The Ascot Gavotte
This piece is a musical number from the musical film My Fair Lady and includes upper class men and women from 1912 spending time at a horse race. They sing about being their as high-status, “proper” citizens of the time and dance with perfect posture and precise movements. Although the movements were simple and we were standing around a lot, it took many rehearsals for us to get it right in time with one another. We had to seem like posh, rich adults (which none of us were, of course) and we e had to sing with an accent we were not familiar with.
At first I thought that this number was boring and the singing was annoying. But after only a few rehearsals, I began having a lot of fun.
The Hand Jive
This number is from the movie musical Grease that represents the teenage ‘wild days’ of the 50s. I had missed the first rehearsal of this dance, so the first time I saw it performed by the rest of the group, I was extremely excited by its energy.
I had also noticed that many aspects of the dance were repetitive. Some may have found this boring to rehearse but I appreciated that I could catch on to the dance quickly and the first time I rehearsed it with everyone else, I was buzzed with energy and excitement.
Tyler's Performing Arts Level 3 Blog 