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Thinking about my future goals, I want to become more confident. I recognise my physical strengths however I do not focus on my mental strengths. I hold back in classes which could be hindering the speed of my progress throughout my training. If I carry on my journey holding back I will be limiting myself to possible future jobs.

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Professionally, being the ensemble in a cast is what appeals to me the most and my dream show would be Chicago. The costumes, choreography and songs capture me the most compared to any other musical. I am also very open to different career paths such as a backup dancer or an assistant choreographer, however, my main focus is Chicago. The previous third-year students and London Studio Centre have had a Chicago workshop. If I am lucky enough to have the same opportunity next year it is a chance for me to learn some repertoire to prepare me for an audition and ask questions and build connections to the industry.

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I recognise that my strongest strength is the quality to me movement and performance when I dance. In every piece of feedback from teachers over the years of my training, they have stated that I display an understanding of what mood to bring to a dance through my facials. (I have attached a voice note as an example). Chicago the musical has a dark, mature atmosphere throughout, hence why I’m strongly drawn to this musical.

Another strength of mine is that I have very good control over my body, enabling me to produce visually appealing lines through my dancing. The choreography in Chicago the musical is Fosse which I consider to be my strongest style of dance. The style of Fosse jazz is very clean and exact meaning the level of control I have is useful to execute the dance numbers within Chicago.

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Although I am a clean, controlled dancer, in styles such as commercial and hip hop I’m told I can push myself by making all my movements bigger. To ensure this doesn’t lead to my movements looking messy, I need to make sure I still keep the cleanliness of the choreography and movements. Taking videos of myself dancing in classes can help me reflect on my movements and help me choose which moments to pull back on, which also will add more depth and texture to the quality of my dancing. Improving on this will help me become a more versatile dancer so that if I go down a different career routine I’m versatile enough to try different styles.

Another improvement to work on currently is my flexibility. I have good flexibility however ideally I need my legs as close to 180 degrees as possible when working in heels. Different casting companies have different physical requirements when auditioning. If I were to audition for a show that involves a Can Can for example, ‘Moulin Rouge!’ or ‘The Rockettes’, I need enough flexibility to match the height of the rest of the cast's Grande battement height. I can see this from watching the dance numbers in both these shows.

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(“Rockettes Dance Moves: Eye-High Kicks.”

https://youtu.be/8zDPBuRNryg?si=LsojksjDLGjJbS1j 2016)

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To improve my flexibility I was suggested to focus on my hamstrings, glutes and lower back. After researching I was able to pick out a variety of stretches

(Aerial Pole, Cara Chapman. “Best HAMSTRING STRETCHES https://youtu.be/FEPM7j3XhSQ?si=m9C1-rlzZlv3mCi1 2022)

(Babel. “Back Flexibility Stretch Routine for Dancers

https://youtu.be/uVkuFamL9Jc?si=KejF6h3VAWDJxS5H 2021)

(“Decrease Dance Injuries with Hip and Glute Stretches + Increase Flexibility.” https://youtu.be/nN2H70tZSJg?si=bRaghmj7llFAtt_g 2021)

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Back Flexibility Stretch Routine for Dancers [Follow Along]

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(“Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Good Morning America.”

https://youtu.be/HTbPslvdYa8?si=9-1hJ-CRmGS1KFIR 2020)

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Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Good Morning America

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To make sure I keep my body healthy and in its best condition, I will need to make sure I take classes after graduation. I have already attended Ashley Nottingham’s show dance classes which is a great challenge dancing alongside professional dancers as I can pick up on skills and style choices. I want to expand the variety of classes I take by adding tap, jazz technique and hip-hop open classes into my schedule to keep challenging myself.

Working in heels could lead to an obstacle of injury especially around the ankle. Having a physio in place to help with exercises to strengthen the muscles around my ankle can be useful to tackle this.

I will continue to take videos in class so self analyse what to improve on as well as ask teachers for feedback.

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I had no previous training before coming to London Studio Centre, so I spent my first year identifying weaker styles of dance, which I discovered to be hip hop.  This heavily influenced what I would pick for my options in the second year. In both terms, I picked hip hop and it is now one of my strongest styles. I have more textures and dynamics and my pickup rate is a lot faster which has helped me become a more versatile dancer which can help me kick start my career in the industry.

I also picked musical theatre jazz as an option and this was incredibly beneficial. It meant I worked with Selena Hamilton who has been in different musicals, such as ‘Anything Goes’, giving me a knowledgeable insight into what I need to bring to an audition. We worked on technique in our character heels and she provided us with two contrasting routines. One of the routines we did was Fosse-influenced, brining a mature essence to the choreography giving that Chicago feel. We were taught ways to lengthen our body lines in our heels for example choosing when to bevel our foot or push over our full point. Over the weeks of training this dance style, I have an understanding of how to dance in heels whilst still using proper technique.

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Aerial Pole, Cara Chapman. “Best HAMSTRING STRETCHES for AERIAL, POLE, and DANCE (Beginner to Intermediate Level).” Www.youtube.com, 12 Jan. 2022, youtu.be/FEPM7j3XhSQ?si=dULpQbQ10FdG2VUm. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

Babel, Kayleen. “Back Flexibility Stretch Routine for Dancers [Follow Along].” Www.youtube.com, 16 Apr. 2021, youtu.be/uVkuFamL9Jc?si=pxyFqxxabPyLkVDi. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

“Decrease Dance Injuries with Hip and Glute Stretches + Increase Flexibility.” Www.youtube.com, 1 Apr. 2021, youtu.be/nN2H70tZSJg?si=FF791UJrazZI9lnJ. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

Dziemianowicz, Joe. “Get to Know Bob Fosse and His Iconic Broadway Dance Style.” New York Theatre Guide, 22 Mar. 2023, www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/what-to-know-about-the-legendary-namesake-of-bob-fosses-dancin-on-broadway. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical. “Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Good Morning America.” Www.youtube.com, 26 Feb. 2020, youtu.be/HTbPslvdYa8?si=lhrU0Wy_jmBlzPAd. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

Rockettes, The. “Rockettes Dance Moves: Eye-High Kicks.” Www.youtube.com, 25 Apr. 2016, youtu.be/8zDPBuRNryg?si=LWGCTvkgDrCCcpjA. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

Sapperstein, Sarah, and Rebecca Ballenger. “Chicago (Musical) Plot & Characters | StageAgent.” StageAgent, 2019, stageagent.com/shows/musical/1091/chicago. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.

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Flexibility