Still considering ethics...

Last weekend, I was lucky that motivation struck; I completed my first draft of my artefact and my second draft of my essay. But this week I have struggled to develop my drafts. Additionally, balancing learning, work and personal life has been proving quite tricky. But with under 2 weeks left until the deadline, I can finally see the finishing line and I hope that motivation will strike again. 

As I move towards my final drafts, I would like to work on my ethical considerations part of my essay. I have been battling ethics since September, and I feel this is the weakest part of my essay. 

On Friday I attended a 'First Aid for Schools' training course. I left the course feeling confident that I could give immediate care to a student if a problem occurred. But during the course my mind wondered on the moments I chose to ignore injuries that occurred within my dance practice. 

A study was conducted last year by Safe Dance IV where 146 professional dancers were asked whether they feared injury. I have shared the results below:

"Over half (63%) of the respondents reported that they fear sustaining a dance-related injury, that they believe there is still a stigma surrounding injuries in dance (62%), and that this stigma has led to a delay in reporting or seeking care for an injury (51%)." (NCBI, 2019)

Professional dancers are extremely dedicated and will endure immense physical training to achieve their careers, therefore it is inevitable that injuries will occur. Dancers also have to build resilience in order to make their way through this industry. But the combination of these factors can have a negative outcome when it comes to dealing with injuries.

I personally fear injury, and have purposely not told employers about injuries or health issues (e.g. having a cold or flu) in the past incase it affected my job. But this has affected me now as I am still battling some injuries that I should have given immediate attention to at the time. However, I now understand how unethical this was, and if one of my students had a problem now, I would undoubtably aim to give them the correct advice.

Dealing with injury is one of my areas of learning, so I may choose to discuss this ethical consideration further in my essay. But I always worry that I won't be able to explain ethics well enough when writing. How is everyone else finding this? 

I hope all your portfolios are coming on nicely. x

References

NCBI.  (2019).  Injury Fear, Stigma, and Reporting in Professional Dancers.  [online].  NCBI. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6717803/.  [Accessed 29 Nov. 2020].

Picture Quotes.  (2020).  Resistance is greatest just before the finish line.  [image].  Available at: http://www.picturequotes.com/resistance-is-greatest-just-before-the-finish-line-quote-987657

My inner critic

Yesterday I attended the Module One focus group. Many interesting topics were raised, mainly surrounding the idea of 'synthesising' what we have discovered from Module One so far and how we can link it to our practice. The idea of being 'self critical' particularly stood out to me...

I watched a TedX talk by Steve Chapman who spoke about his inner critic as an alter ego. After receiving extreme criticism from his hero, his inner critic grew drastically. When he finally recovered from this knock back, he began an inquiry on his inner critic; what he looked like, what were his secret weapons and what stimulated his development. Instead of fighting this character, he learnt to dance with him and accept that this is part of being a fully functioning human being. (TedX Talk, 2017)

Even after the discussion yesterday, I felt concerned that my learning is not where it should be. My inner critic was telling me that others are achieving more than me, that my essay draft isn't good enough, that my artefact is off task and my portfolio won't be degree level. I often worry too much in certain situations, however once I have overcome this, I question why I worried so much in the first place. A former college teacher once told me that my worries demonstrates devotion. I have always held onto this idea but have never looked at it from a different angle. 

When I think about how my inner critic developed, I am immediately drawn to the criticism I received throughout my professional training. Even from a young age I was told not to audition for certain colleges because I was not good enough (I'm glad that I chose to ignored this). Throughout college I received lots of criticism from tutors, then from casting directors. I have always aimed to take criticism with a pinch of salt; to accept corrections positively but not let them get me down. As successful as I thought I was at this, these comments fed my inner critic. 

Chapman describes his inner critic as his 'creative nemesis'. When I reflect this on my practice, I don't fully agree because in some ways it encourages me to improve. As performers, we are our own business, therefore we need to work alongside our thoughts in order to improve and develop. My critical eye allows me to critique myself when working on professional jobs, even now as a TA. I feel that this is a good example of Chapman's idea 'dancing with the inner critic'. 

My inner critic still lives within me and I have now realised that it is an important part of who I am by demonstrating that I care. I could certainly aim to be less self critical when it comes to my current learning, but maybe this is a source of motivation. By understanding this more, I believe it has helped with the synthesis of my practice, because ultimately, the thing that links all parts of my practice together is... me!

References

TedX Talks (2017).  This talk isn't very good. Dancing with my inner critic | Steve Chapman | TedXRoyalTunbridgeWells.  [video].  Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnf-Ka3ZmOM. [Accessed 17 Nov. 2020].

Recognising how networks are important when aiming for success.

Hello bloggers, I hope everyone is feeling slightly relieved after completing their essay drafts! 

