Responding to feedback - final analysis

Updated plan - Responding to feedback

Having now prepared for and carried out some performances and conducted warmup workshops, I am now in a position to review my progress in skills with my lecturer. We have looked at my original skills audit and my lecturer has fed back on each element of the list.

Voice production techniques

I have learnt that voice production is very important within all aspects of performing arts. It is not so important within dance, but more important within acting and singing techniques. I improved my voice production skills as I attended regular lectures which helped to improve my skills. I also got to put these skills to use when we went to Theatr Brycheiniog for the day to perform our poems in front of theatre practitioner and during the singing performance within college. During lectures, I have been learning and practicing several voice techniques and exercises such as ‘pah, tah, kah’, ‘man, nah, lah’ and ‘thah, vah, zah’. Over time I have progressed with these exercises, although I do still struggle slightly with ‘thah, vah, zah’ and don’t have this up the speed of the others.

Expression in performing arts

During and outside of lectures, I have been learning my lines for the duologue which will be performed in June. Because I know my lines now, I am able to start to work on characterisation. I am making good progress with this and I am starting to realise the comedy within the piece between the 2 characters.

My confidence has also grown, especially in singing. At the start of the course, I was a very shy singer and was cautious about singing in front of anyone. Now, after taking part in the singing performance, I am a much more confident singer. I was then able to use these skills within the studio at college when recording songs. I was also given feedback from a sound engineer that I had very good diction and brought some clarity to the piece.

In terms of dance, I have been aiming to build in more emotion to my dances as this was my main target for this year. I started to do this once I was very familiar with the choreography. I also found that knowing the story line before and after the dance helped me to build emotion into the dance. I will be able to show my emotion through dance in the dance show in June.

Clarity of delivery in performing arts

Throughout the course of the year, my confidence for singing has grown significantly. When I first started college, I refused to sing in front of anyone. Now, I have performed in a singing performance in front of a live audience. My further target would be to maintain and gain a bit more confidence as when I was singing in the performance, I became very nervous. I will continue to build up my confidence within singing.

My confidence has also grown within dance and acting. I have come to the conclusion that I become more confident with the material once I am very familiar with it. This means that I can then start working on characterisation and/or relating to the storyline.

I also now have a better understanding of putting skills together with emotion and then connecting with an audience. I showed this within the dance performance and I know this because I was given feedback from many of the audience members.

Applying dynamics

Throughout the year I have explored projection whilst delivering my poem and other pieces of material during performing arts sessions. I worked alongside my lecturer to improve on this in my lectures. My development of projection is evidenced in my duologue which I performed before the UCAN show. I used projection to grab the attention of the audience as they were waiting in the foyer. I started the duologue with the line “HOOT, HOOT, HOOT”. I had to grab everyone’s attention and this was really difficult however I managed to use my projection techniques to do this successfully.

A further target that I should work on is to be less inhibited because sometimes I do not perform to my best ability especially in new situations. I need to start taking more risks within performing arts lessons and workshops.

Communicating performance work

Taking part in the performances meant that I needed to pick some outfits to wear. I had to think carefully about my different outfits as they needed to fit in with the show. For the singing performance I wore all black because that was the theme that we were running with. For the dance performance I wore a checked shirt as the theme of the show was western. I also wore a different costume for my ballet routine because the checked shirt wouldn’t have been appropriate. Also, for the UCAN performance, I had to pick out an outfit that symbolised my character. I also wore makeup for all of these shows and I had to make sure that this was suitable.

Teamwork

I am continuing to make a positive contribution to performing arts in terms of working as part of a team.

Dance techniques

In my dance lectures, I have been working on building emotion within the routines. This is something that I really struggled with at the start of the year but I have been working on it and managed to convey emotions well within the dance performance. One of my lecturers fed back to me after the show and she said that I looked really sad during my solo. This was great to hear!

Life skills

I am continuing to maintain full engagement with all aspects of performing arts. I attend regular sessions and I am on time to all sessions or even a bit early.

Responsibility for own learning

I have worked independently towards all aspects of my performing arts course. In my own time, I have completed blog posts which I did not complete in the lesson and also blogged about every performing arts session that I have attended. I have also blogged about any external workshops that I have attended as these have helped towards my development throughout the course. I have also worked independently to learn my lines in the duologue and other material in preparation for performances.

Communication

During the year, I have communicated with many different members of staff to arrange a rehearsal space. This has involved people in the Chapel arts centre and the local leisure centre. There have been many different occasions where I have worked independently on material and also as a group. I also had to negotiate with staff in terms of arranging extra group dance rehearsals within the college day. I had to be realistic with when I could participate in rehearsals and when I had to set time aside for revision for my other subjects.