Well, that was a busy few months!
It feels like my 'year' is over. I had three big projects, and now they are all over and I've no plans for summer. Well, no projects, anyway.
Panto took up all of October to December, and I needed a month afterwards to recuperate. The next three months were spent on the coursework and study for my Home Economics A-Level, which took me up to the end of April, and since then I concentrated on my exam for Grade 8 in Musical Theatre which was this week.
The school I go to uses the Trinity Guildhall syllabus, and brings an examiner out every two years. Last time, I sat for my first exam and did a Grade 5, so this time it should have been a Grade 7 but I decided to just go for the 8. Yeah.
Took six hours on the computer to get hold of backing tracks (because most of what I wanted wasn't available) but I eventually got sorted. May I highly recommend karaoke-version.com for backing tracks - they're good quality, there's a wide range, you can preview a clip, and they're available in five keys (original, and up to two semitones above and below). Also, you can pay using Paypal if you prefer, and you get to download the tracks immediately. Awesome! I got my sheet music off musicnotes.com as usual, not all transposable but some are, which is also cool.
My final programme looked like this:
Magic to Do (from Pippin)
Mr. Bojangles (from Dancin')
One (from A Chorus Line)
Puttin' On the Ritz (from Blue Skies)
You Won't Succeed on Broadway (from Spamalot)
And finally, a dance to Happy Feet (High Heels Remix)
Don't ask me how, but I wound up with one song from 1929, three from the 1970's, and one from 2005. If that isn't diversity, I don't know what is. I threw in some props and a pair of tap shoes, learned how to juggle scarves from the Internet, and generally had a great time.
I wanted to do the dance to one of my favourite songs ever, which is Happy Feet (another 1930's song) but while looking for a recording to dance to, I found the High Heels Mix which was too awesome not to use. I choreographed a tap dance to it, and threw in a stomp/popping routine in the middle. My hip-hop moves are awful, but I figured I'd give it a try.
Preparing for the exam wasn't all fun, of chorus course and I spent three weeks stressing out over it, but after the exam I walked around for three days with a big stupid grin plastered all over my face because I managed to pull it off. Example of said grin --> :-D
The exam session went well though, even though my mouth was so dry that it felt like a corner of the Sahara desert had taken up residence for the evening. I made a few mistakes, and my tapdance board slid on the tiled floor during a couple of energetic moves - but I kept my composure (and my balance), I recovered, and I didn't drop any of the juggling scarves *whew*.
Now I'm just waiting to hear what grade I got. I don't know what's more nerve-wracking, sitting an exam or waiting to hear how you did. I'm jumping every time an SMS or a call comes in to my mobile. Come July, it will be more of the same as thousands of teenagers (and a few adults) wait for the O-Level and A-Level results to come out.
Anyway, have completed my projects, now it's time to relax. I can read (non-academic) books again! Watch (non-musical) DVDs! Solder! Clean the bathroom! (*groan*).
I'm laying plans for what to do next, but right now, just enjoying having free time again. I'll choose another project when I get bored again, but it's likely to be some time before that happens.
Sounds like you've been uber busy!! I wish you the very best of luck for your grades =)
Posted by: Giselle | May 23, 2009 at 09:30