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BEHIND THE GLITZ: the exploitation of artists in Hollywood. This piece has been revolved around the journey of two contrasting eras. Marilyn and Rihanna, it dives into their timeline and negative experiences. With the use of paparazzi, and dialogue to lead the storyline in the music. A 10 minute structure of how glitz conveys glamour and the real story behind the fame. A mind map of ideas was constructed from a group zoom session. This was to explore ideas and concepts to structure the piece.

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After our zoom meeting, we discussed roles for our project. Our process was to start off brainstorming separately or collaboratively on ideas and choreography style for each section.

This included brainstorming ideas for lighting, costuming, concept of each section, choreography starts and submitting our chosen concept for our piece.

After a group discussion, it was discussed a character choice that I should play the part of Rihanna.

From this I took the initiative to start working on time stamps for songs. I wanted to use for the commercial section and shared with the group.

My submission was successful and I took on the role of Rihanna and main choreographer of my section.

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Brainstorming choreography ideas/ first draft

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Brainstorming choreography ideas/ first draft

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Once the audio track had been put together and edited for the first audio draft. I was able to start brainstorming for choreography ideas. I started off as a skeleton structure for roll it.

The piece was a house party theme inspired by Diddy (Sean Combs, American rapper and producer) allegations, and the celebrities that encountered these parties and the impact.

Rihanna was a focus of being taken over with control from Diddy & “his crew” representing men, that wonder these parties and use their power to their advantage. Rihanna was going to break free from this curse with her redemption ark escaping being trapped in a room and interrogated to facing them head on in a dance off claiming victory. Transitions into hard and the words represent taking her power back, her redemption.

skeleton structure:

I’ve used time stamps for sections, brainstorming atmosphere concept and beginning steps.

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During our beginning stages of rehearsals, we assigned roles to ensure avoiding conflict and confusion with work being done for the project.

Dayna and I are assigned co-leaders

I have the assistant role, the second hand task of making sure assignments, tasks, notes are being set and achieved.

One of my ideas that I implemented was a rehearsal recap for each rehearsal onwards.

This was for anyone who had missed out on a rehearsal, that they are catching up and aware of what’s been done in each rehearsal.

And a recap to refresh our brains on what has been set and what needs to be done.

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 REHEARSALS NOVEMBER ONWARDS I CREATED A REHEARSAL RECAP.

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 REHEARSALS NOVEMBER ONWARDS I CREATED A REHEARSAL RECAP.

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I used this session to implement my choreography for notes for the first verse of roll it.

As we were all using the space to work on different sections, I worked on this section with Lucia, adding the choreography onto her and workshopping movement/spacing for the other dancers in the section when I teach everyone else the choreography.

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DJ KOOL HERC: IMPACT ON THE DANCE COMMUNITY

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DJ KOOL HERC: IMPACT ON THE DANCE COMMUNITY

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For my research on roll it section, my original stimulus was based off of diddy's house parties and the controversial surrounding the allegations that evolved in these parties. An original concept of having a house party theme but constructing Rihanna's struggles with fame throughout. (Jay Z Def Jam Records: being locked in a room to sign a contract), I had bonded two separate ideas into one.

For inspiration on dance circles/freestyle movement.

DJ Kool Herc represents the journey of hip hop dance evolving in the community. With the technique 'the merry-go-round'. He created a community on the dance floor, with his extended rhythms as breaking came to life and pushed the boundaries of dance battles. As well as early hip hop foundations being created on the dance floor.

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I made an unlisted playlist that's been added to throughout the process.

The brief is early 2000'S era, reflecting onto Dj Kool Herc's work. I wanted dance battles/freestyle movement for the environment of the section. Having choreography that reflected the old school energy and creating that atmosphere with moments of dance circles/battles implemented into the choreography.

Filled with 2000's dance movie scenes/battles, I originally created this playlist as a brief for my peers, to have a look and take inspiration from as this concept is out of their comfort zone.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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During independent practice, I’ve been working more on my section roll it.

My process is to create choreography first, then stop and make notes of each section. Marking and drawing spots with time stamps and description, highlighting different angles and transitions.

Throughout this process, I’ve changed my choreography if I wasn’t happy with it or things changed with numbers. I’ve made notes drafts of choreography in my notebook.

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Here is the rest of my notes for structuring the piece with time stamps for each section.

This helps me regulate in my brain what the section needs for choreography concept.

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An important reminder for rehearsals onwards 

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Using initiative to work out time stamps to edit hard track.

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First audio hard cut was too long. I used independent practice to listen to the full track, write down notes to implement to editing process to fix these changes.

