At the beginning of the lesson, as a collective group we looped the first 3 counts of 8 , the purpose of this was to ensure the movement and dynamics where in our muscle memory, allowing us to make them more clean and sharp in our own rehearsal times.
Afterwards we re-watched the video of a theatre group's chair duet interpretation inspired by the style
of Frantic Assembly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ_9Eaog2yw
Again we were taught a new 4 counts of 8 to add onto the previous movements.
Like before we continuously looped each count, keep practising focusing on the action and dynamics on the movement, e.g heavy head drop, sharp turn. We also combined direction , e.g heavy head drop facing the floor , sharp torso turn to the left of stage. By concentrating and outlining these columns in our dance grids, is aided our rehearsal process as it forced us to consider all aspects which in turn made my sequence more sharp and aesthetically appealing as the audience could see clearly the message we were aiming to convey , having our movement in our muscle memory allows us to also perform with more confidence, a key characteristic required and recommended by Frantic Assembly in performance.
As we are striving to create a piece with Frantic Assembly's unique style analysing their videos of similar activities (chair duets) will make it easier to adopt their style of work especially through using similar rehearsal techniques to continually repeat the motifs
Individually I decided to use the mirrors as a solo rehearsal technique. Using this technique I was able to visually identify how accurate my actions in the studio and at home by making a comparison to the guidelines of my dance grid.
One key aspect I needed to work on was within the 3rd count, we have to pull our lower torso and legs through our arms whilst on the floor. When rehearsing I found myself taking a short cut and swinging my legs round opposed to pulling them through.
In the unfocused post show discussion led by our teacher to the class, I received the same comment. This highlighted this action as an area to focus on. As a result I kept looping the same count repeating the movement. I found my feet were too dry and being barefoot made it difficult to glide my feet through. Due to some injury with friction burns caused from the rehearsal , I was advise to apply a bandage on top to prevent further friction. This made it much easier to glide my legs through my arms, and I was able to successfully improve on my work.
Additionally as a company we were given the following feedback...
1. More emphasise on dynamics
2.Dont take short cuts when pulling legs through (already self reflected and improved)
3.Emphasise actions to demonstrate the full range of movement, consider all parts of the body, the dynamics and direction too to ensure the movement is sharp, tidy and clear.
4. Consolidate end transition in order to meet timings for next repeated motif.
Afterwards we were given individual suggestions. I was informed to have sharp dynamics as listed in my dance grids. Previously they weren't clear enough and therefore made my actions look messy and disrupted the fluidity. To improve, I used the mirrors and my dance grid and focused on various dynamics listed within them to improve upon my work. To do this I clearly notated dynamics to include , for example if the action and direction is "head drop face the floor" the dynamic I listed and implicated was "heavy" this drew emphasis to the tiredness and exhaustion the character was feeling which can be linked with the 4:48 script due to the characters mental condition and constant care under tight supervision causing the exhaustion.
Another dynamic I improved on was my hair flip particularly on Bar 3 ,beat 7. We need to flop our upper torso down heavily, facing the floor, and then flip back up sharply and slide down the chair. When first doing this action, I didn't flip my head sharply enough, due to the lack of force and speed my hair would fall over my face prohibiting my vision and becoming a distraction from the movement as ide have to use my hands to move it away. To solve this I was told to use more force in my upper torso and more power to whip my hair down and up fully. After several attempts I managed to get the idea and was able to successfully correct this dynamic.
Below shows the clip of me doing the movement incorrectly, by sliding my legs around, after I show the correct way that I way able to successfully achieve and put into my muscle memory and into the chair motifs.
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