With the showcase over it is time to look back at some of highlights and some of lessons that I have taken from this experience. On Tuesday I watched the Habs Dance Company step out on the stage and carry out the choreography created since September by me and Alex. It was amazing to be able to perform it to an audience of 250 and even more amazing to receive the feedback of what people thought about it and that it definitely deserved to be the end of the show. I personally felt that the each and every dancer performed the dance to their best ability. Of course there were some small mishaps as happens when anybody is put under stress but I personally know that nobody noticed them and therefore know that the dance was carried out 'seemingly' perfect.
Some of the highlights of my experience as a choreography, teacher and dancer this year have been first of all having the power to create a dance and to change it however I want. Secondly, it is also the improvement of my creative ability to be able to not focus on the small picture but zoom out to see how the whole piece would work. I also loved being a teacher and being the one that the other girls would come to when they needed help with any of the steps or didn't understand any of the movements. Finally I loved that feeling of pride when the audience applauded after our final performance because I knew that the girls deserved it and I was happy that it was such a success.
Obviously the road from September to February was not smooth sailing and along the way I made many accidents and learnt many important lessons. Primarily, I should have started the year in September by really focusing on attendance and drilling it into the girls that it was so important to be able to choreograph the dance efficiently. On the other hand, it is quite difficult to foresee when there would be extra curricular activities for the girls such as sports matches or parents evening and therefore I have learnt to go with the flow and just promote full attendance but be able to deal with a lack of girls if necessary. Secondly, I learnt that sometimes plans don't work. At the beginning of the year, I foresaw finishing teaching the whole dance by December, but this was not the case. Instead the dance was only fully complete at the very end of January cutting it very close to the show date. However, from this I learnt to make the rehearsal time that we had more efficient and to also encourage different groups to use the dance studio during the week to practice and to hold extra sessions to go over choreography. Finally I also feel like from this experience I have learnt the importance of good leadership. It was vital to ensure that all the sessions remained enjoyable and very animated so that the girls were coming every week with an open attitude towards the dance. This was difficult when we were getting closer to the performance and had to keep girls focused during sessions so that we could work on the piece. However, with continued fun exercises during sessions and support from Alex and I, I hope that the girls continued to fully enjoy being part of the Habs Dance Company.
Therefore, with the showcase over, I am able to look back over my time as a choreography and perhaps take my skills from that and invest it in a new art form!
Great to hear it went so well, Anya! Any chance of getting a video of this? I'd love to see it!