- working as a team and respecting one another within the work place.
- Having the ability to communicate with guests but not getting too familiar or personal with them.
- You must be CRB checked as you are working with children, again communicate with the children but do not over step the mark (e.g. picking children up, holding their hands etc)
- Maintain a healthy relationship with other departments as again you are working as a whole team and need to support one another, gossiping about people within different departments is not your place and only causes unnecessary problems.
- I will not be divulging personal information about anyone that has taken part in my inquiry and will always have full permission to use any information that I have acquired from them.
Tuesday 16 December 2014
Task 5a Ethics!
Code of Ethics within my place of work (all thoughts are my own)
Thursday 4 December 2014
4c: Questions
Interview with Michelle Upton, Dancer, Live Act and Choreographer for Parkdean Holidays:
Do you believe dancing influenced your personality?
I definitely do, I think dancing as a whole gives you
more confidence and you can express yourself more. The reason why I got into
dancing was due to having too much energy, so I was taken to the doctors as I
was always crying and running all over the place. The doctor actually said that
I needed to take up some kind of physical sport, whether it be karate,
swimming, dancing or something in that field. I needed something to channel my
energy. So I was taken to dance classes, and ever since then I was a much
happier child and it gave me something to work towards. Nowadays it has built
my confidence and taught me different skills in how to teach people
choreography etc.
·
This got me thinking about children who have
ADHD and how possibly dance could be ‘prescribed’ to them to help ‘channel’
their energy. I don’t have a huge amount of experience with ADHD but its something
that does interest me, for example how dance can be more of a therapy than just
a career for some people.
Discuss the idea ‘Dancers are not made, they are born’,
Do you believe dance is a natural instinct that cannot be taught or something
that can be nurtured?
I believe real
good, outstanding dancers are born. However I do think that you can teach
everybody to dance, whether it is just how to hold themselves or keeping in
time with the music. However the dancer that is born to dance is the one who
has that extra flair. It is more about the passion and feeling that you are
born with, that’s something you can’t teach you have to be born with.
Discuss your thoughts on the term ‘A Triple Threat’, can all
trades be mastered or are you setting yourself up to be the ‘jack of all trades
but the master of none?’
I think to be good at all three things or to at least
give them a go is a great thing. You will get a lot further with all three
disciplines than with just one. It’s good to have your passion, for example
dancing is my passion however within this job I have had to sing and have had
to push myself in order to further my career.
In your opinion how easy is it for a performer to begin
working in a new medium?
The skills you acquire as a performer e.g. confidence,
people skills, being able to interact with people and having a hard working
attitude, sets you up in good stead for any job.
What are the key skills required to make the transition
from dancer to choreographer?
No formal educational requirements to become a
choreographer, there is no certificate that you get to say ‘I am a
choreographer’. However most choreographers have been dancers. I am a big
believer in the proof is in the pudding, if someone came to audition for me if
they were a phenomenal dancer I might not even look at their CV. So it is more
about experience and being able to express your ideas through dance and
translate that to a group of people. I have always kind of fallen in to it because
people liked what I had to offer and I like that what I see in my head I can
translate onto the stage, it is very satisfying. A lot of choreography is down
to the way that you teach it and how you get it across to your dancers, as well
as being creative and having new ideas.
Is finding multiple forms of expression the key to
creative fulfilment and career longevity?
For me and the shows that I produce, the more creative
ideas and things that I can get help to keep things fresh. I always use
different props and styles. I’d like to think within choreography my body will
allow me to do it for a few more years. I can’t imagine myself doing another
job but with the skills I have got from this job I’d like to think I could go
into something like teaching or possibly being an agent etc.
In a performance job that requires multiple skills e.g.
holiday park; working with children alongside performing. Quantify the
relationship between the skills required for daytime duties compared to the
skills required for performance work.
There are a lot of skills that you need for both. For
both you need energy, passion, enthusiasm, creative, team work, confidence.
When I first started the holiday park experience I didn’t ever see myself
enjoying the kids work, I came to perform however I had to do both so I started
to see the daytime duties as a ‘show’ so if I gave the same amount of energy to
the kids as I do in a show then they will benefit from that. A lot of the
skills I think are integrated however with dance you do need the training and
the technique.
