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We found the use of visual aids and step by step tutorials extremely beneficial within today's session as it broke down the steps and provided us with tips teaching us how to correctly make balloon models relevant to our piece. We will ensure to practice how to create the balloon models to perfect them for our performance.

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EASY instructions on how to make a balloon swan

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The Beginner's Guide to Making a Dog Balloon Animal #balloondog #balloonanimals

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Teddy Bear Balloon Animal Tutorial (Balloon Twisting and Modeling #20 )

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Learn how to make a teddy bear balloon animal. Support this channel by becoming my patron at: http://www.patreon.com/MrBomasBalloons Follow me on Facebook at: http://facebook.com/mrbomasballoons My website: http://mrbomasballoons.com

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Characters;
Snape - Snake,
Dumbledore - Dog (with white fur on face to represent a beard),
Harry - Teddy bear,
Ron - Swan,
Hermionie - Bird,
Voldemort - plain balloon.

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Although today's session felt unsuccessful I believe it has sent us in the right direction and will allow us to quickly create and finalise our ideas ensuring we have plenty of time to rehearse and make changes if anything doesn't work or goes wrong.

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Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise

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We all really struggled with the aspect of finding a simplistic story we could adapt and change to suit us and the balloon models. Today's lesson felt very long as nothing seemed right, we took to youtube for inspirational ideas to try and boost our creative ideas, we then decided that the best idea would be to recrate 'The Mysterious Ticking Noise' and remake the characters using a play on words to suit our balloon characters.

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I found the use of picture diagrams and youtube videos really helpful as it provided me with information and guidance fulfilling me with reassurance and new skills to apply in the forthcoming weeks. I am really excited to see how our performance will look to an audience.

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Today's session was a matter of experimentation and having the freedom and fun to explore how to create different things and animals. I really enjoyed today's session as I am confident with our progression and believe we will be able to create enough different characters for our chosen piece. I believe it'll help us to decide what we will performing so next week we need to consider different options and different ideas to help finalise and progress in the future.

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We found the balloons really difficult to use as we struggled to mould them into position as they were really strong and kept un twisting making it really difficult. After lots of practice we began to figure out how to do it and didn't become afraid to apply pressure as we got over the fear of popping the balloons.

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Wednesday 8th March 2017 - Assessment Evaluation 

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Wednesday 8th March 2017 - Assessment Evaluation 

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Overall I felt our final performance went well and we left feeling positive with what we had done and received positive feedback reassuring us with what we had shown back. I think the concept of changing the characters into 'balloon characters' added humour and developed the original idea preventing it from being boring and something people have seen before - demonstrating how it was variety as variety performance is always about showing something new and different. We used two simple concepts - balloon modelling, and a 'puppet show' to create a fun and enjoyable performance.

If I was to change anything, it'd be the timing and precision as I felt in certain elements of the piece the timing was off ruining the affect we were hoping for as it meant it ruined the flow of the piece and speech.

Looking back at our performance and our chosen idea, if we had more time, I think we could have created the music and spoke to the audience instead of using the backing track to accompany our performance as this would have shown more development and creativity. In addition to this, I would like to have changed the set and added more props, for example, when the characters 'explode' instead of showing an image of a bomb to the audience, i believe popping the balloons and throwing them like confetti would have been more effective. When looking back at our rehearsal process I think in some sessions we could have used the time more efficiently which would have allowed us to maybe make these changes to develop our performance and the effect of the piece.

After identifying the negatives and possible changes we could have done to improve our performance, I still feel pleased and happy with our performance as it felt like a 'gamble' and I was unsure if we would get a good reaction and that people wouldn't understand what was going on. I believe we all worked well as a group and always approached each session with a positive view and aspect and everyone always contributed to the piece and was committed to pulling out a good performance, challenging ourselves to learn and develop new skills.

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Learning Objective:
To develop your variety piece setting your own target for the end of the system.

Today's session was our final rehearsal providing us with time to continuously rehearse the performance ensuring everyone feels comfortable and happy and identifying anything that may need to change.

I found today's session really helpful as it fulfilled me with reassurance and I felt prepared and confident we will be fine in our performance next week. The lesson ran smoothly so we created our balloon models ready for next week so they were ready and made notes of orders and final changes and ideas.

I was pleased that we didn't have any final changes and everyone left feeling positive and ready to share back next week. In preperation for next week I will ensure I watch the video of 'The Mysterious Ticking Noise' so I can learn the order confidently so I know what's going on in the performance.

Overall I feel happy and ready to perform our piece next week and I am excited to see people's reaction to our performance and hear feedback of what people thought.

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Learning Objective:
To develop your variety piece setting your own target for the end of the system.

Our aim for today's session is to plan what we aspire to make and label them for our characters and see what everyone was capable of learning and what idea's everyone had to ensure we could successfully create this performance.

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Learning Objective:
To develop your variety piece setting your own target for the end of the system.

During today's rehearsal aim is to find a story and assign lines and characters etc in preparation for the performance allowing us with enough time to rehearse and refine.

