During this process, we faced several difficulties. For example, we have to change the position due to the safety distance policy, which makes it hard to change formations. Moreover, since we used a prop which is the fan, it is difficult to make the dance look nice overall. The time allowed for practice was also quite short, therefore we have to plan and arrange each session well. Here are some screenshots of our rehearsals and light plots. The positions have to be maintained due to the covid policy. Because of this policy, we had to collaborate and work together in order to incorporate the appropriate formation into the dance. During light plot, some of our formations do not follow the social distance policy, therefore we had to change some formations last minute. Also, since our dance is divided into three sections, we had to change into two sections. Originally we wanted to exchanged the prop and costume through blackout and transition, however, transitions are limited, therefore we have to find alternative ways. Luckily, the performance is recorded. This has given us the opportunity to change and swap props outside of the camera. It is a brand new experience when doing a performance under such a pandemic. Despite the challenges, we were still able to perform the whole piece under a stressful situation.

Since this year is the last year of Culturama for me, I decided to become a leader. I wanted to lead China, as I have always been dancing Chinese dance since I was young.

This year’s theme is “our stories”, therefore me and my friend decided to choreography a piece which consists of three different sections that represents different time period in the Chinese history. The three time periods that we chose are representative of the Chinese history. Our dance takes on a narrative of traveling throughout the history of China. Inspired by a poem written by Du Fu in the most prosperous time of China – the Tang Dynasty. Our dance explores the elegance and beauty that he describes of women at the time, celebrating the richful culture and timelessness of beauty. As our dance progresses, the time frame depicts the classic Shanghai life that people lived in the 20th century. In a time of unrest and war, the dance portrays the lavish lifestyle as western influences are introduced. The qipao worn for the dance is symbolic of beauty at the time, through which we explore the stories of women collectively. Lastly, the audience is presented with a contemporary fusion piece whereby the modern times of China is represented. The piece is titled “饕餮” which is a mythical monster dated back to 200 BC. The fusion between its historical origin and the stylistic choreography allows us to integrate the past and the present, through which we present to you the timelessness of history.

When I first came up with the idea of choreographing a solo, I thought that using a sword might be a good idea as it fits well with the theme of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. However, although in Chinese dance sword is a commonly used element, but I have never learned about it before and I taught myself the techniques of using the sword. By learning something that I have never experienced before I explored my potentials and limit. Choreographing process was also hard because many incidents can happen during this process. For example, sometimes my photobooth wouldn’t work and I lost some of my footage when choreographing. I also had some hard time of did not catch the footage when I had a very nice inspiration. However, from this experienced, I got to know what is like to actually choreograph a piece and what are some of the potential problems that could occur.

During the winter holiday I went back to China, and unfortunately due to the covid 19 situation I couldn’t find a place to choreograph and was later on the LoA when I came back to Singapore, meaning I couldn’t choreograph for a while. This also developed my time managing skills as I have to make the best use of time to finish my whole piece within a couple of months.

Here are some videos of my choreographing process.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1CCVipc4E24MCf5EXCK-A-P1tjrHgqIwb

 

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1CCVipc4E24MCf5EXCK-A-P1tjrHgqIwb

 

This is basically what I have achieved at the end of the session. From the two seasons of practicing, I had a basic understanding on when to cue the next track, and various ways to transit in to the next track. In this video, I learned how to use hot cues, which is a specific part of the whole track that you can cue to transit into. I also got more familiar with how to transit into the next track by finding the beat drop and using the mixer to lower the tone and etc.

Through doing this creativity, I achieved learning outcome 1 and learning outcome 2. I knew that music has always been a part that I’m lacking, and I have been trying to avoid challenges like. However, from doing DJ club, I developed a new skill although this is only the beginning of it. From not knowing anything about music to being able to transit smoothly from one track to another is definitely challenging to me. At first I was afraid of failing and was not as confident as I know this is my weakness. But as I practice, I started to get the fun of it and really enjoyed it. I also got to know the differences between the different genres of music as we practiced merging different types of music. I originally didn’t like to embrace stuff that I wasn’t familiar with, but after DJ club I started noticing myself listening to more music regardless of their genre. This is a big change for me as I used to be quite picky and is less likely to try out something new.