LO2: A Chorus Line Rehearsal Reflection Week 4

⭐A CHORUS LINE ⭐

Rehearsal Reflection - Week 4

Tuesday 1st

This rehearsal included both my class and the Year 12's. After a warmup, we worked on "I Can Do That". The character Mike had previously had an individual rehearsal for this number as it is a song that has no ensemble singing. This rehearsal's aim was to put the 'line characters' into the song. The choreography for us as the line, is simple as we don't want to draw focus off of Mike. We stay stood in our line for the entirety of the number apart from the end. Just before the end of the number there's a slight instrumental section during this we join in with Mike and some other ensemble members and do the same choreographed moves as they do. Throughout the number, we are just reacting to what Mike is singing about. This may be simple but it allows us in the line to really bring out our characters and gives us a great opportunity to really exaggerate our expressions as this number is meant to be quite upbeat and fun. We worked on the number until we had completed the song. Once we did that, we went on to work on, "At the Ballet". 

We had all the base and beginnings of this number for example, our separate sequences in our ballet groups but we now needed to piece it all together. When we were piecing it all together I found it very confusing. I really struggled with the timing of the section I'm doing. I'm doing a different section to everyone else within the dance called 'echappe sauté en Croix' and myself and the people I am doing it with all found it hard to figure out what the timing for our section is. It's a lot slower than what we think it is so we need to slow it down and take our time with this sequence. Ballet is delicate and slow and each movement is intricately carried out and it's important not too rush the movements. Everyone was also confused with the cues on when one group starts dancing and when another finishes. We just need to go over this number and break it down and focus on timings. 

Once we did that we ran-through the opening number a few times. Rudy, playing Zach, wasn't in our rehearsal today so we used the backing track without vocals. This was actually a great challenge for us as we rely on Zach to count us in and keep us in time with the music. It was hard to find the dance cues in the music for certain steps. 

• Skills: Opening Number
• Areas For Development: "At the Ballet" - timing

In terms of skills, I would say my own personal skills and our skills as a group was the opening number, "I Hope I Get It". We have done this number a lot and rehearsed it several times as a warmup for our rehearsals. As we have practiced this number a lot we are getting increasingly stronger at dancing it each time we go over it. I would say we are stronger at it when we have Zach with us as we rely on him to keep us in time. In terms of our areas of development, I would say I need to develop and work on my timing during my 'echappe sauté en Croix' section. I need to work with my group and work together on this section so that we are all in understanding of our timing. 

Rehearsal Videos

Wednesday 2nd

For this rehearsal we were all together so we had Year our rehearsal with the Year 12's. The aim for this rehearsal was to run-through the songs and the already completed scenes page 1 - 29. We logically decided it would be best to work in show/song order so we can get used to running these numbers in the correct show order. The opening number went really well. My stamina is vastly improving in this number now as I am getting less out of breath the more we do it. I am also finding the steps more natural as I know the number very well now. In comparison, when we ran through, "At the Ballet" it was very disorganised as everyone was a little unsure of the timings and cues for the number. Our teacher Tanya recognised this immediately and refined and developed this number so that it would run smoothly. She put us in spaces and pieced our group sequences together and choreographed the first part of the number so that we are on stage dancing the whole time. This number includes not only just us but also the A level dancers. I really like the changes to this number as I feel that it all makes sense now and I'm finding the number a lot easier and less confusing. In terms of technique, I enjoy this number a lot as I would say ballet is strong point for me as I studied it for a long time. I feel quite confident with this number. I also like its contrast in style to the opening number. Its delicacy allows me to be able to catch my breath as it is slower than the opening number. I also think I find this number easier because I don't sing in this number at all as it's just sung between characters Sheila, Bebe and Maggie. As I don't sing, I don't have to focus on lyrics/cues or any harmonies; I can just focus on the actual dancing. 

When we ran through, "I Can Do That" it didn't run as smoothly as it should have. The number ended up appearing too simple as we (the line) are just stood reacting to Mike. Like with, "At the Ballet", our teacher Tanya developed this number to make it have more movement that involves the line more. This number is fun and silly and that is now being shown through our new movements. To begin with, I did find the new movements tricky to recall as there are no movement repeats, they are all different and I did get a little mixed up. With more practice these movements will become more natural for me. Our run-through of, "Sing" went a lot smoother. Overall, it went very well, we just need to go over a couple actions to make sure we are all unified. We all know our harmony parts for this number now so this was a perfect opportunity to sing it and do the choreography at the same time. I am confident with my harmony and with doing both the actions and the singing at the same time for this number. 

Once we did that, we moved onto, "Montage 1". My class performed it to the Year 12's first so that they could see what they would be learning. Overall, our run-through went really well and when it comes to singing and dancing at the same time, I am confident with that as we have done this number a few times so the doing the actions with singing is becoming more like second nature for me. We then started to teach the Year 12's the number. Previously, Year 12's didn't learn the number when we did so when it came to singing, we had some gaps which is where the Year 12's have lines this was a challenge for us as we needed o know the timing for our cue lines after the gaps. It's a lot easier to perform with everyone as we can properly hear when each line comes in.