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Learning Objective:
To develop your variety piece setting your own target for the end of the system.

Our aim of today's session is to practice and learn how to make balloon models so we can see what each member of group is capable of creating so we can take this into consideration when we finalise our characters for the performance.

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Although we've not achieved all of our targets for today's session, I believe we have achieved a lot as it took a while to make decisions as we have everyone's to consider and look at all elements

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Once we had researched balloons, we decided to look at balloon characters that we feel we'd be capable of making;

-Dog,
-Swan,
-Sword,
-Ladybird,
-Turtle,
-Tiger,
-Flowers,
-Giraffe,
-Dinosaur,
-Horse,
-Element,
-Unicorn,
-Parrot

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We decided to get the qualatex balloons as we believe 100 balloons should be enough for what we would like to do. Although we could have gone for the Airernuo balloons which included a pump, there were lots of mixed reviews and we were unsure if the product would have been reliable for us to use; when we looked at the Macallen balloons the majority of the reviews were negative and most people who regularly purchase modelling balloons recommended qualatex balloons.

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100 balloons inc pump - £8.99

Too thin, but nice pearly colours, lots of balloons arrived with holes in them

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100 balloons - £4.99

Excellent reviews - a good quality balloon, high quality, luxury product.

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Pack of 100 - £2.36
Pack of 200 - £3.11

Negative reviews - all state qualitex balloons are better value for money and better quality.

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Learning Objective:
To develop your variety piece setting your own target for the end of the system.

Our current stage at the start of the session was pretty vague as we haven't adapted on our idea however we do have time to get this done during the next few weeks, we currently have made a rehearsal plan which we believe will be beneficial to our rehearsal process as we will always have something to do during each session to ensure time isn't being wasted.

We aim to have achieved by the end of today's session;
1. Create a budget plan,
2. Research balloons and how much they are - which ones would be the best quality balloons,
3. Find a story with characters,
4.Order balloons,
5. Research instructions.

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https://www.playpoi.com/what-is-poi
Poi is a form of dance, where weights on the ends of tethers are swung through rhythmical patterns. It is rooted in the culture of the Maori people of Aotearoa (a.k.a. New Zealand), who dance with poi poi in traditional ceremonies. Poi was popularized throughout the world largely by fire spinning, which spawned when traditional poi met modern day dance parties. In time, poi enthusiasts turned to flag poi, LED poi, and other tools that express the beauty of poi without the health and environmental risks of fire. Poi has evolved and changed since leaving Aotearoa. Many poi artists have borrowed from other disciplines, such as martial arts, club swinging, dance, and rhythmic gymnastics. Poi appeals to those who are looking for a dynamic and engaging physical activity that is less intense than martial arts or competitive sports. There is now a large global community of enthusiasts devoted to modern-poi, and the Internet serves as a major medium for exchanging ideas and enthusiasm. At the center of the community are true believers, who see poi as the Jedi training tool of the new millennium. This mythos provides a curious undercurrent to the art-form. Playpoi was founded by Nick Woolsey in the fall of 2004. He now works with other poi artists to share the love of poi via this website and workshops.

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Some targets I set for myself to achieve throughout the session were:
-Perform hip reels, effectively and execute the movements,
-Learn what the butterfly is and how to perform it,
And finally,  to spin the 'poi' using different timing.

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Learning Objective:
To listen and participate in the workshop with the guest lecturer. To think about notes for logbook entries to influence your decision on a variety act of your own.

I found today's 'poi' workshop very challenging and difficult as it was learning a new skill that although looked easy to watch was very hard to pick up. It was fun to learn new skills and you felt a sense of achievement when you managed to achieve and pick up a new skill however I struggled to do some which was disheartening however I believe with practice it would be possible to achieve.

Some of the skills we learnt to do were;
-Crossing the arms infront of the face,
-3 - beat weave,
- Spin the poi in parallel lines,
-Hip reels,
-Butterfly,
-Weave,
Spin the poi backwards.

The execution I struggled to learn most was the weave, I struggled to create the correct motion with the arms without the poi hitting each other. And the move I loved and performed best was the butterfly.

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Performance!

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Refine and Rehearse.

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Make characters,
Refine and rehearse.

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Pick and edit a soundtrack/backing track.

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Continue to work through the script.

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Add characters to the script

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Work through the script.

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Look at the story, assign characters etc.

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Practice how to make the balloon models.

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Budget plan,
Research how much balloons are,
Find instructions on how to create balloon models,
Find a story with characters,
And most importantly order the balloons.

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We decided to settle with the idea of using balloon models to create/tell a story, in order to prepare for our performance we created a rehearsal plan to follow and help guide us for the next 9/10 weeks.

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http://www.bellep.com/history-of-burlesque
The word “burlesque” comes from the Spanish or Italian word "burla" which means to mock, trick, or joke.  The original use of the word burlesque was seen in the 16th and 17th century to describe parodies, and grotesque or ridiculous imitations, often of authors or artists of the time. Victorian burlesque was essentially musical theater parody of popular ballets, operas and plays.

