Introduction

In my first year at Leeds Conservatoire, I have begun learning new skills and continued to develop skills I previously trained in within multiple subjects. In this portfolio, I will be exploring three main disciplines (Singing, Acting and Dance) and how combining these disciplines helps create a more well-rounded and versatile performer. I will also be showing my progress and documenting my journey from the start of the year until now, which allows me to critically analyse my development and reflect on how I can improve my skill set going forward.

Throughout the year, I have worked practically and theoretically across different classes, which has helped me understand my training in more depth. A big influence on my Acting and Acting Through Song work has been the system of Konstantin Stanislavski. His ideas around units, objectives and super-objectives have been especially useful when breaking down scripts and building truthful performances. This has helped me approach scenes in a more structured way rather than just focusing on the scene as a whole and instead thinking about each moment and what my character is trying to achieve.

This portfolio will also act as a reflection of my progress from the beginning of the year to now. I have used videos, self-tapes and voice notes to document my development, which has allowed me to look back and see clear areas of improvement as well as things I still need to work on. This has been useful in helping me become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a performer, and it has made my approach to training more reflective and self-aware.

Alongside this, I will also be revisiting practitioners and techniques from earlier in the year and thinking about how they have continued to influence my work. Overall, I will be looking at how singing, acting and dance connect with each other and how training across all three has helped me develop into a more confident and adaptable performer.

Acting

Over the course of the year, I have attended a range of classes within acting. One of the main classes that has had the most impact was Actor and Text in the first semester, and it was based on Stanislavski. In specific, his Units, Objectives and Super-Objective has been particularly helpful in my Acting Through Song lessons. While researching Stanislavski, I found two books that have been particularly helpful, “An Actor prepares” and “Building a character” These books helped me come to the conclusion that the reason why Stanislavski produced his methods is to make a script more manageable to ensure actors achieve a truthful character and play moment to moment psychological and physical actions rather than playing entire scenes at once. However, I have also realised that although Stanislavski provides a strong structure, it does not always translate directly into live performance in a linear way. In practice, I found that reacting truthfully in the moment sometimes required me to momentarily move away from consciously thinking about units and objectives.

Uniting is one of Stanislavski’s fundamental techniques. Uniting is the process of breaking up a script based on every major thought change/energy shift often called units or beats. You then draw a line underneath and name the unit however you choose. In addition to this, you would write an objective for each unit and a new action for every line that related to the Super-Objective. 

When analysing a script, it is essential to have a Super-objective for the whole show (Which also could be a message you want to send the audience or leave them with) and for your character. A super-objective is the main goal of the entire play or musical which will unite all the smaller objectives created or that you will create depending on which way around you choose to analyse. 

For example, in an acting lesson in the second semester we were given a script from the play ‘The Ruffian on the stair’ by Joe Orton. We were asked to prepare this script as we usually would, either using what we learnt in the first semester or a mixture of what we learnt plus our own practice we had before starting the course.

From the photo above, you can see my process as an actor. I create my objectives for my character at different points in the script that I can act towards. They are also measurable and active things I can do.

For example, the objective ‘I need Joyce to let me in’ Is active because he is walking up to the door, putting his foot in the doorway which shows the audience what status the character thinks he is. Moreover, it is measurable through the stage directions and the other characters response. Additionally, with the line ‘Make your enquiries elsewhere’, it suggests that Joyce was about to close the door on Wilson which would have meant him not completing his objective. Which in some context it is allowed but for this scene it would not make sense. In the stage direction, ‘She lets him in and closes the door’ This means he has completed his objective and now needs a new objective to work towards. This happens all throughout a script until the end where you can see if your character has reached their super-objective.

Wilsons Super-objective in the play is to be with his brother, who sadly passed, and connecting my objectives in this scene you can measure his progress in making that a reality. In my opinion, he is taking the necessary steps in order to reach his objective and after this scene he is around 20% of the way to completing his super-objective.

Dancing

Throughout this year, I have improved in my dance training significantly. In specific, my pirouettes, choreography pickup and overall performance quality when dancing. My previous dance experience before starting the course was limited, so it took me a while to get used to terminology, and basic technique. When I came to Leeds Conservatoire, as mentioned terminology was a huge struggle for me to learn, basic things like Pirouette, Allegro, Coupé etc. To try and learn common phrases I would hear in class, I found a pdf which listed the most common phrases in Ballet, Modern Jazz and Tap. Learning dance terminology improved my confidence in class because I could process instructions more quickly and focus on performance quality rather than recalling vocabulary. For example, Changement could easily be remembered as change your feet.

