An area of development in dance I wanted to focus on were my pirouettes. Pirouettes are a foundational skill that are implemented in most musical theatre shows that incorporate dance, A technique that is a great indicator of skill in auditions. I recently watched a performance of ‘Mr Mistofelees’ from Cats (musical) and I noticed the series of consecutive turns during the musical number and how much precision and skill is required. At the beginning of the year (video 1)  I particularly struggled with spotting which like a chain reaction caused instability resulting in my turns not landing very smoothly.Marcus R Alford and Marsha Proser Cohen (1991) explain in their book ‘Jazz Danceology’ the  “PBS Theory of Turns” “The combination of the three (placement, balance and spotting) allows for proper momentum, placement and control to execute turns” (Alford, Cohen, 1991:111).They also detail how there must be necessary compensation in the strengthened components to help negate the weak one. So to address this, I started to facilitate exercises that promoted better balance as seen in video 2. The jazz tech exercise was very enlightening because it highlighted to me the lack of articulation I had in my feet to begin with. Now, I’ve noticed The constant alternation between a flexed and a pointed foot in the exercise has helped improve my balance. It has given me a stronger base so when I turn in relive and all the weight is in my feet, they are stronger therefore keeping me central and aligned. Alford and Cohen’s (1991) “PBS Theory of Turns” was a really clear metric in the sense that I was able to determine myself what was missing when I struggled to pirouette, understanding that all three work in tandem to effectively execute the desired movement. To address my spotting, I consolidated research from Eric Franklin (1996). His ideology of the head as a ‘spinning top’ specifically. He interprets the head and the body as two spinning tops that spin at different speeds around the same axis (Franklin, 1996:265) . I found his approach to begin with quite anatomical and I struggled to comprehend…. However from this research I was able to identify another problem with pirouettes which was my head wasn’t spinning fast enough “In a pirouette, the body turns more uniformly while your head accelerates to regain its focus (spot)” (Franklin, 1996 :  Knowing this foundational technique I was then able to integrate that with other spotting exercises such as using a sticky note with a dot in the middle of it to help me focus on a spot as I spin. After doing this. Today, I can definitely see the improvement in my turns, I am spinning my head faster which has helped with my spotting. Understanding that synergy between placement, balance and spotting I have been able to land both single and double pirouettes with more control than previously though this can still be developed further. To maintain this level of development I am going to continue implementing the exercises shown and advancing the muscle memory but I now also want to work on my triple turns a way I will work on this will be arm placement, comprehending how they help generate momentum and promote balance which is desired and calculating the amount of power needed.

