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References for Personal Development Plan

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References for Personal Development Plan

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Nichelle Suzanne (2010) Dance Advantage. Tips for Improving Pirouettes. [Online] Available from <http://www.danceadvantage.net/9-tips-pirouettes/> [Accessed 7th May 2017]

Dance Australia (2011) The Importance of Eyeline [Online] Available from < http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/the-importance-of-eyeline1> [Accessed 7th May 2017]

Chasta Hamilton Calhoun (2014) The Dance Exec. Training Well-Rounded Dancers [Online] Available from <http://danceexec.com/training-well-rounded-dancers/> [Accessed 7 th May 2017]

Dance Spirit (2014) Dance Spirit. Making it Stick. DanceMedia LLC. [Online] Available from <http://www.dancespirit.com/making-stick-2326466070.html> [Accessed 7th May 2017]

Casey Gueren (2013) Women’s Health. 9 Butt Exercises for a Super-Tonned Tush [Online] Available from < http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/best-butt-exercises> [Accessed 7th May 2017]

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Independent Research On Chosen Pioneering Practitioner - 1,097

Personal Development Plan - 903

Total - 2,000

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Kicks

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Right Leg Leap

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Next academic year within the Core Techniques module I would like to:

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Next academic year within the Core Techniques module I would like to:

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Next Academic year within my Jazz classes, I am going to be focusing on my triple pirouettes. Feeling confident now with double pirouettes both high and low, I want to challenge myself and work on triples which I hope will help me for future auditions where triple pirouettes are the new double. To achieve this, I am going to get myself into a studio and keep practicing, working on my core and how much force I need to get around, helping me to achieve triple pirouettes in each jazz class with ease. This skill is something that will also translate into my Ballet classes. On the Dance Advantage website, I found some more useful tips to help me with this goal for next year…..

1.     Engage your core muscles to maintain good alignment during the turn.’ (Suzanne. N, 2010)

2.     ‘Every turn is balance, so practise balancing in the position which you want to turn’ (Suzanne. N, 2010)

3.     ‘Spot and keep your eyes off the floor (or that’s where you’ll end up).’ (Suzanne. N, 2010)

4.     ‘Use only enough push to get around – sometimes a dance student’s biggest downfall in pirouettes is pushing so hard that they throw the turn off.’ (Suzanne. N, 2010)

5.     “Connect” your arms to your back – you should feel and imagine width across the back and shoulder blades and the arms should maintain their position (don’t “wind-up” for a turn). (Suzanne. N, 2010)

6.     Take off from a properly placed and expansive plié for power in the turn. (Suzanne. N, 2010)

7.     Strengthen your ankles supporting the relevé – if you are wobbly, sickled, or pronated, this will ruin your turn. (Suzanne. N, 2010)

8.     Mentally, make a choice to come down from the turn, don’t “let” gravity make the choice for you. (Suzanne. N, 2010)

9.     Visualize yourself doing a beautiful, clean pirouette – it really does help! (Suzanne. N, 2010)

I will focus on each of these 9 points when working on my triple pirouettes and hope to get this achieved by the end of my first term back in third year.

Another aspect I would like to do next academic year is take extra classes after my timetabled lessons in all styles of dance. At the moment, I am solely focusing on my exams but once this exam period is over, I intend to start taking up extra classes again to help me become a more well-rounded dancer which will open me up to more job opportunities in the future.  It is said that ‘Dancers that are well-rounded, diverse, and technically proficient in their training are undoubtedly the most competitive in the industry….Exposing students to a variety of styles- ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatics, contemporary, musical theater, hip-hop, lyrical, etc.- and helping them understand the key differences is essential in building a well-rounded dancer.’ (Hamilton Calhoun. C, 2014)

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Over the last semester, I have become much better at my retention skills in my jazz class picking up choreography at a much faster pace than before. According to Ruth Day, professor and director of the Memory for Movement, ‘dancers have problems remembering choreography for many reasons, but particularly when they’re unfamiliar with the style or instructor’ (Dance Spirit, 2014). Having been training at Shockout for nearly two years now in this style of jazz, I find I can pick up the choreography and retain the information in class efficiently which is a skill that I hope will stick with me and help me in the future in auditions, allowing me to pick up routines quickly which is what people are looking for.

