Meira’s self portrait started off with an accurate depiction of her nervousness when performing in front of others. She stood up there and could not stop laughing, while her face turned bright red. I, like most of the class thought that her self portrait was just going to be her depiction of her nervousness, but that was not the case. After a couple of seconds of laughter, Meira finally got the courage to start her performance.
Meira started to sing and dance around the whole room, using up all the space she could. This exemplified her courageousness and her love of performing. She herself thought that her portrait was embarrassing, however for me, her performance showed off her bravery and her love of the stage. Having interviewed Meira, I found out that she loves to sing and dance, even though she states that she doesn’t do them very well. Her self portait also portrayed her as real to the audience because, who doesn’t get nervous singing and dancing in front of people? Throughout the whole performance, her smile never disappeared and her genuine aspects shone.
I believe that looking through a camera lens takes away from the performance. Throughout the entire performance I was only focused on making sure that the lens followed Meira while she performed instead of really focusing on all the aspects of her performance. After re-watching the video, I was able to fully see how well Meira used the stage and how well prepared her performance was.
When Donna told us that we were going to do self-portraits, many ideas came to mind. I love to sing and many people know me for this, but I actually originally thought of dance. The funny thing is, I don’t dance. Not well, anyway. I took ballet as an eight year-old, but I gave up after a year. But something must have stuck with me; people ask me if I’m a dancer on the street or in the elevator. Dance to me is twirling, leaping, kicking to express one’s self. What could be more enchanting to me, an expressive gleeful girl who is becoming a woman? Dancing brings me pleasure, though I may not appear graceful.
My performance was a mix of what I planned, and spontaneity and emotion. To me, dance and song are true freedom. I was nervous in front of the class, true, and of course singing while dancing in a too-low key is difficult, not to mention embarrassing as anything. But as I mentioned, I felt real freedom when I felt comfortable embarrassing myself in front of a room full of my classmates and my professor. While there is comfort in being perfectly normal, being myself is the best feeling.
The song “Moon River” is very meaningful to me, though, which I didn’t really discuss during my presentation. I love the song for it’s melody and lyrics, but it also holds specific emotional associations. The song is finding one’s self, and it is famously featured in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” sung by Audrey Hepburn’s character, Holly Golightly. This movie and song are among my favorites, because they remind me of the human, young feeling of being in mid-jump, leaping over a cliff and hoping to find sanctuary somewhere. This is one of the scariest emotions, but also so natural and exciting. Holly’s fear of settling down made her all the more relatable, as we all feel unsettled at times. I found this song to be appropriate for myself as I begin a shaky road and feel lost, but also grasp life.