Mountain View Solstice Dancers: Rehearsal 4

We were reduced in numbers last night owing to the long weekend. Nevertheless, Jessica pressed ahead in teaching us new choreography.

Following from where we left off last week, we learned two new phrases of 16 counts each. When Jessica and Hayley (I'm still not sure I've got the right name) performed them successively for us to the music, they looked impossibly long and complicated. But when they were broken down and we assembled them together, in our own bodies, it was surprising not just how quickly (relatively speaking) we mastered them (again, relatively speaking). Even more surprising was how fast we sailed through them when we eventually put the phrases to the music. Then again, this is where time itself becomes relative in the dance studio. We've spent four weeks and a total of eight hours learning just 3.5 minutes of choreography. We're only half way through the first piece of music!

Speaking of that music, as with most post-classical compositions, it is incredibly difficult to count out the beats. There are very specific places in the Part piece where Jessica has us doing things, particularly during our walking circuits at the beginning. Last night Hayley was very helpfully counting out the beats so that we could know when these different bits were coming up. However, I'm pretty sure Mark and Diane don't have the budget to wire us all with ear pieces for the actual performance, so somehow we're going to have to each internalize this rhythm for ourselves.

Jessica and Hayley were going to spend the rest of the night after rehearsal making videos for us, which will definitely help. I've been lax in practising  at home so far. Partly that has to do with the frenzy of the end of term. However, I know the lack of visual aids is also a bit of a disincentive to using my own body to jog my memory--which is, of course, what I'll need to do come performance day.

P.