Song Line Up [Update]

[Update] List of Songs to be Used:

*YG Medley* [First Stage]
- G-Dragon & T.O.P (Leader & Rapper of Big Bang) ~ Knock out
                                                                                   ~ High High
- T.O.P (Rapper member of Big Bang) ~ Turn It Up
- Big Bang ~ Tonight
                 ~ Somebody To Luv
- G-Dragon (Leader of Big Bang) ~ Heartbreaker
- Taeyang (member 'SOL' of Big Bang) ~ I'll Be There
                                                             ~ Just A Feeling

*Teen Top & Infinite Collaboration* [Second Stage]
- Teen Top ~ Supa Luv
- Infinite ~ Before The Dawn

*Finale ShineePM* [Last Stage]
- 2pm ~ Heartbeat intro
          ~ Again & Again
          ~ I'll Be Back
          ~Replay

Performance Costumes

I have decided that I would go for catchy and casual, yet suited clothing for our performances. We found that we cannot change whole costumes for each individual dance; because of the fact that my second main dancer Erica, and I will be on stage from the start to finish so we cannot be expected to be changing all our clothes in front of the audience. Therefore we have come to the solution that in the few main dances, we will be changing a small thing in the outfit for example adding a bandana or cap, taking the hood off, and at one point we have added it as part of our choreography to dance our way out of our hoodie without the performance losing it's pace or it looking shabby e.g stopping to take it off etc. So in general we are just re-arranging small accessories in various ways.

Here is a line-up of the costume we originally decided on and the order they are worn/changed in the performances:

*YG Medley*
1) Knock-Out [Walk in with hoods up, take them off, displaying 'Big Bang' member masks each dancer is wearing]
2) High High = Wearing Fixed Main Costume - Hoodies (Zip Up) ~ Yellow (Me)
                                                                                                       ~ White (Erica)
                                                                                                       ~ Grey (Hafsa)
                                                                                                       ~ Blue (Tahiya)
                                                                                                       ~ Black (Eisha)
                                                                        - Black Trousers/Skinny Jeans
3) Turn It Up = Same Fixed Outfit as above
                       - Cap with 'Heartbreaker'/ Heart shape on front (only addition) [Cap is turned backwards]
4) Heartbreaker = Fixed Outfit
                            - 'Heartbreaker'/ Heart Cap [Turn Cap to front]
5) I'll Be There - All wear Dark Blue (Navy)/ Black long sleeve tops under Hoodie
                          - Tahiya wear Military Jacket on top (the Navy one I own at home)
[Hoodies are taken off: ~ Rubina (GD) & Erica (T.O.P) dance out of them on opposite sides of the stage
                                    ~ Ash (V.I.) & Hafsa (D-Lite) crawl on stage
                                    ~ Tahiya dances to front]
                          - Skinny Jeans from Fixed Outfit
                          - No Caps on
6) Just A Feeling = Same outfit as 'I'll Be There' Performance above
                             - Bandannas or Taliban Scarfs (different colors for each member)
                             - 'Heartbreaker'/ Heart Caps on

We matched each costume or accessory etc that we added, removed or changed in each performance to suit the theme of the dance, for example Taeyang's 'I'll Be There' & 'Just A Feeling' routines have simple yet smart clothing: the long sleeve top and skinny black jeans. The navy military jacket gives the outfit an edgy, strong, tough and hard look, as the song and dance is. Taeyang who created and performed this song also gives off these kinds of vibes to everyone. So the outfit is as crucial as anything else to reflect; the song, the choreography of the dance, and the Performer Taeyang. All the members are wearing the same colored long sleeve top so that it is suited and matching, instead of messy with random colors. It shows the order and consistency of the theme of the song and dance. The edginess emphasizing the manly, charismatic and chic choreography and creating a bigger impact about the serious storyline behind the song (in the music video). In the same way, different colored costumes and retro styles of clothing would create a happy, fun and experimental feel to the dance.

Taeyang wearing an outfit from the original 'I'll Be There' Music video. Our costume was inspired from this, but noting our budget we kept it simple. The back up dancers are behind him (though we will not be using those costumes).

Another still image from the music video of 'I'll Be There' displaying the back up dancers role and the strained contact between Taeyang and the back up dancers. Also showing the serious, dark feel of the song concept.

The costumes for the 'Teen Top & Infinite Collaboration' Stage and 'Finale 2PM' Stage had not been completely decided, but as we had a lot of costume changes already, we thought it'd be best to just take off the bandanna and caps at the end of the 'YG Medley' Stage and wear the outfits we are wearing already for those last performances, in the next 2 stages to save time as we cannot change fully on stage like we mentioned before, and also the costume expenses would be too much.

However the costumes have been changed, as I'll talk in more detail about in the next Costume Update post.

                      
            

                                         

8.2 Secondary Research: Tips on Choreographing a Dance Routine (Learning A Skill)

As part of our project, we were asked to learn a new skill which we could demonstrate in our final project. The skill I chose was to enhance my choreographing, especially in the dance genre Hip Hop/ Street. I ventured into light break dancing/ b-boying, trying to learn how to pop & lock. I have been watching quite a lot of videos especially from 'Expert Village' to learn about some of the factors that would help me when I am choreographing my own dances. Below are a few of the clips that allowed me to gain further knowledge about Choreographing. The moves are performed and taught by Bullet Proof, a choreographer from L.A.



This video made me take into account that listening to the music deeply and in detail would help me to understand the style and pace of the dance, as well as giving me ideas about what moves/actions I could include in my routine that would link with the song, for example as he pointed out constantly in this video, the 'glitter'. Music is obviously a crucial part of the dance, where you cannot really have a dance at all without music to it, and staying on count and catching the beat of the song creates a huge part of the choreography as it completely changes the impact and effect the dance has on the audience watching it.

He also taught a range of different hip hop moves that you could use in your routine. The first of these are 'Isolation' moves where you isolate one part of your body (letting it stay still/ frozen), while the rest of your body moves.





An example of isolation being used in choreography is in Korean Pop Group 'MBLAQ's performance of their song 'Try'. Here the shoulders are isolated (not moving), while the arms are moving down and the head is moving side to side, as they take a step to their right and left at the same time. The performance is below and the isolation move starts at 0:44 where the chorus of the song starts.



Below he teaches the body roll/ waves which is a very popular hip hop dance move in b-boying crews and for various R'n'B & Hip Hop singers such as Chris Brown, T-Pain etc.



Like the video above, again a wave is taught, but this time it's on an incline and angle, adding dimension to your choreography to look much more interesting and filled with variety.



He then teaches how to combine two or more moves to start adding on to your process of creating a routine. In this specific video he teaches both the simple arm wave and moonwalk moves and performs them both at the same time, letting the dance gain more of a texture and layered look, as opposed to the boring effect it would have on the viewers when either one is just done on their own.



He also talked about actions that would create an illusion to the audience, here the move being the head slide.



Then another important tip to variate what body parts you use. Don't let all the attention stay at the arms or head etc. Variety is key to keep your audience focused and interested, as opposed to them watching the first 5 minutes and walking out the door. Here he shows how to move your legs too so that your dance is very in motion with your whole body, instead of isolating the legs. Like in the video below, even if the legs are doing little, at least there is something happening with them.



There were many other actions, moves and techniques taught in his videos on the 'Expert Village' Youtube Channel and official site. I have learnt how to use a range of moves one by one to build on a routine and ensure that my whole body is being included in the choreography to it's full extent. When I am choreographing, I can keep this in mind for my dancers so our dance show is successful and the best we can make it.