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My section of roll it couldn’t be implemented into this rehearsal as their wasn’t enough numbers in rehearsal for my piece to be added on. I made a PSA in our rehearsal recap that next rehearsal is mandatory as we are held back with numbers and we can’t continue on.

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My independent practice notes on choreography needed to be done and implemented for next rehearsal. I made sure that the end middle/ending of the piece was completed with choreography. Ready to add onto the group and finish the piece.

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From our first draft showing of our piece, we had been given feedback as a whole and individually with our sections. As a whole, the storyline works but loses intention with storyline switch to Rihanna. Their wasn’t a moment of stillness to introduce Rihanna to the stage and storyline. It felt like she blended in with the crowd which took away from the meaning of the piece. With this, I felt I had to restart the beginning of my piece from scratch.

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Whilst having a look at the costume cupboard, we managed to find blazers and waistcoats to use for our jazz/commercial sections. However we still needed to find a way to get more costume items for the rest of the piece.

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In order to raise money for our costumes, Dayna approached me with an idea to have a cultural fundraiser day. I immediately agreed and we went to Harrison to find some help with getting the word around, Shockout had assigned Harrison as events coordinator. The idea was proposed and cultural day was a go!

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Our plan for cultural day was to have volunteers to help cook and set up for the day.

I volunteered on cooking and setting up, I decided to cook traditional Tanzanian street food. The students who helped out worked very hard on this project, from cooking from scratch to serve hundreds. Spending money on ingredients, using time after university for this to have food fresh for the next day led to late nights of cooking and prep. I also contacted my parent for some traditional clothing to be sent through post to represent during the day.

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After receiving notes from jasmine, I felt that I had a lack of understanding of Rihanna’s background. This was affecting how she was portrayed in the piece, as I felt that in this process I was feeding off of Marilyn’s pain (Lydia). Which is more soft but with Rihanna there is a more confident approach and in a way gaining her power back.

I made a spider diagram of her experiences in early 2000’s era. Where she was raised, how she got signed, her early career etc.

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Still playing with choreography whilst trying to figure out what to change with Rihanna section. I changed the section into Rihanna being more centre focused rather than concept focus. Didn’t end up using this idea.

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We raised about £366! Well done team!

We did so well for our unfortunate circumstances with the lack of help from peers.

The money will be split equally between the people who contributed.

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Goodnight Gotham (Lucia solo section & Marilyn/Rihanna ending)

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Goodnight Gotham (Lucia solo section & Marilyn/Rihanna ending)

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During rehearsals, Lucia approached me with a concern with struggling on fixing the ending. The notes we got given is that it doesn’t read towards the audience with our original ending. Lucia represents pain throughout the industry specifically Marilyn’s & Rihanna’s. During this scene, my idea was for Lucia to be surrounded by the cast and one by one be affected by her pain she’s conflicting onto others. By the time everyone exits the stage, Marilyn & Rihanna are in middle centre taking walks forwards away from Lucia as she walks backwards. A sense of battle over control of their own power. Two different eras still the same pain and impact conflicted imagery at the end with paparazzi flooding the stage.

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Time stamps on different interviews/audios to use 

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With our new notes for Rihanna section, I need to make an intro so that she is introduced in a way the audience can recognise a clear switch and main character moment.

I started brainstorming ideas to make an intro pack in the audio and have Rihanna hold the space (dressing room/backstage concept).

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A new concept idea starting from Rihanna entrance with audio track, referencing her being backstage. Back up dancers come on stage set up, dj introduces Rihanna and it’s now Rihanna’s concert referencing this video for the first 20 seconds. Then cuts into roll it.

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Rihanna - Pon de Replay (MSN Video Version)

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New concept ideas: LIVE PERFORMANCE RIHANNA FT J STATUS PERFORMING ROLL IT.

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I was thinking of different Rihanna intro movements to use in the piece. I came up with different narratives.

I decided that I wanted to use the second half of roll it and just change the first half into the pre chorus - chorus onwards. The same structure, added adjustments and new ideas.

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Notes on Rihanna intro movement with time stamps

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Starting off with writing down notes to structure the idea.

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With my independent practice, I’ve worked on a few new ideas, I made a list of things that I’ve done that need to be implemented in our next rehearsals.

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In order for us to implement new changes, we had to edit the audio ready for rehearsal. Dayna and I FaceTimed and I shared my idea of the Rihanna intro with videos on my unlisted YouTube playlist. We bounced off of each other and we realised we had a similar concept. I also shared the Rihanna concert idea at the beginning, we worked on time stamps in original videos. Converting them into our audio and Dayna & Anna editing the audio whilst I told them what I wanted.

