ACTIVITY SHORT DESCRIPTION:
This summer, I had the opportunity to take part in our village's (Espinosa de los Monteros, where I stay in the summer) annual play as a dancer. "De Espinosa, los Monteros", in its tenth edition this year, is a representation of a story that took place over a thousand years ago. As told by the local newspaper, over 150 volunteers participate in the play, be it as protagonists, narrators, dancers, soldiers, villagers, servants or other characters. In addition, there are people to help with make-up, costumes, and building the stage, as well as the workers who set up the sound system and lighting. It is, overall, a big deal in our town and a huge honour for me to be asked to take part in it, especially as it has always been only townspeople who are in the play, while I am just here in the summer. Some of the usual dancers could not be present at the time of the play this year, so my friend, who has been participating for years, asked us on behalf of the organisers, and another two friends and I joined the group.
PREDICTED LENGTH OF ACTIVITY
We were told on Sunday, 23rd of July, rehearsed throughout the week, and the play was performed Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of July.
CAS ELEMENTS INVOLVED
PERSONAL GOAL FOR THE ACTIVITY:
I am really excited and honoured to be in the play, but also very nervous. My goal is to be able to learn both dances (I will be dancing both a Castillian and Arab dance, as explained on my blog) in just those four days, and perform them to the best of my abilities. I don't have stage fright, as I have danced in front of large audiences with my dance class, but those were dances we had been practising fro months, and the audience were people I didn't know. It will be nerve wracking to stand up on stage and dance in front of such a large audience, especially as they are people I know from around town. Still, i aim to do my best, and contribute to a successful show.
ANTICIPATED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
This summer, I had the opportunity to take part in our village's (Espinosa de los Monteros, where I stay in the summer) annual play as a dancer. "De Espinosa, los Monteros", in its tenth edition this year, is a representation of a story that took place over a thousand years ago. As told by the local newspaper, over 150 volunteers participate in the play, be it as protagonists, narrators, dancers, soldiers, villagers, servants or other characters. In addition, there are people to help with make-up, costumes, and building the stage, as well as the workers who set up the sound system and lighting. It is, overall, a big deal in our town and a huge honour for me to be asked to take part in it, especially as it has always been only townspeople who are in the play, while I am just here in the summer. Some of the usual dancers could not be present at the time of the play this year, so my friend, who has been participating for years, asked us on behalf of the organisers, and another two friends and I joined the group.
PREDICTED LENGTH OF ACTIVITY
We were told on Sunday, 23rd of July, rehearsed throughout the week, and the play was performed Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of July.
CAS ELEMENTS INVOLVED
- CREATIVITY
- ACTIVITY
- SERVICE
PERSONAL GOAL FOR THE ACTIVITY:
I am really excited and honoured to be in the play, but also very nervous. My goal is to be able to learn both dances (I will be dancing both a Castillian and Arab dance, as explained on my blog) in just those four days, and perform them to the best of my abilities. I don't have stage fright, as I have danced in front of large audiences with my dance class, but those were dances we had been practising fro months, and the audience were people I didn't know. It will be nerve wracking to stand up on stage and dance in front of such a large audience, especially as they are people I know from around town. Still, i aim to do my best, and contribute to a successful show.
ANTICIPATED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- (Learning outcome #2): Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
- As I mentioned above, this performance will be a personal challenge for me, despite having danced on stage before. At first I wasn't even going to volunteer, but dancers were needed and I wanted to help. It is scary to think about what is to come, but in an exciting way, and I can't wait to learn two new dances and perform them in costume!
- (Learning outcome #4): Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
- We only have five days until the first performance, so we will need to go and rehearse every day. It will be a change for me to do things on a schedule in August, but I have committed to the play, and must attend rehearsals on time every day, as well as perform on the three days the play runs.
- (Learning outcome #5): Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
- A theatre play takes a lot of collaboration and communication to fit all the roles and lend all the hands necessary to put on a good show. I am just one piece in a great big puzzle that requires hard work from everyone for success to be achieved. I will be learning the dance from the older, more experienced girls, and will need to practice frequently together. Within the dance itself, there are steps and movements in pairs that require coordination, so that is also important. Finally, the set-up, preparing, clearing and cleaning up of the stage, space and costumes will also be a job for many hands for which we will all need to pitch in.
