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).