Unit 1 arts practice and pathways!

Review arts events


I attended Amass at Curve in Leicester on Sunday 30th October 2011 at 7.45 pm. I shared my review on the forum, which as afore mentioned, is where 101 PAG club members can chat and discuss things. I have print screened the whole discussion so you can see the formatting also. :)

Unit one, plan, do and review your challenge.

5th April

Performance day! Overall I feel the performance went well. My routine incorporated a sit start, a turn, knee drops, a 'y' stand, and an attempt at splits. I performed the routine twice due to the video not working the first time and am so glad I did, as the first time didn't go as well as I had hoped. I fell off a lot and don't feel as though I recovered well, however my attempt at splits was better first time round.

I feel the character worked really really well, and the fan added a really nice finishing touch, and as Helena has said, the piece has so much potential to progress. I feel the 'y' stand worked well, and the audience seemed impressed with that, however I would like to work on getting it more stable so that I don't have to dismount immediately afterwards. I feel that during the start of my piece I looked slightly awkward and uneasy, and don't think I looked very good, however next time I will be aware of this and will know to change it. I also thinkk that next time I perform on slack line I will not change a thing, I don't feel it needs to be anymore complex, I feel that just having the ability to stay on the slack line for longer will look impressive, so I am going to work on my stability a lot.

Here is a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvXCDLVtJwY


I also asked my audience to review my piece on our club forum and here is Helena's response:

Syan you did so well! On both performances!! (it is always hard to perform a new piece, let alone a new skill!)

I think the theme and style of the piece are great for you, and it works well with the gymnastic touches. The set and costume looked great, especially with limited resources. All these ideas have loads of possibilities for development, and I think you now have a really strong format for the overall performance that still has flexibility and space for you to add new ideas and moves as your skill level improves. And once you have gained more confidence with the actual skill you can start to develope your character a lot more in the movement.

Having said that I think you could also develop the idea of an imp/tree spirit character, performing in an outside space. One of the things I am always really interested in is how the same skill can be presented with such a different feel and portray completely different stories.

I think it's amazing how much you have achieved in such a short space of time! Well done! But keep working at it! There is a lot more you can develop in skill level as well as charcaterisation and communication with the audience.




I also asked people on facebook to watch the video and comment on it, here is Michelle's response:

Okies a little bit unsteady,but you covered it up well with graceful,elegant movement in between and you didnt let it faze you,on the whole it is awesome that you can do that. xxx hoep this helps,but tight rope walking is so cool :)



This is Chris's response (he also just watched the video):

Syan's 'Life is a balancing Act' is a piece that shows a true performer. She doesn't just 'do' it, she acts it and remains in charracter throughout. It shows a variety of skills, however I feel these could be made more of and sometimes maybe seem a little rushed. However, overall it is a very entertaining act that shows some real talent and is a true performance.



Here is Sally's response, she wrote it on our club forum after watching the performance and video:

 Fabulous !! xx

You have asked for feedback...

You did amazingly! You have come a long way… The costume, set, lighting, movement really worked well together. It would be interesting to experiment more with the space and the smoke machine to make the space more intimate.

In addition, I think it would be worth recording the material with and without an audience present. The camera is the eye of the viewer making the setting more intimate and personal.

Similarly, it would be interesting to experiment with more movement material both on and off the slack line, exploring the positive and negative space. How can you get on the slack line from the floor? Can you face forward? Move sideways? Can you mirror the lines of the slack line with the shape of your body? Can you lie on your front/ back? Instead of walking can you slide? Can you get out of a movement in a different way you got into it? How about using the mirror within the routine? You could explore the dynamic quality of the movement material – quick/ slow/ fluid/ sharp/ angular/ small/ large. This may sound a bit weird… but if you are going for a sensual quality. How can you caress the slack line with your body?

How about using shadows? How about having the camera directly on the slack line. Or several cameras from all different angles capturing several views of the same material and overlapping them together?

I hope this helps?

Sal x

P.S...

Here are a variety of slack rope routines incorporating the slack line and movement material. Various steps and positions you could try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQOfX8jlR...re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akCH9gx10...re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ooPeizGd...re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSIKaPU4t...re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSqOIhHfz...re=related (really like)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgdgybYat...=endscreen (like the use of light/ shadows on this one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGOj2Jnrm...re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz0ZJTkP9...re=related



This is Amy's response, she watched the video only:


 Hi, the piece is amazing.. I loved all of it.. I would not improve anything. There was so much emotion, and so much truth it the piece. I loved every second of it.


Sue, a member of the audience and a friends mum reviewed the piece on her blog, here is the link:

http://blog.suepops.co.uk/2012/04/going-for-silver.html


This is Twinkle's comment, he watched the video only:

You're far better than I, but you have a way to go with being solid on the line and pulling off the tweaks of balance more artistically.
I look forward to seeing how you progress though, looks like an intersting way to take slacklining...i'm impressed!



(I will add more responses as I get them)

Unit one, plan, do and review your challenge.

4th April

Oh my! Where did March go? I have trained pretty much every week and progress has been made! With the show tomorrow I have a LOT to fill you in on!

