I have enjoyed reading everyone's reflections on the Zoom sessions that took place last week, but would it be completely out of the ordinary for me to say I felt more confused. Everyone seemed so confident and in tune with their opinions (which was inspiring) but for me, I felt lost in my own thoughts.
So I read a book. An actual book that had arrived in the post from the Middlesex Library. As someone who is not much of a reader, I became completely engrossed by this book and finished it in three days. I was amazed that after only the reading the first chapter, I had already made a mind map of all my new ideas. Two topics have particularly resonated with me, and I would love to share them and hear what you all have to say...
- Feelings and emotions of the dancer, and how they can effect the dancer's movement and ability to perform
When I was studying dance, a reoccurring correction of mine was to forget about the technique and perform more. There was something blocking my learning, and when I reflect back, I recognise it was phycological. I was so anxious... Was my technique good enough? Was I ever going to be good enough and achieve a successful career? It wasn't easy to overcome, but I am grateful for the journey I took as I learnt a lot about myself. I now question how much do negative emotions effect the dancer's ability to perform, in both educational and professional settings. Some dancers can use their emotions to cultivate movement, but others need a free headspace. But what is the difference between these two types of dancers?
- The relationship between a dancer and a teacher, and how collaboration can allow for the dancer to fully flourish
I think all dancers, singers, actors can think back to a time where a teacher or choreographer has given a piece of criticism that made you feel crap. Or received criticism in front of a whole class and made you feel embarrassed. Does this type of feedback help dancers improve? For some, this can give them the motivation to work harder, but for others, it can make them feel incapable, possibly causing mental health issues, eating disorders or even tempting them to quit dance altogether. Can corrections be given in a way that encourages students rather than the opposite? Can a healthy relationship between the dancer and student help student's gain more from their education? And what is needed for this 'collaboration' happen?
I have so many questions brewing now, but I know that I am not looking to solve anything yet. However, I think it's important to have an idea of what makes me 'wonder' so I can discover what it I want to investigate further.
The book I read is called 'The Student Dancer' (Buckroyd, n.d.) and it covers many different emotional and phycological aspects of learning dance at a professional level. If anyone has any questions about it or wonders whether it could help them with their research, I would be happy to help x
References
Buckroyd, J., n.d. The Student Dancer.
deMilked, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.demilked.com/book-installation-the-castle-jorge-mendez-blake/> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
Great blog! Really useful, I must read this book. As a teacher aswell as a dancer, my number one aim is to embrace all those qualities we have that make us unique in the way we move and perform. Of course we've talked at length how dance college tries to shape and mould you to fit a certain stereotype of what a dancer should be, look and move and I think its interesting to see we are now seeing dancers that challenge those stereotypes. Interestingly how can we use what we have learnt and put it into our teaching to get the best out of our students but still push them to a standard that they of course need to be to survive in the industry. It's definitely a balancing act and there is not one right way, as we are learning.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post
Hi Gabrielle, thank you for your comment. I think your approach to teaching is amazing and will of course encourage the students growth of self esteem, helping them understand that who they is great and that they don't need to fit a certain stereotype. Hopefully this will allow for them to have courage, leading them to the best chance of achieving. I believe that as the dance industry has modernised, some institutes are more open to individuality, which is amazing, but as we have previously discussed, is there room for more? I defiantly think that balance is essential when it comes to learning, but I'm interested to discover what other's believe this balance to be. x
DeleteLush post Alice! Really glad you feel more settled after reading this book. It is so interesting and I can't wait to hear more of what you find. I definitely think there is a partnership between a teacher and student. You have to bond with your teacher, and teachers should try to use different methods for each student as they realise how they respond.