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With our Monday rehearsal, I was able to finish Rihanna’s section and add new ideas and changes with the audio.

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PSA for the group, still need to implement new idea on end section.

I took the initiative on sorting out costumes.

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We had our first show run!

As a group we felt that we had finished the piece well but needed more cleaning and refining time.

Seeing everyone else’s pieces really helped us have a better insight to our project. Being inspired by movement and how they approach their work. It showed inspiration and honorary of the hard work.

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Receiving great feedback and comments from the run.

Gave us a shock as we didn’t realise the impact of our piece.

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I took the initiative in creating a shopping list with sizes/items.

This will help us with organising what to do order of each item and how many.

Sent to group for double checking.

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I also beforehand made a costume list of item, where’s its being provided from and how many. I thought this was great to get a rough idea for our group of what we need.

I sent this to Bee (costume organiser) to help with communication knowing what we need.

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I took initiative in sorting out the time frames for costume changes. We used rehearsal to go through the piece and figure out which sections need more time edited for a costume change. I used my timer on my phone and used what costume bits we had so far. Going through the piece stopping and starting. Roughly I worked out how much time is needed and forwarded my notes to the group.

Anna & Dayna will be working on the final edit.

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In the interrogation scene, we are using a chair and a contract to represent Rihanna storyline. Being trapped in a room being forced to sign a contract. I made sure to add details that relate to the story.

Such as Jay z's record label, they represent the men interrogating Rihanna. Jay z's signature but not Rihanna’s, blood fingerprint to correlate the gritty atmosphere.

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Fixing costume change time frames: Jazz time stamp being adjusted with white noise. In order to get our heels off on time.

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In this rehearsal, the focus is to clean and clarify details. We touched on different sections with cleaning, and practiced with heels transitioning into the section. Whilst practicing quick change with the heels.

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After rehearsals, it came to my attention that other people in the group had an issue. This involved a conversation between co-leaders (Dayna and I) taken out of context. If I had spoken on my behalf instead my words being guessed then a miscommunication wouldn’t have occurred.

The conversation was about whether or not the jazz section should have heels or not. I took initiative during our (29/11/2024) rehearsal to work on time frames for costume changes to edit in the audio so we can use the heels.

The miscommunication was that “I suggested to scrap the heels and it’s my fault that the jazz section hasn’t been worked on”, but how is that the case when I put in the work to fix this transition.

I personally felt this didn’t make any sense and people decided to jump on accusations rather than address it with me first.

If the leader/choreographer of the section doesn’t take initiative to work on their section, that is on them. I put in the work to fix their problem and it’s not even my section. At the end of the day, I had a conversation with the group and made it clear my actions with being more organised to ensure the group is prepared is not a negative impact.

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Made a little recap after rehearsal of what we needed, that is self provided for the time being. Whilst everything else was being ordered online.

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Spent the morning working on run throughs/choreography in the theatre, I practiced my Rihanna costume change with the audio. This was to ensure I felt prepared to do this show run.

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Our first show run practicing in costumes wasn’t perfect but getting there. I had a few issues and the rest of group had a few as well.

We then received notes from Jasmin afterwards which made us really think as a group.

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NOTES FROM DIRECTOR AS A WHOLE - SHOW RUN W/ COSTUMES

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NOTES FROM DIRECTOR AS A WHOLE - SHOW RUN W/ COSTUMES

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Rihanna section isn’t reading towards the audience, the transition is to random and doesn’t make sense to the audience.

Rihanna intro:

facing the back, putting my top on etc (backstage vibes) doesn’t have enough impact for Rihanna and who she is. Needs a more standout clear moment, engagement with the audience.

Roll it:

messy and formations aren’t in the right place.

Feels a bit too random and too much at once.

Be less aggressive with transitions/acting. Less is more in terms of rushing the acting, slow down and focus on how it makes more sense to an audience.

Simplicity switch, break down the structure and add more details that are clearer.

Overall the section itself needs a more simple storyline with the movement so it can read even better. Incorporate Rihanna’s vulnerability create her story in the piece.

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From this conversation, I felt very confused on what to do. My mind wasn’t right, I struggle with processing information in a certain way. If things aren’t in order for example the section isn’t making sense. It triggers my brain to feel heavy and lost and thoughts are out of place. The group tried to help me understand better but I still felt lost.

I spoke to Jasmin afterwards for some clarification. I felt a bit better about this after the conversation, Jasmin mentioned simplicity throughout the movement and transitions which can allow transparency for the storyline to shine through. She also mentioned not to change the audio.

