Summary of course so far

Course Summary

To help with starting my assessment piece I thought it might be valuable to summarize module WBS300. I started to brainstorm what themes and tools have emerged in the course so far and write a bit about what I have gained from each part.

Professional Communications Technology

Web 2.0 technologies- tools to help our professional communication
- Blogging
- You Tube
- Flicker
- Wiki
- LinkedIn
- Facebook

Here I was introduced to a number of new tools that has expanded my knowledge of Web 2.0 technologies. I learned how to blog, something I had never done before as a useful way to share thoughts and ideas. You Tube was a tool I was familiar with using for showreels and it is a great way of sharing visual auditory information. Flicker was another new tool for photo sharing that I have starting accessing. After uploading my professional images I have used it a couple of times in applying for jobs by adding the link to my email cover letter. I feel using YouTube and Flicker is a great way of instantly showing an employer your skills. I was also introduced to LinkedIn by Stacy Wilson as a networking tool for other professionals. I find I like using this more so than facebook as it seems much more professional. This part of the course also influenced me to set up my own professional facebook account, which I am very happy I did. I now feel comfortable in accepting my agents, past teachers and employers on my professional profile knowing it is separate from my personal information.
An important aspect raised in this part of the course was that personal professional management is key in having a successful career. Self management of our careers and the way in which we act on the World Wide Web can have a profound influence in the directions our careers may go. I have found the impact the web can have on people’s lives whether through remixing (see my blog "Remix thoughts in response to Paula's blog") or through social networks (see my blog "Social Networks in the press") can change people’s lives.

Reflective Practices
- Being a reflective practitioner
- Journal Writing
- Theories from other thinkers

This part of the course introduced me to thinking about my professional practice in a critical way looking at why some things happen and to learn from these experiences. I have looked outwards at what other thinkers have said and tried and tested these ideas in my practice. My reflective journal has played an important part in not only keeping a log of what I have been up to but a way of recording thoughts and feelings at that time. I realize that before I started this many things have happened that I would normally brush away and forget about but I have the chance to look back over a particular day and think about what I can learn. It is interesting to look back and question why I felt like that and what I would change if I were to be in that situation next time. I found that I could relate to some of the theories in my practice such as Howard Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory and Donald Schon’s thinking in and on action. From David Kolb’s learning cycle I found myself to be a diverger (likes to observe before doing) and created my own cycle for my dance practice. I struggled with this theory in that in different circumstances I can enter Kolb’s cycle at different points and it can be dependent on the situation I am in. I experimented with the theory however, trying to come in at say active experimentation and trying the move out but I found reflective observation to be of most value to me.
In an online test I found my learning style and to no surprise discovered I am a kineasthetic learner. This clarified what I knew before but helped me to identify my weaknesses and strengths and ways in which I can improve. For example, I find it hard to sit still for long periods of time therefore if I take frequent breaks or workout before I start work I will perform much better.

The Networked Professional
Here I came across some new theories that I researched further and related them to my current professional practice:
- Cooperation
- Affiliation
- Social Constructionism
- Connectivism
- Communities of Practice

I found this part of the course the most informative and relevant to where I currently am in my career. Here we looked at our current networks and drew a map of what they might look like. In the campus session the idea of a tube map and nodes came about as ways to think of our networks. You can jump off at anytime have a change in route and connect with new nodes to make a larger network.  Initially I felt I had quite a large network but when I looked closely I realized some of them I had not been in contact with for so long.

Ivan Misner pointed out “it is how well you know them (contacts) that really counts" (Ivan Misner, June 2010), which made me get back in contact with people I hadn’t spoke to in a while. Wha is the point in having over 1,000 friends on Facebook when you only talk to 10 of them on a regular basis?

Affiliation has been proven to be an important aspect of networking through the current contract I am in. I have seen someone who has not affiliated with the group and therefore has dramatically reduced her chances of improving her network and being given information from other girls.

 I have had a different outlook to the way in which I now conduct myself. For example I have really realized the importance of making new contacts and keeping in touch. I have reconnected with people I have not been in contact with for a while to keep my current networks active. Staying active in communities of practice is how you get the most out of it. By being pro-active you can learn so much more. This is important for the rest of this course. The only way I will get the most out of it is by actively participating in blogging thoughts and sharing ideas.

Holland

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say I have arrived in Holland. We started rehearsals today around 9am with the CanCan! Great way to start your day! We managed to get through 3 numbers and have had a costume fitting as well. We are staying in Hengelo, about 2 hrs on the train from Amsterdam. The hotel is really nice, good area around with shops, places to eat etc. I will be keeping an in depth journal here. Already on my first day there are so many things to write about I am a bit lost where to start.

Interesting conversations with other dancers have already emerged, which I will eventually blog about. One of which raised the subject of the fact that dancers do not really have a voice- we go through the dance captain or choreographer to get heard. It was interesting as it was something I was going to inquire about.

There is a mixture of girls who have worked for a long time with new girls just starting out in the cast. It is funny how people have made connections with eachother as well. For example, one girl is the sister of a dancer I worked with on a promotion and she is about to work with Belinda King in January so we have had a lot to talk about. It has been funny to see how the newer girls in the industry are looking up to people such as myself for advice and they have reminded me of myself starting out- nervous, naieve, young, unsure.

Anyway, it has been a long couple of days. I will start blogging about everything later in the week as well as start my assesment piece too!!

3b Social Constructionism

Social Constructionism

Social contructionism is the idea that we as humans construct the reality we live in. Therefore magazines, money, passports etc would all be classed as items we have socially constructed. They would not have existed unless we made them and they could have been made different if we had wanted. But social constructionism doesnt just apply to objects. It also applies to our beliefs, for example marriage. The society and culture we live in have constructed the meaning behind it and what it includes and doesn't include. 

In educational terms the constructivism theories, such as Jean Piaget (1980), argues that students are already learning in everyday experiences and that teachers should enhance this. "For example, children learn to speak, learn the intuitive geometry needed to get around in space, and learn enough of logic and rhetoric's to get around parents--all this without being "taught." (Papert, 1980, p. 7). Constructivism suggests learning is built by the student and not given by the teacher. Constructionism takes this idea further looking into how this can occur through being engaged in something i.e. a  social network. It is not to suggest that teachers instructing is bad, but just looks at other ways learning can occur.

In a social setting then constructionism places emphasis on the interaction with others. When we are born our expressions and learning how to speak is the first way we communicate. What constructionism does is argues that coming together with others in a constructive way can help in our development and in doing so that network or social setting will be enhanced by our engagement in it. But if these constructions (or networks) and relationships are the key to development, then what if there is limited or bad information in that network? What would the effects then be to us?

                  "Networks are large social constructions" (The Networked Professional, 2010)

As we know our networks are ever changing and developing. It is an evolving construction that we have made. The way in which we interact in these networks will determine how beneficial they will be to us and how they turn out. If we engage fully we will be able to come to meanings about our professional practice. Through sharing ideas, blogging and keeping the BAPP network full of strong information, thoughts and ideas we will develop as professional practitioners. Through face-to-face meetings, social networking sites and generally being seen and heard to others in the business we will not only be able to expand our networks but our professional careers.