Pilot Interview
questions: Erin Murray, Dancer/Choreographer
Do you believe dancing influenced your personality?
Definitely, I believe that since I have grown up with dancing not just as a hobby my whole life it has become part of my persona, reliant on it at times to express the way that I feel or want to feel, which in turn then reflects back on the way I am feeling as a result of dancing. And so, for me dancing is just an extension of my expressions and feelings, not separate from my personality.
Discuss the idea ‘Dancers are not made, they are born’, Do you believe dance is a natural instinct that cannot be taught or something that can be nurtured?
I believe that to have the mentality and discipline to be a dancer is something that you are born with. To be mentally and physically robust and strong is something that you can learn and train yourself to do but in terms of the dancer as a ‘full package’ it takes brutal persistence, passion, strength, tenacity and dedication something which I believe is qualities that people are born with not something that can be taught. In some respects a lot of aspects of dancing and being a dancer can be taught and nurtured but long term? I believe its something in you and your person.
Do you believe dancing influenced your personality?
Definitely, I believe that since I have grown up with dancing not just as a hobby my whole life it has become part of my persona, reliant on it at times to express the way that I feel or want to feel, which in turn then reflects back on the way I am feeling as a result of dancing. And so, for me dancing is just an extension of my expressions and feelings, not separate from my personality.
Discuss the idea ‘Dancers are not made, they are born’, Do you believe dance is a natural instinct that cannot be taught or something that can be nurtured?
I believe that to have the mentality and discipline to be a dancer is something that you are born with. To be mentally and physically robust and strong is something that you can learn and train yourself to do but in terms of the dancer as a ‘full package’ it takes brutal persistence, passion, strength, tenacity and dedication something which I believe is qualities that people are born with not something that can be taught. In some respects a lot of aspects of dancing and being a dancer can be taught and nurtured but long term? I believe its something in you and your person.
·
Erins comments got me thinking
about whether or not it is possible to be taught that ‘mentality’ of a dancer. For
example ways to motivate young dancers and teach them how to work harder. I believe
this is something that can be taught, since graduating at college I am far
better at picking up routines than I was before I began my course, but is this
something that I was taught or is it just because I have matured?
Discuss your thoughts on the term ‘A Triple Threat’, can all trades be mastered or are you setting yourself up to be the ‘jack of all trades but the master of none?’
I think that everyone in the dancing world will have one particular strength, I believe that you should definitely be a ‘triple threat’ dancer if you want to have a successful career, however I think that you can still be a strong dancer who is good at every genre and still have one style that is your strongest of all your talents. Just because you’ve mastered them all doesn’t mean that you are mediocre at all of them.
In your opinion how easy is it for a performer to begin working in a new medium?
I think it is dependent on what styles you have previously learnt and how long you have been training for. If you have been training in classical ballet your whole life and needed to learn a new genre I would say very easy. But not if you’ve had no training that would be transferable into other work and styles so it is dependent.
What are the key skills required to make the transition from dancer to choreographer?
I think as long as you have a passion for style a background of training and a creative mind everything else is unimportant. A dancer will already have basic tools such as rhythm, technique, style, stamina, and so for me, the biggest tool a choreographer needs is a hunger to create something; everything else is down to the opinion of the audience in how the final piece looks.
Is finding multiple forms of expression the key to creative fulfilment and career longevity?
I think that it isn’t essiential but definitely helps ! every dancer is driven by something different for me personally, yes. I think a variety in forms of expression makes you diverse and always able to create new things and experience new ways of dancing, it keeps it exciting, which in turn gives a career in dance longevity because it is kept exciting and innovative; however I don’t believe it is essential because dancers are all driven by different aspects of dancer and I believe creative fulfillment is about drive and will not how and what expressions are used and chosen by the dancer.
In a performance job that requires multiple skills e.g. holiday park; working with children alongside performing. Quantify the relationship between the skills required for daytime duties compared to the skills required for performance work.
