War Child Reaseach

War Child is a charity that focuses on helping Children that go through war. It was founded in 1993 by film-makers David Wilson and Bill Leeson. Whilst on assignment in the former Yugoslavia, they were shocked by the way children’s lives were being torn apart by the conflict. War Child has 29 staff members in an office in North London, so it's quite a small charity. However, their vision is to have a world in which the lives of children are no longer torn apart by war.

War Child’s mission is to support and improve the protection and care of children and young people who live with a combination of insecurity, poverty and exclusion in some of the worst conflict-affected places.

Income

2010 - £2.9m
2011 - £3.67m
2012 - £4.97m

War Child aims to deliver three life saving interventions:

• Protection – of children , their families and their communities
• Education
• Livelihoods

Over the next five years (2012-2016) War Child wants to:

• Increase the number of children they help – to 96,000 a year by 2016
• Be fully operational in 8 countries by 2016
• Grow their income from £4.2 million in 2012 to £8 million in 2016
• Improve their ability to measure the change they are making, and increase the amount of change they get for every £1 they spend
• Work with the children in the projects to attract the attention of the world to their situation and to change the bigger problems which surround them.

History behind the conflict starting...


The unrest began in the early spring of 2011 within the context of Arab Spring protests, with nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government, whose forces responded with violent crackdowns. The conflict gradually developed from popular protests to an armed rebellion after months of military sieges.

Analysis of the Show

Torn was on the 9th of February, 2015. There were two shows, one at 4:30 and the other at 7:30. Both shows had positive feedback, my family said it really opened their eyes to what families in conflict go through, and the differences between London and Syria. The show told a meaningful, current story that is relevant to today's society. This helped the audience to relate and understand, because if the story was told in a newspaper for example it wouldn't have had the same impact. We challenged the audience perception of what families go through in conflict by communicating it through dance, this was meaningful because the performance showed the pain through facial expressions which contrasts with the excitement of South London.

The Family Photo

When we watched the show back on the 12th of February, we saw how much better the performance is when everybody has the correct spacing and is in time. For example, in 'Glam' the dynamics were strong because everybody made their movements sharp and fast. However, other parts of the show didn't come across visually as strong because moments that were meant to be in unison looked as if they were in cannon.

Glam

My characterisation was strong because I used facial expressions, and where necessary verbalised my performance. The best feedback from my friends and family, was that my performance was amazing.
I think I need to work on slowing down the movement, so I can use my whole kinesphere and extension.

Glam

My role as a Syrian child adds to the quality of the work as it opens the audiences eyes to what children go through when they have to leave home, this contrast with my London character as the hardest thing she went through was having her book stolen from her.
I am extremely happy with Divided dance, and proud of the work we created.

Rehearsal Notes- Day of Show 9/2/15

* Vebalise the park scene

* More energy

* Come down stage

* More interaction

* Too reserved

* Chat to your barsketball partner

* More reaction

* Practice the lift

* Come downstage

* More personality to Glam opening

* Tension in bodies and exaggeration

* Think about what we are trying to convey, and slow down during packing

* Spacing for the Rave needs to improve

* Hit into the slow motion, resistance, and slow down

* At the end of packing me and Hannah come on and repear previous choreography 

*Cowering when we run on, thought behind movement

* Softer knees

Rehearsals 5/2/15

Today, we were in the Obie theatre. We plotted the show so they could decide on the technical element of it like the AV, sound, and lights. We plotted untill Refugee. 

Plan of action: Friday we are in the Obie again after school from 2:00 till 6:00pm. We will carry on from refugee, and maybe run the show too. 

Rehearsals 2/2/15

Today was our last rehearsal in the studio, on thursday we will be plotting the show in the theatre. We ran through the whole show twice today, and got notes after each performance. We also saw the year 10's dance about protesting, which goes into 'Refugee'. 

Notes from Dress Rehearsal

* I need another pair of shorts

* Glam costume need to be restitched

* Label shorts and disco pants

* Verbalise the Barsketball scene

* Sunglasses for park

* Sisters need to decide what the relationship is, and more energy 

* Ankles over toes on the group section

* Work on lift sequence

* Glam black pumps, pink top, shiny leggings and no socks

* Family need to change and enter the same time from family to glam

* Think about legs and feet

* More dynamic qualities

* Rave needs more clarity 

* make sure you freeze in the freeze moment

* Everytime a new track comes in the energy needs to change

* Escape back fitted t-shirt and plain shorts

* End of escape, pink top back on and not leggings

* Change facings in the rave

* Refugee needs more intension 

* Posture and strength needs work

* 8 jumps after Callies warning, end of the phrase

* No logos on coloured t shirt, no skinny jeans

* Wear a t-shirt for the last dance

* Work on footwork on the last dance in the circle

* Practice quick changes

Plan of Action: Thursday straight to obie and costumes

Rehearsals 29/1/15

Today, we took photos for the backdrop during our dances. We then cleaned Glam, making the movements sharper to have more of an impact and going over the counts. We did the same thing for Refugee, and Park. As performers we thought about the intenstion behind our dancing, so the audience leave thinking about the show. 

Plan of Action: dress rehearsal on monday, so all costumes and props are needed.