New Blogs to follow...!

Hi Guys!

I have just been on the LibGuides page and realised there are so many new blogs and people on the course now. I have just been through and added about 10 people I was not following- I will get round to commenting on your blogs soon! Also I have noticed I only have 23 followers and there are about 50 of us on the course. Not sure how to get the word out to them, but add me! As mentioned in my recent blog on Communities of practice this course relies on everyone taking part and learning from each other!

3b Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice

"Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly". (Wenger circa 2007)

Communities of practice have been around since the start of people storytelling to eachother.This term was developed by social scientists Jean Lave and Etienne Wegner (1991) as learning through interracting with a group of people who all share the same passion for what they do. It is about building relationships with other people in order to learn from it. You have to be proactive in interracting which takes time- it involves practice, actually doing. Sharing experineces, stories and ways to improve practice with another dancer on a regular basis might seem not very important, but through engaging with others in this way can actually be become valuable learning. For example I have learnt from my friend's experience as mentioned in my previous blog, Critical Reflection on sources of information, about how important it is to search a company before auditioning.

Lave and Wegner' communities of practice theory has developed over the years to a new concept in higher education and also in organisational development.  Our participation in this BAPP degree is one of a community of practice as we are all learning through blogging, sharing ideas and debating them with eachother. What this idea does is questions the thought that learning has a beginning and an end and argues that is can come from everyday life- things we observe, hear, see or read about. This is something I feel Adesola was getting at with her comment on my blog 2d Inquiry.

Eduard C Lindeman (1985-1953) argued that learning is a part of daily living. When I thought about this idea I realsied it is something we have been doing from our childhool school days. Interracting with other students at school, sharing experineces and stories was all a way of understanding the world we live in and learning at the same time. But 'situated learning' (Lave and Wagner) is not the same as 'learning by doing' (John Dewey Experiential Education).  In higher education we need to reflect on our practice in order to learn from it.

I feel that in my professional practice I have not only learnt from social situations but they also can have a big impact on my career. When joining a new company for example I rely in the knowledge of others who have been there for years to find out more about the company and what might be instore for me. But as Lave and Wegner point out the danger is that information can be generalized, wrong or unrealated to professional practice. For a community of practice to be of use people must particpate fully.



"Engagement is taking part - joining in - it is keeping a high energy level - it is being seen and developing your professional presence - it is about recognising the processes through which you can learn in the workplace." (Paula Nottingham Blog on Updating blogs and engagement, 2010)

All must participate to the full in order for everyone to gain benefit.

        Learning is in the relationships between people. As McDermott (in Murphy 1999:17)

I found this quote interesting as I had never thought of learning in this way before. For me, learning was information passed on from say teacher to student and they have learnt something. This however raises the idea that through say a conversation learning can take place. The way we are blogging ideas and commenting on people's blogs is a way of learning in itself rather than being told something.
To summarize, communities of practice can come in all sizes and forms. Some can be really small, some large, some mainly online, some face-to-face. After doing further reaserch on this I have reaslied how important it is to engage fully in our professional practice communities and be pro-active. It has challenged the way I think about learning and that everyday things- a conversation with a friends, reading an article, watching TV can all be relevant to our professional development and learning. I think this is where the journal writing comes in too. Everyday experiences may not seem relevant at the time but when you look back and reflect on what you have written you might find you learn a lot.

References:
http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm
Lindeman, E - http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-lind.htm
Intelligence Reframed. Multiple intelligences for the 21st century, New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (1993)

A Day In The Life: Romany Pajdak, Royal Ballet dancer

After Paula's blog on the article from the Daily Telegraph, I recently came across this article from The London Theatre where Romany Pajdak (First Artist) talks about her life in The Royal Ballet and her future career prospects. It reiterates on the other article about just how gruelling the life of a ballet dancer is. There schedule is so tough and for really little money. They do not have much of a social life even when on holiday! Then all the sudden your career is over at around 35 and you have to find something else to do.

You can read this at: Official London Theatre

3c Critical Reflection on sources of information

I started this task by looking back at the diagram I drew at the start of the last campus session. This showed me all my current professional networks. When looking at the things listed I realised how much of them were Web 2.0 related for example email, facebook, job sites etc. Below I have listed my top 5 sources and reflected on how important they are to me.

Agent
I have listed my agents as number one on my list as they helped to kick start my career. Graduating from Elmhurst in 2005 I had little performing experience on my CV. Competition was tough at auditions and I was cut from many due to lack of professional experience.  I luckily got accepted onto two agencies shortly after graduating and landed my first contract on MSC Cruises through one of them. This helped to start my dance career putting a professional contract on my CV. Being on these agencies has helped me to attend private auditions that I would otherwise not be able to find and as many of you know is such a great change from open auditions. They have also been there for me when there are not many auditions around and I need work. One agent got me a private audition with Belinda King Productions, where I gained a 4 month world cruise contract on Cunard, one of my best contracts.
The downside to agencies is the 10% fee that they take from your wages. Although a pain I don't mind paying this as they get you the audition, sort the contract out and if anything goes wrong you have them to take care of things. I like that level of comfort you have when you are working through an agent as they can sort any issues out and you feel like you are being taken care of. Especially when first starting out it was great to have this as I had never received a contract before and didn't know what to look for. I also have a good relationships with my agents to where I can have a friendly chat whilst on a contract to let them know how things are going. Its good to feel someone is looking out for you. Ross Dunning points out in his blog that without his agent he would feel like being back at square one again. I agree that with an agent you feel like you are a step ahead of everyone else as you can go to a closed audition for example. But this can have its downside too. Ross mentions that he feels he has little chance of getting work in an open audition but at a closed audition competition is higher. I know friends that sometimes prefer open auditions as they feel they can stand out more amongst people that are not too good rather than closed where everyone there is good.
To summarize my agents have kick started my career putting work experience on my CV, they have landed me closed auditions, informed me of ones I would have never of found otherwise and been there in times when I need work.

The Stage
Over my 5 years of professional dance employment The Stage Magazine has played a huge role in my source of auditions going on. Early on in my career I would buy The Stage Magazine, search auditions and attend them. This was my main way of finding out audition information and to keep up with what was going on in the industry. It was through The Stage that I auditioned for Spirit of the Dance Productions and got a year contract in America where I met my fiance and ended up staying for a further two years of work! I think for any dancer The Stage is an important source of information but I feel over the years I have used it less and less. One reason could be because my networks have expanded, but I feel there are less audition adverts now than there were when I started out. I used to be able to look in the magazine and see around three auditions I could attend but now I only see about 1 a month I would go to.
The Stage does has a downside too. A friend of mine travelled all the way to London for an audition for a contract in Germany. She got offered a contract for 2 weeks over the Christmas period. She signed a contract and sent it back and was waiting and waiting on flight details. A few months later she got a call saying the contract was cancelled. Now she also teaches dance so luckily could just carry on with that but there would have been some girls out there who may have stopped going to other auditions or turned contracts down because of this. Of course it is not so much The Stage's fault and the morale is to search these companies before going. But it does show you have to research where these adverts are coming from.
In conclusion, The Stage has helped me gain employment with StageWorks Worldwide Productions, Spirit of the Dance and other contracts that I ended up not taking.