I think as a general rule of thumb a bright and bubbly personality usually comes with what dancers are like as people. Their training of outwardly projecting a strong and confident bright personality manifests itself within dancers own personalities, and so I think the day time duties of such jobs is really linked to the same mentality of the when performing. Duties require that of dedication, perfectionism and commitment. Working with children requires a warm and confident personality. And handling responsibilities requires organization and maturity. All of which I believe are installing in dancers throughout their training; and in turn are able to transfer those skills into everyday work.
In your eyes what is the ‘look’ of a dancer?
I think the look of a dancer is a strong, well built body. Dancers always present themselves immaculately and are bold and bright in personality and image.
How would you define a successful dancer?
I think a successful dancer is someone who has mastered or at least experienced all style and forms of dance and performance and has committed time energy and love to the profession I don’t think a successful dancer is always based on how much they have worked, but more about what their personal goals and achievements are and if their passion for dancing is still alive and hungry. A successful dancer to me is someone who will always do anything just to dance and perform, in whatever way that may be.
In your opinion, is there are reason more ‘trained’ dancers are working in the field of ‘leisure entertainment’ i.e. Holiday Parks
I think that personally the industry is very hard at the present moment and dancers fresh out of training want to work in whatever field is available to them, and usually there is more availability in the field of leisure entertainment and so dancers take an opportunity to work in any which way they can. Also, the standard of leisure entertainment in places such as holiday parks are of a much higher standard from what they were 10-15 years ago and so there is a higher demand for a better quality of performer, therefore calling more ‘ trained’ dancers to work within the profession.
Discuss your thoughts on the term ‘A Triple Threat’, can all trades be mastered or are you setting yourself up to be the ‘jack of all trades but the master of none?’
I think that everyone in the dancing world will have one particular strength, I believe that you should definitely be a ‘triple threat’ dancer if you want to have a successful career, however I think that you can still be a strong dancer who is good at every genre and still have one style that is your strongest of all your talents. Just because you’ve mastered them all doesn’t mean that you are mediocre at all of them.
In your opinion how easy is it for a performer to begin working in a new medium?
I think it is dependent on what styles you have previously learnt and how long you have been training for. If you have been training in classical ballet your whole life and needed to learn a new genre I would say very easy. But not if you’ve had no training that would be transferable into other work and styles so it is dependent.
What are the key skills required to make the transition from dancer to choreographer?
I think as long as you have a passion for style a background of training and a creative mind everything else is unimportant. A dancer will already have basic tools such as rhythm, technique, style, stamina, and so for me, the biggest tool a choreographer needs is a hunger to create something; everything else is down to the opinion of the audience in how the final piece looks.
Is finding multiple forms of expression the key to creative fulfilment and career longevity?
I think that it isn’t essiential but definitely helps ! every dancer is driven by something different for me personally, yes. I think a variety in forms of expression makes you diverse and always able to create new things and experience new ways of dancing, it keeps it exciting, which in turn gives a career in dance longevity because it is kept exciting and innovative; however I don’t believe it is essential because dancers are all driven by different aspects of dancer and I believe creative fulfillment is about drive and will not how and what expressions are used and chosen by the dancer.
In a performance job that requires multiple skills e.g. holiday park; working with children alongside performing. Quantify the relationship between the skills required for daytime duties compared to the skills required for performance work.
I think as a general rule of thumb a bright and bubbly personality usually comes with what dancers are like as people. Their training of outwardly projecting a strong and confident bright personality manifests itself within dancers own personalities, and so I think the day time duties of such jobs is really linked to the same mentality of the when performing. Duties require that of dedication, perfectionism and commitment. Working with children requires a warm and confident personality. And handling responsibilities requires organization and maturity. All of which I believe are installing in dancers throughout their training; and in turn are able to transfer those skills into everyday work.
In your eyes what is the ‘look’ of a dancer?
I think the look of a dancer is a strong, well built body. Dancers always present themselves immaculately and are bold and bright in personality and image.
How would you define a successful dancer?
I think a successful dancer is someone who has mastered or at least experienced all style and forms of dance and performance and has committed time energy and love to the profession I don’t think a successful dancer is always based on how much they have worked, but more about what their personal goals and achievements are and if their passion for dancing is still alive and hungry. A successful dancer to me is someone who will always do anything just to dance and perform, in whatever way that may be.
