The Illuminate festival was for the year eight transition, we had the opportunity to perform for our friends and family, and to show them what we had done/learnt in Project X over the last term. It was a great way to end the night, and for all of us to participate in. Four different arts were showcased on the night; drama, visual art, media and dance, we were all given the chance to apply for the type of art we wanted in term 2. The end of transition was a great night and it was fun to be able to experience it with all of my friends.

The process we went through to create the Dance routine for the Illuminate Festival took a while as we wanted to make sure it look good for the final performance. The first step for the performance was that we had to make individual choreography. For the choreography, we had to decide on a toy to be and pick positions. Once we had chosen the type of toy we wanted to be and the positions of that toy, we began to add the movement in. This was for the start of the dance so it was quite simple, all we had to do was move on each count of four so that it looked like we were dysfunctioning toys. Once we had completed that we moved onto the next part of the dance. For this we had to get into partners, one of us was the puppet master and the other was the puppet. We both had to do eight counts before swapping. After memorizing our part as the puppet, we separated and formed new pairs, then had to teach the other person our memorized part of the puppet. Once our pair had memorized each other’s section and morphed it into one, we began our work on the middle section of the dance. For this part, we were placed in a V position and we taught a simple dance that ended up looking very effective. Although some parts were tricky to learn and needed more work than others, we managed to learn and perform well. After this, we were asked to get into groups of four to five where we made our choreography for the ending of the dance. Unlike the rest of the dance, this part was meant to be free and flowy to represent to festival theme of Illuminate. This process took quite some time as we wanted to make sure our performance would give off the correct vibe in which we wanted it to have and to make sure everyone had the correct timing.

The performance had a binary structure, which means that it was split up into two different parts. The intentions of the first part was to make it appear as if we were all puppets that were being controlled and had limitations on how to move. This symbolised the guidance, help and control in which we we provided throughout our two years of transition. The second part of the dance was meant to be more free and flowing, as well as exciting, because it what representing the freedom and new possibilities/responsibilities that would be given to us by ‘breaking out’ of year eight and by ending the transition period.

The dance involved quite a bit of collaboration as the preponderance of the dance involved working in small groups and creating our own choreography. There were two different groups that we were asked to collaborate with, one was for the ‘freedom section’ and the other was for the ‘puppet section’. Although I was away for most of the freedom section, I was able to put my input into both groups and make sure that I communicated effectively with my group and made sure I was flexible so that all my group members would be happy with the dance and that everyone was comfortable with the end result. As a group we all came up with ideas so that we could create the feeling and vibe that we wanted the audience to feel. For the next time we do an activity that we get to collaborate in, I think i could improve by voicing more of my opinions rather than letting others decide because of the fact that I do not want others to be upset of annoyed.

The style of movement in the first section was rigid and stiff, this was because we were trying to give off a broken toy/puppet vibe that the audience would hopefully feel too. The movement of our bodies would always/supposed to hit the beat and were manipulated by our limb joints which gave off a good effect in the performance. The movements were usually quite quick and sharp which played on our side when trying to get from one thing to another. During the sharp, quick movements, quite a lot of energy was used so it would look strong rather than weak and flimsy. The second part of the dance however, used quite a lot of energy as it was more flowy and was quite upbeat and fun. The energy was also increased as we got to move around a lot more and the dance was faster as the song had changed and the beats quickened. The second part was more natural as our movement was more flowy and free.

Some of the things that I did well in during the performance was my commitment and not giving up at the end of the dance when we had expected everyone to get up but they all stayed seated and we were running around the common. I was also able to show enthusiasm and excitement to those who were feeling uncomfortable about going on stage or were anxious.

As an entire group I think that we performed really well. Although there were some mistakes, such as timing and positioning of postures or poses that I saw whilst re-watching the video that was filmed those we minor things that did not have too much effect on the outcome. I did not mind that there were a few mistakes, because in the end it was for fun and looked great, even though there were some last minute changes and we were a little out of sync.

Performing on the Common was a very different experience from when we were dancing in the studio. There were some challenges, such as the unevenness and the small amount of area. There we also the challenges of the sun blinding us and the things that we in the way(like the statue and trees). Whoever we were able to overcome these distractions and obstacles so that we could perform the dance to the best of our abilities.

The performance and the process throughout the preparation for the Illuminate Festival had given me an opportunity to learn a lot as a dancer. The performance has helped me to train my body to move my body in ways that may not always be comfortable or feel right. It has also taught me that it is okay to make mistakes as long as you take something away from them and you use them to grow rather than to become self-conscious and shy. I am grateful to have been able to contribute and be part of the Illuminate Dance Performance of 2022 and has given me an opportunity that I am grateful for, to grow both physically and mentally.