My UWCSEA Learning Journey

This year, the exam was conducted online since the examiners were not able to travel from England due to the current COVID-19 situation. I was able to finish the exam without making any obvious mistakes which I am very pleased and proud of. There was a week of consecutive lessons right before the exam so that our body will be well prepared for the exam. For the first three days, I was not in a good condition in terms of dancing due to fatigue as well as lack of preparation before the lesson. However, after the three days, I was able to return back to how I usually dance in class.

I was able to receive a “distinction” level certificate with the overall grade of 79/100. Despite it being a few points lower than the previous grades (83), I am very happy and honoured to be able to receive a high grade while having many things to complete in IB diploma program.

Through this experience, I learnt that collaboration with one another is a key to success. The class consisted of 8 person and we all worked together and support each other throughout the journey for the RAD exams. I am very grateful to be able to support the classmates as well as being supported by others when I need support. One of the biggest memories are when my classmates all supported me when I had an exam in school and was stressed. I think the importance of teamwork does not be limited to ballet and it can be said to any other circumstances even in the future.

Furthermore, I think I was able to improve a lot on my ballet skills through paying attention to all the detailed advices that the teacher give me. Since dancing is one of my favourite things to do, I am grateful to be able to improve on my dancing skills. I was also able to learn to be confident while in the test/exam condition. I used to be very nervous when i am on stage, however, I became more confident in showcasing what I can do in from of people or in a formal places.

Despite having difficulty playing against other schools due to the current COVID 19 situation, I was able to play a little match against UWCSEA dover campus. Through this experience, I improved on my fast thinking skills about where the members are and what is the right action to take in some situations. Even though I lost my match, I think it was fairly a good game since we lost with a very little point differences. I went to Dover campus in grade 10 as well, and at the time I was lacking a lot of skills and I think I was a very inactive player. On the other hand, I think I was able to contribute more on the team which I feel is a massive improvement for me. I realised that communicating using verbal communication tool is the most important thing rather than assuming that the group members know/ realise where they should be or what they should be doing. I also do not know where to go sometimes and the team mates helped me a lot via verbally communicating with me. I also did support other members whenever I can. These were the areas that I improved on a lot through the matches that I had with Dover campus.

Through this experience, I was able to break the barrier that I had about doing the dance which do not relate with ballet dancing. I was a little scared to do a dance that does not fit my style of dance especially when it is hip hop or jazz. Through this experience, I was able to try out and find a new self in dance.

Additionally, I think I improved on my contemporary dance skills from the “company dance group”. I am used to classical ballet style of dancing, however, I was not confident in contemporary ballet. This also improved through this experience. I think the collaboration skills were also key since it was a group dance which require a lot of communication while dancing and also, it requires collaborative skills when making the dance as well as practicing the dance to make it look better.

Through this experience of dance showcase, i think I was able to find a new aspect of myself in addition to improving on the preexisted skills which I gained through different experiences I had in the past.

I faced an obstacle while participating in the dance showcase which was to manage my time well to be able to learn the dance for three dances and to attend rehearsals as well as studying for my mock exams and unit tests which I have at least twice a month. Even though I improved on the skills in the first half of G11, I also had ballet competition at the same time as the rehearsal, so it was more difficult than it used to be. I managed to improve the skill by using the schedule book more efficiently and thus, was able to not drop the academic performance that much as well as finishing all the tasks required to be done.

In addition to improving in my time management skills, I was able to make new friends through different dance groups. I was able to interact with people who I have never met before and to be a good friends with them. Due to COVID-19, I was not able to interact much with the younger grades, thus, this rehearsing experience allowed me to make new friends across different grades which I found very grateful for.