Video of my Performance

Piocca

Piocca

New member
Dear All,

last weekend I danced at my aunt's 70th birthday as a surprise for her :)
It was my first solo performance and second performance ever.
I was SO nervous beforehand- I actually felt really sick- but as soon as the music started my fear was gone and i really enjoyed it. The dancing is improvised, but heavily inspired by Cassandra's performance at Rhytmfest 2011.
Acutally I'm really pleased with how it turned out, but also have a whole list of things on which I have to work.
I appreciate every kind of constructive critique and I really want to hear your honest opinion so that I can improve.




Best wishes,
Stephanie

EDIT: ah...just recognized my typing error in the title...
 
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Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
It was perfectly lovely and of course I could see Cassandra's influence!
:clap::clap::clap:Good for you and congratulations on becoming a performer.
 
S

SeeJaneDance

New member
You look terrific! I can definitely see the influence, but you made it your own. And I love the look on those little girls faces every time you twirled by them. It looks like everyone enjoyed it, and you really knew how to work the room!
 
Yame

Yame

New member
Wow... hard to believe that was only your first solo and second performance! I have the video of my second-ever performance and it's nowhere near that good.

Honestly, don't worry about critiquing yourself too much on this. Anything you see that you think needs work, work on it but don't worry about it. Improvements happen over time and it's all just a matter of regular practice and patience.

You should focus more on the fact that you did a great job there. Your movements look beautiful, you have very nice transitions, you used your space very well, and you interacted with your audience. Those aren't things beginners just "get" right away, without lots of performing experience. So, give yourself a pat on the back. You're going to be a GREAT dancer.

With that said, I saw more Cassandra in that performance than I was comfortable with. If you want to be inspired by her there's nothing wrong with that, but I'd recommend at least choosing different songs than the ones you've seen her use (until you've developed your own style), because if you're using the same music and doing a lot of the same things, it could look like you are copying. Whether or not that's a bad thing (some people think it is, some don't), using someone else's choreography or dancing to the same song in a similar way always begs a comparison by people who have seen the original. So just be aware of that.

There are a few dancers who really inspire me, whose videos I watch over and over and sometimes dance along with in order to learn new things, since I don't have access to classes with these people. We can't all reinvent the wheel, we're all inspired by other dancers and take a little bit (actually, a lot) from here and there. But if I've watched the same video a lot, or if I've copied it in my practices, I try to avoid using the same music in a performance (I can't always avoid it because some are popular songs, but in that case I use them for GP performances that won't be recorded and/or pick a different version of the song), because I'm afraid of subconsciously doing a lot of the same things and then being compared to the original. It's always best to stand out for being yourself.
 
Piocca

Piocca

New member
Dear all,

thank you so much for the positive feedback- makes me really happy and encourages me a lot to keep shimmying :D!

And Yame, you said exactly what I was (am) worrying about. I was considering very long if I should upload it or not, but than thought it would be okay when I give credit, especially as I have been planning to take the video down after some time (just for the joy of sharing it with people who are acutally interested :)). And I will definitely keep in mind your advice and use different music for performances- that's really a good idea! The last thing I want to be or I want to be classified as is a copycat...


Best wishes,
Stephanie :dance:
 
Yame

Yame

New member
Piocca said:
Dear all,

thank you so much for the positive feedback- makes me really happy and encourages me a lot to keep shimmying :D!

And Yame, you said exactly what I was (am) worrying about. I was considering very long if I should upload it or not, but than thought it would be okay when I give credit, especially as I have been planning to take the video down after some time (just for the joy of sharing it with people who are acutally interested :)). And I will definitely keep in mind your advice and use different music for performances- that's really a good idea! The last thing I want to be or I want to be classified as is a copycat...


Best wishes,
Stephanie :dance:
Click to expand...

I don't think you need to worry or that you should take the video down. Like you said, you gave credit. It's your right to dance however you wish, and if you wish to do someone's choreography or be inspired by someone's performance and do something similar, you can of course do that and you already did the ethical thing by giving credit where credit is due.