Another improvement of mine over the last semester would be my fitness levels. I have gained a lot of stamina over the last term and started to tone up a lot more which is starting to show and define my body. Although we have dance practical sessions all day, 5 days a week, we don’t have a set fitness class so I am doing my own fitness exercises at home to help me tone up my body and get it in shape for a dancer and doing my extra exercises at home is slowly starting to pay off. Although there is still a long way to go, I am happy so far with the progress and am continuing to work on it in my own time helping my body to get much stronger and leaner. Below is a series of Exercises I partake in on alternate evenings to help maintain my fitness levels.

1.     Mountain Climbers

2.     Leg Raises

3.     Crunches

4.     Russian Twists

5.     Heel Touches

6.     Squat Jumps

7.     Plank

8.     Push ups

9.     Sit Ups

I make sure I do exercises that target all different areas of my body working on my arms, legs, abs, bum and shoulders.

Below are the images I used to create a work out of my own at home.
Below are the images i used to create my own personalized work out.

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Weaknesses in the Core Techniques module:

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Weaknesses in the Core Techniques module:

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I would say a weakness of mine throughout all my core technique classes is performance skills. Often, it is commented from teachers that my focus is down in dances something that I’m not even aware I am doing at the time as in my mind I am concentrating of the moves and what comes next in the dance. This is an issue I need to address quickly as a training need as it will hold me back as a dancer having no performance causing me to lose out on many dance opportunities. ‘The ancient proverb declares that the eyes are the windows to the soul. It follows, therefore, that for effective communication between artist and audience in dance’ (Dance Australia, 2011). I need to ensure I lift my eye line when I dance so my focus is up, which is something I can work on in class making sure I look just above my head in the mirror, opening up my performance to the audience. In Joan Lawson book, The Principles of Classical dance, she mentions that ‘It is very easy for students to forget that the eyes are part of the head, particularly in class where many get used to glancing sideways in the mirror. The eyes should always be pointing in the same direction as the nose, otherwise the dancer comes across as being insincere’ (Dance Australia, 2011). This is how my performance currently comes across but is something I am working on each class to improve upon. Another weak performance skill of mine is facial expression. Even though dances don’t all require a big cheesy smile, I need to soften my face so that you can’t see the concentration as much. I hope by attempting to rectify these weaknesses of mine, I can bring more energy and performance quality to my work.

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Strengths in the Core Techniques Module are:

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Strengths in the Core Techniques Module are:

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Within Jazz dance, I would say a key strength of mine would be flexibility. Having trained primarily in ballet and jazz before attending Shockout Arts, it has given lots of flexibility especially in my hips allowing me to be able to have high kicks and leaps and splits all three ways. (Although my left leg leaps still need improving). Below I have attached two videos demonstrating my kicks and leaps.

Another strength of mine would be my double pirouettes. This is only a strength of mine since beginning Shockout in September 2015 where I learnt the correct posture and technique to execute them. In almost every technique class, we implement double pirouettes each day which is a good way to keep up this strength and ensure I don’t lose this ability.

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i) Core Techniques 2 - Independent Research On Chosen Pioneering Practitioner [1,000 words]

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i) Core Techniques 2 - Independent Research On Chosen Pioneering Practitioner [1,000 words]

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Through independent research students must choose a modern or post-modern pioneering practitioner relating to any of the genres and styles studied throughout the module. You will be expected to provide a biographical account, whilst also critically discussing and analyzing the choreographers intentions and stylistic qualities while relating them to your studies on the course.

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ii) Core Techniques 2 - Personal Development Plan [1,000 words]

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ii) Core Techniques 2 - Personal Development Plan [1,000 words]

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Through evidence of a Personal Development plan in the form of a Digital Portfolio, students will be expected to describe and compare the different anatomical demands and artistic and expressive qualities required within the different techniques and styles studied on this module.