Practical Skills

Practical skills: 

Singing: 

In the singing lessons we always did a warm up to ensure we don’t strain our voice, these warm up exercises included going through the scale with the a, e, I, o, u sounds to articulate the sound. Marshall and I were told to focus on projecting as we were hitting the right note we were just quiet. There were times where not everyone was here but those of us who were continued to work on projection. Marshall and I stood at opposite corners of the studio and sang to each other and we both heard each other well. I feel I improved as I could hold notes longer and I am singing louder. 

Ballet: 

Before starting on the barre, we would begin with turnout exercises to help open our hips and make our turnout stronger. We would occasionally raise the level of difficulty on the barre for example weight changes during tendus where we switch from the outside to inside leg. In the centre we focused on arabesques which we pivoted, sissones and pas de chat in a small enchainment. During these I focused on holding my core and having my weight more forward. I feel that my balance and stability have improved since the beginning of the year as I'm able to hold my rise for a longer period of time. This is helpful for my solo as I have to be aware of my balance and stability while I stand and dance with the blocks. 

Jazz: 

In jazz we always start with a difficult and hardworking warm up, as the weeks went on, the longer we held the plank and the more difficult the exercises would be. This includes jogging, star jumps and twists for 3 minutes, squats which we hold and with forced arches, plank and glutes workout and push ups and stretching. We learn small routines and combinations ad we do travelling exercises like kicks, leaps and pirouettes. I think my stamina has improved a lot because I last longer in the warm up and I'm not getting as out of breath as I used to. I’m able hold the plank for the duration needed and the push ups. This helped with performing ‘You can’t stop the beat’ as it built up my stamina. 

Warm ups are important in all areas as you could injure yourself if you go straight into moving or singing with the muscles being warm. It’s also important to cool down because if you don’t stretch out the muscles that you have worked, they are likely to tense up and be sore for a couple of days.