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?

Literature review #3

The person behind the mask: A guide to performing arts psychology by Linda H. Hamilton

The Blurb summarizes how Dr. Linda Hamilton takes her readers on a 'vivid journey into the performers private world'. This book gives a lot of insight into being a professional performer and the effects it can have on different performers in different situations. I feel like this is really relevant to my inquiry as to be a great head dancer I believe you need to understand the backgrounds of the people you are working with and there are various people within the company I work for who have dealt with the situations that Hamilton discusses. 

Contents: 

Introduction

Training considerations for performers

Weight standards for stage and screen

Personal relationships in the Arts

Focusing the spotlight on Performance

Occupational Injuries and Retirement

Performing Arts Psychology

An Overview of Narcissism

Resource Directory

References

Author Index

Subject Index

About the Author

The main section that I have focused on in this book is 'Personal relationships in the Arts', mainly because I have to look at the relationship that I have with my team and understand the situations where they have come from with other leaders in their work life. 

Hamilton discusses how performers home life can determine their reactions to authority. A study on the New York City Ballet company showed that eighty six percent of dancers idealized their director as a powerful father figure in their lives. Obviously this is based on a ballet company where dancers have performed for many years and I am working with a team for possibly just one season, however I do believe the information that Hamilton provides is useful to my development as a 'leader' in the entertainment sector.

I have had issues on my team with conflict, sometimes an attitude towards myself which then affects the performers learning or very often a conflict with another team member which affects how both members perform. Hamilton discusses 'Interventions' and talks about 'performers who exhibit conflicts with authority', this section is really relevant to my role as I would prefer not to have any conflict within my team, however when this is unavoidable it is essential to be equipped with the tools to deal with it. 

Getting it together!

Wow! I have had the busiest peak season! However I have managed to use some of the tools that I have read about in the leadership literature that I have acquired. A common theme I have found from the leadership books that I have read is that it is important as a 'good' leader to be able to empathise with your team and to also be able to differentiate between each person. I know now for example that each of my team members are motivated in different ways, some I can push harder than others and some are better at learning a routine and then having time away to practice on their own. It has been really interesting using the skills I have read about during my daily practice. 

My inquiry has got me thinking about the skills I have and the skills I need to work on, I know now that I take comments my team make very personally and their attitude towards myself can be quite hostile depending on how they are feeling that day and if they are having a good rehearsal or not. I spoke to the company choreographer about this situation and she told me that the person in charge will most likely be the one to recieve 'attitude' if a team member is having a bad day, therefore it is a good idea to quickly recognise when a someone is having an 'off' day and speak to them before rehearsals, however if you do not get the chance to speak to that person before you rehearse, it is then best to 'leave them to their own devices' and then speak with them after rehearsal. 

Whilst working on my inquiry I have been looking at the skills required to be a head dancer. My question to everyone out there is Do you have to be a great dancer to be a great head dancer? I have listed the skills required for both below:

Dancer skills:

Strong Core
Performance skills
Good elevation
Rhythm
Technique
Good at picking up choreography
Passion
Ability to interpret what the choreographer wants
Good memory 

Head Dancer Skills:

Clear communication skills
Rhythm
Ability to interpret what the choreographer wants 
Ability to motivate
Good memory Ability to criticize in a constructive way 

There are many skills required in both fields, however some skills overlap like rhythm and the ability to interpret what the choreographer wants, therefore although some may say you do not need to be a great dancer to be a great head dancer there are some skills required for both. 

This is something I am going to investigate further. Please let me know your thoughts! 

Literature review #2

Literature review #2

Career Transitions in Professional Dancers: Stanley E. Greben, M.D., F.R.C.P.C

An article where the author summarises his experience with 160 dancer-clients who are experiencing career transitions. It includes some psychological aspects of dance careers and of career transitions are considered.

This article includes

Introduction

Psychological Aspects of the Dance Career

Psychological Aspects of Career Transition

The Role of Psychotherapy in Dancer Transition

Clinical illustrations

Conclusion

The majority of head dancers in Parkdean have been trained in dance and so experience some of the challenges that Greben discusses. The change from being a performer/parkdean trouper, to then leading your team to performance success comes with challenges and accomplishments, however each individual with require different support when making that change.

The section on ‘Psychological aspects of dance career’, talks about how dancers in general become ‘accustomed to being instructed, directed, and corrected’. As a head dancer you have to team your team and therefore cannot rely on anyone else to guide your group through the different shows. ‘Conversely, they often do not feel autonomously competent, but depend too much on the leadership and opinion of others. My experience as a head dancer has revealed that although I do not rely on others to lead my team, I do get affected by others opinions and I also find myself second guessing choreography, if for example a member of my team has questioned a part of the show.

Greben discusses this theme of a lack of leadership further in his section on Psychological aspects of career transition. All the head dancers in parkdean have the support of their manager, choreographer of the company and the casting manager, however it is up to the head dancer to communicate with these authorities so they can feel supported. ‘When working with dancers in transition, they need to be shown that they are most likely multi-talented, and their intelligence is probably high, but that they have been under-developed. Many adult dancers fear, from the protected position of their life training and in companies that they will not be up to the outside world’s expectations and demands. Thus they require support, guidance, and training for more autonomous functioning. ‘I can really relate to this, the training I received at Dance College encouraged me to rely on the opinion of others and to be led by my teachers and dance captains.

