Kathak final film evaluation 23.06.23

I have just watched the film of my final performance of the Kathak dance group piece ‘Dancing on the Streets’ which I performed at the Spotlight college production on Wednesday 14^th June 2023.

I am really proud of what I achieved in this performance, such as how I adopted the characteristics of such an unfamiliar style as Kathak. Most notably my rhythmic accuracy and hand-eye coordination during the rhythmic sequence. It ended up looking very tight and polished as I ensured I was following all the rules of Kathak, such as following my hands with my eyes at all times and ensuring I was creating triangular shapes with my feet, legs, hands, and arms. 

I am also impressed by how I communicated the story. For example, during my group's paragraph section I used intonation to add variety and personality to the story in order to engage the audience, and was very disciplined in learning the story to ensure I was confident in what I was saying. I also used mudras successfully, such as in the opening paragraph with "dodging cattle" "she presses her nose" and "crowds of tourists". Communication and storytelling is the most important part of Kathak, as it literally translates to "story".

I am also really happy with my achievements in working as an ensemble. I am more used to working in 4/4 timing so 12 beats in a bar was new for me and took some getting used to. I ensured I practiced lots outside of the lesson so that I could be certain of the timings and therefore remain in unison with my class and group. Specifically, during the greeting sequence, which was slow and therefore it was crucial that we all remained in unison, I stayed in time and used the counts to keep together with the group. 

This is all supported by audience feedback I received which said that they "loved the story and that there was something to follow". This shows that the storytelling aspect was successful and engaging. The audience feedback also said it "looked very clean and tight and well rehearsed" and that the unison was "amazing" which shows that we all kept in time successfully and knew what we were doing at all times. 

 

By watching the film of my final performance, I also recognise that there are elements which I could still develop and improve on, a big one being confidence. For example applying the physical skill of balance to the dance while nervous and under pressure. During the greeting sequence, we were supposed to stand on one leg however I had to keep my other leg down as I was losing balance which is upsetting as balance is one of my strongest skills in dance. I will keep practicing to ensure I can gain confidence in this area. I would also like to gain confidence in my movement in general, as I didn't put my all into the harder movements such as chakkars because I was so worried about doing it wrong, losing balance, or falling etc.

I'd also like to work on applying the physical skill of flexibility to my dancing, which is the range of movement at a joint. I felt that in this dance there were moments where I wasn't utilising my flexibility - particularly in the spine - and I wasn't as fluid as I could have been. This affected my extension and there were some moments where I wasn't stretching up or out enough which hindered my performance slightly.