In the late 19th century, shows featuring what we now call "striptease" started appearing simultaneously and independently in both America and Paris.  In America, stripping was seen on both the vaudeville and burlesque circuits, with the trapeze artist Charmion famously performing a "disrobing" act on stage in 1896 later caught on film by Edison.  In Paris theaters, such as the Moulin Rouge, there were acts featuring scantily clad women dancing and in tableaux vivantes ("living pictures" where the performers do not move or speak).  It was in this environment in the 1890s that an act was first performed where a woman slowly removed her clothing … looking for a flea! In the1920s and 30s striptease became a predominant part of burlesque.

Prohibition and a crack down on burlesque theaters started the decline of burlesque in America in the 1940s. In England in the 1950s there were still touring striptease shows to try to attract audiences back to the declining music halls.   The 1960s, in both England and the US, saw the introduction of topless go-go dancers.  However, by the 1970s burlesque had all but died out everywhere. The 1990s saw the formation of the "Neo-burlesque" movement, which pioneered the revival and updating of the traditions of burlesque.

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To help inspire us we watched clips of the famous Burlesque dancer 'Dita Von Teese' to understand how she performs it to help us work on our performance skills.

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The gorgeous Dita Von Teese on being the girl he'll never forget... More on Into The Gloss: http://into.gl/1gXQisu

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I believe this would be a potential option to consider for our variety performance as we can also interpret dance into it and adapt the choreography we were taught in today's session.

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At the start of the session we learnt a short burlesque style motif teaching us 2 ways to remove a glove, we were then set on a creative task to take what we've previously learnt and put together a piece in the Burlesque style.

I really liked creating this short motif as me and my group all felt comfortable and were able to successfully create a piece.

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Uploaded by Georgia Mccabe on 2016-11-25.

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Learning Objective:
To listen and participate in the workshop with the guest lecturer. To think about notes for logbook entries to influence your decision on a variety act of your own.

I really enjoyed participating in the Burlesque workshop during today as I felt comfortable, inspired and confident. I believe I picked up the choreography and managed to grasp the style well, as it's very similar to dancing. I have never learnt this style previously and I found it really interesting to learn and perform as you were able to have fun with it.

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It is important to wipe the pole with a towel as we found it often got sweaty making it slippy and hard to grip.

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Uploaded by Georgia Mccabe on 2016-11-29.

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Uploaded by Georgia Mccabe on 2016-11-29.

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Uploaded by Georgia Mccabe on 2016-11-29.

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Learning Objective:
To listen and participate in the workshop with the guest lecturer. To think about notes for logbook entries to influence your decision on a variety act of your own.

During today's lesson I felt pushed, challenged and determined as we explored the art of pole dancing and how to demonstrate the act with confidence and accuracy safely. Although I don't think this is my strongest skill I did enjoy it, however, I don't think this would be an option to consider when deciding on our variety act as it would require a lot of confidence and practice to perform and in my opinion I think it'd be difficult to choreograph a routine everyone felt comfortable doing.

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Overall, I really enjoyed today's session. It has influenced one of our ideas for our final performance which I am really excited to work on and watch progress and see how it turns out. Balloon Modelling was something neither of us ever considered a skill, or entertaining however today's workshop proved otherwise.
Our new idea for our performance is, to create balloon characters and take a classical story and modernize it and use the balloon models as puppets to help narrate the story. I think this will be fun to create and perform as it allows you to have freedom and we can alter and had comedy to our story to keep the audience hooked.

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Uploaded by Georgia Mccabe on 2016-11-09.

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Uploaded by Georgia Mccabe on 2016-11-09.

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Uploaded by Georgia Mccabe on 2016-11-09.

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Here is some photos from the balloon workshop, displaying tutorials on how to make things step by step, everyone making and creating and then finishing products

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Learning objective:
To listen and participate in the workshop with the guest lecturer. To think about notes for logbook entries to influence your decision on a variety act of your own.

During today's lesson we were lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with guest lecturer Al, who taught us how to do balloon modelling ranging from a simple dog of just 3 twists to a teddy bear and a hat. The experience was challenging and often difficult however it was fun and I learnt new skills. I enjoyed pushing past my fear of being afraid of popping a balloon when trying to model it and twist it. I believe this will be something we will consider as our final performance with interpreting another skill to make the piece more exciting.

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We have chosen these ideas as we they're out of our comfort zone and they're new skills which will push and challenge our abilities and they'll be entertaining for the audience to watch. We believe that with dedication to a new skill we will be able to learn and perform it successfully.

Ideas;
Dancing, Singing, Acting,
Comedy - stand up comedy, impressions,
Magic tricks,
Dancing with projections/shadows,
Puppets - Ventriloquism.

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Variety is anything, for example from magic tricks to singing and reading poetry, that are performed to an audience. It doesn't have to be performed well, however it will be entertaining for the audience to watch. It is about being diverse and individual.