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In today’s session we had worked on a solo for Demi; Beatrice had asked us who thought would best portray ‘earth’ as an element with their movement. We had chosen Demi as we thought her movement quality and her mindset would suit best for this opening section. She is extremely dedicated to playing roles and characters and thought she would make a strong opening for the whole piece. Demi began the process by improvising with water in a bowl; Beatrice had thought much in depth about soundscapes and music and we had all agreed this was a good initial starting point for the piece.

We had worked on the next section which was to be the rest of the group entering the stage. We had spoken about ritual in week one and this was to represent that; Beatrice had choreographed two small movement phrases that we were to repeat. We were to start in a circle facing each other singing the song we had learnt earlier in the session. And then break off into the small movement phrases; we had set it so that Holly was the first one to enter the middle and start the phrasing. Seeing this section come together initially was very interesting; being able to see some of Beatrice’s ideas form was a notable experience and I am looking forward to seeing how the piece will develop.

The last task consisted of creating duets based on using counter-balances; Emily and I had got together to create this duet. It was quite a challenging task as we had not worked together to this extent so far in that of using one another’s bodies but as we move quite similarly and are nearly the same in height, we easily over-came challenges such as balancing and weight distribution.

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At the beginning of the session, we had received the running order and the poem; I personally initially found the running order slightly overwhelming as there seemed a lot of exploration and choreography to be learnt. But by having the whole piece planned out, it also gave us clarity for each week and we were able to absorb it in chunks. We were also able to try on a few of the costumes that Beatrice had brought in; they seemed to match perfectly with the theme and by having these costumes, we are able to get into depth of character as opposed to wearing plain clothing.

We ran through the piece and worked on a few other sections; which included the fall and rise section and the travelling jumps from the corner. This became a challenge for not only me but the rest of the group, due to having to travel diagonally and transitioning into a different formation. We experienced a few issues with space and so had to spend some time on this.

Beatrice had given us the task of moving across the space together whilst doing forward rolls; I was unable to take part in this section due to a head injury. It was apparent this was another big challenge for the group as moving this way in unison can be very difficult when everyone is varied in height. This was a section we were to work on over the coming weeks to see if some peers were able or unable to do it.

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Today we recapped our duets and learnt some repertoire for another earth section; I did not partake much during this session due to my head injury and so watched the group and tried to learn the choreography. The means of my injury meant that I was challenged with not being able to embody the choreography the way that I wanted to; usually when learning a piece I like to be able to go full out every time to build strength and continuity however I have so far not been able to do this. I hope to be able to gain strength over the coming weeks and aim to rest as much as possible to ensure a speedy recovery.

The repertoire that we learnt was toward the corner of the space; I found this quite disorientating however the whole piece was quite randomised with direction. I found this a positive aspect as it meant it was not linear and had varied content; the piece was starting to feel like a story with smooth transitioning and differed repertoire. Though elements of the choreography is recycled, each section had contradistinction and followed the narrative.

Beatrice had tasked us with varied travelling exercises across the space; it was treated like a drill so we could embody the movement better as some were struggling with being able to pick up the flow of the movement. For example, at the beginning of the piece we come into the space by throwing our bodies forward and grabbing toward the floor, as this type of movement is very familiar to me I did not find it a challenge to embody; however others found this challenging. This type of exercise was very beneficial for the group and I felt like it was a good progression step towards our piece.

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Today we had also learnt Emily’s and Jasmine’s wings duet for the air section; I found both sections of choreography varied and explorative. The one negative aspect for wearing these wings was that I found them particularly uncomfortable and at this stage am unsure of how I will overcome this. However, this section has become one of my favourite parts of the piece due to its opposing movement quality in comparison to the rest of the choreography. It was also memorable that we were able to take more control as the dancers in the piece and have input.

Beatrice had also taught us a section of the piece using sticks; it was to be the ‘wild woman’ section. It became one of the biggest challenges in regard to the movement quality and repertoire itself; it challenged not only our stamina but also spacing and made us aware of potential injuries. We had discussed whether it was possible to shorten the length of the sticks in order to make it safer, which we were to discuss further next week.

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In this session Beatrice had given us 6 different movements which we practised in the space; we were then given instruction to incorporate them into our own pieces in our chosen groups. Eleanor, Emily and I were grouped together with Bria who had sat out due to sickness.

Bria directed us and gave us ideas from a directive point of view for spacing and formation; we tried to add transitions to give depth and create different pathways with the movement. We started in a line coming into the space, we called this the ‘piano fingers’ section; attempting to embody this movement was a challenge for me as it was unique but also very interesting. We tried to give our own interpretation of the movement; it became very fluid which I think was influenced by the music in the background. It gave a calming essence to our choreographic process and allowed us to focus and take our time.

Today we also exchanged with Caroline’s group; this was not as successful as we would have wanted it to be. As the opposing group did not know much about the structure and theme of the piece, I feel the translation was not as strong as we would have hoped. We had also marked the piece; myself in particular due to injury. With a piece such as this, the performance has to be maximised to its full potential. Without that high-performance level, the audience are unable to see the depth of character and story.

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Today we edited the wing section; we decided for spacing that Emily would no longer be apart of this but instead would join Bria and I on the floor at the front of the stage. Due to the wings being wide and having metal rods, it would become a health and safety issue for the group and so this was the best decision.

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During this session we had also gone through the storyboards; we had a discussion last week and decided there was still moments of the piece that needed clarity; for example, the order of sections and which transitions were between each of them. I have personally been struggling with particular areas of the piece; such as the jumping and floor sections. I feel this is mainly because of my reoccurring knee injury, I have made an effort to adapt the repertoire in a way that does not affect the rest of the group and by resting it as much as possible to ensure I am ready for the final show in the coming weeks.

As we are drawing to a close with this piece, I have so far found it a real experience; to be able to look over it as a whole and see it from where we have started, we have made real progression as a group. Through consistency and hard-work we have all built a strong foundation for working as an ensemble and to add to our experience for future and professional works.