• What in your daily practice gets you
really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works
with what makes you enthusiastic?
• What gets
you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has
found away to work around the sadness or anger? • 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?
• 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?
• 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?
In my daily
practice, one thing that makes me feel enthusiastic and helps shake off any
negativity is walking. I love being outdoors, in fresh air and particularly
around water; whether that’s a walk along the river or on a beach. After
travelling to Malaysia and Australia I became aware of UNESCO world heritage
sites. I have visited a few on my travels one standing out being the
WhitSundays in Australia and I am very excited to be visiting further sites in
Vietnam and Cambodia in May. Below is the link to the UNESCO website if
you fancy a look!
Although not
part of my professional practice I find it prepares me for exactly this,
particularly if I am stressed or having a bad day! It may sound odd but
standing on a high point of land whether that is a mountain or simply a hill in
my home town and looking over the city allows me to reflect on things, make
decisions away from any influence and realise how small my problems are in the scale
of things. Like I discovered on a fellow students blog – when you look at the
scale of the earth, space and the unknown our third world problems seem so time
wasting and insignificant. I also think about this a lot. I should be grateful
for everything I have and for the facilities we have around us and
possibilities which other people can only dream of makes me think it would be
so selfish to not try for my dreams and ambitions which are not so farfetched
for me in the place I live and support around me. There are many places I would
like to visit for walking, sightseeing and places of reflection all which help
me put things into perspective and give me time to work on me.
I’m sure not
only this being a trait in my personality it is also influenced by my job
working as a reservations consultant for Premier Holidays and learning,
training and experiencing some of the most fascinating places in the world.
Another aspect of my work that brings me enthusiasm and satisfaction is the
happiness our tailor made itineraries can bring to our clients. Some clients
have particular requirements whether it may be their honeymoon, birthday
celebration, or for some an escape from the troubles they made be or have faced
in their lives. In the particular case where I was creating a family’s last
trip due to the father suffering from cancer I found such passion and emotive
connection to make the trip everything they dreamed of.
I also became
fascinated by the ‘Frozen Planet’ Documentary by Sir David Attenborough.
Here is the link to a website on Sir David's works: http://www.davidattenborough.co.uk
In my dance
practice, daily I am enthused by links from youtube on facebook, uploads on
Instagram by performers and particularly by my students with their
dedication, hard work and progress. Being witness to perseverance, improvement
and growing confidence is the most inspirational feeling I have found since
dancing and performing myself. Having been through the hardship of professional
training I understand the need to rekindle passion and motivation as those are
the qualities I found were drained from performers when they got tired,
frustrated and worried about moving into the professional realm. Having seen
this with my own eyes and experienced it myself it encouraged me to not let
people’s passion fade or die, or to let the enjoyment and love be sucked out of
dancing. As flamboyant as his character may be I always recall a workshop with
Louis Spence in which he turned on the music, shut his eyes, forgot where or
who he was and began dancing like he was completely in a world of his own. He
actually got so carried away that the class was standing for 15 minutes of our
hour workshop watching him in the space. We experienced and learnt about
passion, emotion and confidence in 15 minutes of Louis floating around the
studio!!
In the dance
world there are too many people who inspire me to be able to mention in one
blog however I will mention the most forth coming.
Hofesh
Schecter became a huge inspiration to me in my second year of training. I was lucky to have the
opportunity to workshop with such down to earth, hard-working, talented
professional members of the company. We had a term to explore the ‘Hofesh
technique’ which was challenging and awe-inspiring how the dancers moved
effortlessly between different levels, sinking into the floor silently and
transitioning eloquently into improvisation. We worked a lot with improvisation
and I overcome many fears in there supportive and encouraging workshops. We
would take an hour of the class looking inwards and feeling, moving and leading
with a certain limb or part of the body and how using this can awaken the
entire body. The experience has been great to reflect upon and I have learnt a
lot from the members of the company who taught and directed us to performance
level.
Below is a
link to his most current creation:
And an article
reviewing his work:
This quotation
from the website www.thelowry.com which discusses the work of
various choreographers describes Shechter as “one of the UK’s most exciting
contemporary artists, gaining international acclaim for his raw, honest choreography
and atmospheric music scores.” His current piece ‘Sun’ is a prime example of
this quotation. The choreography of Sun illustrates how “The world is perfect.