In the afternoon, we also had our extra-curricular rehearsal that includes the whole cast. In this session we started learning, "One: Bows". This is the finale number to the whole show. I like the style of this number a lot but I think I will face challenges when it comes to doing the choreography while singing as we will have separate harmonies. This means we will have a lot to focus on in this number. The quicker I become familiar with the steps, the easier the singing will be for me.

• Skills: Stamina, Coordination
• Areas For Development: "At the Ballet" and "I Can Do That" new choreography

In terms of this rehearsals skills, I would say my stamina. Wednesdays are very busy and we rehearse for a significant amount of time and we are dancing and moving around a lot. We get a lot done in our rehearsal time and work hard. I would say my stamina was a skill as I managed to maintain my energy at a good level and was able to keep running through numbers keeping my energy equal across the board. I would also say that coordination was a skill of mine for this rehearsal. Our dances have a lot of arm movements but are legs are doing something else. I think I am doing well to make sure my arms and legs are doing the right thing. An example of this would be in, "One: Bows". In this number we have to do footwork and leg choreography while thinking about where our hat prop is and moving it while we are dancing. In terms of my areas for development, I would say I need to work on the changes in choreography for, "At the Ballet" and "I Can Do That". As the choreography was adapted, I was slightly thrown off and did have some challenges with remembering the choreography. I need to watch the videos back and go over what I need to do to make sure that I am prepared for our next rehearsal and know what I am doing. 

Rehearsal Videos

Thursday 3rd

In this rehearsal we were with the Year12's and after a warmup, we worked on completing 'At the Ballet. This rehearsal was my turn to lead the group vocal warmup. I started with breathing exercises, went on to do tongue twisters and the focus was to do them in an American accent as the show is set in America. We also went through some scales and vocal exercises until we all felt warmed up. The aim was to finish the whole number. We worked on the number and went over what we had done so far. We then went on to develop the number by adding more movements. We kept with the idea of having 2 groups integrated and included some pirouettes but did it so that one group went first, second group went second. This keeps the number visually interesting. We then moved into a clump and did some ballet movements ands arm movements. Our moves are kept quite simple as we will have Alevel dancers doing intricate ballet sequences around us. Once we finished the number we then ran-through 'Montage Part 1: Hello Twelve...'. As we learnt this without Year 12, we continued to develop this number and teach more of the choreography to them. Once we caught everyone up to speed, we carried on to the next section of the song. We got up to the end of Connie's section within the song.

• Skills: 'At the Ballet' and 'Montage Part 1: Hello Twelve...' movements (recall and retain)
• Areas For Development: Fidgeting, refining technique, balance

In terms of skills, I think my skills for this rehearsal was my ability to recall and retain the choreography. I know the steps and I have got them down but I need to practice it and go over it and refine the movements and focus on making sure my technique is accurate. That is one of my areas for development that I need to work on. I also need to work on my balance in, 'At the Ballet' as when I do my ballet section, I lose my balance during my relevé and I am not able to hold it as long as I need to. I need to work on spotting and engaging my core strength so that I am able to hold my relevé for longer. One thing I did notice when watching back the videos we take in rehearsals, I do fidget once I am done dancing my part or while we're moving around. I need to start practicing the numbers and dances without fidgeting as this element loses the smartness and professional look of the numbers. 

Rehearsal Videos

Friday 4th

For this extra-curricular rehearsal we went through the opening number with the full cast. The aim of this rehearsal was to get through the next section of the dance. The Alevel dancers aren't in our other rehearsals so they don't know as much as we do. Tanya, our teacher, assigned the Alevel dancers to a jazz group and a ctec student to teach them the combination. I was chosen to teach the dancers what we do for our group, group 2. This rehearsal was essentially a lot of repeating sequences and teaching new parts to the ones who didn't know it yet. It was repetitive for my class and the year 12's as we spend a lot of time on this dance in our lessons. The repetition was helpful as it really allows us to get the dance into our brains. I am at the point where I am doing this dance on autopilot as I have such a familiarity with the steps now that I don't have to think about it. This allows me to put all focus onto my singing and characterisation.

Saturday 5th 

This was an extra rehearsal for us as it was an open day at the college. When we have an open day we take it as an opportunity to have a rehearsal as this can help us get used to an audience as we have visitors coming into the department as they are interested in taking a performing arts subject. The visitors can watch us perform to get an idea of the sort of things we work on as apart of the course. During this rehearsal, we went through all the numbers we have done so far. We started chronologically and worked through the numbers. Overall, I am most confident with, "I Hope I Get It", "And...", "At the Ballet", "Montage: Part 1: Hello Twelve..." and my number, "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three". I am not as confident with "I Can Do That" and "Sing". For "I Can Do That", I am really struggling with some of the arm movements as they feel unnatural to me so I get them the wrong way round. I just need to keep going over this number so that the correct arm movements stay in my head. With "Sing", I am struggling in terms of singing my harmony part as I am still at the point where I do need to focus on the actions as they haven't quite sunk in yet. Going over my harmony and getting it into my head will help with learning the moves as my singing will be muscle memory and come naturally to me. We ran through the numbers about 3 times each. After the rehearsal, I became more familiar with the order of the show so I know am more aware of the structure and order the show is in.

Rehearsal Videos