During my time dancing at home, I noticed that in ballet I felt as if my technique had declined. I was particularly struggling with adage phrases and its core elements such as balance, control, placement and extension. Therefore for part of this assessment I wanted to focus on an adage sequence and how I approach learning the phrase. I joined a short port de bras and adage together and filmed myself practicing it once a day over the course of a few days. 

I think that as I became more familiar with the sequence of movement I quickly became clearer with where I focused my energy for example whether I projected it outwards or I kept it internal. I quickly had an understanding that in order to move efficiently and smoothly sometimes less energy is key. For example moving from the releve passe to the waltz step. However I think if I was to practice this further I could make more distinction between movements that are grounded and movements that have lightness. 

MUSICALITY

I noticed quickly that I didn’t feel a connection between myself and the music. In the video on the second day I thought that I was using the phrasing of the music very predictably. For example it would be more effective if I sustained and held the arabesque for longer instead of dropping it on the beat. To combat this, I tried using headphones so I could hear the intricacies of the music clearer. By using the headphones I think that it instilled more deliberate choice on how to use the phrases of the music. I also think that it affected how I used energy, whether I chose to project outwards and exaggerate movement or whether to be precise and keep my energy internal. 

PHYSICALITY

Throughout the week I continually reviewed the previous videos and thought about what I could do to improve the following day. I often picked up on technical principles such as placement and alignment. By day 3 and 4 as I began to think more about placement, in doing so I think I lost some of the original indulgent physicality slightly. Focusing on the placement and alignment gave my movement added clarity but took away from the intuitive looseness I had when I first learnt the phrase. As I review the videos, neither quality is worse but I discovered that I should never be compromising on either. It should be an active choice based on what the exercise demands to focus either on physicality or clarity of placement. 

Moreover I continually had problems with my extension whilst at home as I was working in a significantly smaller space. It was difficult to feel as if I could extend into my extremities without fear of hitting something. Furthermore simply the feeling of being confined to a smaller area, even if there was enough space physically, made it difficult to extend without thinking. This is a correction that I occasionally receive in class however I believe that being at home has somewhat affected my intuitive physicality.

I believe that there is significance in reflecting upon your own learning process. For instance identifying elements of a phrase I embody automatically, and understanding what components require more thinking. Being familiar with your own learning process is valuable in the studio but especially in an audition setting where you must learn and perform in a short time frame. Knowing what components I instinctively embody and what things I need to consciously think about will help me to rapidly improve my performance. I intend to continue thinking about how I learn as this reflection helped me to understand my body better and aided my transition back into the studio.