Platform one

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1964096056539&comments&set=t.563622882&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1964187818833

Above are two links to the videos of our performances at Watford Palace Theatre.
On 12th June me and 15 other performers went to Watford palace theatre to perform at an event called platform one. This event is for other schools or dance crews/schools and they perform at this event to show off talent and a performance.

This year there were a variety or different acts. There were some really good street dance/break dance routines and there were drama sequences that were mixed with break dance routines which was very entertaining. There was only a few that I didn't enjoy but that was only because the theme was boring and not very entertaining.

Our performance was based on witchcraft but was a cut down version of our rock challenge so we already had the costumes and the feel of what the story that we were performing was about.

Above is a photo of us in the rehearsal room on the day at watford palace theatre.

Rock Challenge

After over 6 months of hard work Kings Langley School have finally finished 2011 Rock challenge with a huge success!

Our theme was based on missing children in the UK and how for every 10 children that go missing, only 1 manages to escape. With a lot of hard work from last year's rock challenge, we have become Premier League for the first time! This meant that we showcased in Stevenage in February instead of competing in it to be able to get into the second round which is in Portsmouth. As we are premier league we had already got to the second round but as a premier team which is what we have always wanted!

Performing in front of everyone and the judges on Saturday 4th June had to be the best part of the day! The atmosphere was incredible and Kings Langley really did put a lot of energy and effort into our performance. The judges seemed very impressed and the audience were amazing! We were very happy that our school team did so well as we came 4th which is amazing considering this was our first year as a premier team!

this is a photo of Fiona, me and Chloe as witches at Portsmouth.

Musical Theatre Challenge!

As we are starting musical theatre in Miss Dolan's class, we have been given details on what we are going to be doing for our showcase on 1st of July.

Me and Alice Norris are doing a song from Chicago called Nowadays. We have already decided what parts of the song we are singing whether it be togther or solo or in harmony. Over half term Alice came to my house after a rock challenge rehearsal at our school. We went through it without the words and used the backing soundtrack, we rhen started to think about adding our characters into it, further on we decided to start to set out what props we will be using and where we will be poisitioned when starting certain parts of the song. We have decided to use two canes/sticks and a chair, hopefully we will sort out our costumes soon. We are both so excited about performing this as we know we can really do something with it to make it look as good as possible for our showcase.

All of the performings arts class have been given specific songs to perform at the showcase and so we have been working on that recently in class. We have also been working on another song as a group which is called All That Jazz from Chicago. This is such a great number to have been working on as it is so fun and enjoyable, it has also made us think more about Fosse movements as the choreography is very Fosse which we all love. We haven't quite finished All That Jazz but we have done quite a bit on it and have worked out who is singing what part of the song and have run through it with the choreography added in too.

I cannot wait til 1st of July, it's going to be so good if we practice and practice. Should be great!

Costume Construction - We Will Rock You

I am constructing a simple bodice that will form part of my costume for ‘We Will Rock You’ production. I’ve already constructed the skirt, the bodice will be constructed to match the skirt. The main material for the construction of this will be denim. I will be adding more detail to the bodice, using a variety of techniques, I will be using a combination of machine and hand sewing to construct this piece.

•To make the bodice, I am going to cut out denim using material scissors and I am going to use a paper template to make this accurate.

• I will then lay the pieces of denim out in the right order and then use pins to pin them together.

•I will tack the denim together so that it creates a guideline for me to follow when I use the sewing machine.

•When I have machine sewed all the pieces of denim together I will be attaching rosettes to the bodice and I will be adding edging to my bodice to give it a more finished look. I will be adding elastic or a zip at the back so that it is wearable and so then it will fit correctly when I wear it for a production.

 

Bhangra!

Bhangra!

Bhangra

Bhangra
We have moved on to our second Unit which is Bhangra. When I first found out we were doing this style of dance I was extremely happy as I hadn't done this before and I couldn't wait to find out about the culture, costume and moves.
In our first lesson on this unit Miss Dolan started off going through the theory side so that we had some information in our heads as to what Bhangra was about and like. We wrote down notes and Miss Dolan wrote some key words on the board.
Hands and Gestures,
Isolations,
Story telling,
Dance in unison,
Lots of facing each other,
Circles,
Coming away from each other and then coming back together.

We then started to experiment with the basic Bhangra moves. The class got into a group and we started choreograhing moves straight away. We started off in small groups and then joined together as one big group. We had things like 'Pat the dog' 'Put the buns in the oven', these names helped us remember the moves and how to do them.
After experimenting with different traditional cultral moves we decided to add a western style Bhangra to our dance which involved all of us. We choreographed a set of motifs using street/bhangra. This was great as we explored the different parts of the culture.

In our second lesson we developed this dance and eventually finised it!
Next, Miss Dolan got us to choreograph a dance which had one or two counts of eight using each part of the body. For example, we used just our hands in a count of eight, that was then followed by a count of eight by using our hips. In the space of three hours I had leant so much about Bhangra.

I have also completed my first draft of my Bhangra powerpoint presentation. I am going to put more detail into it though. I will add more information about Hrithik Roshan and I will research about the costumes and I will put into more detail as to why I like Bhangra.