From the darkness of Shechter’s emotive and often angry world emerges a bright
white light dancing out of the smoke and chaos.” Schecter’s unique and
innovative use of music, lighting and costume which complements his powerful
choreography makes him, in my eyes, a God of the dance world.
What
fascinates me is you start to find yourself relating and understanding the
meaning or stimuli and then all of a sudden you are thrown into something which
is uncomfortable and often shocking or contrasting which branches off to a
whole other way of feeling. His strong use of contrast, whether it be, floor work
to aerial, light to dark, hard to soft, happy to sad, solo to group makes every
performance a thrill to watch and spurs adrenaline for the unknown.
A line of
enquiry I am really interested in is the use of contrast within choreography.
How does this affect the performance physically and emotionally? And how does
this affect both performer and audience?
With Regards
to the question, What do you feel you don’t understand? …. There are
lots of things I don’t understand! Something that I can’t get my head around is
that so many talented dancers and performers are out of work and working
in a job they do not want to do simply to pay the bills. Having been in this
situation myself it frustrates me that the money I earned, because I am
qualified as a dancer and not in an ‘academic subject’, is not competitive
enough to comfortably afford living, a car, social events, bills, gym
membership and dance classes let alone pay for headshots or auditions.
Sometimes this means my dancing would feel like it was slipping away from me
and the longer I was out of it the harder it became to get back into it.
Fortunately I decided to take a leap of faith and hand my notice in my ‘bill
payer’ job to make money teaching dance, that way I can stay fit, have time on
my hands for my studies and for any auditions and when hours are not plentiful
I continually put the effort in to email or call around for teaching
opportunities.
What
angers me is why as
dancers we seem to have such a low profile in the public eye. Continually more
and more 'reality stars' or 'born famous' people are being used in Pantos and
even West End without professional training. Of course it’s important to pull
in an audience and advertise names known to the public to increase popularity
of the show however this jeopardises the opportunities for trained
professionals especially with the ever growing number of performers entering
the industry every year! The following article is one I found an interesting
read with views from choreographers, critics, spokeswoman for Dance UK, and the
dancers themselves telling their opinion on the treatment of dancers.
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2012/05/former-pussycat-doll-kimberly-wyatt-joins-calls-for-better-treatment-of-dancers/
I can relate to the comment made by Kimberley Wyatt that “Dancers are at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to the entertainment industry – the way they are treated, paid, and the opportunities that come their way. A dancer works their entire life to be good at what they do, and when they aren’t given the opportunities or respect or appreciation, it is such a shame.” Of course it is a very tough industry which is only made harder by the fact that in most auditions you can be cut if you don’t have the right look or image despite whether you are actually the more talented dancer. It has been made harder since the recession and funding cuts in the Entertainment Industry and Wyatt depicts that the industry “moves in cycles”…” whereas dance was once what audiences wanted to see, people were currently more interested in singers and music programmes.”
The former West End dancer added: “In musicals they are frequently paid less than the singers, musicians, actors and stage management. All this in spite of their years of conservatoire training, incredibly high levels of expertise and their, all too often, short careers.” She added that dancers “deserve greater respect, remuneration and recognition for their talent and skill”. The article from The Stage which is currently raising awareness of the treatment of dancers is significant in my research.
After researching additional views I found an article online in which Claire Sheridan, founder of Liberal Education for Arts Professionals (LEAP), discusses how the workplace culture of ballet has a sorry history. “Traditionally, dancers are expected to tolerate abuse and insults from artistic directors and choreographers, work in pain, and live in poverty. They routinely sacrifice their education. Adult professionals are still called “boys” and “girls.” And when injuries end their career (usually by age 30), most dancers, ill-prepared for the future, are simply dismissed with no pension.” Although this article is predominately about the treatment of ballet dancers the point made in regards to being called ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ when an adult working professional is something I have always though inappropriate and rather condescending.
It is something which from time to time makes me question my choice of career but despite all, dancers have and will continue to put up with this kind of treatment as it is a passion and a love for what you do which makes you unable to consider changing profession!
I can relate to the comment made by Kimberley Wyatt that “Dancers are at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to the entertainment industry – the way they are treated, paid, and the opportunities that come their way. A dancer works their entire life to be good at what they do, and when they aren’t given the opportunities or respect or appreciation, it is such a shame.” Of course it is a very tough industry which is only made harder by the fact that in most auditions you can be cut if you don’t have the right look or image despite whether you are actually the more talented dancer. It has been made harder since the recession and funding cuts in the Entertainment Industry and Wyatt depicts that the industry “moves in cycles”…” whereas dance was once what audiences wanted to see, people were currently more interested in singers and music programmes.”
