Deaf Dancers Speak

“Being hearing impaired forces you to listen and to observe the world in a different, more compassionate way. I could channel any emotion I needed through my dancing, which is what dance is about.”

The above is taken from an article where 7 professional Deaf dancers share their own personal experience on the challenges they face and the ways in which they overcome their hearing impairment when dancing.

Do read the whole article and take whatever encouragement you may find from the experience of others.

ANIC – Transitioning from Dance to Signs

Hi folks,
As mentioned during rehearsal yesterday, during and after the transition between dance and sign, the signing does not stand out enough and is being too overshadowed by the dancers.

What I want instead is for the signer to standout sort of like the “main singer” while the dancers are doing “backup”. However the energy of the dance must still be maintained (or even higher), so what we need now is for a higher level of showmanship from the signers so that the moment you sign the first word, you are able to catch the audience’s attention immediately

I also need the transitions between dance-sign-dance to be cleaner

Nix and I came up with examples for Adelynn and Geeta’s sign parts that you can refer to… this was quite impromptu so not really the best effort but I hope it illustrates what I mean.

Adelynn:

Geeta:

So your homework for the week is to put some thought into choreographing:
a) How you are going to transit into your sign
b) How you are going to sign and
c) How you are going to transit out?

Some pointers are:
1) No need to be too stiff, try more body and facial to help you express the feelings
2) If the sign talks about “heaven”, maybe you can try looking up at heaven?
3) General feel of the item is negative so try to sign like you are damn sad, frustrated, lonely, crying etc
4) Try some actions like shaking of head or constricting your body (like you got stomachache) etc,
4) You can move around if you think the signing requires you to do so

PS: For the 3 girls at the start, I will be choreographing the beginning signs so no need to put so much thought into it at the moment.

A Youtube Lesson in Dance…

Hi folks.

Now that the choreo is out, the bulk of the remaining sessions will be spent on cleaning. For cleaning, there are 2 very very basic foundations we need to work on as a group – Synchronisation and Energy

In a “sort of” sense, a super high energy dance and super synchronised dance will look really really good even if the dancers do not have any dance background. It’s just really hard work and super tiring because you will need work doubly hard at Synchro and Energy to mask any inexperience. So remember these 2 words – Synchronisation and Energy, and chant them to yourself every night before you sleep.

Lastly we may also need to work on the performance factor – being able to let go of any uncertainty, shyness etc and just let it all out on stage and really play to the audience. Make them unable to take their eyes off you.

----------------
Now let’s take a virtual dance lecture with the help of Youtube to explore some example of synchro and energy
(it took me a really long time to find these vids so please watch and gather any lessons you can from them)

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPG9f6GqmxI
No synchronisation and no energy at all. Dance looks terrible. The choreography is excellent but is let down by dancers who look under rehearsed, unsure and uncertain near the start of the dance.

2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFmRH5qV1t4
Some attempt at synchronisation but very low energy level. To me, this group of dancers are not shy and doing an okay job of “performing” for the audience. They look like they are having some fun on stage but the energy level is terribly low. Again, this dance doesn’t impress.

3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKqySyXRqTc
Some effort at energy by certain dancers but overall as a group, the dancers seem to be unsure and holding something back and some moves look like they are done half-heartedly sometimes (e.g hands half extend instead of fully extend, moves not executed fully etc) Check out the boy though – while not the best dancer, he is able to exude confidence on stage so you want to look at him at the start. Very commendable

Now lets look at some positive examples:

4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpKXA3e0G_I
Sychro, synchro, synchro. The dancers are actually dancing to a ballad that has almost no heavy beats at all but look at the synchronisation!! This proves that with synchronisation, you don’t need hard hitting or complicated steps to impress. In fact, you don’t even need dance music.

5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=filE8o1o0zg
Energy energy energy. There is no sound in this video but even without that, the energy level really bursts out right at ya! With such a big group, synchro is very hard but it almost becomes a non-factor in this dance because of the immense energy level of the group.

6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csNeQozw6LE
Synchro and energy. Wow….

Lastly lets look at a bunch of folks dancing to our song. Quite synchro, energy is not the greatest… but most important thing is, they look like they are really having fun.

7) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdTL7Xl3mT4

Class dismissed… now let’s dance!

~Prof Jason

Disclaimer: I’m just using the videos to illustrate the difference that synchro and energy makes – not to put any of those dancers down. Dance is an endless lesson and we are all just humble students.