Web 2.0 Technologies
You would think this was a given ad at the top of the list, however I was a bit late in getting to grips with the web, purchasing my first laptop on contract in the USA in 2007! I recall being so excited at having unlimited access to the net , not having to borrow a computer from anyone or go to an Internet cafe.  Although computer literate it was not until I had my own laptop that I was able to take advantage of the web to help advance my professional career further. Since having my own laptop the use of web 2.0 has impacted my career dramatically.
- E-mail
when I first got my laptop I decided to set up another email for agents only. I now have three- hotmail, yahoo and gmail. The web has allowed me to gain employment in the USA for example when I was waiting for my visa to process I was in constant contact through email with my employer. In times of unemployment I probably send out at least 2 emails a day to possible employers with my CV and head shot. For promotional work I use email for contact on a daily basis- to apply for the job, to receive the details and to report feedback. without these email accounts I would not have had access to this type of work.
- Social Networking Sites
when I first bought my laptop Myspace was the place to be in the USA. About 6 months later I was introduced to the world of Facebook, which soon took over and a year later I deleted my Myspace account. Very soon after joining I was requested by previous dancer friends, choreographers, directors and managers. I accepted not really knowing the implications of facebook. It was not until it became very popular about a years ago that I realised promotional companies were making pages and if you joined would send you updates. The same with dance agencies and audition pages. I have had a few jobs through the use of facebook and I have used it to contact people regarding contracts. Now a huge worldwide phenomenon and constantly having bad press it was starting this course that made me set up a professional account. I now have switched all my agents, choreographers etc to this account where I can manage a bit better what they view.
- Job Sites
I now use The Stage Online, Dancers Pro, EntsWeb and Dance Europe Magazine to keep up-to-date with whats going on in the arts and for audition notices. Stacey Wilson has made me get back in touch with the world of Linkin as she mentions how good it can be for networking with people in the business. I am slowly improving on using this site and getting to grips with it. I feel this is a way I can improve my network even more.

Friends in the business
My network of friends in the business has slowly built up over time. This network primarily consists of people I trained with and friends I have met on contracts. However, I also consider past teachers, directors, choreographers and agents as part of this source. Having friends in the same business definitely helps in advancing your career. There are two contracts I only knew about because friends had told me there were auditions- Legends In Concert and Flip5 Live. Also knowing the entertainment manager f the park very well as he was my fiances boss at the time aided me in getting the Dance Captain position. Some would argue that my fiance helped me get it, but it was a known fact that out of the cast I had the most experience.

I recently met up with a friend from Elmhurst who has given me the contact details of an agency her friend is on that supplies dancers to shows like the X-factor etc and she feels I would be suited for that. Although originally she wanted to be a dancer, an ongoing injury has led her to retrain and pursue acting which she is doing very well at. Now I cannot see this kind of help coming from some of my other friends who are doing the same as me. There is an element of competitiveness unfortunately and when you are after the same type of jobs certain friends may hold back information.

I have relied on talking to people in the business for many things. They often can affect the way I might think or act in my professional practice. For example if I have not heard much about a particular company before I might ask for other people's opinions and if they give me negative feedback that might affect me auditioning for the company. I often use my network of friends as a support system  to discuss how tough it is and its good to feel like you. Joanna Adeyinka talks in her blog about how she has set up an 'industry hangout' where people in the business can come together and share thoughts and ideas, which seems to have been a success. I think sometimes with the way technology is going we forget that a simple coffee with a friend int he business can have a lot of benefits- not by necessarily gaining information but for us as humans having the need for affiliation. A facebook message doesn't always cut it. For example, I had a facebook message from a girl I had worked with over 2 years ago asking me for advice and help with US visas. Now for a start we really were not very close and I had not heard from her in over two years! She didn't ask me how I was or congratulate me on my engagement. I felt like I was being used. Although I replied I did not give the best advice I could of. Was that bad of me? I think it goes back to the idea that:

 "It's not who you know, but how well you know them" (Ivan Misner, June, 2010)

She knew me because we had worked in the same place, but we did not know each other or get on very well to where I felt I wanted to give her all my help. I
I feel that friends in the business is an area that I could improve on in my professional practice. I have many business cards from past employers/people I have met that I need o go through. I also have many past friends and colleagues on social networking sites it would be good to touch base with so I am going to try and work on improving this particular source that is of importance to me.

3b Affiliation

Affiliation

The need for affiliation gives a person a sense of belonging within a social group. Studies have show that affiliation with others has health benefits such as reducing stress. But why do we need to affiliate? I think it goes right back to the very beginning of time, when God put Adam on the Earth:

"Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone;

I will make him a helper fit for him." (Genesis chap 2 vs 18-19)

The animals were not enough companionship for Adam so God made Eve. He could have left him alone but he wanted him to have a companion and one that could reproduce. But why was it not good for him to be alone?

As Crisp and Turner found "adolescents spend about 75% of their waking time with other people" (Crisp & Turner, 2007 pp266-268). Research has shown the benefits of being around others. It can relive stress, give us support,  improve our social skills needed for everyday life and leave us with a sense of happiness and satisfaction.

American psychological theorist David McClelland popularized the idea of our need for affiliation. In his book The Achieving Society (1961) he created a needs-based motivational model describing 3 types of characteristics. Some people might posses a mix of these and other may steer towards a certain type. He research was mainly into achievement motivated people and he believed that these types of people are generally the ones who get things done and are goal orientated. His three types were:

N-arch- the need for achievement
These types of people are 'achievement motivated' with the need to succeed in the goals set to them. They like to feel a sense of accomplishment.
N- power- the need for authority and power
These people are 'authority motivated' enjoying the power of leading. They have a need to lead and like to be in charge.
N-affil- the need for affiliation
These people are 'affiliation motivated' having a need to be around people and like to be popular in social situations.

People motivated by achievement and those motivated by the need to affiliate seem to be very opposite in character. People that are motivated by achievement may generally have a low need to affiliate whereas those that are motivated by affiliation may be low on high achievement. Looking at the above I would say I steer more towards n-arch. I love feeling a sense of achievement or accomplishment in tasks set before me. I am a very organised person, a list maker and perfectionist in many ways and like the feeling of tasks well accomplished. I have the n-affil (need for affiliation) sometimes too but this can vary.

Obviously affiliation is more complex than just whether you are one way or the other. The Privacy Regulation Theory (Irwin Altman, 1975) explains why our need for affiliation fluctuates over time- why sometimes we like to be alone and other times around a lot of people. Altman argues that our desired privacy level changes according to cultural differences and different circumstances we experience. The goal of the privacy regulation theory is to achieve our desired level. If we have a small level of privacy but actually want a greater one we will feel lonely just like if we have too much interaction, more than our desired level we will feel annoyed. I can relate to this theory in my professional practice with contracts such as the cruise ships I worked on. Constantly being surrounded by cast members and crew was nice at times but also became annoying. As you share a cabin too it is very easy to feel overwhelmed by people and it was nice to sometimes go up on the deck for a walk or to the gym on my own to get some me time.

