and we did it to a really good song, heartbeat by Nneka, this was a good piece of music to learn our dance to as it has a good beat.

My Induction Week For BTEC Performing Arts

I have enjoyed our induction week for BTEC Performing arts, I have learnt so much already and I have had alot to take in but I understand and it's all very exciting. Below is a timetable for we what have done this week-

Monday 6th September
We were introduced to the course and given our handbooks, we were told what we will be learning and doing over the two year course and were also told our expectations of the course.
We were given a piece off A4 paper that had information about what assignments we will be doing and it had a plan of when our assignments were to be given to us and when they are due in.
At the end of the lesson we then had a Q&A session where we asked any questions that we were curious about within the course.

Tuesday 7th September
On Tuesday we had a double lesson, one with Miss Hearne and one with Miss Dolan. In Miss hearne's class we learnt about costume designing and we learnt about what colours compliment eachother and then we chose what colours we wanted to use for our historical costume. We had Miss Dolan for our second part of the double lesson where we went into the computer room and set up our blog for our performing arts diary.

Wednesday 8th September
For this lesson we went into the media suite and learnt how to mix a soundtrack which I thought was so fun and I think it was quite challenging. We did an introduction for mixing soundtracks, we also learnt how to pick music for certain performances, we all got into groups of four,  I was with Shannon, Chloe and Kelly and mixing the soundtracks with them was funny and rewarding because we all knew straight away if something didn't sound right and then changed it, Kelly made me laugh because she didn't realise how loud she was speaking when she had the headphones on. I would really love it if we do this again!

This week I definitely enjoyed mixing the soundtracks the most because it was a lot of fun even though it started off being tricky, all the basic information on how to mix a soundtrack gradually became very clear. All of the performing arts things we have been doing this week has been so much fun and I have taken in and learnt so much, I'm looking forward to the rest of the course!