Analysis of Key Features of Contemporary Dance applied in 'El Perdon'

 The Key Features of Contemporary dance

Positions of the feet - Parallel, flexed foot, as well as turn out

When it comes to this feature of Contemporary dance I already had quite a range of experience in performing this, However this experience was not directly in Contemporary dance, mainly other styles like ballet. When it comes to my performance in El Perdon, I believe that I effectively used this feature of Contemporary dance to aid my performance of the dance. Personally, I think that the way in which I performed the different feet positions was done effectively and well throughout the whole performance.

However, when it comes to my performance of this feature of dance, its not 100% accurately done and it can be improved. For example, at some times where my foot needs to be flexed it ends up being pointed, and this may be influenced by the fact that I have been mainly training in ballet so my body automatically points me feet at times. So if I wish to improve my performance of this feature, I would like to work more on my ability to achieve having a flex foot at the appropriate times. However, the main proportion of my ability to perform this skill is well done and does not need to much more improvement compared to other features of Contemporary dance.

Breath to initiate movement

When it comes to this feature of Contemporary dance I already had quite a range of experience in performing this, However this experience was not directly in Contemporary dance, mainly other styles like ballet. When it comes to my performance in El Perdon, I believe that I effectively used this feature of Contemporary dance to aid my performance of the dance. Personally, I think that the way in which I performed the breaths in the piece of dance were done effectively and well throughout the whole performance. For example, I was able to add meaning to some of the breaths in the way that they were performed to show a feeling of comfort or a feeling on stress and panic.

When it came to the way that I was performing this feature of Contemporary dance throughout the piece of dance, although it was done well and communicated the right emotions well, there is always room for improvement. For me, I believe the way that I could improve this feature is by making the breaths bigger and more emphasised so that they can be communicated to the audience a lot clearer. Along with this, if I perform them bigger it will also make their meaning more impactful for the audience. However, this is the only thing I believe this is the only thing that I really need to improve when it comes to this feature of dance.

contraction - how this can express emotion

When it comes to this feature of Contemporary dance I already had quite a range of experience in performing this, However this experience was not directly in Contemporary dance, mainly other styles like ballet. When it comes to my performance in El Perdon, I believe that I effectively used this feature of Contemporary dance to aid my performance of the dance. Personally, I think that the way in which I performed the Contractions in the piece of dance were done effectively and well throughout the whole performance. For example. in the piece I would perform some contractions with more power and force so that their emotional meaning was more effectively communicated to the audience. Along with this, I performed some contractions at a slightly slower and softer feel so that they communicated a more safe feeling to the audience.

Overall, in El Perdon, my performance of this skill was done quite well and effectively. However, I feel that I could perform this skill with more power and make the overall feeling of it bigger. Due to me being a slightly smaller person this means that to make some of my moves just as powerful as other peoples I have to make them bigger. So I feel that if I work more on my ability to perform the contractions with more power and bigger then this would really aid my ability to perform this feature of Contemporary dance. 

 

Range of movement of the spine- curve, arch, twist, tilt, spiral, fold

When it comes to my performance in El Perdon, I believe that I effectively used this feature of Contemporary dance to aid my performance of the dance. Personally, I think that the way in which I performed moves using my spine as a main point of focus in the piece of dance were done effectively and well throughout the whole performance. For example, I would speed up some twists that I did with my spine to make them come off more powerful and effective in conveying their meaning, Where as with some of them I would make them more gentle and slower to help portray feelings of comfort and safety. 

Although I feel that my performance of this feature of Contemporary dance was done effectively and well, I am aware that there is quite a bit of improvement that needs to be done in terms of my performance of moves that have the spine moving as their main movement. For me, I think that I need to mainly improve my range of movement that I have access to using in my spine. If I can improve this then it will allow me to perform movements that use the spine more fluidly and visually pleasing. This is the main thing that I would improve when it comes to this feature of Contemporary dance.

Relationship to gravity - giving in to gravity - fall, off balance, drop

When it comes to my performance in El Perdon, I believe that I effectively used this feature of Contemporary dance to aid my performance of the dance. Personally, I think that the way in which I performed moves that use gravity as a main point of focus effectively portrayed the right emotions to the audience that were watching the dance. Due to the nature of the song having lyrics that are not English, this mean that getting the meaning and emotions of the song across to the audience through our moves are important.

When it comes to this feature of Contemporary dance I feel that I really embraced the natural feel of gravity in my moves, however this was the first time that I had ever explored this type of movement, so there is quite a lot of room for improvement. For example, if I wanted the way that I executed this feature to be more visually effective then I would want to learn more about how it is explored when it comes to Contemporary dance.

Floor Work - using the surface of the floor as a support

When it comes to my performance in El Perdon, I believe that I effectively used this feature of Contemporary dance to aid my performance of the dance. Personally, I think that the way in which I used the floor to perform effective floor work was executed well not only when it comes to the visual aspect of it but also the way that I was able to perform it to aid making the meaning of the song readable to the audience. For example, I used the floor to show moments of vulnerability during my duet with my partner.

When it comes to this feature of Contemporary dance, I believe that I performed it well during El Perdon in the way that I could make it visually effective along with being able to show the emotion that I needed it to during the piece. However, if I was to improve the way that I performed the floor work technique wise, then I would take more time to study through watching and practice different elements and movements of floorwork. 

Contact work and Trust - exploring a range of Non-Gender specific lifts

When it comes to my performance in El Perdon, I believe that I effectively used this feature of Contemporary dance to aid my performance of the dance. Personally, I think the way that I was able to perform the lifts along side with my fellow peers was effective and well executed throughout. For example, in most of my lifts I was the one being lifted and I made sure to hold a plank like stature so that it was easier for my peers to lift me during our lifts.

When it comes to my technique element of the lifts, When I was being lifted was when my technique was the strongest. However, when I had to help lift other people this was when my technique was at its lowest and this was mainly not helped by the fact that I am not the strongest person. But if I wanted to work on any element of this it would be my technique when it comes to lifting others.