The social affiliation model by Shawn O'Connor and Larne Rosenblood again shows us how we regulate our need for affiliation to or desired level at that particular time. In certain situations for example a death in the family we might feel like we need a shoulder to cry on and reach out for help, our desire to affiliate becoming high. If however we feel that being around people at a particular time might increase stress our desire to affiliate with others will be very low and we want to be alone.
There are also biological and cultural differences in people that can explain our individual needs to affiliate.
Johnson and colleagues (1999) conducted brain studies that revealed differences in introverts and extroverts. Rachael Rettner wrote an article in Live Science Brains of Introverts revealed why they prefer being alone(LiveScience, Aug, 2010) where studies revealed that human faces are much more meaningful to extroverts than introverts. Introverts treat people the same way they do say flowers or animals and can therefore take them or leave them a lot easier than extroverts can. I found this really interesting. I would class myself as an extrovert as I am outgoing, enjoy talking and being around a lot of people. I have always been quite sensitive to people in the past and this study may explain why.

I find Geert Hofstede (1980) theories on cultural differences hard to grasp as it seems very generalised on a whole nation. It was also a study done back in the 80's and with times changing might be outdated for this day and age.

To summarize, I feel I have quite a high need for affiliation as I enjoy having a lot of people around when I am at work. I enjoy talking to people and finding out things about them. I like to have the TV on as background noise even if I am not watching it. However I also like to do things on my own and have no problem being alone sometimes. I have established that I am a person quite high on the need for achievement and I like to associate myself with like-minded people. The trouble I find with these theories is that each of them are subject to human nature and individualism. Each person differs in their own way making it hard to generalize. I think we all have the need for achievement and affiliation as it is in our nature as human beings and you can be high on both not just one or the other. It is also subject to circumstances as we all behave differently depending on what is going on around us. You might be surprised how someone might act in a situation of desperation when they act differently at other times. What I found through looking into affiliation and achievement was a that at first glance I thought they were different from each other, but I now see they can be both related.

Success in response to Emma Burkett

"Self trust is the first secret of success,the belief that is you are here the authorities of the universe put you here, and for cause, or with some task strictly appointed you in constitution, and so long as you work as that you are well and successful"

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. "Success," Society and Solitude (1870)

I found Emma's blog on success food for thought. As I
was not there on the induction day I was unaware that this
question was raised by Alan. I agree with Emma that each
person will define success very differently as each of us have
different things that motivate us. I do not think there is any right or wrong in defining success. Some of us might be motivated by financial success, some by making a big impact on others, some by relationship or emotional success. Everyone has their own individual idea of what success is. To find this out we might look at the following:
- What are your values in life?
- What are your goals and ambitions?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What is most important to you?

To me success in my career is managing to stay employed, which as a dancer is very hard. I feel that I am successful when I land a contract for the next week, month, year. When I am out of work I am constantly auditioning and striving to achieve the next contract (the next success). I could view myself as unsuccessful in the sense that when I was younger I wanted to be a ballet dancer. However I feel as you grow up your goals and ambitions change. As Emma points out "success is what you believe you are capable of achieving" (Emma Burkett, BAPP Blog, 2010). I always wanted to dance professionally and I have been blessed to do that. My goal may have changed from "ballet dancer" to "dancer" but to me I have been successful in a dance career over the past 5 years.
Now success in my future career would be to keep dancing for a long as possible and to go as far as I can with it. There are still some shows I would love to dance in and companies I would like to audition for. I was to obtain my Degree in Dance and then make a switch into a managerial role or something still within the theatre/performing arts.
Then there is also personal success. What is really important to me aside from my career is family and to be married and have children. I am getting married next year to the man of my dreams so I feel huge success in that sense. I may have to adjust my career definition of success as family comes first. As Ralph Waldo Emerson points out "self trust is the first secret to success". I think you have to believe in yourself, be confident and go out there and try to reach your goals.
Success is a journey as as Emma points out some experiences we may view as bad will help build another. As different points in your life your definition of success will change.

What is your definition of success?

3b Cooperation

Cooperation

Cooperation is the process of working together, side by side. It is what is needed to achieve world peace. Robert Axelrod (1984) identified the importance of cooperation in that you receive the maximum benefit when you cooperate with others. Game theory is all about maximising your options so you get the best possible outcome whilst minimizing the risk. In finance it would be all about maximising profit whilst minimizing the risk. So in our professional practice it is about maximising the outcome of meeting people in order to build our network. The Prisoners Dilemma can be explained in terms of cooperation as below:

Person A & Person B cooperate = win, win
Person A cooperate, Person B defect = A loose much, B win much
Person A defect, Person B cooperate = A win much, B loose much
Person A & Person B defect = loose, loose

I help understand further, I took four of my friends and rated them in terms of value to my professional network, with 5 being the highest.
Person 1- My best friend, also a dancer in the business (2)
Person 2- Friend who works onboard the QE2 (5)
Person 3- Unemployed friend (0)
Person 4- Promotional girlfriend (2)

The outcome is that I could cooperate with a combination of all of them or dedicate most of my time to 1 person with the highest value but outcome would only be value 5!  We also must take into perspective the different values itself and that whole some people I might value a lot higher in terms of professional practice there may be others that I talk to all the time that are not so high. It is probably best to spend most time with the top two for maximum benefit. It is a complex mathematical theory that Axelrod presents it is about working out our prioritises in life and how best to utilize our time.

With such competition in the field of the arts (and other businesses) and more dancers around than jobs cooperation can help us go the extra mile. Being great at networking can help us get a step up. Contacts can come from anywhere at anytime so it is important to be polite and nice to everyone you meet. If you make a bad impression they are not going to want to help you out. I think we always need to be open to making new connections with people to maximize the outcome. But once we make the connections we must maintain them.

My fiance got his current work position because a couple of his friends from college are managers in the company. By being friends with the manager he got a promotion this year. Managers like to get on with their employees. Likability factor can determine whether you land a job or not. Going back to my dad as I mentioned before he often interviews candidates from Oxford and Cambridge University with all the top grades but without being a people's person you won't make it in the company. Cooperation is key in getting on in life. If we are very willing to work with others we will be viewed as a team player ensuring positive work relations but if you are uncooperative people will view you as unable to work with others.

Funding the Arts

I cannot seem to recall who had an interest or was going to do an inquiry on this, but I found two articles in The Stage this week on funding in the Arts that may interest you.

Peter Hall Hits out at Arts funding cuts

Ireland cuts Arts funding and tax exemption

Let me know if this is of interest to any of you. I have searched in the reader but cannot seem to find the blog someone wrote on funding in the arts.