As mentioned previously, I found basic technique difficult, particularly pirouettes. In the video below, you can see at the start of the year, my pirouettes were enthusiastic, rushed and not technically accurate. I did not spot; I did not know how to correctly place my arms as they kept going backwards. At the end of the video, you can see my transformation in pirouettes. I started with trying to get as close to a technically accurate pirouette as possible then moved on to double pirouettes in my jazz tech routine. To get the result of a double pirouette although not fully technically accurate, I searched YouTube videos outside of lessons on how to properly do a pirouette and this helped me align myself in the correct positions. Although my pirouettes are not 100% technically accurate, it is still a huge improvement than what I could do at the start of the year. Part way through the year, we had formative assessments and in my formative assessment feedback, I was told to pull up from my sternum in pirouettes as I looked like I was hunching over, and put my arms in the correct jazz positions, which I feel like I achieved by the end of the year. Below the first video, I have clipped the video that I watched from 8:55-11:47 Which is the common mistakes people make. The part about falling out of pirouettes was very helpful considering the feedback I had previously got. The dancer gave a visual solution which helps me learn and I took it onboard by noticing where I am falling from. So, when I fall, I try again with different techniques. This process made me realise that I learn best through physical repetition combined with immediate feedback, rather than trying to fully understand corrections before applying them. When I overthink corrections, my execution tends to become less natural, which shows me that my development in dance is closely linked to trust in physical instinct.

Jazz rep was another lesson we took in dance; this lesson was more about the performance of a dance than the technical aspects. We learnt new dances every 2 weeks and performed them in an ‘audition setting’. The dance linked above, was choreography we were learning were learning for our final assessments of first year. In the first part of the video, you can see that I missed a lot of counts when dancing, I looked like I did not know what I was doing and when I kicked, my leg was bent which was not the choreography. In the second part of the video, you can clearly see that I have worked on the dance a lot. Although little things aren’t 100% there, I had a lot more flow and technicality as well as performance quality. I performed this dance to the class shortly after it was filmed and I got helpful feedback from my teacher saying I need to work with another student to iron out a few details and as soon as I fit the style of performance, I will be ready for the assessment.

Singing

In my first year at Leeds conservatoire, I have engaged with multiple classes within the singing category:

• Singing Repertoire- At the start of the year, this class was presentational based learning where we learnt about all the musical theatre categories week by week. in the second semester, it became a lesson where we found and brought new material to work on before acting through song.
• Singing Technique- In the first semester, this class was also presentational based where we learnt about the voice and in semester two, we put those things into practice where we would bring material we were currently working on and learnt techniques for whatever we were struggling with.
• 1-2-1 Singing lessons- These were 30 min slots every week throughout the year where we would bring songs and get 1-2-1 feedback each week on where to improve.

In this section, I will focus on singing technique lessons and how I expanded on my foundational skills. I decided to get up in singing technique class and perform corner for the sky from pippin. The main focus of improvement was the ‘My corner’ and making it not sound forced or raspy. In the first video, you can hear that I sounded quite raspy, there wasn’t healthy resonance. To tackle this, we tried an exercise where you put a pen in your mouth and sing a couple lines in the song, this helps reduce tension which causes raspiness. This is shown in the second video. In the third video, you can hear that it sounds a lot more open, healthy and the notes sound more natural to the ear. Although, it is a different part of the song, the principle remained the same of letting the voice naturally open and not to push it from the throat.

Conclusion

Looking back over my first year of training at Leeds Conservatoire, I can see a clear development not only in my acting, singing and dance skills, but also in how I approach myself as a performer. At the start of the year, I think I was more focused on the perfection of everything rather than the process and the enjoyment. I am starting to understand that being a performer is more about combining technique with awareness, intention and adaptability. Across all three disciplines, I have started to build a stronger sense of how they connect, and how improvements in one area often feed into another, even if I didn’t always realise it at the time.

In acting, working with Stanislavski’s methodologies has been a major influence on how I approach text and character work. His ideas around units, objectives and super-objectives gave me a clear structure for breaking down scenes, which I found especially useful in The Ruffian on the Stair. It helped me avoid just playing the scene as a whole and instead focus on smaller, more active moments. However, I also realised that while this structure is helpful, it can sometimes lead me to overthink my choices when performing. I found that I could become too focused on whether I was “doing the right objective” rather than fully reacting in the moment. I have started to understand that Stanislavski is most useful when it gives me a foundation, but I still need to allow instinct and spontaneity to come through once I am performing. The balance between structure and freedom is something I still need to develop further, especially in acting through song, where I feel torn between technical singing and emotional delivery.

