Troupe Blocking with Nail Polish- Success!

Hammond Horror Festival 2013
Photo by: Lady April

It's been awhile since I gave an update on the choreography I was working on using nail polish. Now, after we were able to practice and perform it, I want to give a analysis on the advantages and disadvantages of this unique method.

 Advantages:
- Visually beneficial- It was difficult to picture all 8 dancers (including myself) in the choreography together. By using a small, mobile visual to take the place of the dancers, I was able to capture a better idea of who was going to be where during a specific place in the music.

Hammond Horror Festival Performance 2013

Music by: Solace "Naga" Choreography by Lindory

Music by: Inkkubus Succubus Choreography by Lady April  

- Three dimensional- Before using nail polish, I attempted to form the choreography first through drawings and moving PowerPoint images. Neither methods captured the transitions of each dancer clearly while the choreography was in its developmental stage.
- Easy to Distinguish- As said in the earlier post, I used a different color for each element the dancers portrayed. When a transition did not work for me, it was easy to remember where each bottle was before the last decision.

Disadvantages:
- Only does so much- The nail polish could only work as placeholders. So if a dance move did not work, I usually found out in person with the dancers themselves.

This was the first fully choreographed group dance I ever taught (big thanks to La La Tribal teacher, Lady April!) so with this idea, I saved myself plenty of confusion and headaches. Take the time to watch our video from the Hammond Horror Festival and see the "nail polish method" at work.

Happy Holidays!

My Summer To-Do List:Blogging, Dancing, and French Speaking

        When taking the summer off from college, I wanted to go back to drawing board and re-evaluate how I wanted to spend my last summer break and fall semester. My plan was to strengthen everything: My writing, my french, my dancing, and my networking in general.

1. My blog has been keeping my fingers on the keyboard, but I have yet to work true hard news since spring semester. This is a forewarning that you may be seeing some local news somewhere on this blog. I love food and I love dancing, but I also love my area!

2. So far I have been started 12 sets of choreography and only completed five (It would have been 11, but I had spark inspiration after listening to "Harem Aleyk" by Natacha Atlas. I love all the songs I have chosen, so since my summer is getting closer to an end, my goal from here on is to finish the remaining dances for future uses. It'll be a fun challenge!

3. About a year ago, I finished my French minor and haven't been in a French classroom since then. I miss practicing my French so I use countless applications, movies, radio, and songs to keep the language fresh in my mind. In the future, I plan to post ideas, programs, and techniques I use that I believe are effective.

Let the games begin!