Now that I have began creating my artefact and undergoing further research, I am beginning to see my practice through a different lens, which has been quite refreshing and is giving me some different ideas for my essay. As I have been reflecting on my practice thus far, I have questioned 'Do I consider myself successful?' and more importantly 'What defines a successful career?'. After searching for answers on Google, I came across a page that reveals "7 skills you need to succeed in performing arts" (Prospectus, 2020). The skills mentioned are;

• Confidence
• Resilience, self-discipline, stamina 
• An analytical mind and the ability to self-reflect
• Flexibility (not just physically, but the ability to adapt)
• Teamwork 
• Organisation and time management
• The ability to network and market yourself

I agree that talent can only get you so far when trying to enter this demanding industry and the skills shown above are highly important in order to be a strong auditionee and a 'professional' practitioner.  

A skill that really stands out to me (and is an important part of Lens Three) is the ability to network. I believe to be apart of many different networks within my practice;

As BAPP students, we all engage in a learning network. Sharing and learning from each other is an important part of this course. During this learning journey, there have been moments where I have felt confused about certain topics, but reading others' blogs has proven to be very helpful for my understanding. Additionally, when other students discuss their practice in certain ways, I begin to question how that relates to me.

I consider my professional network an essential element in becoming a professional. Being in-the-loop can allow performers to know about upcoming auditions and opportunities. Examples of professional networks that I engage/have engaged with include; people I trained with, people I met at auditions (and have stayed in contact with through social media), people I completed professional jobs with, employers, agency groups, social media groups (such as The Hustle). Since I have began this course, I have now realised that most of these networks could not have existed without Web 2.0.

My also consider my personal network a necessary element of my practice. Being able to talk to close friends/family members about issues is crucial for my well-being and development. Additionally, I recently asked a family member for their opinion on my practice, which lead me to discover different aspects of my professional practice and how certain situations have altered my choices, morals and ethical considerations.

Networks plays an important role when it comes to aiming for success. As performers we have constantly been taught how to achieve a successful career, however the meaning of success can be differ depending on the individual. Personally, I have always aimed to be happy and if I can achieve this (in any chapter of my life) I would consider myself successful. During my training, I always knew that to dance professionally on a cruise ship would make me happy and ultimately feel successful. How would you define success?

References:

Smith, J (2020).  7 skills you need to succeed in performing arts.  [online].  Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/creative-arts-and-design/7-skills-you-need-to-succeed-in-performing-arts.  [Accessed 10th Nov. 2020]

Enjoy the journey!

With the Module One draft due-date edging closer, I can admit that this week I began feeling under pressure. It has been half term so I have had the whole week to gather my thoughts and begin writing my essay. I always liked the idea of work hard and get it done, but this did not feel so simple this week. There were times where I struggled to convert my ideas and research into words and I felt that I was not progressing the way I should be. 

This has lead me to reflect on the Kolbs Learning Cycle;

The Kolb's Learning Cycle (1984) is an integrated process that demonstrates an effective way of learning. I like this diagram above in particular because it shows what happens in between each stage of the cycle. We can enter the cycle at any stage as we develop our learning and follow it through in the sequence demonstrated.

During my one-to-one tutorial this week, I discovered that my areas of learning were slightly off topic - I had just entered Kolb's Learning Cycle at the 'Reflective Observation' stage and was about to move onto the stage 'Abstract Conceptualisation', where I would have to think and conceptualise. Initially I panicked at the idea of being wrong, and it could have been very easy for me to stop right there, but instead I reflected and converged some new ideas. The cycle then continued.

The process of Kolb's Learning Cycle can also be used to reflect on how we learn choreography. This may depend on how the choreographer decides to teach. For example, 

• The choreographer may choose to demonstrate themselves whilst the dancers watch. This would mean that the dancer enters the cycle during 'Reflective Observation'. 
• The choreographer may verbally express what he/she wants, therefore the dancer would enter the cycle during 'Abstract Conceptualisation'. 
• The choreographer may ask for the dancers input, therefore the dancer may enter the cycle during 'Active Experimentation'. 

Where you enter the cycle doesn't determine your future. As artists, we are so fixated in achieving that we often forget that we have to go through a process of learning to reach our goals; this is why I appreciate Kolb's Learning Cycle in particular. Even this week when I felt that I was 'not progressing' or 'working off topic', I understood that it was okay because these moments were just part of my cycle of learning. 

Whilst I was searching Youtube for inspiration, I came across a TEDx Talk by an actor called Ayush Mehra (2019). This talk was called 'Enjoy the Journey', and I found Mehra's story very interesting. He had not yet accomplished his goals, but had learnt so much about his practice by simply enjoying the process and learning from every opportunity. This is something I wish to take with me for the completion of this course, and my practice as a whole.

References

McLeod, Sean (2017).  Kolb's Learning Styles and Experimental Learning Cycle.  [online].  [image].  Simply Psychology.  Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html.  (Accessed on 01/11/2020).  

Enjoy the Journey (27/07/2019).  Youtube video, added by TEDx Talks.  [online].  Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le6eNngljto.  (Accessed on 30/10/2020).