3b Connectivism

Connectivism

I was thinking through my current professional networks and realised how much I am dependant on the Internet to connect to people. The development of Web 2.0 technologies has increased the number of ways that people can now connect. This brought me to the theory presented in The Networked Professional Reader of Connectivism. Connectivism is "a learning theory for the digital age", developed by George Siemens and Steven Downes. It is the idea that learning happens by connecting relevant nodes or information sources together and therefore we can improve our learning by tapping into an existing network. It questions the traditional form of learning through teacher and textbook effectively a two-way process arguing that learning can happen in a number of different ways through online communities, email, conversations, blogging, web searching etc.

Steven Downes explains connectivism as when "knowledge literally is distributed across connections. It is whatever is created when information is sent from one connection, one entity to another entity"   (Steven Downes, What is connectivism?, UStream, 2008)

Studying for the BAPP degree, we are not learning through text books and rarely attend lectures/face to face classes. We are students of connectivism. We are learning through the use of tools such as blogs, wikis, YouTube etc but the real value is the connections that we have all made with each other. Unlike studying at secondary school or even Elmhurst, this course is making me take control over my own learning. The way in which we are currently learning has made us networked students.

Nodes

Before looking into the ways I connect, I thought it was important to look further into the idea of nodes. Nodes came up in the last campus session, which I and I think a few others were not too familiar with. Google defines nodes as "a connecting point at which several lines come together" (Google definitions). When we discussed the group with the Tube Map metaphor we talked about how traffic can travel between nodes so that they can connect. Some might be super highways and some rarely travelled paths. Therefore a node may exist even if it is not that well connected or 'travelled'. But we can also create more nodes for example such as meeting new people. Thoughts, feelings, new people or new data can be seen as nodes, which all come together to create a network. Networks can also join together and become nodes in themselves.

On first looking at my current networks it seemed pretty simple in concept. However there are many factors that affect the way in which we use and connect with our networks such as our emotions and experiences. Some nodes I have are constantly changing on a daily basis such as facebook and casting websites and some are static that I do not use very often. Certain nodes are rarely travelled but might be a node of importance for example my agent. Then there are some nodes that can be seen as a super highway that I constantly use such as my best friend who is also a dancer, but the information I gain is not always relevant in my professional practice.

Connecting though is the key to making networks. In order to connect we have to be willing to form relationships, but it doenst just stop there. Once an initial connection is made the frequency in which we use that node determines how strong that connection will be. A node such as Facebook has grown in popularity as people use it so often plus it contains many nodes itself- photos uploads, instant chat, games, video, links etc. Facebook's popularity has turned us into social networking addicts. They even have a figure of the amount of time it takes the average user to become hooked. This Youtube video that shows just how big social networking has become:

How big is social networking?

A topic that also came up at the last campus session was how experience plays a huge part in networking. We spoke about how a graduate comes out with all this knowledge but not necessarily the connections to make things happen. I only started making strong nodes once I took my first contract. Here I met entertainers that had been in the business for years that I looked up to and learnt so much from. Having this initial experience helped me to start to develop my own professional network. Now further along in my career I have helped many friends through the connections I have made.

So far in my career there has only been one time when I have used someone I know to assist in gaining a contract. I feel that my professional network is quite big, but not very valuable. I know a lot of people but I haven't necessarily kept the type of relationship with some of them to where I feel I could ask for help with say getting work. I think it is very important in any line of work to keep up-to-date and connected with people and the use of Web 2.0 technologies definitely aids in this.





Connectivism and Technology

Change of template

I felt like my previous blog was too dark overall and hard to read so I decided to make a change to the template. Let me know what you guys think.

3a Current Networks

Networking is an important part of any professional career. It is through networking that we can keep up to date, find out useful information, meet new people and develop new contacts. It is all about getting to know other people, their interests and in doing so hoping that this will provide mutual benefit.

Its not what you know but who you know!

Sadly this phrase is all too true. All too often opportunities come through one off meetings with someone. For example I worked a one off promotional event 2 years ago, when the girl I worked with told me about this website Stuck for Staff. I searched the site that evening and joined to find so much promotional work listed on there. Since that meeting I have had regular promotional work in between contracts and it is the number one place I find my work from.

However, effective networking is about our ability to create and maintain a relationship with people we meet all over our professional career. we all have many different networks and frequency in which we use them. For example I have a lot of close friends who I worked with on contracts that I am frequent contact with then I have my agents, past teachers and choreographers who I don't contact very often. Networking entrepreneur Ivan Misner argues:

"It's not what you know or who you know- its how well you know them that really counts"

(Ivan Misner, June 2010)

Reading his blog made me think of my contacts I have in the industry. I have so many past colleagues for example on Facebook that some I haven't made contact with in years. So it is one thing to say I know people in the business but would I call them up and ask them for a favor? Probably not at this point in time as I do not feel I know some of them well enough.

So how can we network effectively? well maybe being in the right place at the right time is a good starting point. Being in places where situations are likely to happen- for example taking classes at Pineapple say presents many opportunities such as meeting the teacher, other dancers, seeing the jobs board etc etc. Sometimes a simple introduction to someone is enough but we do sometimes need to take risks for example getting a business card, phone number or email address of someone who we have made a connection with. It requires confidence and stepping out of our comfort zone but I think the more we can do it the better we will be. I can think of a couple of occasions at auditions where I have spoken to some good dancers and thinking now I wish I would have got the courage to ask for their numbers as you never know who they might be able to put me in contact with or what loop they are in.

But as Misner points out we must keep and maintain these relationships in order for them to be beneficial by being in regular contact with them. I kept in regular contact with my ballet teacher from Elmhurst because my brother went there when he was 11 after I left so we stayed in touch. I was thankful for this contact as she has written me references for a couple of jobs and applications. This shows the importance of maintaining regular contact as no one wants to feel like you are using them for something.

My current networks are:
- past and present teachers
- past production managers/directors
- past teachers/choreographers
- friends in the business
- previous colleauges

My tools that I currently use to engage with these networks are:
- Email
- Facebook (mainly)
- Telephone
- Arranging meetings
- Promo Jobs Pro
- Stuck for Staff

A site that was explained to me by Stacy at the recent campus session was Linkedin. This is more of a business oriented website that apparently a lot of casting directors use. When I came home I realised that I actually had already registered a while ago but never made my profile up. I think sometimes you can join too many sites and it is hard to keep up with them all. But after talking to Stacy I went back on and have started to edit my profile. I am hoping that using this site will help me expand my contacts and be able to network with other professionals.

At the start of my career I never used contacts to obtain a job as my network was very limited. Straight out of college my network consisted of my school/dance friends from Elmhurst and teachers who trained me. I was not on any social networking sites nor did I have an agent. I relied solely on looking at The Stage or some casting websites to find auditions and that was how I landed two agents and contracts. Networking showed me it's benefits when I was working out in the States. It was through meeting people and making friends out there that I found out about the auditions for 'Flip5 Live!' the show. A dancer friend of mine talked about how she went to school with the son of a director and also was taught by the choreographer back when she was little of a big production company that helped her land a contract.

