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Reflecting on Unit 3 during Term 2, I found the Richard Alston Project to be quite enjoyable. It felt refreshing to return to a routine over those two weeks. In the past, I’ve struggled to see physical progress in my dance practice because things often felt inconsistent.

Arriving early in the morning for class and learning repertoire gave me the chance to challenge myself every day. Since our Cunningham classes had set combinations, they encouraged me to address mistakes from previous technique work. For example, during our tendu sequence, I realized I wasn’t able to stabilize my body weight when performing a tendu to the back. Hannah advised me to think about lifting my weight upward, as if floating on something. Although I couldn’t correct this right away, I applied the correction the following day and was able to stabilize myself. That realization was very rewarding.

I enjoyed these rehearsals because they allowed us to keep moving through space, using the foundational Cunningham technique, instead of staying static in the center. We learned various combinations incorporating movements like the upper back curve with a swing to the floor or a tendu combination with a grand battement. Overall, I learned to combine everything we’d practiced into a 12-count phrase, adding my own style and emotion to the class. This experience reminded me that I’d like to continue participating in rehearsal environments where we’re actively working toward a performance, and I’d love to find more spaces that offer this kind of experience.

In conclusion, I appreciate how both teachers approached Cunningham, encouraging us to engage with and emote the material through our bodies, rather than simply memorizing steps. This teaching method helped me understand the importance of center floor combinations and how foundational work supports longer dance phrases in class.

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One thing I wanted to focus on during the two weeks of the Richard Alston project was my breath control. In the past, I often found myself winded and out of breath during high-intensity dancing, largely because I hadn't yet built the physical endurance needed to sustain proper breathing. On top of that, there's always an extra layer of adrenaline that kicks in on performance day, which can make controlled breathing even more difficult.

During our rehearsals, I noticed I would become breathless by the end of our 15-minute piece, which affected my ability to execute movements sharply and fluidly. I made it a goal to improve this so that, come performance day, I could perform the piece with ease and without struggling to breathe.

To work toward this goal, I committed to dancing full out during every rehearsal. Even when we were marking, I made sure to complete every arm movement with full intention and energy. In our technique classes, I also resisted the urge to pause for breath during combinations. For example, I used to experience pain in my arms during deep back stretches. Instead of stopping, I focused on lifting from the back, relaxing my shoulders, and breathing through the discomfort, which helped alleviate the pressure in my arms.

These small but consistent efforts helped train my body to better handle the demands of the piece. Another major contributor was maintaining active posture, something Khyle emphasized in our strengthening and conditioning class. After every combination, I consciously corrected my posture to encourage fluid breath from top to bottom, rather than collapsing forward and restricting blood circulation. This technique made a significant difference.

When performance day finally arrived, I felt I was breathing actively through each movement instead of holding my breath. This allowed me to stop worrying about endurance and just focus on dancing with freedom and expression.

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In the past two terms, there has been a greater focus on body placement during our barre work. We’ve been more mindful of details such as preventing arm hyperextension in second position and engaging our core to avoid arching our backs during fast tendu combinations, especially when shifting our weight. However, in our focus on technique, there was a tendency to become passive with the music, allowing it to fade into the background while we worked through the sequences.

This term, Anna and Chisato have emphasized the importance of embodying the musicality in our movements. They’ve encouraged us to truly connect with the music the artist is performing, particularly during barre. For example, we are now filling the space continuously with the movement of our arms and knees, allowing the idea of "air" to flow seamlessly throughout the sequence. Instead of rigidly moving to the sound of a metronome with tense, robotic steps, we’re encouraged to let the music guide us, bringing a more fluid and expressive quality to our performance.

The past two terms, I've noticed an emphasis on fluidity through our movement and dance combinations. Another example of this is in our floorwork class. This term, Lewis has added a focus on using all the floorwork materials we’ve learned in the last term to combine them into a continuous dance sequence. We've also had to incorporate more complex acrobatic movements, like conducting a backwards roll into a step-up to handstand, then transitioning into a front roll over the shoulders to swing our arms. This has required us to really think about how to make these movements flow cohesively, ensuring a seamless transition between each action.

By doing all of these movements, we've had to be especially mindful of our arm and hand placement to make sure our movement isn’t cut off or interrupted. It's been a great challenge to connect all of these elements together into one smooth and fluid motion.

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These videos highlight my effort to making my movement fluid and moving with the music

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please note: these videos were screen recorded as Padlet would not allow me to upload any videos