second matilda writeup

1. Second Matilda Rehearsal with Choreographer
Our main focus in this rehearsal was to add more to the choreography and make sure that
we learned and polished the first piece before we actually finished the entirety of the dance.
My SMART target for this was to perfect my timing on the first bit as we’ve already added the
start of the choreography, however I feel like my timing was very off seeing as it was very
new. This means that my target is to make sure that I polish off the choreography and work
on my timing.
The rehearsal started with a thorough warm-up. This is important, especially when there is
choreography involved, because it increases the blood flow to the muscles so that we can
perform our best during rehearsal. Without warming up, it is extremely likely that we could
pull a muscle and seriously injure ourselves. We focused on all aspects of the body, as the
dance is extremely fast paced and involves us using all of our muscles and limbs. Therefore,
we focused on moving our neck around so that we could loosen our joints in our upper body,
circulating our arms to increase blood flow, moving our hips around to loosen them up and
stretching our legs so that we don’t pull the muscles in our lower body; the lower body is
especially important in this routine as we are running around a lot and a lot of footwork is
involved.
In the rehearsal we focused on the timing of the starting section. This was important as the
last time we had added it, everyone was a little out of time. This time, we made sure to count
in our heads when we had to turn our heads and stay in time. After this, we seemed to polish
it up fairly quickly. We also added some cannons in our routine also; we did this by forming a
line and striking a pose that best suited our characters, which are school children who are
rebelling. This means that our pose had to be strong, yet childlike to display this properly, as
audiences need to see what we’re supposed to be portraying. My pose was holding my fist
out and bending my knees slightly whilst making a strained angry face to portray a child who
seems to be having a tantrum. I think this could be stronger because it seemed quite generic
and close to what some of my peers were doing. To change this, I need to think about what a
child might do, like sticking their tongue out or doing something more mischievous. Moving
on, we added some more choreography that had to do with stomping our feet on the ground,
further portraying this childlike “tantrum”. After this, we split into two groups and had to
coordinate clapping routines. One group had a quicker rhythm whilst the other had a steady
one. We did this to make sure that we capture audience attention with not only visual
choreography but audible too. It also shows the difference in children, further contextualising
the piece.
The important thing to portray in this piece is our characterisation; since I’m not a small child,
I need to convey that through my actions and facial expressions so that an audience can
understand quickly. This means that the style of dance needs to be almost overexaggerated
to show the excitement of a child. The facial expressions I need to use have to show anger,
as contextually, the children in Matilda whilst doing this piece are rebelling against the school
system. This is one of the skills that I had to pull experience from the original workshops, as
we focused on our facial expressions and our acting ability, not only in drama pieces, but in
dance ones too.

2. I found the movement fairly hard to learn as it is a faced paced piece; this means that I need
to work on my stamina in order to keep up with the rhythm and tempo of the piece, which will
further help me to pick up the choreography quicker. To work on my stamina I can practise
the piece over and over until I have it memorised which will aid me in building up my stamina
as I over-rehearse it.
I think my strength this rehearsal was my facial expressions and characterisation, as I think I
portrayed the character of a child well. For example, in the cannon where we had to strike a
pose, I think my characterisation was on point. To further improve this I could over
exaggerate my movements. My weakness this rehearsal was probably my stamina control
and my timings. For this to improve I have to rehearse the piece more so that my timings are
extremely accurate, and by rehearsing more, it will build up my stamina to fit the overall
piece.
Looking back on my original SMART target, I think I focused on my timing well in the first
part that we had already added, but next time I need to make sure that I am able to make the
newer parts, like the cannon and the coordinated claps, on time with my peers.
This is the cannon where we have
to strike our poses that best convey
a rebelling school child. I think I
have a good level, with bent knees,
as well as holding my fist out, a
clear indication of anger. My
eyebrows are furrowed which is a
good facial expression, however I
think I could over exaggerate this
more.
Here, we are practising the
coordinating claps, with one
group having a steady
rhythm, and the other having
a fast paced one. I am on the
side with the fast paced one;
I think our separate groups
have good levels which is
visually pleasing to the
audience.