Evaluation of Unit 2
I have been focussing on Bhangra for this unit and how it has been influenced by western dance styles. Whilst doing this project I have looked at famous Bhangra dancers, actors and singers one of the main performers we have looked at is Hrithik Roshan. He helped a lot with me grasping the feel of Bhangra dance as he is a real inspiration to ‘Bollywood’ and bringing the east to the west. During this unit we started with the style of Bhangra dance. I really enjoyed this, as it is such a different style to ones I am used to. I noticed it is full of energy and fun! The music also has a strong beat to it, and was repeated throughout. We started with two dances both pieces of music where both so different but yet so similar, and they were very catchy. The dances where different to each other, but used a lot of repetition, and both performed in large groups in unison.
It was all a big shock to us, and before we started everyone was worried about it, and that we were going to look weird doing the style as no one was used to it. Bhangra dance style was very different to how I thought, and we were all so excited to try it and start the topic.
Our first practical lesson was a double, and we learnt basic movements associated with bhangra. We split into groups, and started to get a taste of the style, and created are own bhangra routines. At the start I did have many ideas, well I did but I was just not confident enough to share them. But towards the end, everyone was sharing ideas, and it was great fun! Some really good routines where made! The second lesson we started to add western style to our movements. The styles are very different, but mix well together. They both use dynamic sharp movements, with isolations so in this way they are similar. We were all in love with bhangra and couldn’t wait for more lessons, and our dances turned out to be very good!
It was all a big shock to us, and before we started everyone was worried about it, and that we were going to look weird doing the style as no one was used to it. Bhangra dance style was very different to how I thought, and we were all so excited to try it and start the topic.
Our first practical lesson was a double, and we learnt basic movements associated with bhangra. We split into groups, and started to get a taste of the style, and created are own bhangra routines. At the start I did have many ideas, well I did but I was just not confident enough to share them. But towards the end, everyone was sharing ideas, and it was great fun! Some really good routines where made! The second lesson we started to add western style to our movements. The styles are very different, but mix well together. They both use dynamic sharp movements, with isolations so in this way they are similar. We were all in love with bhangra and couldn’t wait for more lessons, and our dances turned out to be very good!
This was one week of what I did, but I created a couple of dances and one main piece which we later performed at Cabaret, an annual show at our school.
We danced at cabaret for out practical assessment. Although we only participated in one dance it was still worthwhile, and a great assessment dance. It showed everything we had learnt through the course and added a western style to our dance Hrithik Roshan influenced this.
Conclusion-In conclusion to the course I have learnt so many new skills I would have never thought I’d be able to do. I loved every moment of it especially researching the culture of Bhangra dance. I enjoyed learning the steps and putting my full energy into my moves. I learnt that Bhangra always tells a story, and has a happy ending. It always features a bit of comedy.
I could have improved my choreography and made it more exotic as even though I interoperated the style of Bhangra I could have done this in a more traditional way.