In dance, I have seen a noticeable improvement over the year, particularly in my confidence, ability to pick up choreography, and overall technical awareness. At the beginning of the year, I found even basic terminology quite challenging, which meant I often felt slightly behind in class and had to spend more time processing instructions before I could physically apply them. Over time, this has become much more natural, and I now feel more able to focus on performance quality rather than just trying to understand what I am being asked to do.

My pirouettes in particular show this development clearly. At the start of the year they were rushed and lacked control, especially in terms of spotting and posture, but through consistent feedback and repetition I have started to make adjustments to my alignment and preparation. I am more aware now of how important things like engaging the centre, pulling up through the body, and controlling my arms are in order to maintain balance. Although they are still not fully consistent, I can see a clear improvement in my understanding of what needs to happen technically, which is something I didn’t have at the beginning of the year. What I have also realised is that improvement in dance is not just about doing something more times, but actually changing how I approach it each time, based on corrections and feedback, rather than just repeating the same habits.

Over the summer, I am to get technically accurate double pirouettes more consistently.

In singing, particularly within my technique lessons, I have become more aware of how physical tension directly affects the quality of my voice. When working on Corner of the Sky from Pippin, I noticed that my sound came out quite raspy and didn’t have a healthy resonance, especially on phrases like “my corner”. I wasn’t fully aware that I was pushing the sound from the throat rather than allowing it to stay open and supported. To work on this, I used exercises such as placing a pen in my mouth while singing through lines, which helped reduce tension and encouraged a more relaxed and natural placement. I found this effective as it felt better so sing and listening to myself as singing it sounded better.

When comparing the different recordings, I could hear a clear improvement in the openness of the sound and the reduction of strain. Even though the later recording is from a slightly different part of the song, the same technical principle still applied, which was about releasing tension and allowing the voice to sit more naturally. This process helped me understand that singing technique is not just about producing the correct notes, but about maintaining a healthy approach to vocal production that still allows for expression. I have realised that when I start thinking too much about performance or emotion, I can sometimes lose that technical foundation, so this is something I need to continue balancing going forward.

Across all three disciplines, I have started to notice more connections in the way I approach my training. Acting, singing, and dance all require a level of discipline and awareness of both the body and intention, even if that is expressed in different ways. For example, the awareness I have developed in acting around intention and objectives has helped me think more clearly about what I am communicating in both singing and movement, rather than just focusing on the technical execution of what I am doing. Similarly, the physical discipline required in dance has helped me become more aware of posture and control in other areas of performance, especially when singing or working in more physically demanding scenes.

Overall, this year has given me a stronger foundation as a performer and also a clearer understanding of all the areas that need improvement and development. I have improved across the board and become more consistent in using feedback from peers and teachers plus self-reviewing to fuel my development. Reflecting on the year, I have also started to understand that my development is not always consistent across disciplines, and that different areas of training often challenge me in different ways. This has made me realise that being a performer is not just about improving individual skills, but about learning how to manage conflicting technical and expressive demands at the same time. Going into second year, I want to have more trust in my instincts as a performer while using the technical skills provided to me in first year. I also want to improve the connection to all three disciplines, mainly singing and dancing, as this is going to be a huge obstacle for me to overcome. To prepare for this, I am going to the gym regularly to run on the treadmill and sing so I can start merging the two together and feel confident when it comes in the future. In conclusion, I feel this year has been one of the most challenging but most rewarding in terms of understanding not just what I do as a performer, but how and why I develop in the way I do.

Bibliography

BodyKinect by Kendall (formerly Ti and Me TV) (2024). Learn How to Do a Jazz Pirouette. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGQ_JAbDq04.

January (1998). GLOSSARY of DANCE TERMINOLOGY.

Konstantin Stanislavski (1936). An Actor Prepares. Routledge.

Organic Acting (2020). STANISLAVSKI Building a Character | Part One. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnGq8pmcWJk.

Simonson, R. (2009). Channeling Fosse: Beyoncé and Beyond. [online] Playbill. Available at: https://playbill.com/article/channeling-fosse-beyonce-and-beyond-com-158175.

Stanislavskij, K.S. and Hapgood, E.R. (1991). Building a character. London: Methuen.