Although this article focuses on the psychological issues that dancers face when transitioning into a new role I feel that a lot of the information provided relates to issues I have faced within my first season as a head dancer and therefore I feel it will benefit others in my situation. 

Literature Review #1

Literature review

Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee

I was given the piece of literature by my Dad after discussing with him the nature of my inquiry. I explained that I wanted to explore the tools required to become a head dancer, manager and choreographer within a leisure entertainments facility. You can purchase the book on Amazon or similar sites.

Primal Leadership assesses the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership. Being a head dancer within Parkdean you are a team leader, you run the rehearsals and lead your team to be the best they can be in terms of their performance on stage. I feel the idea of being emotionally connected with your team is especially important within my job at Parkdean as we all live and work together and we are all working away from our families, which can make the job especially difficult. I also have to give constructive criticism to my team and inform them if they are performing well or are falling behind, again dealing with these sorts of issues it is important that as a team leader you are emotionally connected with your team.

Contents

Part 1 The Power of Emotional Intelligence

·         Primal Leadership

·         Resonant Leadership

·         The Neuroanatomy of Leadership

·         The Leadership Repertoire

·         The Dissonant Styles

Part 2 Making Leaders

·         Becoming a resonant leader

·         The Motivation to change

·         Metamorphosis

Part 3 Building emotionally intelligent organisations

·         The emotional reality of teams

·         Reality and the ideal vision

·         Creating substantial change

‘Throughout history and in cultures everywhere, the leader in any human group has been the one to whom others look for assurance and clarity when facing uncertainty or threat, or when there’s a job to be done. The leader acts as the groups emotional guide.’ This small section from primal leadership evokes a lot of ideas about how I should be acting towards my team. Already I feel like this information will help to develop my leadership skills. I hope to acquire skills from this literature and use them on my team to see if I notice a difference in their work ethic, performance and their reactions to constructive criticism.

Primal Leadership also discusses the difference between Resonant leadership and the discordant leader. ‘When leaders drive emotions positively (…), they bring out everyone’s best. We call this effect resonance. When they drive emotions negatively (…) leaders spawn dissonance, undermining the emotional foundations that let people shine.  A s a head dancer I want my team to shine, however it is very difficult always be positive when you work with a team of six people who you also live with and spend most of your time with. This book will give me some tools to help guide my team positively and hopefully help to achieve better scores from our guests who holiday with Parkdean.

In ‘The Neuroanatomy of Leadership’ section of the book there is a break down of ‘Emotional Intelligence Domains and Associated Competencies’, this information provides a practical guideline for building leadership skills.

I believe this piece of literature will help me develop skills in leadership within my role as a head dancer, I also believe it will coincide with the data I receive from my interviews. I will be asking my interviewees ‘What skills are required in the head dancer role?'.

Overwhelmed!

I have spent the last couple of days researching leadership, leadership in dance and also the requirements for a head dancer within a leisure entertainment facility. I have to say I am feeling slightly overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead of me, on top of this BAPP course its also the start of peak season. Peak season for parkdean means working a huge amount of hours with little time or energy to put into anything else. However with my inquiry looming its going to be important that I keep well rested and fuel my body with the right nutrition. Therefore I have also been looking at the best foods to keep your body fueled, my plan is to invest in lots of protein and energy filled foods like chicken, nuts, seeds, bananas and lots of fruit and vegetables. Last season I relied on energy drinks like red bull and monster, as much as these drinks gave me a short burst of energy they did not help sustain my body throughout the busy season. 

I am feeling very apprehensive so if anyone has any advice or wants to get talking (just for support) it would be hugely appreciated. 

Slowly summarising

So I have recieved the feedback from my inquiry plan and have began summarising my thoughts and ideas for my inquiry.

Inquiry Summary

From looking at my feedback that I received I have decided to change the title of my inquiry. My previous title ‘An investigation into career transition for women in dance: The challenges that come with change’ did not communicate the idea of dancers transitioning into leadership roles. Therefore I am changing my title to ‘Exploring the skills required to transition into a dance leadership role within the leisure entertainment sector’.  I am hoping this covers all angles of my inquiry.

I will be choosing two head dancers from parkdean who have experienced two seasons, two managers from parkdean who have also experienced a minimum of two years with the company and I will also be interviewing the casting manager and the choreographer of the company. I feel this will give me a strong basis for the skills required to take on a leadership role within a company like parkdean. I would like each candidate to have a minimum of two years experience within the job as I feel they will have more to offer than someone who has spent less time in the job.

Inquiry questions

What support did you receive in furthering your career as a professional performer?

What leadership skills do you have and how have you had to use these in your career?

Could you discuss your challenges and accomplishments that you have faced throughout your career?

If you were to employ a head dancer what skills would you look for specifically?

How would these skills differ, in your opinion to that of a entertainments manager?

What advice would you give a performer hoping to achieve head dancer/manager status?

Initially I was going to be looking at the retirement issues within the transitions in dance, however I feel that I would like to focus on the challenges and accomplishments faced in leadership roles.

The ethical issues I have addressed in my inquiry plan will be put into place when I begin my interviews. However I need to clarify my insider-researcher position with my tutor, which I will be doing this week.