In your opinion, is there are reason more ‘trained’ dancers are working in the field of ‘leisure entertainment’ i.e. Holiday Parks
I think that personally the industry is very hard at the present moment and dancers fresh out of training want to work in whatever field is available to them, and usually there is more availability in the field of leisure entertainment and so dancers take an opportunity to work in any which way they can. Also, the standard of leisure entertainment in places such as holiday parks are of a much higher standard from what they were 10-15 years ago and so there is a higher demand for a better quality of performer, therefore calling more ‘ trained’ dancers to work within the profession.
Interview: Anna Martin
Dancer/Teacher
Do you believe dancing
influenced your personality?
Yes it has given me
confidence, creativity, helped me to stay calm in stressful situations, how to
control my nerves and how to be in control of my body and mind when put in
nerve wrecking/ stressful situations. Discuss the idea ‘Dancers are not made,
they are born’,
Do you believe dance is a
natural instinct that cannot be taught or something that can be nurtured?
In some aspects I do believe the best dancers
have natural instinct, I think dance can be taught and even the worse dancer
with hard work can be turned into a great dancer but I think people can either
perform or they can’t I don’t think you can teach someone to have great stage
presents or how to interoperate the music and I think to be a world class
dancer you need to be able to interoperate the music and be mesmerizing on stage
and no matter how hard you work you will never be able to get that unless you
are born with it.
Discuss your thoughts on the term ‘A Triple
Threat’, can all trades be mastered or are you setting yourself up to be the
‘jack of all trades but the master of none?’
I definitely think it is
possible to be a triple threat it’s just extremely uncommon, it is highly
unlikely you will find someone who is able to put equal amount of work into
each discipline I think if a child is sent to a professional stage school from
a young age where they are doing classes in each everyday then yes I do think
it is possible. If someone really wanted to be a triple threat they could
manage it.
In your opinion how easy is it for a performer
to begin working in a new medium?
I actual think it’s quite
hard if you have learning say ballet since you were 2 and then at the age of 16
you need to learn a ballroom dance for whatever reason, you have to basically
throw everything out the window the posture, the way you hold your head, the way
your fingers are its all completely different and because you have had so much
training ballet it’s hard to get out of those habits. However you have an
advantage because you had experience being on stage, rhythm, being able to
understand music but I still think it would be really difficult to make the
switch.
What are the key skills
required to make the transition from dancer to choreographer?
I think going from a dancer to a choreographer
is difficult you have think about a group rather than just yourself, you have
to see how everything works rather than just doing the steps you have be told
to do. Basically you have to look at the piece as a whole instead of just
thinking about yourself and your part in the piece. Is finding multiple forms
of expression the key to creative fulfilment and career longevity? No I think
it helps but actually what will make you as a performer really stand is to be
able to draw on personal experiences and portray them through the aspect of
dance.
Through dance can our
individuality be expressed more physically or emotionally?
I think 100% both I
believe it all depends on the person someone could have a blank facial
expression but though their movement you can tell exactly what they are feeling
or it could be the completely opposite they could be sat completely still
making no sounds but from their face you know what is going on.
How can one style of dance e.g. Ballet, aid in
the technique of another e.g. Jazz? I think ballet is the basis for all dance,
it teaches you how to stand correctly, how to turn and spot, how to kick your
leg in the in the air and bring down with control, it teaches you strength and
this can all be carried across to other forms of dance.
In your eyes what is the
‘look’ of a dancer?
I don’t think there is a look
each form of dance calls for a different dance therefore a different look.
Wednesday 3 December 2014
Task 4d: Literature
Literature
This international study investigated
the experiences and attitudes of teaching artists whose work is rooted in
theatre, dance, and closely-related disciplines. Based on survey data from
teaching artists working in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, United
Kingdom, and the United States (n=172), the paper illuminates participants'
perspectives on preparation, practice and professional identity. Emergent
themes include: (1) teaching artist training and preparation, (2) work contexts
and populations served, and (3) work challenges and obstacles. Following
discussion of key survey findings, three case studies based in higher education
settings in the USA, UK and Southeast Asia are presented. Hagman's (2005)
framework for multiple fields of subjectivity at work in aesthetic experience
is employed to illustrate the ways in which the intrasubjective, the
intersubjective, and the metasubjective fields of subjectivity inform each
teaching artist's practice and professional identity. The paper concludes with
an analysis of themes in light of current discussions on reflective practice
and implications for teaching artist "praxis".