The more experienced we become in our profession, the bigger our networks will be. Other dancers now ask for my advice or links in the business. The further along we get in our careers the more we are able to give back due to the experience based learning we have received.



2d Inquiry

So I sat down to start working on task 2d and struggled to come up with any one particular line of inquiry to write about. It could have something to do with the fact that I am currently not performing therefore I feel a bit out of touch with the dance world. So I thought back to previous contracts I have done, what excited me and I came up with two possibilities I could pursue.

I would like to  find out more about the backstage/production aspect of the theatre and what it would be like working behind the scenes. I have always had an interest in the roles of the production managers, agents, stage managers and casting directors. When I was working in the show 'Flip5 Live' in the USA I was appointed Dance Captain of the show. Having never been a dance captain before I was excited and nervous to start this venture. I got a huge buzz from it as it was such a challenge from just being a regular dancer. I got to work closely with the director and choreographer and my role included  new people, teaching them the show, re-staging if someone was off sick and taking notes. I also had to learn as many of the other roles as I could for teaching and in case I had to swing for someone (which happened!). I loved this role also because I finally had some authority and say. As a dancer we rarely have a voice- we are told what to do, when to do it and  how to do it. My experience as Dance Captain allowed me to see what it was like to be on the other end and give direction rather than always take it.
So my first option might be to look n more depth into the role of casting directors, production managers and what tools and skills you might need to make the jump from dancer to one of these roles.
Another issue I think would be interesting to look at is the difference between dancers and non-dancers. Currently being out of work and doing some 'regular' jobs, I have thought about this often. Why do I ave the urge to move to music when I hear it yet some people do not. Is it because I have grown up dancing and have done years of performing so my body is programmed to move? This could be an interesting subject as it could lead to a number of issues. For example the differences in dancers and non-dancers on the following:
- Eating habits
Why are eating disorders higher in dancers than non-dancers?
- Personality traits
Looking into the psychology aspects that dancers undergo. Effects of training at such a young age etc.
- Bodies (leading to injury causes etc)
The strain that dancers bodies undergo that can lead to injuries.
- Differences in genetics
Could look into the scientific studies of the differences in genes between dancers and non-dancers.
- Difference in jobs
Looking at how are dance jobs different and similar to other athletes and corporate jobs.

Researching this inquiry would lead to some interesting findings I feel as it can go so many ways. But some feedback on which topic to pursue would be appreciated. Thoughts, questions...??



Reflective Practices- poem!

No dancing at the moment and feeling like I don't have too much to reflect on, I decided to take a note out of Adesola's blog and write a poem. I am currently doing a lot of promotional work working 3 days a week demonstrating kids toys in Debenhams- a mystery UFO and talking monkey! Finding this a challenge compared to doing what I love I definitely have learnt the difference between a job and a career. In a job, a minute feels like an hour, an hour like a day. In a career time flies, you are doing what you love and before you know it a 4 month contract is up. So sat down in Pret a Manger Thursday lunchtime I started to come up with a short poem. Having never really written poems before it was a challenge but I found it quite fun!

Working all week 9 to 5 for some money,

Demonstrating toys compared to dance is kinda funny,

Standing on my feet all day not doing what I enjoy,

Sneak an extra long break was I the best one to employ?

Counting every minute the day goes by so slow,

By 5pm I'm tired, hungry and feeling kinda low,

Missing dancing oh so bad I cannot help my feet

They hear a song come on in store start to move to the beat

With a UFO in hand and dave the monkey on,

I put a smile on my face and remind myself it wont be long,

Before I'm standing on a stage dancing to a crowd

Adrenaline pumping through my veins hearing them cheer so loud

Walking to the station the fastest I've moved all day

Just cant wait to get home wait to get some pay

5 more weeks to go the countdown has begun

Before my dancing shoes are on, Holland here I come!

Well there it is. My attempt at a poem. Slightly embarrassed to post this I eventually plucked up the courage. I think what it reflects is how down I am about the work I am in at the moment and how I cannot wait to start my contract. These are some thought that have been coming up a lot in my journal at the moment. I am anticipating the start of something new. It will be interesting to compare my feelings now with when I actually get and start my contract.

How to post a Wiki

What is a Wiki?
A wiki was something I was unfamiliar with before this course. I had heard of the term but didnt really know what it was or how to use it. Alan explained a wiki in more detail at the start of the campus session on Wednesday.

Definition: A wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

If any of you are like me I was unsure about how to post a Wiki for task 2c so I uploaded my whole essay to my blog! Alan explained that part of this course is to find and learn new tools to help us with our professional practice. After searching the internet for information on how to set up a Wiki I found some useful information on Wikihow.com. I realised there are many different wiki sites you can use but I came across Wiki Spaces and set up an account through them. It was really easy to do. I then realised I could upload my essay from my blog to Wiki Spaces so I have it on there now. This way I can go back and edit my thoughts the more I learn.

Here is the link to my Wiki: http://lauraweir.wikispaces.com/Reflective+Theory
Let me know if any of you guys decide to set up an account with Wiki Spaces as well.

The Networked Professional- 3rd campus session 10/11/10

The campus session on Wednesday introduced us to part 3 of the module- Professional Networking. We started by each coming up with a list of our own current professional networks that we use. I chose to brainstorm for this idea, which made me realise that I actually have a lot of networks but do not necessarily use all of them all the time.

We were then split into pairs and discussed what each others networks were and had the opportunity to explain to the group what our partners networks were. This then fed into the main task which was to come up with a presentation in small groups by mapping out what our professional networks look like and looking at the what, when, why and how aspects of each.

Our group started doing a brainstorm on our current professional networks that we all use, which we found led to other things taking us off on a tangent.

For example take a social network site such as Facebook. Here you can find friends, colleagues or agents in the business which can then take you to make contact and find about auditions. Or you can join a group or agency and find auditions or jobs that way. This can then lead to you attending an audition and landing or not landing a job. That is just one network that has so many possibilities.

We found all the networks to be interlinked to ultimately landing a job. Therefore our group decided to draw an avatar going on a journey from being fresh ou of college to landing a job and seeing all the possible networks it may meet or come in contact with along the way.

Running out of time our group ended up with a tangled bunch of ideas that we found hard to solidify. We drew the following for our presentation:

You can see our presentation in full on the BAPP YouTube Channel. I think our group had a lot of good ideas but struggled to consolidate our thoughts for a presentation.
I like the group who used the metaphor of an underground station as it helped me to think about how I network. You might be going to an audition and bump into a friend, go for coffee and find out about another audition that takes you on a completely different line to the one you were originally on for example. Some lines may be travelled frequently i.e. contact with a dance friend but may not get you very far and some might very rarely travelled i.e. contact with an agent but going that route may land you something big. We can
also create stops and as time goes on and we become more experienced professionals the bigger our tube map will be.

Something that Adesola pointed out was that getting "a paid job" is not necessarily the ending point or the ultimate goal. We are all on a journey and where we might stop off or detour will shape who we are today. Professional networks are not just a vehicle to get a job but they define who you are when in work and not in work. Having these networks can give us support when not it work and meeting with other professionals makes us have that sense of feeling connected. we have the power to build a reputation from the networks we are associated with and it is about giving as much as receiving. I think this was an important point from the session was that how much we give out is just as important as what we take in.