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Without me being present, once again a group discussion was had about my section. It was to change the song, I made sure once I saw these messages I made it clear Jasmin said to me not to change the song. After this, I was met with negative energy, with people disagreeing. I tried to say can I at least try and work on it the next day. It was still considered but a stronger vote was to change the audio. I made a compromise and said I would work on both songs and have something prepared for rehearsals the next day.

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I decided to compromise and start hearing the group more on changing the audio. Dayna had taken a live version of work and implemented it into the audio edit.

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In the morning, I came up with beginning steps with work. I had started workshopping different parts we could use. Rihanna leading on the track whilst a line formed behind her representing “her army”. Her army signifies strength, all the women who she has empowered through her work. They correlate to lost souls in the industry and with the storyline throughout the piece, it can be played with.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to do much, as we received communication we weren’t allowed to change the audio. This was due to the fact of lighting cues already being implemented with the track. This was understandable and I immediately went back to the roll it track.

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As a group, we collaborated on the narrative we were trying to achieve. Working on another song was a blessing in disguise as it is allowed us to start off the piece in the right way. We achieved the perfect structure to feed off from into the rest of the routine.

I incorporated my old choreography and new details and added changes for the storyline.

Lucia, Lydia and Kenny worked on the grime section. Implementing new choreography.

Cara, Erin, Taliyah and I collaborated on the interrogation scene. We removed the prop and chair, and made it more of a realistic Rihanna moment with her vulnerability coming through in a public eye with paparazzi.

The ending had a better structure with my old choreography implemented.

With new added transitions and formations into the ending added, we had a piece that reads more.

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I’ve adjusted some movement on the Rihanna concert. I tried to make it look more entertaining and eye pleasing to the audience.

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Straight after our rehearsal, we had to make our way to the theatre for our tech run.

With new choreography implemented and last minute changes, I wasn’t nervous just intrigued on what the outcome would be.

Co leaders (Dayna and I) arrived on time and the rest of the cast was running late.

This led us to having limited time on stage.

Tech run wasn’t as smooth as the lights we originally had reflected onto the old section of roll it/second half of the piece that has changed now. Our goal was to find the light on stage and re work the structure of the second half to relate to the lights on stage.

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Although our group disagreed on a morning rehearsal to re work these changes. As co leaders, we sat down together and watching the recording back. Making notes on what needs to be implemented/changed/any issues we encountered. I sent this on the group chat for anyone who wanted to read. Independent study on any corrections needed to be worked on.

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ITS SHOW DAY!

Schedule for the day:

run through with lights on stage.

BE READY FOR QUARTER TO 1, First proper run in the space.

SHOW.

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During our downtime to get ready, I noticed Kenny started feeling stressed. She mentioned that she’s struggling to figure out directions on stage, I told her I will finish my make up and sit down with her.

Watch the video and talk through different intros/exits, directions on stage, right & left wing etc. This was to ensure there’s a better understanding of the space and Kenny feels less stressed. I wrote down notes for my side of things and Kenny did the same. We both felt better after this, with the new changes/structure. I like to have things in order in my brain so it’s not overwhelming.

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I spoke to Jasmin after for more clarification on the notes, just so I can take on the feedback more effectively. We had a discussion about Rihanna’s choice of movement to play around, and it gave me perspective on the stylistic choices to be implemented.

I made sure during backstage to let my group know I’ll be downplaying the vulnerability moments. My improv movement will change as I’m close to the cast I didn’t want to throw them off on stage. I used initiative to clarify personal note changes with my group.

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Overall the show went very well! As a group we received such great feedback. The piece really set off in a good place and ended in a great place! Storyline finally made sense.

For Rihanna, I received great feedback from my director. Explaining that she can see me implementing last minute notes into the piece and I took initiative on really well.I’m very proud of myself for pushing through with this project, despite an injury on both knees and new medication affecting my process of information and mental health. I worked so hard and deserve to give myself flowers for achieving such a great outcome for my performance.

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Our group project creative brief: Hollywood.

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Visual Elements Lighting Costumes Truth Behind the Glitz Choreographic Devices Contexual Refrences Movement & Style Refrences Music and Audio Stimuli and Inspirations Choreographic Structure Section Notes A - marylin monroe - 50's - old hollywood - fosse - sexual exploitation C -

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BLUE - Overview and independent practice

YELLOW - Beginning process/brainstorming

PURPLE - Rehearsal recaps and rehearsal content

GREEN - costumes and use of props

RED - tech run/show day

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A timetable constructed by the group to finalise lighting and costuming. Also contains description on everyone's contribution.