- Volume 14 Number 6: Rouhiainen, L., Hämäläinen, S. Emotions and feelings in a collaborative dance-making process.
This paper looks into the significance emotions and feelings can have in a collaborative dance-making process. This is done by introducing a narrative based on a dance pedagogy student's writings. They contain observations of her experiences on being the facilitating choreographer in a dance-making process involving a cross-artistic group of students in the performing arts. The narrative we constructed highlights especially the emotional challenges and insights that the student wrote about. In discussing the narrative, we underline that creating collaboratively can be an emotionally and personally deeply meaningful process - involving the construction of subjectivities, relationships, ideas and outcomes. Emotions play an important part in social communication but they likewise have a part to play in making aesthetic and artistic judgments. As a conclusion, we argue that emotional literacy plays an important part in artistic collaboration as does understanding the diverse roles one assumes and relates to the other artistic collaborators with. Owing to the open-ended nature of artistic work, in collaboration, understanding the significance of enacted emotions entails a process of learning, as well.
The skills required for a choreographer could be related to their emotions etc.
Interview with Lloyd Newson
Lloyd Newson of DV8 Physical Theatre charts some of the many
considerations that form a background to his work.
Career Night: Dancers who have
transitioned
Dancers describe their transition and new
careers in physical therapy, graphic design, pilates, and real estate.
Hear from transitioned dancers and a Keynote Speaker about
how the organization can help all dancers of all genres inside and outside of
the dance field.
Stepping Into Hope and Change NYC 2011: Creating choices and
connections for your future Less >
Introduction to Career Transition For Dancer's signature
methodology. Identify your present situation and your long-term goals by
developing choices and action plans. This video is part of Stepping Into Hope
and Change NYC 2011, a free career development conference for dancers held
all-day Thursday, April 7, 2011.
Actor Strengths
Laura E Taylor has begun to develop a programme for
performers to enable them to have career longevity.
An actor’s work environment poses unique challenges that can
drain personal resilience. Positive psychology research supports the
development of resilience and the use of character strengths to bolster
psychological resources that increase well-being in the face of adversity. This
paper explores the history, mechanisms, and development of research on
resilience and character strengths and their relationship to research on the
lives of professional actors. I propose that developing character strengths and
resilience creates potential pathways to cultivate well-being in actors and
enables perseverance on the path to long-term career success.
Interview with Sylvie Guillem
An interview with Sylvie Guillem, who at 47 still continues
to perform at sell out theatres.
Advice for Dancers. Emotional Counsel and Practical Strategies
Linda H. Hamilton, Ph.D.
In this original and unprecedented book, Dance Magazine's
famed Linda Hamilton offers dancers of all ages, types, and levels of skill the
same kind of advice and understanding they have come to trust from her popular
monthly column.
"The advice and information in this book should be
considered the "gold standard" for anyone involved in the dance
world. Linda Hamilton covers all the necessaary elements in a dancer's life,
and all dancers can benefit from the practical strategies she recommends to
reduce excessive stress, whether it is mental or physical." - Marika
Molnar, PT, director of West Side Dance Physical Therapy
The Person Behind The Mask. A Guide to Performing Arts
Psychology
Linda H. Hamilton, Ph.D.
A ground-breaking book that takes the reader on a vivid
journey into the performer's private world, where personal insecurity often
wages an unsuccessful battle against the stresses of the profession.
"This is a marvelous book, in many many ways, and a
great pleasure to read. Dr. Linda Hamilton's "first career" began
with dance lessons at the age of eight, leading to the prestigious New York City
Ballet. [...][S]he began her "second career" at Adelphi's clinical
psychology program. She has specialized in clinical work with performing
artists, while publishing numerous research papers, as well as a monthly advice
column for Dance Magazine. These diverse threads are all beautifully woven
together in The Person Behind the Mask." - Division 10 Newsletter,
American Psychological Association
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