Variety section 4

My two chosen acts-  Solo ballet piece

This is my first choice in act I would like to perform at the summer variety showcase. Ballet dance is something I have been doing for years and I am currently working on the grade 7 and intermediate exam syllabuses with the Royal Academy of Dance.

My first chosen piece relates to the work of late variety performer,Renee Dymott, who performed pointe movements such as releve and plié at the same time as playing a banjo. My chosen act relates to Renee Dymott’s act as they both express passion and sense of meaning through movement of the same elegant form, ballet. I have learnt both from watching Dymott’s act and taking regular lessons, that ballet is a passionate type of dance and takes a lot of strength to perform and perfect.

The venue I would be performing my ballet solo in is our very own Sealight Theatre in Worthing College. The size of the stage is a fairly large, plenty large enough for me to use the space well when dancing. I think this space is fully suited to a ballet solo, you can easily play around with the lighting on stage to create different atmospheric feelings which help set the scene of the performance for the audience. I am planning on using a dime blue shade of lighting when performing, as I think this will add certain feel of fluidity and confidence to my solo.

I am aiming to base my choreography around a Swan lake theme, including moves I performed when dancing Swan lake, dance of the Signets last year however, putting a unique contemporary twist to the dance. I will include some of the signature moves from the original dance however include slightly more contemporary style moves in to the dance. I am planning on doing this to increase the individuality of the piece, and I am hoping to find a common medium between classical ballet and contemporary dance. I am also doing this as the show is based on variety performances and I believe my piece will be unique to everyone else's as it will involve two different styles of dance. 

Also, the ballet solo I am planning to perform will include lots of movements, which requires me to make effective use of the stage space. Luckily, the Sealight theatre space is well suited to performance which need a large space as the stage is fairly large however the seating is very close to the stage space, making it an intimate performing space which also holds over 100 people. This results in the ability to seat large numbers of people to share our performances with. This will increase the amount of feedback we receive which is a positive factor as a performer, allowing praise and constructive criticism to be taken. We will be performing to each other, therefore the audience will be our fellow class members, teachers, friends and possibly family. This could include children of a young age therefore the content must be age appropriate, which my dance definitely be is. I believe I can make my dance emotive, capturing the audiences’ attention and make them think about the reasons I am performing the moves I will be.  

I fell it not to be appropriate to use any props for my dance; I feel the music I choose will be my biggest aid when performing. However for costume I would like to keep it simple by wearing black footless tights under a black skintight leotard with crossing straps over the back. I may wear my ballet shoes to dance my solo in because they aid me when doing pirouettes and turning on stage flooring. I want to keep the costume relatively simple as I feel what I have in mind for the dance will express my passion and message in a suitable fashion whereas a spectacular costume choice wouldn’t do this.

I believe this solo dance will suit my skill set to a higher level compared to the singing performance of a character song from a musical, as I wish to express myself through dance and movement. This is due to the fact that in the past, I have done a large amount of singing work. This variety show is a chance for me to express my love for both ballet and contemporary dance in one piece This also allows my fellow class members and teachers to witness a different range of my skill set from a different perspective.

Second chosen act-  Duet taken from a musical

This is my second choice of act I would like to perform in the summer Variety showcase. I have a strong passion for singing, numbers that originate from musicals and I also enjoy performing duets with fellow class members.

My second chosen piece I would like to perform in the variety show relates back to the work of all character song performers of variety, both past, Marie Lloyd’s hit ‘My Old Man Said Follow the Van and Don’t Dilly-Dally on the Way’, performed in music halls in 20^th century Britain, and present, Susan Boyle with I dreamed a dream form the musical, Les Miserable. 
Singing is a skill I have learnt and acquired over many years of singing in choirs, with my past schools and taking weekly lessons at college. I have a strong love for singing of all styles, including songs under the genres’ alternative, pop and classic musical.