4x4 Exercise: For this exercise by Framtic Assembly, we had to get into the formation of a square, with four people in each row and four people in the middle of the formation. For the first part of the exercise, each 'column' of people had to count down from 8 onwards and after reaching 1 the whole group had to jump 90 degrees. This was repeated until we reached a 360 degree turn and then the countdown had to start from 4. This was repeated until the group got to 1. At first, the exercise was easy as our teacher helped countdown to the numbers so the whole group knew when to turn. However, it became harder when no one was counting as we had no one to lead us and everyone had to make their individual decision on when to turn. As a group, we did not succeed the first few times but as we practiced it became easier to pick up cues on when to turn. This exercise helped build a stronger chorus as it enhanced our skills to communicate with each other without actually talking to each other. It also helped me in understanding that if one person does not concentrate on the given task, the whole formation could end up not looking aesthetically pleasing and ruins the 'moment' of the chorus. Therefore, this exercise showed us that a chorus can successfully work together only if individual planning and a bit of group planning is used.
Balancing the stage: In this exercise, we had to pretend that the rectangle stage was held up by just one stable structure in the middle and one person standing in the middle would balance out the whole stage. To make this exercise more complex, the rest of the group (one person at a time) could come onto the stage and the two people should then stand in positions which balance out the stage. This was repeated until the everyone from the class was stood on a perfectly balanced stage. This exercise wasn't hard to complete as it was just a matter of perception and keeping a look out for movement from people as if someone moves, you'd have to move as well to balance out the stage. This exercise helped the class in concentration and keeping aware of our surroundings and gives us an awareness of when individual movement is needed or not. For example, if a person enters the space and people move in order to balance the stage, sometimes it may not be necessary for everyone to move around and if everyone moves it could cause an imbalance and disrupt the perfect stage so therefore, it made us more aware of when our input was necessary and when it wasn't.
Imagery to govern movement: For this exercise, the group was instructed to walk around the space and after a few minutes, our teacher would call out phrases such as "ice melting" or "wood breaking" and our movement around the space must be inspired by the phrase that the teacher called out. The whole chorus/group had to move in sync and had to change our movements to somewhat symbolise the phrase that was being called out. This exercise helped strengthen the chorus as it helped our improvisation skills. There could be times on stage where everything might not go as planned and the chorus will have to change the initial movements. It helped us work together as a group and make a mutual decision as to what movements we were going to use.