Reflections
A friend of mine asked me and the other girls in our group if we would like to participate in our town's (Espinosa de los Monteros, where I stay in the summer) annual play as dancers. "De Espinosa, los Monteros", in its tenth edition this year, is a representation of a story that took place over a thousand years ago. As told by the local newspaper, over 150 volunteers participate in the play, be it as protagonists, narrators, dancers, soldiers, villagers, servants or other characters. In addition, there are people to help with make-up, costumes, and building the stage, as well as the workers who set up the sound system and lighting. It is, overall, a big deal in our town and a huge honour for me to be asked to take part in it, especially as it has always been only townspeople who are in the play, while I am just here in the summer.
Some of the usual dancers could not be present at the time of the play this year, so my friend, who has been participating for years, asked us on behalf of the organisers, and another two friends and I joined the group. I was eager and excited to take part in it, but also slightly nervous as we were asked on Sunday, 23rd of July, and the play is to be performed Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of July.
That very same Sunday we went to our town's old ayuntamiento (town hall), to try on and pick out the costumes our size. We were to be dancing two very different dances: the first, close to the beginning of the play, as Arab dancers. The second, towards the end of the play, as Castilian dancers. I'd also be wearing the latter costume for playing one of the villagers, so I'd be on stage for a while until the end of the play. The costumes added to my excitement - they are both so different from anything I have ever worn. The Arab one, which came with a veil, was quite fun to wear, very floaty, although quite skimpy, which added nerves about it staying in place throughout the dance. The Castilian dress, on the other hand, was long and thick, providing a lot of heat, but the skirt made it fun to spin around in.
The week of Monday 24th to Thursday 27th consisted of rehearsals, which were very necessary considering I had never danced anything quite like either of the dances. We dancers also lent a hand in setting up the Church the play. The play is performed in the town's largest church, in the centre plaza. It has a very spacious interior, with space at the back for a stage. We had to move all the pews around to face the back and help with other little jobs backstage. Fortunately, our meetings would be in the evening, allowing us to enjoy the summer sun the rest of the day. I also got the chance to sit through some of the rehearsals of the other actors, which was really entertaining and sometimes even funny as it was quite informal. Overall, there was a great sense of community and I felt I was already meeting my learning outcome of demonstrating the skills and recognising the benefits of working collaboratively.
On Monday and Tuesday the other dancers and I would meet alone to rehearse. There are about 10 of us in total, but due to different people being available on different days, some girls were switched, so 8 of us dance the Castilian dance and 6 or 7 of us dance the Arab dance, depending on the day (I will dance both all three days). The circumstances took much thinking and coordination, but so long as each of us learn our parts well all should go smoothly, independently of whether it is Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The rehearsals these two first days mainly consisted of practising over and over again. Fortunately, most of them had danced previous years, and there was always someone who knew the dance present at rehearsals, to teach us and correct any mistakes or doubts.
I must say at first I found the dances rather challenging; each individual step was simple, but they were ordered in a way that required good memorisation. I often found myself going in the wrong direction or mistaking one move for another similar one. On top of that, there were numerous parts of both dances that involve coordination with the other dancers, so everyone has to do it correctly at the same time. I noticed the other new girls also struggled with learning the dance at first, but really it just took practice and then it was relatively easy. When compared to the choreographies I do in my dance classes during the academic year, both of the ones for the play are simple. However, rather than having months to prepare them, we had four days. Moreover, my usual dance can mostly be danced individually, while these choreographies depend on group movement.
On Wednesday everyone participating in the play had to go to the church to run through the entire play, which should take between and hour and half and two hours, but actually took three hours, as there was a lot of stopping to correct placing, lines, etc. Again, it was fun to watch others perform, but it was quite tiring, as we were there til past eleven pm.
Thursday was the general rehearsal, which was really exciting but I was a bit worried about dancing in the costume and either pinkies (like socks but skin color and pretty much only for the sole of the foot, to appear barefoot for the Arab dance) or slippers ("alpargatas", for the Castilian dance) rather than my usual comfy clothes and trainers. It wasn't too bad in the end, as the atmosphere wasn't too pressuring, but it still went worse than rehearsals. It felt strange and uncomfortable to dance in pinkies, as I was practically barefoot. I don't own any footwear like the one required for the Castilian dance, so I had to borrow a pair from the big box of extra costumes and accessories. One pair was slightly big, and one shoes actually flew off in a rehearsal! It was funny, but I couldn't have that happen during the performance, so I found a better fitting pair!
