nYOOsletter 1

Hello team of '26/27!

I'm very excited to be dancing with all of you this year. This first message will be quite long, but it is an intro to how I will be communicating my weekly information and updates to you. The format of these newsletters will likely evolve throughout the year, but in general I will use them to share my goals for the week, what I need you to review from last rehearsal, what I need you to go over before the upcoming rehearsal, who will be required at rehearsal (more on that later), and what we will be doing in rehearsal. These messages will be sent out 2 (+/- 1) days after each of my rehearsals. This is to give you a reasonable amount of time to go over the contents.

To start off, the pre-rehearsal agenda will primarily comprise of the timestamps and formations that we will be going over. I may also include excerpts from the choreography itself we will be learning in rehearsal. It is your responsibility to have an understanding of the musicality, formations, and (occasionally) choreography BEFORE coming to rehearsal. Depending on the results of the previous rehearsal, I may also include notes and resources for corrections/changes in the choreography. I hope this will allow us to be as productive as possible in our sessions.

In return for me requesting this extra commitment outside of practice, I will not always use everyone in each rehearsal: I will define a group A and B after our first session and then, in some rehearsals, I will only call for one or the other. Those who are not called to rehearsal are free to be absent. I hope to make sure that every hour you put into this piece is appreciated and utilized to the fullest.

Now, in terms of the process during rehearsals, efficiency is my primary goal. I will be coming into each rehearsal with a set agenda and plan for choreography (which will be shared before hand). Unless there is a severe need, I will follow my plan to remain on track for each rehearsal's goals despite issues that arise. Required revisions will be addressed in the subsequent newsletter. My comments in rehearsal will be blunt and directed. I understand that this may seem indignant at first, but I assure you it is only a means of efficient communication.

With that said below is your message from me for this week.

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Our first rehearsal is on Sunday, September 20th.

Before rehearsal, please watch the first draft of this piece's formatting, which you can find at this link: https://youtu.be/VSvuHo91up0. To reiterate again, this is not to be shared outside of the team. Currently this is planned for 30 dancers- we have one more person than I planned for. I will be reformatting following our first rehearsal once groups are established. The goal of your watch this week is by no means to memorize it in any capacity, but rather to gain a better understanding of how this dance will appear. The song that we are dancing to is 'Epilogue' by Justin Hurwitz from La La Land (2016).

The next thing I would like you to watch before our first rehearsal is the opening scene of La La Land: https://youtu.be/7CVfTd-_qbc?si=QYYzPiga228pqf23 (you should really watch the whole movie if you haven't, but this scene will suffice to explain the tone). Pay attention to the lyrics. This is not a happy song, nor is this a happy movie. It is a somber tale of the sacrifices and hardships we take on for success. Keep this theme in mind.

We will also be starting to look at costumes this week. For this dance, my hope is for you each to select your own costumes based on the outfits you saw in the opening scene of La La Land (my only restriction is that you may not wear yellow- it will be reserved for 'Mia'). This costume idea may not be the final decision, which is why I want to plan it early in case we pivot. Your costume proposal will be due at the end of next week. I will tell you how to share it with me in next week's newsletter.

The goal of the first rehearsal will be to learn two of the dance excerpts so that I am able to better gauge how each of you contend with the style(s) of this piece. After this rehearsal, I will solidify groups and formatting for the rest of this dance. Group division will be selective, but the formatting itself will be mostly randomized. Please keep this in mind when considering your placements. The current plan for the next few weeks is:

1: Full team | 1:15-1:31, 4:40-5:35 | Learn

2: Full team | 0:00-1:15 | Learn + Format

3: Group A | 1:15-1:31, 1:43-2:04 | Learn + Format

4: Group B | 1:31-1:43, 2:56-4:40 | Learn + Format

5: Full Team | 2:04-2:56, 4:40-5:35 | Learn + Format

6: Full Team | 6:26-7:39 | Learn + Format

PLEASE NOTE: these timestamps are not consistent with the current music edit (which I have not shared yet), but they are consistent with the first formatting draft. I will always give the most recent timestamps in subsequent newsletters.

These rehearsals may seem ambitious. While we may not be able to finish all the allocations I have in this listing, there is a lot of stillness throughout the piece. Thus, I do think this schedule is plausible.

You will be able to tell which icon represents you in the dance based on the codes below (these won't be used until I have reformatted the dance):

BR - Bella

SS - Sahib

AI - Alessandra

EQ - Emily Q.

NM - Naila

CM - Claire M.

BYo - Brandon

EV - Emma

GS - Gabby

JB - Julia

KJ - Keira

LHb - Lauren

NB - Natalie

SV - Sabrina

EL - Emily L.

KM - Kayla

CG - Claire G.

LHu - Lily

ARa - Ashley

HB - Hannah

OR - Olivia

BYi - Brooklyn

AV - Allison

EZ - Ella

SP - Sierra

ERu - Erika

ARo - Ava

MKw - Melannie

ERe - Evalyn

SO - Sydney

MKh – Melody

Thank you!

-Brandon