ReplyDeleteI know we trained together and I'm sure you can relate, some students in our year responded really well to harsh criticism because it ignited a fire in them and made them FIGHT to prove that teacher wrong but for others (and I believe a vast majority), it made the student grow with lots of internal doubt and was too afraid to do something wrong for the fear of public embarrassment. Rhi
Hi Rhian. Thank you for your feedback. It's interesting to hear what you think having gone through the same training as me. I agree, but I also feel it depended on how the feedback was given. I remember a class in particular (and I think you could imagine which one), where I was fearful to put a finger out of place in case I was called an octopus or a hunchback... lol! It's comical now but scared me so much at the time. Surely this wasn't helping us improve? Or maybe it helped us develop? Despite this, I loved college, so many amazing memories x
DeleteWow...what college did you both train at please? as ive heard of certain things like this coming out of a particular college last year, where one of the teachers was taken to court! , so would be interesting to hear your view.
DeleteGreat blog Alice! I love this book! - it even featured as part of my Module 1 artefact!!! It touches on so many interesting topics.
ReplyDeleteI too felt the same as you in the zoom last week - it felt like everyone knew exactly what they were doing with regards to inquiry and research and I felt a little overwhelmed. I've since taken a step back and realised that we all reach things at different points and as long as I'm sticking to my study plan its ok! Hope your research/ investigations are going well, Jen
Hi Jen, it is comforting to hear I wasn't alone in my feelings after the zoom, but I think taking a step back and reflecting on your own study is extremely important. I often find this quite difficult as we mostly learn through the community on this course, it's easy to start comparing your journey with others. But this book was so helpful, it really does touch on some very interesting topics. Thank you, you too x
DeleteGreat blog Alice and I'm glad you're feeling better in regards to where you are at! Firstly though I just want to say don't worry about comparing your journey with others - they may seem confident and set in their ideas but I'm sure inside everyone has those moments where they are doubting their own ideas (even though it may not come across that way on here) I know I do!
ReplyDeleteSecondly looking at the relationship between a dancer and a teacher I couldn't agree more with the idea that the type of feedback and setting it is given in can have a huge effect on a dancers development. I focused quite a lot on this in my module one essay when reflective on my own learning journey. As a cast manager I remember the first time I gave notes - I gave all notes positive and constructive in front of the whole cast and received a varied reaction, some of my cast thrived and took the notes onboard, others felt like they were being targeted as maybe they received more constructive criticisms than others. I didn't want that sort of vibe in my team so in the future I made sure to find positives for everyones performance no matter how big or small, I also tailored the delivery of my constructive notes to be given on a more one to one level. I found that by doing these things the overall morale of the team was higher which in turn produced stronger performances from them - I truly believed it helped their confidences to grow
xx
Thank you for your supportive comment Georgina for sharing your story about when you were cast manager. This type of teaching was mentioned in the book, but it's very interesting to hear of it actually being used. From my experience when working in a performance team, it's easy for moral to drop, especially when your cast manager/dance captain is also a friend. It's hard to find the balance between work and personal life. A performance is never perfect and dancers will always need corrections but by incorporating positive feedback can help with the moral of the team, and I have always found the happier a cast is off stage, the better it is on stage. I'm excited to learn more about this through my research! x
DeleteReally great blog.
ReplyDeleteIm starting to get a bit confused with what I want my topic to be about. I thought I knew straight away but the more I research the more I find that it may have been done! So im getting worried that I wont have anything! x the book sounds great and being a full time teacher now, but coming from a professional background...plus working in two very different. (disciplinary) schools this is interest to me. I might try and grab it.
Hi Clare. I know how you're feeling. Although I am researching around an area of 'wonder', I still have no idea what my inquiry title will be. I think this is okay at this stage, but it's important to keep a note of all our thoughts. I would really recommend this book to you as it discusses many topics which I am sure you could relate too as a teacher. I have seen there are still copies at the university library x
DeleteLoved this blog Alice! These are such interesting topics and well worth investigating I think.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds intriguing and I may have a look to see if there's anything relevant to my own topic so thank you for sharing your thoughts on it!