But I just wanted to make that observation, because it wouldn't be a good thing to end up always doing that and not developing your own style.
 
MissVega

MissVega

New member
:clap: BRAVO!:clap:
That was a fantastic first performance. Like everyone else has said if you didn't say it was your first performance, I wouldn't have guessed it for a second. I strongly agree with Yame that you are well on your way to being a great dancer. Pat yourself on the back.

I also wanted to say thank you for crediting that I had inspired your performance. I really appreciate it. I'm also flattered that I've inspired you. It means a lot.

Please don't feel you have to take the video down, I wouldn't want you to. I think it is a fantastic first performance and you should leave it up and enjoy it. It's also really nice to have those videos to reference and watch yourself grow and progress as a dancer. It's why I've left my original videos up as well. It's sort of like a dance timeline where you can see developments and people can see how you evolve as a dancer.

Looking forward to seeing more videos from you:)
Lots of love from Canada<3
 
Amulya

Amulya

Moderator
Yame said:
Wow... hard to believe that was only your first solo and second performance! I have the video of my second-ever performance and it's nowhere near that good.
Click to expand...

My second performance was disgusting, that will NEVER reach Youtube if I can avoid it (you never know who would upload it, but don't think people go that far to convert video cassette into MP4 :lol:)

Yame said:
..We can't all reinvent the wheel, we're all inspired by other dancers and take a little bit (actually, a lot) from here and there...
Click to expand...

So true and how many people do the Dina hip circle? Or other things invented by dancers. It can't be avoided. But if you use influence from several dancers it starts to look more like your own :)
I agree on using different music, that helps to get out of the circle of getting back to the influence.
 
Piocca

Piocca

New member
Shanazel said:
And on top of being a fine performer our Miss Vega is also a very nice person.
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Absolutely :D



I'm so glad that it's okay that I've been inspired that much- I was really worried about it for some time.

I think the reason why it is so obvious in this video is that I actually borrowed some combinations and of course lots of subconscious influence due to "excessive" watching of Cassandra's interpretation. When I practice at home to other songs I use influence from quite a few dancers (youtube), from class, workshops and DVDs. I think my main reason for relying so heavily on someone else's interpretation was that I didn't had so much time to practise beforehand hence I thought it would be easier for me that way.



It's also really nice to have those videos to reference and watch yourself grow and progress as a dancer. It's why I've left my original videos up as well. It's sort of like a dance timeline where you can see developments and people can see how you evolve as a dancer.
Click to expand...

Yes, indeed, it really encourages me to see other dancers' development! Something that I really like about your channel (and yame's :)).


Now I'm really encouraged to work on my dancing and especially on my own interpretation and style. Too bad that I have so little time at the moment due to stress at school (final school year), preferably I'd dance all day long as it makes me so happy!


Best wishes,
Stephanie :D
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
People learn by imitating experts: painters copy the old masters, writers imitate authors whose books they love, dancers follow the footsteps (literally;)) of other dancers. Copying is a tried and true method that allows us to learn skills and gain confidence. At some point, copying will not be enough to satisfy you and you'll start to experiment with your own ideas which is the next step to becoming an artist yourself.
 
AndreaSTL

AndreaSTL

New member
Wow. I can't believe you have done so well for a baby belly! Your energy and your eye contact was good, and you had a good variety of moves. I wouldn't have guessed this was just your second performance. Clearly you have a teacher who is teaching you to dance, not just do randome movements.

Any negatives I have are stylistic differences, so I'm not even going to name them. :)
 
Piocca

Piocca

New member
Thank you, I just want to add that your feedback means a lot to me and that it is so positive gives me a real boost :D :dance:
I have quite low self-esteem (however, I have grown in confidence A LOT in the last few months- mostly due to dancing :dance:) and this makes me really happy :)



Any negatives I have are stylistic differences, so I'm not even going to name them.
Click to expand...


I think I would like to hear them though. For me it's always interesting to hear how others would do something in different ways etc. Even if I don't want to implement [is this the right word? something like use? I'm not sure...] them they surely will give me some new ideas and thoughts.


Best wishes,
Stephanie
:dance:
 
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