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DAY 1

I felt like Wynter and I discussed many things and she really helped me to relieve my nerves. I explained some anxiety with being a first time studnet to PDPR, and Wynter gave me some confidence.

I told her about my performance experience and she told me about hers. It was refreshing to talk someone that has been through the process.

DAY 3

Megan Davidison's Audition

exciting: Megan's use of musicality was something super exciting in my movement. I always love clear musicality and intricate moves really helped me feel back in my body with movement. I got excited when I picked up the choreo and it felt like it was moving through my body not me having to think about it so much.

challenging: The floor work I found challenging but also so exciting. Being able to move on the floor is something I really enjoy and being the first week back with not dancing a ton over the summer, the floor work was the challenge of the audition for sure. By the end, I started to feel more confident in my abilities and proud I was challenged.

how it would help me: One of my biggest goals is to move flowy in my body, I think Megan's piece would help my confidence and my ability to move more fluid.

Love Audition

Exciting: I really liked the walks across the floor, it helped me with confidence throughout my audition.

Challenging: I found the walking backwards in the combo a really good challenge because I have not had to work with a focus in a piece before that can have an impact in my movement. It felt as if I was acting and I want to channel that more into my movement.

How it would help me: I think the different ideas that Love is using can really benefit me in my movement journey.

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How have you grown?

I have grown in so many ways, but especially in the way I connect thoughts with my movement. Megan has been having our cast journal before we begin moving which helps me to find intention to the piece before we even begin to dance. Megan does a good job of expressing how her movement relates to the story of the piece and even how some movements or songs have a backstory to them. It is really interesting to go through and has given me the opportunity to grow throughout the process.

How have your expectations for this process been affirmed or challenged?

My expectations have been affirmed in many ways during this process. This process has given me the opportunity to work close with my peers who I do not connect with outside of my classes in a very intimately way. A lot of our movement is very partner oriented which is a muscle that I do not get to flex often in my physical practice courses and I really enjoy getting to work closely with others.

Video clip from rehearsal that matters to you & why

The video clip from rehearsal I chose is part of a section we created together as a group and it was a great opportunity to work together to "frankienstein" as megan would say the parts together. It turned out to be very cohesive and we all said we wonder if a person did not know that we pieced different peoples choreography together would they notice.

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Photo, gif, or publicly sourced video that connects to the piece/your experience & why/how it does

This is a journal prompt about the words we are thinking about during the process, starting with legacy. From that word, we created a mind map seeing how the words will take us.

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Personally created or sourced song, poem, drawing, or excerpt from a piece of writing that connects to the piece/your experience & why/how it does

This song we listen to everyday and it means a lot of Megan's process. The song is super influential for her, her mom and her love this song and she grew up with Lauryn Hill always playing in the house (as did I). I think the song is super easy to move to and really gives a calming feeling to the dance.

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What has been challenging for you in this process?

Something that has been challenging for me in the process is trusting myself as a performer. I have not performed in a concert space before, like the Brockett. The intimacy of the space is a little scary because it is a short amount of time to learn and understand the piece that I am apart of.

What has been a delight for you in this process?

A delight for me in this process is becoming so close with my cast. We have gotten really close discussing our families and traditions as well as getting to know each other on a deeper level. I am so glad that I gained so many new connections in this process.

What have you learned from someone else in your cast and/or the choreographer/creative leaders of your project?

I have learned so much but one thing particular I have learned from Megan is to trust yourself and others more. Megan truly has trusted her gut and our cast to bring her ideas into fruition without trying to control everything and I admire it so much.

What connections are you making between this experience and other life experiences you are having?

I have made connections with my family a lot more throughout this process. The main idea of my piece is the legacy that I will carry on and the traditions I hold dear to myself. I have recognized those traditions with my family and explained how much they mean to me. This process has brought me closer to them and how much they have an impact on how I will carry out my future.

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Personally created or sourced song, poem, drawing, or excerpt from a piece of writing that connects to the piece/your experience & why/how it does

the lyrics "planting seeds in a garden you'll never get to see" from The World was Wide Enough from Hamilton, is a phrase Megan had me foucs on to create a phrase for myself. I liked how it connceted to the idea of legacy and how you can create your own legacy and not just take from things you have had passed down.

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Personally created or sourced song, poem, drawing, or excerpt from a piece of writing that connects to the piece/your experience & why/how it does

This is a reflection Megan had us do during rehersal one day. The section of thinking about the tradtions that mean a lot to me really made me think about how each family is special. Our cast all shared with eachother our expereinces and it was so nice to hear all of their traditions.

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Photo, gif, or publicly sourced video that connects to the piece/your experience & why/how it does

The community aspect of everyone hugging and embracing eachother reminds me of the beginning of the dance where we all dance together and just feel the energy between other groups. Sometimes this can result in just hugging eachother.

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What has been a delight for you in this process?

Something that has been a delight for myself in this process is getting to grow in the department and the connections I have made in the department. I have grown in my vulnerability in the way I move with other people through trust and confidence I built with my cast. These women in this cast have taught me such confidence and dependability on a group. They are emotional, sincere, and respectful. They are a delight to be around, it never felt like a burden to be around them.

What have you learned from someone else in your cast and/or the choreographer/creative leaders of your project?

I have learned so much from my peer Ari. Ari has taught me to see positivity and beauty in every single person. She loves wholeheartedly and it truly shows in the way she regards others in the department. She remains positive and cares so deeply about others, especially Megan and her process. She kept the morale so high throughout the rehearsal process and remained a rock for the cast going through this process. She taught me so any things about learning to work with a group.

How have your expectations for this process been affirmed or challenged?

My expectations for this process were a little low going into tech. By the end of the first show, the expectations changed. I had a totally different view on the show and what we were doing for the audience. Cyphers truly brought so many people together and if I could do it all over again I would. I wanted to cry after finishing every performance because of the overwhelming excitement and gratitude I felt for being in such an amazing process with such an amazing cast. It was something I had never experienced before and I felt so grateful that I got to experience it.

What connections are you making between this experience and other life experiences you are having?

This summer I had something very personal happen in my family that caused me to do a lot of reflection on the legacy I want to carry on and what sticks with me and what I can leave behind to start fresh on. I think Megan's process came to me truly at the time I needed it most. Dance is one of the easiest ways for me to process things going on in my life and I felt that her ideas she had coming into the piece was just what I needed at the time. This process truly changed my life for the better.

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This picture means a lot to me because all of my friends got to come experience cyphers and truly appreciated it. Growing up, my friends from home never truly understood my dancing and performances but every friend showed up for me and appreicated the process and truly loved the ideas of cyphers espically community which I saw when they came.

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This picture is one of my favorite pictures of this cast. It shows the community and love that we grew for each other over this process and truly how they have been some of my closest friends this semester. I love them forever.

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This is a exerpt from my entry post Megan's audition the first week of school. I think I accomplished this goal and learned so much more about my confidence as a mover.