Review of Progress in "Dancing on the street" a Kathak Dance project for Unit 13 and 14

Progress Review

I am applying posture and alignment in the Kathak dance style in the opening sequence, as well as in the spoken sequence with my group. This can be seen in the short clips below. In the opening scene, you can see that I am displaying the correct posture and alignment that is relevant in the Kathak style. This ensures that I am performing this in the best possible way. I believe that I am quite successful in executing this physical skill. My feet are turned out in a triangular position, my knees are turned out and are creating a half triangle shape and my hands are placed together and elbows are out also displaying triangles which are a neccesity in the Kathak style. For future improvement, I will need to be lower into the position and more grounded with my heels and legs, this will help me develop my skills and ensure that I can perfect the performance before the Spotlight showcase on June 15th/

I am applying the physical skill of co-oordination and stamina when doing the spoken counts (bols) and tatkar with my feet. This exercise requires extreme concentration and energy and it is quite difficult to execute. My struggle to use my eyes  to look at my hands and coordinate evrything at once can be seen in the youtube video I have put together. In order to improve my skills, I will be practicing this sequence daily until the Spotlight showcase. I am planning on rehearsing this sequence slowly and gradually speeding it up until I can perform this sequence with no mistakes and I am sure that by June 15th I will be able to do this sequence seamlessly.

I am applying the physical skill of balance at the end of the opening sequence, we are required to stand on one leg that is turned out into the correct Kathak position with the other leg touching the knee once again to create a triangular position. Our arms are angled diagonally with everything stretched to the most of its ability. Balance is a necessity when performing this pose and I am still working on being relaxed and grounded when I am doing this pose. I feel that I could hold this pose for longer if I rose up into this pose slower and used the strength in my core and legs to aid this. To improve this skill, I will be practicing this pose daily until the Spotlight showcase until I am fully stable and can complete this pose without  feeling an inbalance within myself. 

The physical skill of strength is seen in the same pose as above at the end of the opening sequence. I need strength in my legs to ensure that I can hold myself up and feel stable whilst doing it. My leg is turned out and I am grounded in the heel of my foot. I believe that this skill is difficult for me because I am used to balancing on the balls of my feet so I have strength in my calves. With Kathak however, it is very grounded and the heels almost always touch the floor which means that I need to strengthen my quadriceps in order to execute this skill. As I go to the gym regularly, I will be encorperating weighted bulgarian split squats into my gym routine to ensure that I can execute this skill perfectly.

I am applying the physical skill of flexibility mid way through the opening scene, in a stretched out diagonal pose. I am extending my arms and stretching my fingers out as much as they can go as well as having one foot turned out and my knee bent, as well as having the other that is stretched straight out diagonally towards the floor with my heel touching the floor and toes flexed towards the ceiling. Flexibility is not only required in my arms, but in my fingers, hips, ankles and feet. I feel like I effectively execute this pose quite well. I do think that I could improve the flexibility with my hips as I would like to be even more grounded in this pose. I am planning on stretching out my hips three times a week after I go to the gym to ensure that I can become more grounded in this pose. Ideally, this will have been completed and I will be much more flexible for the show and I will be able to create a perfect performance.

Task Two

The performance skill of projection can be seen in multiple scenes, for example the tatkar sequence using bols. Projection is extremely important in this part of the sequence as it is a spoken count for the rest of the performers to follow along with. Another example of projection was in my group sequence throughout. I would say that I am quite effective at projecting my voice and I hope that I can convey the message to the audience. I would still like to be able to project my voice further by the Spotlight performance to ensure that the audience doesnt have to struggle to hear my voice.

The performance skill of communication can be seen in the group sequence when we are storytelling, this helps convey the message of the story to the audience with the aid of movements with it. I feel like I could improve this skill a bit, as I feel that my storytelling piece sounds quite monotone. One way I can improve this is by practicing this spoken piece at home and adding more character into it almost like i am reading to a child. This should be improved by the Spotlight performance.

My facial expressions throughout this piece are underexaggerated. This can be seen in a paticular moment in the YouTube video I have attached above. I definitely need to improve this skill as facial expressions are one of the main things that Kathak focuses on, as well as hand- eye coordination. I will be practicing my facial expressions whilst telling the story and doing the movements to ensure that I can connect them all together to hopefully create a better performance in this area by the Spotlight showcase.

My focus however, I believe is very good. You can see this throughout the pieces especially when following my hands throughout the piece. You will be able to see this in the youtube video I have created. This skill is very important as I need to fully immerse myself into this performance and be completely relaxed to give the best performance I can. The focus of my eyes to my hands is one of a key kathak style trait and I feel like I perform this very well. I need to remember that my focus should be on the lower hand when at an angle, so I will be practicing a pose at home to make sure that this is the best of my ability.

Extension of the limbs is seen in the spoken word piece when we point outwards right at the end. One arm is diagonally upwards and the other arm is diagonally pointing down. This is performed when we say "than other children". I feel like my extension of the limbs is very good, however I would improve how straight my arms are so I can create a straight, angled line with both of my arms.

The dynamics in this spoken part of the performance can be seen when we say "she never misses a beat"  when we say this, we stomp the heels of our feet into the floor performing tatkars to the rythym of the scentence. I feel like this is a very good way of getitng the point across as well as creating a dynamic performance. One way we could improve this is by adding something with out arms at the same time.