Because of all this, lyrical jazz is often confused with contemporary, a very similar style and it can be especially difficult to determine whether a dance is contemporary or lyrical because the defining traits are often disputed. The key thing I have drawn from looking into both lyrical jazz and contemporary is that the two styles may have somewhat of a grey area where dances may fit into either category but beyond this, it is clear how to create a dance specific and true to lyrical if you include enough technical elements. 

In this lesson we learnt a phrase to dance to the chorus of Wake Me Up Inside by Evanescence. The music is powerful, emo, alternative rock with the chorus being particularly loud, and fast paced. This initially made it hard trying to place dynamics in the poetic phrase, with all of the movements we were taught having a predominant fluid element to them. One move I found particularly hard was a step diagonally into an abdominal contraction with both arms thrown to the floor, legs in a fondu position with the right foot suspended just behind the left ankle. This was hard because the contraction felt really unnatural to do, it was also incredibly fast so it was difficult finding a way to look pretty and poetic whilst being so sharp dynamically. Bellow is an example of an abdominal contraction.
Target Setting:
My target for next lesson is to focus better so that I can pick up the steps more accurately.

This video of choreography to Pink’s song, Try, shows how lyrical dance can be done to to a fast, upbeat song and yet still appear graceful. It works because the song in itself is passionate. It is feisty and emotionally sung and this provides the basis for a passionate, emotional dance. They also show a range of dynamics: in the very beginning of the dance, the first few movements are seen to be fluid, even gentle before the beat of the song kicks in and the dancing becomes a lot faster and more energetic with more sharp movements, but still fluid in places. I aim to apply this kind of approach to my dancing, and find grace in fast, passionate movements.

Below is a section of the lyrics from the song we are dancing to - Wake Me Up Inside by Evanescence. From listening to the song more closely with Sophie and Chloe and studying these lyrics, I have come to understand that what Evanescence are trying to put across is a strong feeling of sadness and emptiness, something we can show in our performance using our facial expressions. There is a real sense of struggle against “the dark” as she is pleading desperately for someone to save her. We can show this determination using fast, sharp and bold moves, counteracted with slower, sullen movements to show her sadness. We can also use our posture to convey character and emotion. For example, a strong upright posture is not always called upon in this song. This we demonstrated later on after we learnt Phrase 1, for example when walking in a circle, dragging our feet behind our focus became to look down, at the floor or our hands as we moped sullenly and elegantly. This not only used our posture, but each step involved accurate musicality, facial expressions and the use of eyelines to convey emotion. The opposite of this is also shown in the first phrase during the chassé turns, where after each turn we have a momentary lean where we look outwards in anguish, holding this pose for a beat as we stare longingly. We also used actions such as fosse arms, which exercised our musicality and interpretation of the music. Extension is incredibly important in this dance, as it provides a fantastic opportunity to communicate emotion stylistically. Because of this, Harvey and I added to Amy's choreography, creating a sweeping motion with our right feet, (rond de jambe a terre) to match the sweeping movement our right arms were already doing, leading us swiftly into a turn to face the back. 

During this lesson, Chloe choreographed a knee drop which did look really cool, however we decided to explore other options because it was unfair for Sophie as she suffers a knee injury, on top of the fact that it came across as much more of a contemporary move than something that might be more linked to ballet or jazz. I also found in this lesson that I have been struggling a lot with the back isolation / head roll in Phrase 2 due to suffering from back stiffness and pain along my left side. This has been exceptionally frustrating as the stiffness and pain flares up when I try to move with flexibility.
Target Setting:
Repeat back stretches daily to improve flexibility
Engage focus to avoid becoming pent up with frustration, thus distracting me from the lesson

I found that doing three hops followed by a flick-kick required a lot of concentration whilst trying to add in fast, sharp arms opposite to the leg movements, simultaneously. I stuck with hands on hips for now, but I am determined to achieve the transition from loose arms to first, then to third.

We then did corner exercises, leaps (preceded by step ball changes) being something I found challenging due to my lack of flexibility. To improve this I will be doing more stretches every day, to improve the elasticity of the muscles in my legs and back. After this we looked at Phrase 1, polishing any rough edges that were not quite right. Through peer feedback I became aware that my face was really showing my lack of confidence with the dance and that I looked bored, so I made it a goal to practise more so that I’m comfortable and confident with the movements. We solved any timing differences through discussing as a group how to get our dance to a place where it is all synchronised.
Target Setting: Be mindful of facial expressions when dancing. Continue to work on facial expressions.

As a class we solved any timing issues for when we perform each phrase individually and in unison, how it was originally choreographed. This happened to show that most of the class had slightly different timing on the backwards press up, so we resolved it by ensuring it was set to counts, and that everyone pushed up on the sixth count of eight. We also rehearsed our pirouettes, making sure there was no confusion in which direction we were all spinning or in fact the timing for that as well. The main focus points of this pirouette exercise were balance, posture, and musicality. Spatial awareness and co-ordination were also utilised in order for us to land our pirouettes precisely.

We then added on the final phrase, focusing on travelling using leaps, step ball changes and pirouettes. This phrase also involved a plie, flowing into a sideways leg extension, after which we wrapped our arms round our bodies (feet now in a lunge position, body facing stage right) and arched our backs slowly, rolling out the back, head and neck to look up and then roll back in. This move involved precise timing and accurate musicality as it needed to go with the lyric “breathe”. The move doesn’t have any counts, as it is a movement that should simply flow with the very way the word breathe is sung. This also used flexibility.
Target Setting:
Prepare for assessment by practising routine, focusing on technique.