Inquiry Questions

Inquiry Questions Respondent 1

Respondent 1 has performed the role of head dancer with parkdean for the past two seasons, before working for this company she worked abroad also as a head dancer for six years. Respondent 1 is happy for her information and opinions to be used as data for my professional inquiry, she has signed a consent form as evidence of this.

Interview questions BAPP Arts Inquiry

Please discuss your experience as a head dancer and the challenges/accomplishments you have come across.

When I came into it last year, maybe it was because it was my first year with the company, I was so worried about getting all of my own steps right I dont think I did as good a job last year, in the sense that I didnt establish my authority straight away. Once I got confident in the role I then struggled getting the authority I acquired because I hadnt started as I meant to go on. Last year I didnt really feel like I was needed as my team were very strong however when we then got a new boy he was like my project so I could help him and make him better and that was a huge accomplishment for me. However this year with my team, some members are more sensitive than those I had previously so I have had to adapt the way I teach certain members of my team so I can get the best out of them. You have to approach everyone differently. Then later this year I had another new person join the team and teaching her was a huge accomplisment because I could see her grow and develop. I think that challenges come when you have too much experience in a team. Working abroad is very different to working in the UK because all the work abroad is your own, you are the choreographer so you dont have to worry about whether the choreography is 'correct' as its your own material. Also abroad there were alot of people who werent dancers or singers but were employed as childrens entertainer but they had to still be in the shows.

My analysis: Respondent one struggled with gaining authority last year because she said she was focusing on the material she needed to learn for her own part. Authority isnt something that I have struggled with however I have found that my team do not appreciate the amount of work that I do for them which is something have struggled with this year and have talked about in my reflective journal. She also talks about how she needs to adapt the way she teaches different people, this is something I have come across in my literature,

“As a situational leader, I've come to believe it's foolish to apply the same style in every situation”, Leadership and the one minute manager,K. Blanchard, P. Zigarmi and D.Zigarmi. 2015 edition.

After reading about situational leadership I do believe that you have to adapt your teaching and leading style to your team members, so that they can learn in the most effective way and in turn make your job easier when putting the shows together.

What skills and attributes do you think a head dancer should have and why?

Well, I think, personally a head dancer needs to have attended professional college, but thats just my opinion. Only because some people that I see who have taken on the head dancer role without professional training are the ones who struggle the most, the ones that are good at their job have been to college. College completely changed me and you have to be quite tough to be a head dancer and college gave me that. Also not old as in a head dancer should be old but they need to be mature and have life experience.

My analysis: I definately agree that a head dancer needs life experience, to be a leader in any job you need to have acquired a certain level of maturity and be able to deal with all sorts of different people and different situations. I think that attending professional dance college will aid in your role as a head dancer however I dont think that it is a neccessity. Professional dance college definitely gave me a 'thick skin', it also enabled me to offer others the technical dance skills that I learned. As well as all of this dance college helped me to see that you can always work harder and you can always get better and thats something that I now live by, I will never give up and that includes when I am teaching someone, I wont give up on them either.

Where can the skills you have acquired in this job be used when making a career transition?

Say for example if I wanted to be a manager, the head dancer is like the second step because you kind of already have that authority. So it is much easier for a head dancer to go into a management.

My analysis: I think that potentially it is alot easier for a head dancer to go into management as they are managing the team in terms of shows and character roles etc, also as a head dancer you spend a lot of time working out rotas with your entertainements manager so you can see how that is done as well.

An emotional intelligent leader primes good feeling in those they lead, how do you think this type of leadership could help/hinder a head dancer?

I am going to have to use examples of this year, so for example with someone like A we are very similar, hes very passionate, however then we can clash so even though I am emotionally aware of how he is feeling we can then snap at each other because more often than not we are feeling the same. However with B, he always works really hard for me like always, but say one day randomly he was being rubbish, instead of me picking up on that straight away and asking what the problem is I always wait til the end of the rehearsal to ask him whats happening because he is never just forgetful because he cant be bothered its always because somethings happened in his personal life. If it was like C I would just say 'why are you being rubbish?' and they would snap out of it or apologise if you know what I mean. But it can also hinder you because people can pick up on your approach and think that its okay to be a bit crap that day because she'll (the head dancer) will just think I am down about something. Then you could be seen as a bit of a pushover. I have been very lucky with my teams the past two seasons, because everyone on my team have always wanted to be there. For me also, being 'crap' isnt your skills its more about your attitude and being lazy etc.

My analysis: After reading about primal leadership (emotional intelligence) and also putting it into practice I have found it very effective. Emotional intelligence helps you to be on the same 'wave length' as your team so you are all working towards the same goal.

“Intellect alone will not make a leader; leaders execute a vision by motivating, guiding, inspiring, listening, persuading -and, most cruicially, through creating resonance.” The power of emotional intelligence, D.Goleman, R.Boyatzis and A.Mckee. Tenth Anniversary Edition.

Is it important as a head dancer to adapt to the 'situational leadership' style whereby you fit your style to the needs of the individual and to the situation at hand?

If I am teaching a strong dancer something I can use different language and be a bit more vague and I can teach it faster whereas with a non dancer I would need to know what I was doing one hundred percent and break it down into chunks and go alot slower. I would ask them more if they needed to go over it more etc.

Discuss this statement 'To be a head dancer you need to be an exceptional dancer as well' .

I think you do, because I think you need to lead by example, you dont have to be like the best thing in world, but if I had turned up to this company and the choreographer hadnt been as good as she is then I wouldnt have as much respect for her. I think also if you have someone on your team who is a better dancer than you then it could make you feel less confident in your role, and could then hinder your actions as a head dancer. I also think the team would be able to tell as well that your not a confident dancer so then why should they take correction from you?