2c Refective Theory

Reflective Practice forces us to question what it is we know and how we come to know it. It makes us reflect on our strengths, weaknesses and where we can improve.

Growing up in the world of dance, the phrase “practice makes perfect” was commonly used. This idea that by repeating a movement over and over you will improve is not necessarily the case. Firstly you need feedback from your teacher about how to improve. Repetition may perfect what you already know or keep us doing it in the same way, but unless we act on our reflections then no development will take place. Dancing as a child often what happened in class would be left at the door on the way out. My mum would drop me off, I would take class and then pretty much leave what happened at the door on the way out.  John Dewey (1930) saw the value of reflection as means of learning. He believed that learners need to be involved in doing but then in thinking about what comes from the doing so that learning can start.

I first came across using reflective practice as a tool to learning at Elmhurst School for Dance. Here we were asked to keep a journal noting constructive criticism, how we might improve, what went well and not so well. Writing these thoughts down made us take time out to reflect on how the class had gone so the next time we would know what we needed to work on. Thinking before you do a movement helps to achieve it properly. For example before attempting a double pirouette there are a number of thoughts running through my brain: use of plie, weight placement, hold arms, whip of the head etc.  Without thinking through the mechanics I would be unable to pull off a clean double pirouette. Now at school I tended to wait for the teacher to give me a correction, I could then record this and work on improving it.

In my professional practice however, it is up to me to establish what isn’t working and how I can improve. The 5 years of professional dance experience I have had will not lead to learning more unless I can reflect on that experience. Reflection leads to deeper meaning and reflective practitioners have been described as those who;

‘understand how to think and learn from their experiences in practice and to apply and monitor the outcomes of that learning’ (Moon 1999:42).

I think my reflective journal is going to aid me in my career by thinking deeper about how I can learn from the experiences I have had and the ones to come.  Moon also talks about  journal writing as enhancing “self empowerment”, which when confidence may be lacking can help us. As dancers we often face many rejections as part of the job. Writing our thoughts down can help us to work our way through these feelings channeling our emotions in a positive way.

But writing is not the only way of reflection. I have started to experiment with poems as suggested by Adesola Akinleye and sketches as suggested by Paula Nottingham as a way to reflect on experiences, which I find clarifies what I really found important on that particular day.

David Kolb (born 1939) was an American theorist who in 170 along with Rodger Fry developed an Experiential Learning cycle based on the idea that learning is a series of experiences.

`Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.' (Kolb 1984:38)

At first I was a bit skeptical of this way of learning not seeing where I came in and not sure if I agreed with categorizing learning into four stages. The problem I initially found was that firstly you must identify you have an experience in order to learn from it, often a number of stages  occur at the same time and sometimes stages can be jumped or missed out completely. I also thought that this cycle is more aimed towards a scientific learning process not artistic. As artists we learn from an inside out point of view whereas educators are from the outside in. We learn from showing whereas education is telling. I therefore developed what I felt my own learning cycle might look like from a dance/performing perspective.


Laura Weir's Learning Cycle In Dance:


                                       DEMONSTRATION
                                      (watch the choregrapher)

PERFORMANCE                                                          DANCE

(It's show time!)                                                       (repeat the movements)

                                             CRITIQUE

                              (listen to corrections, make changes)

In my previous blog ‘Thoughts so far on Reflective Theory’ I researched Kolb’s cycle further by looking into the four learning styles (Divergers, Assimilators, Convergers and Accommodators). I found myself to be a Diverger (in between concrete experience and reflective observation) as I learn from watching rather than doing. I tried to see where I would fit into Kolb’s cycle on my everyday promotional work. An extract taken from my journal on Fri 29^th October 2010:

“we were shown by another demonstrator how the toys worked (reflective observation), then were asked to try them out ourselves (active experimentation), we were given tips and techniques and other things to try out (abstract conceptualization) and then later that day I was on the shop floor doing it in front of people (concrete experience)”
(Laura Weir, 2010)

It reconfirmed that I like to observe before doing just like when I created my blog and looked at what other people had done before creating my own. Even though I can see how I could be a diverger because I like to observe before doing, I don’t agree with the description as much as I do that I am a kinesthetic learner.

Donald Schon’s (1983, 1987) theory of reflection-in-action is something I realize I use very often when performing onstage. Having a quick response when something unexpected happens is vital to being a professional dancer. Robert Kottcamp belived reflection-in-action is much harder than on-action but this is mostly down to his profession as a writer where it is important to think and look back on what he has written. As dancer, reflecting-in-action is a vital part of performing. An perfect example of reflection-in-action was when I dancing onboard the Queen Mary 2. We were in the middle of dancing Abba with 6 couples all on stage at the same time. One of the guys at the front went into a lunge to catch his partner and split his white pants all the way down the back! He whispered to his partner what had happened and they cleverly exited off stage.  Suddenly I realized being the center couple that the formation looked off so we started to re-block whilst dancing. I and my partner edged over to the right making the couple next to us move forward which created a 5 couple formation. It was truly amazing to see the cast in the space of a few seconds come together to change the pattern. Not only that we had to constantly think all the way through the rest of the number of our spacing as a group so nothing looked wrong all whilst dancing and without speaking a word to each other.  This type of reflecting- in-action is what Schon calls the ‘action-present’ which is a response to a surprise. Reflection-in-action challenges us to think in a new way about the problems we have encountered.

I have reflected-on- action many times training at Elmhurst (such as completing self-assessments) and in my professional practice when asked to view videos of performances we have done. Shows were always recorded on the ship for the dance captain to view and take notes on as well as for ourselves to view to scrutinize what we need to change or improve. This helped us to note what looked wrong and change it in the next show. But this technique may not be suitable for everyone. As dancers we are already self critical that it can make our self esteem even lower than it may be.

Howard Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory questioned the tradition of measuring intelligence by a simple IQ test. His idea of there being 7 different intelligences made me keen to want to find out more about the way I learn. In my previous blog ‘What learning style are you?’ I took an online test to find out my learning style. What I discovered was that I am a kinesthetic learner- learning through touching, feeling, and being hands-on. I found that the answers I was given I could really relate to. 

‘The bodily kinesthetic learning styled student may be drawn to careers such as professional dancer’ (Understanding bodily kinesthetic learner, Ann Logson)

It made sense that this is my main learning style that I learn by doing things in an active way explaining why I can easily remember a dance move more than a talk given by someone. I think I liked this idea so much as it gave me an excuse to why I sometimes struggle memorizing certain information however if I see or feel something I can remember it vividly. In the Reflective Practices reader Adesola commented on how she thought she liked the idea of dancers being kinesthetic learners because she had always struggled with reading and writing so it made her  feel better to think dancers are better  at ‘doing’ things.  Poor performance on a particular activity may be misinterpreted as lack of knowledge when actually it is difficulty in a particular learning style. What Adesola goes onto say is that it;

‘makes me realize that the idea ii like is not so much about the idea itself, “dancers learn ”, its more about my feelings about myself’
(Adesola Akinleye, 2010)

Actually she is not a kinesthetic learner, but used this to justify what she was not good at. I do think we have to be careful that acknowledging a particular learning style does not give us a tendency to behave in a certain manner.  However recognizing our learning style can help us to become better learners with a more positive attitude towards study and greater confidence in applying ourselves. By identifying my learning style and researching it in more depth I found my weakness and strengths.

