This week I have decided to focus on the progression of movement memory. Movement memory is a physical skill and I agree that the skill is very important to a dancer in order to be able to perform effectively.

“The key with movement memory is that you’re exercising the mind and the body. The body gets used to doing a movement after it has done something any number of times, the mind also adapts so that it has to think less in order to perform that function” (The Dance Routine Corner, 2010).

This online quotation suggests why it is important for the cohort to keep revisiting the phrases that they have learnt, so that they embed the movement both physically and mentally. I can see that through revisiting the phrases for the last twelve weeks the class are embedding the sequences into their movement memory and are now able to focus on performing them effectively. I believe that as a whole the cohort should be able to recall movement from their movement memory faster than they currently are doing, therefore I believe it is a skill which still has room for development.

Now that the technique assessment is approaching I can see that the dancers are making a conscious effort to display their dance performance skills. I can see this through the projection and focus of their movement. When the class were still learning their phrases their focus would be down, or they would be staring into space because they were concentrating so much on remembering the movement and performing it effectively. Now that the dancers have shown an improvement in their movement memory, I can really see them looking around the space as they are dancing this makes them look like they are becoming more confident in their performance. Within the next few classes I believe the focus will show continuous improvement for the dancers.

The cohort is now also putting a lot more effort into their movement. In release technique Alice said to the class “Please imagine that you are auditioning for a dance company, and this is your only chance”. After this was said the whole class performed their sequences to a much higher standard, displaying a greater performance quality.

Throughout Roberts’s class today I decided to focus on the development and progression of the posture and alignment of the cohort. “Somatic principles may provide useful tools in injury prevention among dancers; one proposed way in which this may be achieved is through self- awareness of poor alignment and faulty movement patterns” (Hutt, 2010, 251-260). They started the class by going through exercise seven. This exercise includes a lot of movements extending and kicking the legs. As the exercise has lots of movement in the legs, I focused on the posture because it was easy for the posture to curve when performing the grand battements.

In order to help the dancers keep their correct alignment Robert told them to squeeze their abdominals really tight to make sure they were engaging in a 25% contraction and this was to be maintained for the physical state of their dancing. I could see throughout the exercise that the posture deteriorated and towards the end, many dancers began to release in their lumbar spine causing bad posture and alignment.

The three key postural focuses within this exercise were pelvis alignment, releasing and relaxing in the hips and stretching through the back of the knees by pushing through the floor. By aligning the pelvis correctly this enhances the aesthetics of the movement and it will make sure the grand battements are performed correctly. By relaxing and releasing in the hips this will make sure the ‘baby hips’ movement is soft and loose rather than rigid and placed. By using the floor to push through the knees this will develop the length which is required in the tendus.

I saw during the swinging floor exercise that endurance would be very important as the cohort were rushing when they became fatigued. “Endurance is your body’s ability to supply your muscles with the oxygen they need to continue working over extended periods” (Welsh, 2009, 96). In order to keep this movement aesthetic the cohort needed to use their endurance so they did not rush and so that the movements had the same clarity at the end as they did at the beginning. I believe that working on developing their strength will help them to improve their endurance, as they will not be as tired when holding the strenuous positions.

In order to improve the class’s strength, through endurance, the dancers were required to hold planks and do a sit up abs exercise making them tired but returning to these exercises helped to improve their strength and endurance. I think that using repetition in both dance technique classes will assist in developing the cohort’s endurance, which then improved their movement quality.

In the main exercise danced at the end of Alice’s class, the phrase included lots of fast rolls, turns and jumps. When the class first started practicing this exercise, at the start of the semester, they became really lethargic towards the end of the exercise. However now they have added more onto the exercise and can complete it all without stopping which shows strong progression through the improvement in their stamina.