Things have been slightly up and down, and I have times where I can barely get on the slack line from seated , let alone do any tricks! However I have other times when I get really ambitious (admitedly a little too ambitious) and try things like shoulder stands on it! I didn't manage to get this trick, however, my knee drops, turns, and jump to dismount have all  improved significantly.

Humphrey made a video of me just doing a little training on it.. and here is the link to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lBt7WeCWnU&feature=youtu.be

Since this video I have also attempted splits and 'y' stand on the slack line. These have both been rather interesting to say the least.. and if I can get them into my routine tomorrow then I definitely will, however there may not be enough time since the track I am using is very short.

I thought a lot about what sort of character I would like to play in my routine and decided upon a 'fosse' style as opposed to a nymph like character. Here is a link to what I mean if you are unsure.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-HDIMF344Y I did however decide that I wanted my music to be slightly 'darker' than this.

Here are photo's of both of my costumes:

I decided I wanted quite dark music and listened to a lot of evanesence, but couldn't quite find the right thing. I then decided upon 'monstro' by meatloaf.

My set took a lot of thinking up, and Helena helped out with most of it. We decided in the end upon a mirror, a chair, a black screen and a suitcase, and we scattered things like shoes, desses, basques, stockings, bags and masks around. I then painted the title of my piece on my mirror 'life is a balancing act'.

I have decided that after the show I will put a post on our club forum and ask people for feedback on my piece. It will also be videoed, so hopefully I can ask some slightly more professional people to watch it and give me their thoughts and opinions too. 

Unit one, plan, do and review your challenge.

1st March

A much less productive night this time unfortunately. However it is extremely clear why so. I had to miss last weeks session as I injured my knee at gymnastics.. it hasn't been too serious however it has been a small niggling problem. The fact I missed a week meant it would've taken me longer to get back into the swing of things, but then also being aware of the fact that if I pushed myself too hard my knee could become painful again didn't help. So I spent most of my evening just tottering along the slack line.. regularly falling off and not really progressing, which seems a shame, but I feel pleased that I even did that much, and just kept myself in the swing of things. I also found myself doing a little bit of teaching again... something I enjoy and I feel comes very naturally to me since I coach gymnastics! :) Also, as promised... what Rhona said a few weeks back about my teaching some friends:


At 101 Performing Arts Group on 2 February 2012, I watched Syan working with other members of the group. She was watching their work on the slack line and identifying what problems they were having with the equipment. She was then giving advice on what they might do to rectify the problem.

She would demonstrate what she was saying and suggesting an exercise that could help. She would then work with them on this exercise.

I was also aware of her describing some film of slack line working that she had found. She would explain to the other members what she had seen and how they could incorporate some of the ideas she had seen.

Rhona Finch.

Unit one, plan, do and review your challenge.

16th February

Well! What a productive night tonight has been! I hadn't thought it would be at the start; as I trained fairly hard at gymnastics last night. I felt achey, and tired... all of it worth it though as I mastered some transferrable skills such as back walkovers, heck-rolls and handsprings.

 Helena suggested to me that perhaps I tell a little story with my piece which I had previously thought about.. she also said that this might make choreography easier.. especially if the story is me 'discovering and exploring' the slack line. So tonight my friends.. I did just that! ;) and wow did I have fun... and truly discover some very interesting things! Yes, I messed up.. lots, but hey, how else do we learn?!?! I think the best way for me to explain what I did tonight is just to show you.. so here are some video's, taken by Rhona and Brian! :)

 

     
I have now spent a total of 7 hours on my challenge.

Unit 1, arts challenge, plan, do and review your challenge.

9th February

On Thursday I worked with Sally and Helena on some dance moves I could try to add into my piece... this was mostly because Brian and Rhona couldn't be there with the slack line for me to use for personal reasons. The work I did proved very useful.. however has just really shown up how much more of a gymnast I am than a dancer.. I will show you a video of one of the leaps I was trying to work on that for some reason I strugged with immensly!

Believe it or not.. this was supposed to be sideways! ;)

My total number of hours spent on my arts challenge is now 5 and a half.

Unit 1, Arts challenge, Plan, do and review your challenge.

Thursday 2nd February

On Thursday I felt extremely comfortable with my walking skills on the slack line and decided to attempt a seated start. I lowered the slack line and tried my hardest but I appeared just to be 'stepping' onto the slack line as opposed to begining from seated. I need to look again at the video and see where the momentum comes from to get you to standing as I felt as though no matter how much I tried it was impossible to just stand up with my feet so far away from me, however I also couldn't get my feet any closer to me... not for want of trying I might add! Below are some photo's of me attempting the start.

As well as attempting the seated start I also tried a knee drop.... which I do have one photo of:

I really enjoyed practicing these two tricks and I think that within a few weeks I will be very competent at them. During this session I also assisted some friends on the slack line and tried to teach them some little tips as to how to make things easier... such as spotting, squeezing knees together and pulling chest up to the ceiling... all of these things I have learnt from gymnastics... so my strengths are proving to be very useful! Rhona, who can be seen in the background of these photos obseved my teaching and has very kindly offered to write a little bit about what she saw. I shall post it on here when I recieve it. After doing this I have thought a little bit about unit 2 and perhaps doing a small session where I teach a group slack- line.

My total number of hours spent on my challenge is now 4.