The former West End dancer added: “In musicals they are frequently paid less than the singers, musicians, actors and stage management. All this in spite of their years of conservatoire training, incredibly high levels of expertise and their, all too often, short careers.” She added that dancers “deserve greater respect, remuneration and recognition for their talent and skill”. The article from The Stage which is currently raising awareness of the treatment of dancers is significant in my research.
After researching additional views I found an article online in which Claire Sheridan, founder of Liberal Education for Arts Professionals (LEAP), discusses how the workplace culture of ballet has a sorry history. “Traditionally, dancers are expected to tolerate abuse and insults from artistic directors and choreographers, work in pain, and live in poverty. They routinely sacrifice their education. Adult professionals are still called “boys” and “girls.” And when injuries end their career (usually by age 30), most dancers, ill-prepared for the future, are simply dismissed with no pension.” Although this article is predominately about the treatment of ballet dancers the point made in regards to being called ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ when an adult working professional is something I have always though inappropriate and rather condescending.
It is something which from time to time makes me question my choice of career but despite all, dancers have and will continue to put up with this kind of treatment as it is a passion and a love for what you do which makes you unable to consider changing profession!
Bapp has made me realise that I am not the
only one is this position which can be very reassuring as often in the
performing industry it is a combination of ups and downs, success and failed
attempts. So I guess in a way, my fellow Bapp students share the way I feel and
you can work around the stress and anger by finding what works for you and by
reading others blogs, reflecting on your thoughts and emotions and learning
from others too.
A college
teacher who is currently
in the West End production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a huge
inspiration to me. He always offered guidance and most importantly his time. He
would always have time to talk to you, to advise you or to push to carry on. He
is an amazing hard working performer and his personality always shine through,
it’s almost like he never has a bad day and every day is worth smiling about! I
endeavour to be a bit more like him and have that effect on others too!
What do I
love about what I do? -
Quite simply, the variety and excitement of the performing industry and being
able to share that passion with others is what I love about what I do. I always
knew I didn’t want a 9-5pm desk job and having had experience in this field I
just knew it was not for me! I remember my first day and meeting senior staff
who had worked at the company for over 30 years and thinking how did you last
that long? And I know I can’t do this forever! Although the unpredictability of
life as a performer can be unsettling it can also be so thrilling that one day
you may get a call which could change your lifestyle whether that is flying
across the world for training/company work, embarking on a cruise ship or even
teaching in a new environment. This almost ‘uncertainty’ gives me adrenaline
and excitement for the opportunities which lie ahead.
In my line of
work it is highly important that I should be able to decide on the appropriate
ethical response in a given situation. In order to do this, I have to take a
step back away from the situation and view it from an outsider’s perspective.
As a young female teacher, who works predominately with children the majority
female, it is natural that over time a bond with the students will form. When
the class is considered an extra curriculum activity or ‘outreach’ often
children feel that you are more approachable and friendly than one of their stricter
English tutors for example where the communication tends to be slightly more
formal between student and teacher. Due to this I have to deliberate the
implications of my actions and always abide by the safeguarding procedures to
ensure the child is protected but also that I am protected as the teacher.
There are many horror stories of allegations and situations which have arisen
between teacher and student and if the teacher has not followed professional
practice there can be severe repercussions.
A question which can often generate from given situations is: Should the delicate information that has just been disclosed to me by a child be passed on to a higher body of authority? It is important that the child always knows that it would be good for them to talk about what is bothering them however they must be aware that it may be necessary to pass this information on to someone of higher authority.
These are all issues that I have faced and could face regularly when teaching. Disciplinary responses differ to those generally expected in society as it is children who I work with most often and it is important to protect them as well as myself as a teacher.
Whilst in theatre school as a child it was accepted that the teacher would and could use physical contact in a dance lesson when trying to demonstrate an idea, e.g posture correction or use of arm in ballet. Nowadays however, it is important that teachers should not physically correct a student but recognise the power and the importance of the spoken word in order to be able to correct and alter technique.
Carrying out this task has given me plenty to consider with regards to my inquiry, but, I am still not sure what direction to take. I am, however, looking forward to exploring further some of the issues I have raised in this task.
No comments:
Post a Comment