The negative impact of emotions on a dancer is so interesting and I think this is sort of the reverse of 'mind over matter' - if thinking one way can make you achieve something then maybe thinking the other way stops you? Perhaps it's the headspace you go to dance with that really effects you - if you are dancing as an escape from the world and to free your thoughts then negative emotions may get in the way and hold you back, but if you are someone who 'dances through' emotions to express them, negative emotions may be just as useful as positive ones. Just a thought!
I also really like the student/teacher topic. Reflecting on training, I certainly had different dynamics with different teachers but the classes I enjoyed most and got the most out of were ones where I felt it was more collaborative and like we were working together to achieve a goal (be that me improving or a piece of choreography). I think part of this was feeling safe to communicate. If you couldn't do something, you didn't feel like you'd be ridiculed if you asked a question. If you found something interesting and wanted to know more, you felt you could discuss it and not have to be silent and subdued all lesson. Corrections they gave were seen as part of two way communication where you had a voice and could collaboratively work to your improvement, rather than them just telling you what you're doing wrong.
There's a lot to investigate around dancer psychology and I can't wait to see where your research goes! x
Hi Roanne, thank you for your thoughts on these topics.
DeleteI especially loved what you said about dancing to escape or dancing through emotions. I would love to know if everyone is capable of both, or not?
I enjoyed hearing about your experience with those teachers who you felt were more 'collaborative'. I also felt the same during my training and whilst working professionally. These types of educators were easily approachable, made me feel comfortable and (through my own opinion) got the best out of me at the time. The book also touched on how feedback should be a two way thing. If a student feels they don't understand something (whether this is emotional or regarding technique), they should be able to receive the right support and guidance.
The book also touched a few times on how to allow for a student's creative/expressive potential, which I found really interesting. It could potentially be helpful for your research? x
That is a good question, perhaps you can even be trained to dance both ways - dancing to escape would be like a physical meditation and 'dancing through' more like therapy based, so maybe those are wider areas that could impact it? And if you are trained in both of these methods, perhaps you can then apply them as and when appropriate - eg. if dancing a character (say, in ballet) you might want to dance through the characters emotions to enhance your performance (and maybe if you're not 'trained' in this psychological aspect, that's when your own negative emotions get in the way?) So many questions!!
DeleteI'm glad the book also mentioned communication, I suppose fundamentally a teacher is a communicator.
Oh wow thank you for mentioning that at the end! I will definitely be having a look for it! x
That is a very interesting idea, and not something that is taught during professional training. I will keep that in mind when I am looking for literature. Thank you x
DeleteSome really interesting points here and was wonderful to hear more about them in our chat today. I do wonder about the term 'collaboration' and consider also the power dynamic in a student/teacher practice-based relationship as an evolving feature. Often in some practice-based teaching a tutor can start out being stricter to form positive habits and then after year s of learning may shift a power dynamic to give a student more independence and control over their learning, this shift can even be to a point in which a student is invited to participate in a professional context in which they come close to an equal power as a teacher, also I think of ties I've seen where some students are invited to become teachers on subject they have excelled in. On example of the latter is our Student Learning Assistant programme at Middlesex where students with ability are identified to assist younger years in their learning. Just some thoughts I had in response to this post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sam, it was great to get some of my ideas out and discuss them with you (I am sorry that I struggled getting my words out at times, there's just so many thoughts in my head haha). Thank you so much for sharing these ideas. Collaboration is a very interesting term and I have seen an article about this recently which I am hoping to read soon. Also, the power dynamic - I haven't really thought about this before but it's certainly sparked more thoughts. I know how common it is in education for the teacher have the majority of power (even in my current work setting) but it would be interesting to learn how a shift in this dynamic can affect the student in their later training. I can imagine that the Student Learning Assistant Programme can really help build skills and confidence in those who participate. But I question whether some students would feel that they weren't 'learning' if they were in control, like I mentioned yesterday with Adesola's article. But maybe this would be due to a lack of confidence in the first place? I am hoping to blog about it all later on today! :)
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