Conclusion

Reflective practice requires you to take time out to think and reflect. The aim is to find improvement and learn from practice then to inquire to find out more. It has been interesting to explore different theories on reflective practices and how I can use them in my own practice. I have found I can relate to the ideas of Moon, Schon, Gardner taking them forward and using them in the ways I reflect on my own professional practice.

But one question I would like to raise is what if we are unable to reflect on our actions? Does that mean we cannot improve?  Reflection may not be the only way or the best way to develop professional practice. Surely each individual is different so it will vary in each person as to what is effective.

References:

 Akinleye. A (2010) Reflective Practices Reader

Kolb, D. 1984 Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development 

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

Logsdon, A. Understanding Bodily Kineasthtic Learner, http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/resourcesresearch/qt/Bodily_kinesthe.htm

 Moon, J. (1999) Learning Journals. A Handbook for Academics, Students and Professional Development, Kogan Page Limited, London.

Schön D (1983) The reflective practitioner. Basic Books: New York

2b Journal writing experience

The day I chose to write about was my audition for a circus show in Holland over the Christmas period, which I was successful in being cast in. This day affected my week (I could now chill out and relax), month (not worrying about auditioning so could take on promotional work till December) and BAPP course (wanting to get the first module done before I leave).

Having kept diaries in the past, generally I would write a description of what happened in the day and leave it at that. This task however got me to think more critically about the day bringing in feelings, emotions and thoughts of what went well and what I could learn from. It got me to tap into what was going through my head at the the time and how I felt after on reflection.

I started by writing down a description of what happened throughout the day, which in itself started to bring back many feelings and emotions felt. This would be about the point I would get to in past journals. Writing down what went on in a day helps to record the days events but doesn't really get you reflecting.

So I next looked at initial reflection where I wrote down my feelings during the actual audition: nervous, anxious, fired up, hot, sweaty, worried, adrenaline pumping and what was going through my head: tough competition, not going to make the cut, trying to stay cool by the fan, trying to see the choreographer to learn the routine, putting my own style on the moves, did my agent remember me from all those years ago and does she now have favourites she will put through?

Looking back all these feelings and thoughts were actually quite negative at the time. Because auditions are a very stressful situation to be in it is hard to relax and be positive. You are constantly worried as you never know when you could be dancing for the last time not making the next cut.

I also wrote my feelings after the audition: relieved, happy, excited, ready to celebrate, tired, pleased
 
Because I had landed the contract and made it through these were all happy excited feelings rushing through my head as well as a massive sense of relief that I had got a job and didn't have to worry about the rigorous audition process for a while. My mood had dramatically changed to that of nervous and worried to happy and thrilled. I think as a dancer/performer this major adrenaline rush is something that we all secretly crave without realising it and our moods often will change from one extreme to the other as that is just the industry we are in. I know I secretly love the feeling and get a buzz from auditions even though they are a tiring and hard process. But maybe I only feel this way now as I got the contract whereas if I hadn't I would feel down, depressed and not want to go to another audition.

This brings me onto the idea of writing the day from another perspective. I decided to write from a dancer who got cut right before the end. Since I had been to two auditions that were not a success before this I am well aware of the feeling of disappointment. I think the most frustrating thing for these girls was getting so close and feeling anticipation and excitement of almost making it and then getting cut and feeling disappointed at yourself. I realised when writing this that had I not made it I would have focused on how much better the other dancers were and made excuses as to why I wasn't chosen- not wearing the right thing, made a mistake in the routine, didn't smile enough, didn't push to the front enough. But in reality when we get that close to making it it comes down to the slightest thing and at this audition it was height. One girl was cut because she was too tall and towered over the rest of us and another because she was way too short. I was thankful for the heels on my jazz shoes which made me appear taller even though I was still on the shorter side.

I found that making a list of things of things I did and saw helped to clarify the day and sum it up. It also made me realise what was really important to me by what came to mind first. Making this list also included my feelings so I found it a good tool to use when writing my journal. By evaluating the day I learnt that during the audition I was reflecting-in-action by watching the way other dancers were doing the routine, taking what i liked and then using that when I danced. For example at the end of the set routine we were supposed to hit a end pose. The way the music carried though made one girl continue to move to the music out from the pose with slow arms movements etc and it looked really effective catching the directors eye. I took that idea and used it when it came to my turn which I felt not only helped the directors focus on me but ultimately helped me land the job.When so many girls are a room all at one time you have to do something to stand out and using this idea and doing my own take on it helped catch the eye of the directors.

I also saw what to avoid. Dancers were not being technical enough on the routine by not watching and doing what the choreographer was actually asking of us. As strange as the choreography may be we must try and do what the choreographer wants. Some girls were cheating a certain move to make themselves look more flexible for example and the choreographer stopped and asked them to do it how it was set. Sometimes in a stressful situation and in the midst of trying to get noticed dancers throw their technique away and everything is too over the top. Arms flaring everywhere, feet not in the right place these girls were cut at the first round.
Writing about the themes of the day was a good way to reflect-on-action. There wasn't really anything I would say I would do differently since I got the job. So i looked at what I was glad I did which I felt led to me getting thumbs up from all the panel:

* I wore my jazz boots which have a heel to help me look taller. when it came to the final cut I was one of the shorter girls but the choreographer came up to me, looked me dead in the eye and said the dance captain from France was exactly my height so the other girls were actually measured up to me.

* I changed from the original pink top I had on to a black halter. Even though there were a lot of girls in black, i felt it made me look and feel slimmer and showed my body in a better light.

* I threw in triple turns instead of double. Knowing i can pull of a solid triple turn I put this in which made the heads of the panel turn to me. Although I am a strong believer in doing what the choreographer sets you have to make yourself stand out in auditions and this helped get their attention.

What really made me enthusiastic about the whole experience was at the end when we were given a programme of the circus show and got to look through all the pictures. It looked amazing and we were given some leaflets to take away and show people. If any of you are interested it is on http://www.circusfestival.com/
It made me excited to actually see what I will be a part of and when they took down our measurements it became real  as well. after such a gruelling audition especially at the end where they were trying to select the final cast a huge feeling of relief swept over me! Relief that after two previous failed auditions I had got something, relief that I didn't have to worry about auditioning for a while and the relief of knowing I was going to get to dance professionally again soon.

Doing this task really made me think about how I reflect on my work as a professional dancer. So often I will go to auditions, maybe reflect a bit about what happened on the train ride home and then forget about those thoughts altogether. I have realised that I will never be able to learn from the many experiences I have unless I really think about why something did or didn't work for me.