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.