SINGING

DANCE VIDEO 1- PIROUETTES FROM START OF YEAR

DANCE VIDEO 2 – JAZZ TECH EXERCISE

DANCE VIDEO 3 – NEW PIROUETTES

SCREEN RECORDING 1 – SINGING LESSON – OCTOBER 2025

SINGING VIDEO 1 – DUST AND ASHES VERSION 1

SCREEN RECORDING 2- LIP TRILL EXERCISE

SCREEN RECORDING 3 – DUST AND ASHES VERSION 2

When it comes to my singing technique my main area of focus lies in developing my range. I have always insisted to myself that I was a bass baritone because I wasn’t comfortable sitting in my higher range specifically in my belting range. Finding I’m pushing my voice in an ineffective way and holding a lot of tension in my jaw to force the sound out. This mental reservation has prevented me from accessing that range regularly and this will have a detrimental affect on my employability, It will limit the variety of roles I might have especially in my youth and it also means that I won’t be able to identify problem areas and keep my voice consistent and healthy for an 8 show week. A contemporary example of a character of my playing age (around 18-28) would be the likes of Orpheus in Hadestown (musical) a high tenor whose vocal range is a D3-C5. At the beginning of the year, a concern of mine was the tight tension I felt in my jaw and neck in an attempt to access that desired higher range. As Gillyanne Kayes (2000) states in her book “Singing and the Actor” “Sometimes people seem to be singing from their jaw. Remember that the jaw is connected to other important structures and can have a knock on effect on them”. (Kayes, 2000:131) To address this issue I worked on exploring the root of that problem and found it was due to my breath control. “Stuffing your lungs like overfilling a balloon usually backfires. Instead of power, you get tension, cracks or that awkward breathy tone that sounds more out of air than in control”. (Angeles Academy of Music, 2026) I had to learn the importance of Diaphragmatic breathing and understanding its mechanism. I implemented vocal exercises that helped promote better control of my diaphragm like semi occluded vocal tracts such as lip trills. These exercises helped tremendously at navigating this problem, I was able to conclude what kind of semi-occluded vocal tracts worked for me and ones that didn’t for example the ‘tongue trill’ and its rolled ‘r’ sound actually caused my jaw to misalign causing that dreaded tension. Other ways I worked on this controlled airflow was via postural corrections and regulating my breathing sometimes I found I was doing ‘paradoxical breathing’ unknowingly which caused inefficient breath and more tension than needed. As I have continued to work on this I now see more development in my vocal range, this can be heard from my performance of “Dust and Ashes” from Natasha Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 (Musical) In the first video, I cracked on one of the higher notes at the end of song but in the second video I was able to successfully hit the note due to my work on my breath control. Understanding how amount of breath can disturb the notes. From this development I have been able to access my F and G flat notes that I didn’t have at the beginning of the year though still with a little tension but I realise that is due to my voice not being familiar sitting in that higher placement but that will come with practice.Going forward I am actively working on limiting the amount of breath I need for songs and allowing my body and chest to be open and spongy, in pursuit of my A flat note which I have been working on in singing lessons 

In acting, I want to continue to develop my analysing and contextual work when it comes to acting through song. This is a vital skill for the industry because it not only facilitates a more concrete understanding of a character or a show which will then translate more effectively to an audience but I think having a formula to studying text can give you more room for artistic freedom. In many auditions a critical skill would be ingenuity and authenticity, being able to access a character with your own unique interpretation. Paul Harvard (2013) notes in his book Acting through song “Your task is to uncover all of the clues of the lyricist, librettist or playwright has provided about your character and the world of the musical”. (Harvard, 2013:57) At the beginning of the year, I think I relied to heavily on imitation and instinct, Inclined to take inspiration from a professional performance rather than truly comprehending the meaning of a song. During my performance of “The American Dream” from Miss Saigon (Musical) in an ATS, I struggled to fully immerse myself in the performance, I not only stumbled over lyrics and lacked knowledge of their context but I think I focused too much on the presentation and felt tethered to the mapping and choreography that I had created, prohibiting myself from really and authentically feeling what the Engineer was feeling.

ACTING VIDEO 1 – THE AMERICAN DREAM VERSION 1

Now,  I can definitely see an improvement as seen in acting video 2 I seemed more confident portraying the role and I believe that is from  implementing my previous contextual work which allowed parts of his character to come across more effectively however now I want to work on my authenticity as a performer. I don’t want to rely too heavily on context because I almost feel that rips you of instinct and feeling the material personally. I came across Tracey Moore’s (2008) “Chain of Collaboration” an ideology that suggests a song goes through three distinct stages, Composer/Lyricist get idea for song, Rehearsal process, choreographer, director original cast refine song then students learn song, interprets it through his or her voice, body and life experience. “Students will be called on to make interpretive choices about the material…they will contribute to unique realisation of the song”. (Moore, 2008:49) In the future I want to develop and find that happy medium of being cognisant to a song’s wider context but not sacrificing my own artistic liberties that develop naturally in favour of a pre-existing rendition that if I copied would be quite robotic. Feeling brave enough to distinguish what is ‘fact’ and then also making offers that feed my creative impulses at points where it is unclear in a song which way to go, but with that having those offers feel justified and make sense to my research

I will definitely implement the ideology of Uta Hagen (1991) and the given circumstances again as I found that to be a very streamlined approach to character building. 

ACTING VIDEO 2 – THE AMERICAN DREAM VERSION 2