Choreographing Cats - Performance Workshop

My Pitch

For performance workshop, me and Josh worked collaboratively on our duet - Gus: The Theatre Cat. The first thing we did was adapt the fashion concept to our songs. 'Gus: The Theatre Cat' is a slow and mellow song, with a clear nostalgic feel. As Asparagus is an old and respected character, we came up with the concept that the song would be a masquerade ball that was being held in his honour. The ball is taking place because Asparagus has graced the cover of another popular fashion magazine. In the magazine are pictures of Gus throughout his lifetime, which would explain why he is overly reflective. In this concept, my character is Gus' personal assistant; by playing this role, it gives explanation to why I sing about him so graciously. 

The song being such a slow pace meant choreographing was slightly harder for us. We had to keep the movement simple. As the concept was a ball, I wanted to include ballroom dancing. There are an equal number of dancers so we decided put people in pairs for a section of the dance, in which they would waltz in a circle. For the rest of the dance the choreography held a contemporary atmosphere, with flowing movement.

Gus: The Theatre Cat - Assessment

Stage layout idea:

Growltiger's Last Stand was another song where I assisted in choreographing. Coming straight after Gus: The Theatre Cat, me and Josh remain the same characters. However, the fashion concept changes from a reflective ball to a pirate fantasy. We have planned to use swords to highlight the pirate theme. The pirate fantasy is a flashback to one of Gus' highly anticipated and incredibly successful fashion show.

Growltiger - Assessment

Other choreographies, I helped with were:

• The Old Gumbie Cat  - the final instrumental section (before 'For she's a jolly good fellow!'). Having previous tap experience, I was keen to get involved. Beth wanted to choreograph tap that wouldn't be super challenging and helped her do this.

• Mr. Mistofeelees - Duet with Ellie in the dance break.

Later rehearsal of Gus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZwbBTfkmeY&index=89&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpJpZWLRF3dBzBufipRHux9- 

Later rehearsal of Growltiger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lna3I-YMvNw

Practicing Camera Shots

High angle:

Over the shoulder:

Long shot:

Establishing shot:

Low shot:

Dance Evaluation - Character Portrayal

Down and Out

In the dance, we were playing a group of poor children. In the first performance we failed to reflect this, looking like 'stageschool' kids. To roughen us up we sourced baggy clothes from the costume cupboard, adding rips to them. We also used black eyeshadow on tops and our faces. The dance was performed with a straight-faced expression, to show the

tiresome feeling they are having towards life.

Cats

For the audition, I didn't think of performing my solo as a certain character. Reflecting on it, I could have performed my solo the way the character I wanted (Grizabella) would. I chose the jellicle ball because the music was easy to choreography to and I found it fun and energising to perform. For instance, if I had chosen to dance to Memory - Grizabella's solo, I think it would have made me stand out and also would've given me the chance to work on my contemporary dance ability. However, I realise this would have been unsuitable because the solo had to be within the style of jazz dance.

Down and Out Evaluation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2r7NZQQdV4&index=45&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpKwDMHvEV7Jg6oH6CaB0PI7

This was our best performance of Down and Out. During show week, we had a lot of hiccups with the routine, having each individual do something different. I think this was partially the case because we had rehearsed in a space so much larger than the actual set. Me, Sophie and Sax became restricted to a few stageblocks to perform the movement, which meant movement which previously let us travel a lot now had to be performed smaller and on the spot.

The routine we collectively choreographed was based on a number of things. By watching the bugsy malone clip, we noticed the soldier-like travelling of the dancers, hence our opening sequence being sharp and quick. In the opening sequence and majority of the dance, we performed it in unison. To add more interest though, the three of us on the blocks made movements bigger, e.g. the use of arms during the box step. At the very end of the routine, we used canon, which I thought to be very effective. The direction of movement and slapping on body parts may have been different, but they really seemed to compliment eachother. During the process, we tried improvisation; we gathered in a circle and every dancer would enter the middle and have a solo opportunity. This clearly didn't work out because of the limited space and also the improvised movements became similar and repetitive. Nevertheless, we used a lot of repetition in the piece. This meant we created a motif, which was simple to develop.

Next time in a group choreography task, rehearsals need to be strictly scheduled and happen more often. Furthermore, we should understand the performance space before show week. This will prevent the editing of choreography which is time consuming, it provides less time to polish movement/add to the piece.

Dance for Camera - Introduction

We started this new project by matching up different camera angles with their definitions:

This is a task which I found easy due to learning about camera angles in Dance GCSE.



Next, we were introduced to the professional works we will be looking at:


1) Russell Maliphant - 'Two' (2001) - this dance explores being in a confined space. The dance is performed on stage in a small rectangular box. Watching it for the first time, I was able to pick up on some of the camera angles we had just discussed. The clip included medium, long and low shots, and also used close up.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUnSx8RwRvA - Performed by the famous ballerina - Sylvie Guillem.




2) Rosas Danst Rosas (1983/97) - this is a dance I already have a lot of experience with, having had to choreograph a 3 minute group dance with it as my stimulus. It is a dance which shows women locked up in an institution, due to their mental state. The pace of the piece is quick, with movement which is sharp and sudden majority of the time. Rosas will be the professional work we will be reviewing.


There are elements of this dance which I think I could incorporate into my dance for camera piece, such as zooming in and out and taking a side angle approach.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQCTbCcSxis - Rosas Film Clip


3) Merce Cunningham 'Points in Space' (1986) - This is a piece which explores tempo, showing the contrast between fast and slow choreography.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf_kLcdijz8 - Points in Space Clip

The picture above is aspects of dance for camera, which are things I need to take into consideration and make decisions about for my project. An idea which I'm likely to pursue is a 1920s piece. I wish to film it in black and white, giving it that classic feel. For the setting, I would like to use the dance studio, and possibly the theatre too. As for my number of dancers, I want one dancer. They will be dressed in a flapper dress, wearing character shoes. A main idea I had for movement was the Charleston. The clip below shows both the era and genre of dance I am going for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJC21zzkwoE 

The music in the clip is similar to the kind I imagined for my piece. As the lesson I went on, I thought about putting a twist on my 1920s piece, and half way through have a transformation from flapper to commercial. In the film 'The Great Gatsby', modern music is used alongside more classical choreography, which is different and exciting.

In terms of filming, I had the idea of having moments where I just filmed the feet and then gradually go up the body of the dancer - going from a low to a high shot.

To make our film, we need editing software. I plan on using iMovie, because it is Apple and means I can do the project on my phone.

For our project, we will be using storyboards to plan where the dancer will be in the space and what camera angle would be used at that point. Above is a practice storyboard - a basic piece about a ballerina going from rehearsal to the stage. I learnt that I need to draw images according to camera angle. For example, my second box is a close up so I should draw a face .or in this case the skirt, big enough to fill the whole space of the box.

Unit 12 - Classical Theatre Assessment Sheets