How do they rock?

      The instruction for the class was to find a video of a performer and try to capture their physicality or "essence" on stage, and then perform it for the class. I'd never heard of anyone doing this in an acting class before, so I was a little skeptic. The class period that was given to them as rehearsal didn't ease my fear at all. All of them seemed to nervous to get out of their chairs and try moving with the music. Most of them just sat listening to the song or watching the video. I understand though. My first acting class I was paralyzed. It's a terrifying thing to do.
       It can be a daunting task to try and figure out how a character works. One of the things that the class was encouraged to do was to figure out the performer's center. A center, is the part of the body that a person leads with. Head, stomach, groin, and heart are only some of the options. Each one of these centers has different personality traits associated with it. A person that leads with their head could be anxious, ruminative, panicky, or shy. There are good and bad linked to all of them.
        Another thing they could consider was what was the performer's strongest relationship on stage? Was it with the music? audience? or even his/her fellow band mates?
       Did they seem to say with their movement " hey guys, here is some music for you, I thought you might like it" or "LOOK AT ME DANCE, aren't I great?"
       Dancing was one of the more confusing parts of the project. Some of the students on the day of performance seemed only to have memorized the choreography and reminded me of cheerleaders who can have immensely complicated cheers and yet retain a single forced smile. Not understanding why the performer is picking that certain movement, those people seemed disconnected
       On the other hand, some of the performance rocked! Everything made sense. They had picked out a relationship, a center, and also just connected with the music. It made sense. These people really made me appreciate this exercise. It also seems like a good way to start a class because they pick a song they know, which is way more accessible to them than a play they have never read.