1) What in your daily practices gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?
Music is a factor of my daily practice that makes me enthusiastic, without music I would feel lost. I listen to music wherever I go and I don’t have a ‘particular’ type of music that I choose to listen to. Different moments inspire me to listen to different genres of music apart from when choreographing a dance piece; I will always choose the music that inspires me to create movement. Sometimes I like to experiment and create a dance piece to no music and then I like to play around with various styles of music which then leads me to changing the dynamic or energy of the piece, however most of the time I will choose a piece of music I love which gives me inspiration to start creating material. Although dance does not require music and movement can be expressed in silence or with a simple and abstract sound design. Much more often, though, dance and music move together even though there are contrasts and contradictions of two very different worlds. Dance and music are culturally, economically and socially different in many ways, and in ways that make for important differences in how each art is inspired and expressed. Yet, in a truly successful dance performance, there is little or nothing to separate the two arts, because the music and the movement express together the same artistic vision. Music needs to inspire the audience at the performance, rather than distract them. ‘Dance and music are both arts of the spirit, but while dance is the art of a spirit moving in space, music is an art of the spirit moving in time’. In the art of choreography, music can inspire – and often defines the sequence, the progress and the success of what is shared. Being a musical dancer has and always will be very important to me and I intend to teach my students the importance of musicality. ‘Musicality is understanding music on a technical level, and then dropping all of that knowledge so you can sit deep inside the music’ ‘It’s dancing inside the music, as opposed to floating on top of it’ says choreographer Wade Robson. Being musical makes a performance more enjoyable to dance but also it is a more rewarding way to dance. Feijoo says ‘A strong but none musical dancer is like a painting without any colours, Id rather watch a musical dancer with less extension and not as pretty feet’. I couldn’t agree more and I would like to learn and educate myself more on the musicality of a dancer.
I am passionate and enthusiastic about health and wellbeing. In the last year my passion for a healthy lifestyle has grown stronger. I have always enjoyed keeping fit and healthy from a young age as I ran with Liverpool Harriers before I chose to go down the performing arts route. Over the last year I have educated myself on nutrition and read many articles, studies and journals about nutritional information. I love finding out what natural foods can prevent illnesses or help cure disease and illness. I believe it is very important to have a strong healthy mind and body because without health I believe we have nothing. I do lots of yoga and running alongside my dancing which helps keep me in condition and also keeps me happy. I thoroughly enjoy learning about exercise and nutrition and would be interested in finding out more.
2) What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?
Emma Price talked about casting on her blog and I can agree I share the same feelings on this subject. Castings have always been difficult to deal with if I was never chosen. During my college years there were plenty of times when lists would go up for different opportunities, there were times I was chosen but then other times I would have done anything for the opportunity and felt I deserved a chance or I had worked really hard to gain the opportunity but was not chosen. Obviously this would really upset me as it was something I had a strong passion for and the thought of gaining the opportunity to improve, learn and grow would always excite me. I believe it wasn’t always fair and the politics of how things were done was not correct however I had to find ways to deal with it and my way of dealing with it would be like Emma’s to remind myself that this profession is based on people’s opinions and not facts and that it wasn’t because I wasn’t good or didn’t work hard enough , it was simply based on opinions however sometimes I believed I did need to work harder in an area to allow me to improve and become stronger to stand a chance for the next opportunity. Since graduating things have not changed, castings are always tough and although I hear these sayings many times ‘were looking for a specific type’ or ‘it doesn’t mean your not good, we just know what we want and what we are looking for’, they still frustrate me but I am learning to deal with this a lot more and try not to reflect to deeply on why I wasn’t chosen. There are many performers out there who share the same feelings as me as many of my friends and colleagues have all been through the same thing and although sometimes things don’t seem fair I have to remind myself life isn’t always fair.
3) What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?
I love that I have dreams, goals and aspirations. It’s what keeps life moving and exciting for me. Although it’s hard and sometimes I look to far ahead to the future its a good feeling to be working hard towards something that one day will happen if I keep working hard, be realistic and take the right opportunities as they arise. I am learning from every experience thrown at me and I love the fact that life could take me anywhere and I am not yet stuck in a career I hate but to scared to move away from because of uncertainty and lack of security. I love the fact that I am always meeting new people and working alongside others which is something I have always enjoyed. I communicate with people on all levels on a daily basis. It could be with the students I am working with, the teachers I am working alongside, friends, customers I serve in the restaurant, colleagues or people I meet for the first time. I love learning from people and generally being around different types of people. It makes my day more exciting and satisfying to have different levels of conversations with people. I admire fearless people and people who follow there dreams in life and aren’t to scared of the outcome, people who go out there and fight for what they want. Although I believe you have to be realistic in life and sometimes life will take you on unexpected journeys but I love and admire those people who don’t let anything stop them and will not settle until they get to where they want to be and those who do not let there fears dictate there decisions.
