As this is the first time in a few years that I have been involved in a smaller play (not a large musical), I loved the uniqueness and richness of the ensemble’s connections that were formed throughout the process. The opportunities we were given to create our own work within a bigger piece and understanding how everything connected together was very valuable as a cast member and it enabled me to develop my collaborative skills within a group of people that I may not have worked often with before.
This was the first year that I was involved in the Culturama show. As I have been involved in the Dance Showcase for the last few years, it was not an entirely unfamiliar experience for me. However, I did have to adjust to a different style of management and a different type of process than what I am used to. In this way, I developed my ability to adapt to new situations and understand the process quickly.
This year I have decided to be involved in the Dance Showcase committee again, this time as a co-chair instead of the chair. My focus will therefore mainly be shifting the responsibilities of chair to my co-chair Clarice, as she is in Grade 11 and will be able to carry on the legacy of the Dance Showcase next year when I have graduated from UWCSEA.
So far, we, along with our dance coordinator have planned the process for this year, building on my previous experiences from the past showcases and identifying areas of improvement.
I also plan to choreograph two dances with two other people, meaning that we will need to collaborate to divide our responsibilities and work together to choreograph and plan our dances.
Throughout my experience in Sonos, I have managed to improve my singing techniques not only within choral pieces but also in solo pieces. By practicing and performing a range of repertoire with different vocal arrangements, I have learned to harmonize and adjust my voice to better fit with pieces that we perform.
For example, during the Carols by Candlelight performance on the 7th of December 2018, I performed multiple songs with five other members of the Sonos group to an audience in the school’s open plaza. This was a new experience for me as it was unusual for me to perform in an open area. Additionally, I was performing with fewer members which was a challenge at first since I would not have the backing of many other people. This places a larger importance on my singing as part of the pieces. For the repertoire, the six of us took charge in arranging the pieces vocally which was an essential part of the performance. In doing this, I used the skills that I developed in Sonos to harmonize with the other members to establish a euphonic sound. This also required lots of collaboration as we needed to work together and listen carefully to each other to arrange our parts well.
For some of the songs in the performance, my group was joined by other singers, some of whom were teachers. Furthermore, during the performance we were asked to perform other carols which we had not prepared beforehand. It was initially a large challenge; however, we were able to adapt accordingly and perform well. I managed to sight-sing by reading the score and listening carefully to those who knew the songs, a skill that I have learned in Sonos.
In the Wavelengths Music Concert on the 12th of December 2018, I had a solo part in the starting section which was essential to the piece. In this, I was able to boost my confidence enough to overcome the challenge of performing solo. However, I believe that I can still increase my confidence in solo performances which will further improve my singing in the future.
LO2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
Standing in front of a group to teach them something is always a challenge. A large amount of self-confidence and risk-taking is needed in this type of leadership, no matter whether the group is made of 2 or 20 people.
During the rehearsal of this year’s musical for high school students, Aida, on the 13th of September 2018, I took on the challenge of teaching 12 people in various grades the dance that my friend Georgia and I had choreographed for one of the songs. It was not an entirely new experience for me– last year I taught a group of 8 my choreography for an end result of a performance in the Middle and High School Dance Showcase. However, those were mostly Middle School students. There is an extra difficulty to teaching those older than you or closer to your age. Normally, it takes more assertiveness to let them know why they should pay attention to you, and why they should follow you. This was new to me.
In that rehearsal, I was tasked with becoming more assertive, more self-assured to take on this leadership role. In doing so, I increased my level of confidence in both my abilities as a dancer, choreographer and teacher, as well as a person.
Confidence is extremely important. Put simply, confidence equates to trust and reliability. Self-confidence helps you believe in yourself and gives you the courage to pursue your passions. This was my main takeaway from this rehearsal; it was a key moment in my journey to increase my confidence and become a better person in my own way as a result.
Below are some photos of myself teaching a dance the some of the other students in Aida.
Being involved in a student production also requires a lot of commitment and engagement during rehearsals. Due to the amount of effort that needs to be put in, there are many rehearsals, including weekend rehearsals that require taking out personal time to work towards the performance. Therefore, Aida is a long-term project requiring three seasons of regular commitment.
In a project that is long-term, there will inevitably be challenges along the way. One possible challenge that may appear is the task of balancing rehearsals with school work and other activities. In order to make sure that this does not become a large issue, I will most likely create a plan for splitting my time between everything that I have committed to doing.
Throughout the process, I will also have to adapt to new changes. For example, as a choreographer, I have to take into consideration the level of dance of the cast members. At first, for one of the songs, I realised that the choreography that I had created was too difficult for most of the cast and I therefore had to simplify it.
Additionally, one of the challenges we had to face so far was adapting to the new environment of the exam hall which was had to use since the auditorium was occupied. However, I believe that we were able to adapt well to the environment and were able to have a productive rehearsal.
Sonos is a choir activity centred around developing singing skills in a group. I have been in the High School Sonos Activity for the past two years and before that I was in Middle School Sonos.
In joining Sonos in Grade 11, I am hoping to show commitment to this activity since this would be my fourth year. I also believe that although I have learned a lot in previous years, there are still some new singing techniques that I can learn how to use this year to further improve my singing.
Additionally, this year I am looking to volunteer myself for some solo singing positions. In this way, I will be undertaking risks and possible challenges as it would be a new experience for me. With solo positions, I can not only be a risk taker in stepping out in front of a crowd but also improve my singing skills as an individual instead of just within a choir.
Overall, I am looking forward to being a part of this community again and further improving my skills.