I have achieved my learning outcomes before even performing the play! It has been challenging to learn a completely new dance in four days, but I have developed those new skills in the process. I have also shown commitment to and perseverance in the experiences, going to every rehearsal and giving it my all, even if it was late and we were tired. Finally, this has been a wonderful experience in terms of collaboration, both within the dance group itself to coordinate the choreography as with the entire theatre community in organising the event. I am very nervous but also excited about the following three days.
Some of the usual dancers could not be present at the time of the play this year, so my friend, who has been participating for years, asked us on behalf of the organisers, and another two friends and I joined the group. I was eager and excited to take part in it, but also slightly nervous as we were asked on Sunday, 23rd of July, and the play is to be performed Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of July.
That very same Sunday we went to our town's old ayuntamiento (town hall), to try on and pick out the costumes our size. We were to be dancing two very different dances: the first, close to the beginning of the play, as Arab dancers. The second, towards the end of the play, as Castilian dancers. I'd also be wearing the latter costume for playing one of the villagers, so I'd be on stage for a while until the end of the play. The costumes added to my excitement - they are both so different from anything I have ever worn. The Arab one, which came with a veil, was quite fun to wear, very floaty, although quite skimpy, which added nerves about it staying in place throughout the dance. The Castilian dress, on the other hand, was long and thick, providing a lot of heat, but the skirt made it fun to spin around in.
The week of Monday 24th to Thursday 27th consisted of rehearsals, which were very necessary considering I had never danced anything quite like either of the dances. We dancers also lent a hand in setting up the Church the play. The play is performed in the town's largest church, in the centre plaza. It has a very spacious interior, with space at the back for a stage. We had to move all the pews around to face the back and help with other little jobs backstage. Fortunately, our meetings would be in the evening, allowing us to enjoy the summer sun the rest of the day. I also got the chance to sit through some of the rehearsals of the other actors, which was really entertaining and sometimes even funny as it was quite informal. Overall, there was a great sense of community and I felt I was already meeting my learning outcome of demonstrating the skills and recognising the benefits of working collaboratively.
On Monday and Tuesday the other dancers and I would meet alone to rehearse. There are about 10 of us in total, but due to different people being available on different days, some girls were switched, so 8 of us dance the Castilian dance and 6 or 7 of us dance the Arab dance, depending on the day (I will dance both all three days). The circumstances took much thinking and coordination, but so long as each of us learn our parts well all should go smoothly, independently of whether it is Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The rehearsals these two first days mainly consisted of practising over and over again. Fortunately, most of them had danced previous years, and there was always someone who knew the dance present at rehearsals, to teach us and correct any mistakes or doubts.
I must say at first I found the dances rather challenging; each individual step was simple, but they were ordered in a way that required good memorisation. I often found myself going in the wrong direction or mistaking one move for another similar one. On top of that, there were numerous parts of both dances that involve coordination with the other dancers, so everyone has to do it correctly at the same time. I noticed the other new girls also struggled with learning the dance at first, but really it just took practice and then it was relatively easy. When compared to the choreographies I do in my dance classes during the academic year, both of the ones for the play are simple. However, rather than having months to prepare them, we had four days. Moreover, my usual dance can mostly be danced individually, while these choreographies depend on group movement.
On Wednesday everyone participating in the play had to go to the church to run through the entire play, which should take between and hour and half and two hours, but actually took three hours, as there was a lot of stopping to correct placing, lines, etc. Again, it was fun to watch others perform, but it was quite tiring, as we were there til past eleven pm.
Thursday was the general rehearsal, which was really exciting but I was a bit worried about dancing in the costume and either pinkies (like socks but skin color and pretty much only for the sole of the foot, to appear barefoot for the Arab dance) or slippers ("alpargatas", for the Castilian dance) rather than my usual comfy clothes and trainers. It wasn't too bad in the end, as the atmosphere wasn't too pressuring, but it still went worse than rehearsals. It felt strange and uncomfortable to dance in pinkies, as I was practically barefoot. I don't own any footwear like the one required for the Castilian dance, so I had to borrow a pair from the big box of extra costumes and accessories. One pair was slightly big, and one shoes actually flew off in a rehearsal! It was funny, but I couldn't have that happen during the performance, so I found a better fitting pair!
I have achieved my learning outcomes before even performing the play! It has been challenging to learn a completely new dance in four days, but I have developed those new skills in the process. I have also shown commitment to and perseverance in the experiences, going to every rehearsal and giving it my all, even if it was late and we were tired. Finally, this has been a wonderful experience in terms of collaboration, both within the dance group itself to coordinate the choreography as with the entire theatre community in organising the event. I am very nervous but also excited about the following three days.