Target

Dear Performers

Let’s aim to finish the whole item by the next 2 rehearsals so that we can run thru the whole flow during full dress on Tues. We would want to run through all the steps in the different formations for the whole item on the actual stage.

As the later part of the choreography has alot of playing with formations (so that we dun have to remember too much new choreo), it can only work out if everyone is present.

Please revise your steps and formations so far so that you can absorb the new stuff to be taught next.

———–
On another note, we usually have the studio early before our actual rehearsal time. Those who come early should be doing your warmups and revising on your own. Dun have to wait for everyone to come or wait for us to call for action. We should make full use of anytime spent in the studio.

Once you reach the studio

1. Firstly use the time to warm up. Use the stretching exercises learnt in the workshop. This is important.
2. Then ask us questions if you know that there are certain parts that you look weird or different from the rest.
3. Revise the steps form top to bottom. Run through the whole thing with people alredy present. Better still contact each other to meet earlier at the studio. If you want to come early just text us.

So once everyone come we will start all ready.

The above is important. During the last rehearsal, the last 2 runs with music before the video taking were really good! But for the video the standard dropped a bit. This is because you guys were all warmed up and the steps are all fresh in the mind during those 2 runs. We need to train so that every time you perform, the state of the mind is at its peak.

Enough nagging. We just hope to let you guys get used to being a real performer, no matter if you are professional or for hobby. once you are set for the stage in a group, you have to adhere to these habits so that the whole performance journey from rehearsal to showtime is smooth and enjoyable (even if tiring) for everyone. And at the end of the whole thing, the feeling of having done a great show is indescribable.

Rehearsal #4

I think the dance is coming along nicely and towards the end of the class, everyone seemed to be dancing on beat and in unison with each other. You guys look really really good! Great job!

We must try to maintain this standard and keep improving from week to week. This is only possible with regular self-practice. If you don’t have enough time/space to practice at home, feel free to arrange with other dancers to come to studio earlier and rehearse the steps. This is especially so if you missed the previous session. Those who are more familiar with the steps, help one another out. We should always start a rehearsal all prepared and all ready to move on to new steps.

The main thing that is required at this moment is to make sure you remember your steps, remember the timing/counts and remember the formation changes. So focus on getting those down first. Later then we will do “cleaning” (another dance term).

Cleaning:
To review and touch up the steps by breaking it down to its smallest details (e.g. head look where? angle of the hands? how low to bend? how far apart to stand? chin tilt up? down? fist or palm? etc etc). Purpose is to synchronize the dancers so that every one looks the same. Usually it is only after a thorough cleaning session that a choreographed dance item really shines. It’s almost like magic.

Videos will be up soon…

Just leave you with a one-liner about the videos we’re putting up for your revision:
A group dance is not something that you can learn just by watching a video.

~Out~

Dance Terms

Just thought that I’ll make a quick explanation of some dance terms that we use frequently

[1] Marking
To carry out the steps accordingly with correct timing but lower energy level so that you can conserve energy. Note that markng of steps should only be done during rehearsal, and when the instructor tells you it’s ok to mark. During actual performance, marking of steps is considered a cardinal sin

[2] Full-out
The is the opposite of marking. It means to carry out the steps with full energy level, expression and enthusiasm, as if you are performing on stage. When you go full-out, you will also tend to make more mistakes but this is ok. It is only by making these mistakes during rehearsals that we can learn to avoid them during performance. So during rehearsal, please go full out. Only then will you look your best.

[3] Window
From the point of view of the audience, this is the visual space between 2 dancers. When dancing in formation, we try to place dancers in windows so they won’t be blocked visually. During rehearsal, try to find a window to stand so that you can see yourself in the mirror and don’t stand directly behind the front dancer. Also, be aware of phrases we may use like “change windows”, “window each other” etc.

[ 4] Blocking
This refers to working out the actual formation and taking references to note where you will be standing during performance. Blocking is usually done full runs and tech runs. E.g. “let’s do blocking…” “let’s block (or mark) the stage…”, “where is your blocking?”, “be aware of your blocking…”  etc.

I guess that’s all for now. If you have any questions regarding certain terms or phrases we may use, please stop us any time to clarify your doubts.

Also I guess the same applies to dance steps or instructions during rehearsals. If our signing or instructions is not clear (aka lousy) or if you have any questions regarding that particular steps and have difficulty doing it, please stop the instructor anytime to clarify.

Inspiration

I would like to share this with all my friends, dancers or non dancers.
This dance is a life lesson.