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In this reflection of my experience of contemporary classes this term, I hope to establish what methods of learning have been helpful and enjoyable so I may adopt them in future. I also aim to identify intersections between classes and how I have developed these elements in different ways. Furthermore, I will reflect on struggles I have faced over the course of the term in order to problem solve and overcome future issues I may encounter.

Throughout the term, I have been recording thoughts and feelings about my learning in a notepad to aid my reflections.

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Within Arran’s classes we have been introduced to new rough sequences and movements in each session. The intention of the class was to grasp a foundation of skills in order to build a new movement vernacular. We have done this by learning phrases or singular steps that can be used in any order. There is no emphasis on counts in this class but instead focus on Arran’s main principles which he names as ‘internal and external universe’. For me during this class I felt that a lot of focus was placed on efficiency of movement and how expansion of either your limbs or internal visualisation of expansion may aid this. For example in the following explorations of pathways:

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There is much similarity between Arran’s and Ben’s classes as they use expansion and extension in similar ways. I think that both in flying low and Arran's class expansion can be used to aid efficiency of movement especially when transferring from standing to floor.

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Here in flying low, there is a use of extension and expansion to relaxation to aid a controlled travel to the floor. It is this move from extension to relaxation that provides a soft and efficient landing.

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There was a higher cognitive load within Jason’s classes as there was more emphasis on coordination, counts and intricate movement. I often struggled learning phrases on Zoom and spent time out of class practicing and learning phrases to feel as if I could progress effectively in the next class. Jason’s classes also rely heavily upon expansion, although it is also used to aid efficiency it is mainly used for stylistic purposes either to create shapes or to add emphasis in dynamics.  See the following video

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https://vimeo.com/524438648/43daaf1c24

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I found the heavy emphasis on ‘expansion’ and ‘extension’ difficult as online learning has caused me to struggle a lot with these terms. I believe that dancing within my house has affected my physicality, possibly because I feel as if I cannot indulge in movement fully as I worry I may hit things in the room. Moreover, even when I knew there was physically enough space to move, the feeling of being confined to a smaller space affected my expansion. I had to really think about how I was performing movements in order to achieve the expansion and extension that was required. Being in such a restricted space also affected my mentality and motivation. I found myself becoming increasingly more frustrated when I could not perform a phrase as well as I would have liked due to the nature of the space I was working in. There were times when I blamed myself for not progressing at the pace I would have liked. I admit that I ignored this problem for too long and I became extremely unmotivated during classes.

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There were a couple methods that I found useful when tackling this problem. The first method that worked for me was visualising myself in a different space. I found that when I thought about myself onstage in a large theatre, not only did I expand more but I felt that the overall quality and physicality of my dancing became more indulgent. The feeling of performing to people also motivated me and encouraged me to inhabit larger amounts of space and project movement outwards. When I had days where I felt that I was struggling with extension, I would set aside half an hour to improvise however I wanted that day. By embodying and coming back into contact with my own style and movement, instead of being restricted by someone else’s phrases, I felt more in control and comfortable in my own body. I also had to accept the hard fact that it is ok not to progress at the pace I was in the studio. Every time I began to have negative thoughts and become frustrated with myself and the space, I took a minute to accept the situation and how my body is feeling that day. It took me a long time to come to terms with how a slower progression in my technique is understandable and acceptable at this time. I believe that accepting your own self directed frustration and learning how to deal with it is a valuable skill for the studio as not being able to always perform at your peak is unrealistic yet also frustrating in any situation.

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This clip is just an example of an improvisation to help me move in different way.

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As I felt that issues surrounding space and expansion have really impacted the way I have been made to learn this term, I wanted to delve deeper into what specific changes occur when the surrounding space is changed. Here I have performed the same recently learned phrase in two spaces to see what changes occur in my dancing.

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https://vimeo.com/524455134/64c03e45fd

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https://vimeo.com/524452673/956662a44a

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The most obvious change is that in the larger space I am not forced to constantly readjust myself to find enough room for the phrase. I found that this disrupted my ability to find a flow between movements when I entered studio space again. Furthermore this disruption led to a decrease in my efficiency of movement. I was finding moving at home more exhausting due to this and since having access to larger space I feel that I have improved faster as I have had the energy to practice the sequence more intensely. When I perform the movement at home there is far less expansion in my extremities especially my arms. This also contributed to a decrease one efficiency but also reduces my physicality and indulgence in the movement. I have found that this restriction on my ability to express my physicality how I would like increased my tendency to become frustrated.

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In summary, my experience of online learning has led me to discover that when I feel restricted in my movement or my ability to express movement as I would like I become frustrated with myself and unmotivated. This for me translates directly to the studio either when I feel I am not performing at my best or when I feel there are too many people in a studio. It is common for me to feel negative thoughts about myself in the studio especially when I make mistakes. However over the course of this online period I have been forced to problem solve ways to deal with this and will continue to utilise these methods in order to make my future learning as enjoyable and efficient as possible.