4) What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?
There are many things I don’t understand in life and I believe there will always be things I don’t understand throughout life. I don’t understand why dance and performing arts has always been so expensive and money can sometimes hold people back. From a young age you are taken to dance classes for the love and passion of it, and then come the exams, the shows, the fees, the extra rehearsal fees, the uniform and the costumes. All of which costs money, you then start to become more serious about it and believe you have the potential to make it as a professional dancer. Teachers push and encourage you to do more which leads to more money. As I was growing up I constantly felt as though I was asking for money of my parents to finance everything to do with dance and although your parents don’t mind as they know how important and how much something means to you but it comes to a point where it is never ending. I know many performers with all the potential in the world but had to give up as there parents couldn't fund them and there was no funding in the arts to help them out. Receiving a place at Dance College in London seemed like the best thing to happen not to mention the £35,000 fees for the 3 year’s worth of training; this is what I don’t understand? Although I understand the training and knowledge you receive is fundamental to gaining a career in dance however I can never fully understand why that much? Gaining a scholarship to attend took the stress of paying the £35,000 but then there were some students parents paying and struggling with there life so that their children could attend, why should it be that hard? Although the fee’s where being payed for in came the costs of living and accommodation fees plus the cost of uniform and taking part in exams and shows, it felt like a vicious circle of money grabbing systems in place. It is something I feel many dancers will never understand.
5) How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? For example, what level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?
Deciding on appropriate ethical responses to given situations is purely down to awareness, being aware of the situation and experience, the outcomes and ways in which you can decide and deal with appropriate ethical responses in certain situations. We have no choice but to make decisions with possible ethical consequences at some point in our careers, the decision could be about our own conduct or about that of another. How we react in given situations could have significant implications for our reputation and career. Recognising risks can prevent many potential ethical problems from escalating to the point of causing harm. Being aware of what is/isn't ethical, aware of the situation you are dealing with and aware of the consequences that lie by your response is noticing how you should react or respond in a given situation. Recent writings stress how factors such as emotions, personal vulnerabilities, personality, and even the context of situations influence how we make decisions, including ethical ones. (Tjeltveit & Gottlieb, 2010) stress the insufficiency of cognitive strategies to determine how decisions are made. Rogerson, Gottlieb, Handelsman, et al. (2011) illustrate many of the non rational factors that affect our decisions. An effective response requires developed skills, planned resources, the right information, and a pre-established ethical and self awareness. ‘what level of physical contact would you deem inappropriate’ Performing and teaching dance is a very ‘hands on’ approach of working, dance is very physical and requires a lot of contact more than academic subjects. I believe a form of non-sexual, personal physical contact between teacher and student is important for purpose of growth, correction or improvement. In many academic subjects teachers would almost never have physical contact with a student unless an emergency arose however there are many professions where physical contact is vital in the workplace for example: Physiotherapists, yoga teachers, physical trainer, acupuncture, Pilate’s instructor, makeup-artists, tattoo artists, hairstylist, dentistry and nail technicians. All of these professions require a certain level of appropriate physical contact. Many ways of thinking about ethics focus on whether specific actions are good or bad, or right or wrong. They help one decide what he or she should do in a particular case or class of cases, or evaluate after the fact actions that someone else has done. Ethical considerations can be framed in terms of good and bad, beneficial; and harmful, or effective and ineffective, than in terms of right and wrong, proper and improper or correct and incorrect. When asking any ethical question- what should I do in a given situation? What kind of person should I strive to be? How do I resolve conflict among persons or nations? – I feel the question should be framed in terms of goodness and badness, what is beneficial or harmful, to myself and those around me.
Ethical considerations within the dance teaching environment:
Factual statements may relate to:
- Fee structure
- Information about results and examinations and competitions
- Publicity about services offered by a school or teacher
- Information about the number of former students now dancing professionally
- Information about qualifications held by teachers
- Advertising a particular teaching method only where legitimate teaching qualifications in that methodology or syllabus are held
Impartiality can be demonstrated through:
- Using appropriate and constructive criticism in verbal and non-verbal judgements and written reports
- Explaining guidelines to ensure that participants are treated fairly without bias
- Dealing diplomatically with other teachers, students, parents and carers
Communication should always be in a style appropriate to:
- Students age
- Preferred method of communication
- Physical or cultural factors
- Sensory or intellectual impairment, e.g. sigh loss or hearing loss.
Relevant personnel may include:
- Supervisors
- Parents
- Carers
- Medical practitioners
- Physiotherapists
- Other teachers
Student confidentiality may relate to:
- Not passing on information regarding student status or well being to other individuals without permission
- Referring to best practice principles of the activity
Duty of care relates to:
- Doing everything ‘reasonably practicable; to protect the health and safety of others in the workplace. Duty places on:
- All employers
- Employee’s and contractors
- Any others who have an influence on hazards in a workplace.
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