It has been a very busy start to this half term in the Contemporary Dance classes! All groups are busy learning their new exercises and beginning to work on their pieces for the show in March. I have been so pleased to return after my injury to see so many familiar faces and get back to working with such wonderfully hard working and enthusiastic dancers.
Our three 3-6 class have been working very hard on their different Disney animal exercises. They are showing real progress in their use of facial expressions, particularly in their Lion King exercise with fabulous roars and claws! We have also begun work on our The Jungle Book show piece and I have certainly witnessed some cheeky monkeys travelling magnificently around the dance hall.
Our ever enthusiastic 6-10 class have been working incredibly hard this half term and in just two lessons have learned their new technical exercises! This leaves us plenty of time to further develop their use of extension, balance and coordination over this half term. I have also been very impressed by their organisation when it comes to bringing in their props for our Matilda inspried show piece. It has been great fun dancing with books and discovering ways to showcase Matilda’s magical powers!
Our 10-12 class have chosen a fantastic book to work with for our show piece and have enjoyed exploring some of the themes behind A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As fairies, their focus on magic and mystery has led them to create some beautiful ‘spell’ dances and I can see some wonderful choreographic skills developing already. Their new technique exercises have also kept them very busy and I am so impressed to see such a great improvement in their alignment during the footwork exercise.
Our 12-16 class have been very keen to start working on their show piece and have bombarded me with their knowledge and love for The Hunger Games! They are working very hard during the technical exercises to ensure we always have plenty of time to work on our ‘protection trios’ ready to show Katniss heading off to fight in The Hunger Games. As a result, their stamina and movement memory has come on leaps and bounds!
Our lovely adult class have started this half term with exercises designed to develop coordination and movement memory even further than before! They have risen to the challenge as always demonstrating fabulous timing and energy – they make it look really easy! They have also started working on their 1984 inspired show piece with an opening section consisting of the robotic and mechanical movement of a robustly controlled society. I cannot wait to see them perform it in March!
With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, I am sure all of our Contemporary classes will continue to work just as hard and with just as much passion and enthusiasm to get their show pieces ready for March. With the continued develoment of their technical and performance skills, I for one cannot wait to watch them present their work!
Miss Becky
