Tuesday 28 December 2010
Wiki Page
I finally uploaded task 2C to my Wiki page. Here's the web address...http://reflective-theory.wikispaces.com/Reflective-Theory
Monday 20 December 2010
The Networked Professional - Sources of Information
I gather information for my career from many sources. They vary greatly in how much I use them and how useful an information source they are.
The one I use the most is the internet. I think its main appeal is that it holds so much information from so many different places. As John Seely Brown puts it, this is a fundamental aspect of connectivism, the small efforts of many with the large efforts of few. Also, you can be proactive with reference to your career from your own home so it is easier than other ways of gathering information. The theory of connectivism suggests that each web page is a different node, which I agree with because the internet holds so much information that we couldn't possibly classify it as one source.
The three years I spent at college I spent without internet access in my house. At that point it wasn't necessary to use it on a daily basis because I wasn't relying on it for my career, unlike now. At college my fellow students and I would look in The Stage newspaper to gather information about auditions and so forth. We would rely on it greatly because it was our only way of finding things out. Our teachers would inform us on how to act in auditions what we should wear but rarely about castings themselves. My point is newspapers and magazines can be used to gather information but I would only refer to them if the internet wasn't available because anything one can find out from them can be found on line too. Now, I look at thestage.co.uk for free rather than spending money on the newspaper.
I also gather a lot of information from people. Other dancers especially are great suppliers of information. When working or socialising with other professionals I have found that because our career is common ground we tend to share a lot of stories and experiences with one another. I have found this very useful in the past because it is helpful to have human points of view on the information one is receiving.
Notice boards in, for example, dance studios are another way in which I gather information. There are often advertisements for shows and classes and information on auditions. I check them regularly when I attend dance class and have sometimes found them quite useful.
Sometimes, the television has provided me with information. This source, like newspaper/magazine articles, is not something I would look to right away for information to help my professional career. However, there have been times when I have watched a programme, or in terms of a newspaper, read an article, which has given me information about my career. For example, I once caught a documentary on the Lido in Paris from which I learned a lot about that particular job. The fact is I would not actively seek information from the television or from a newspaper, with reference to my career, but occasionally I have found things out from them that is very useful.
Email and phone calls are another way in which I find out information. This information is normally specific to a job rather than it being general. For example, if there is a company I want to work for and I need to find out about an audition I could call or email the casting director to find out more. At this stage an email is usually more appropriate and as correspondence continues a phone call may become necessary in order to gather information.
I have different methods of organising the information I have gathered depending on what the information is and in what form I gathered it. If I were to receive information via email what I would normally do is keep the email and make a copy to save as a document to my computer. If the information was gathered from a notice board or a magazine or was verbal information I would write it down in my diary/organiser. A method I often use because I don't always take my diary out with my is I write things in to my phone. I do not own a nice fancy phone with lots of applications. I know that many people rely on their phones for organising because they have the technology for that. My phone cost about fifteen Euros and is very basic but I still use it to make notes about things. One thing I do not possess is an address book. This is something I am going to look into buying so that I can make a note of all of my professional contacts and have them in one place. I think this will be a good idea because even though I have contacts saved on my computer, technology can sometimes fail us and a back up could be necessary at some point.
The one I use the most is the internet. I think its main appeal is that it holds so much information from so many different places. As John Seely Brown puts it, this is a fundamental aspect of connectivism, the small efforts of many with the large efforts of few. Also, you can be proactive with reference to your career from your own home so it is easier than other ways of gathering information. The theory of connectivism suggests that each web page is a different node, which I agree with because the internet holds so much information that we couldn't possibly classify it as one source.
The three years I spent at college I spent without internet access in my house. At that point it wasn't necessary to use it on a daily basis because I wasn't relying on it for my career, unlike now. At college my fellow students and I would look in The Stage newspaper to gather information about auditions and so forth. We would rely on it greatly because it was our only way of finding things out. Our teachers would inform us on how to act in auditions what we should wear but rarely about castings themselves. My point is newspapers and magazines can be used to gather information but I would only refer to them if the internet wasn't available because anything one can find out from them can be found on line too. Now, I look at thestage.co.uk for free rather than spending money on the newspaper.
I also gather a lot of information from people. Other dancers especially are great suppliers of information. When working or socialising with other professionals I have found that because our career is common ground we tend to share a lot of stories and experiences with one another. I have found this very useful in the past because it is helpful to have human points of view on the information one is receiving.
Notice boards in, for example, dance studios are another way in which I gather information. There are often advertisements for shows and classes and information on auditions. I check them regularly when I attend dance class and have sometimes found them quite useful.
Sometimes, the television has provided me with information. This source, like newspaper/magazine articles, is not something I would look to right away for information to help my professional career. However, there have been times when I have watched a programme, or in terms of a newspaper, read an article, which has given me information about my career. For example, I once caught a documentary on the Lido in Paris from which I learned a lot about that particular job. The fact is I would not actively seek information from the television or from a newspaper, with reference to my career, but occasionally I have found things out from them that is very useful.
Email and phone calls are another way in which I find out information. This information is normally specific to a job rather than it being general. For example, if there is a company I want to work for and I need to find out about an audition I could call or email the casting director to find out more. At this stage an email is usually more appropriate and as correspondence continues a phone call may become necessary in order to gather information.
I have different methods of organising the information I have gathered depending on what the information is and in what form I gathered it. If I were to receive information via email what I would normally do is keep the email and make a copy to save as a document to my computer. If the information was gathered from a notice board or a magazine or was verbal information I would write it down in my diary/organiser. A method I often use because I don't always take my diary out with my is I write things in to my phone. I do not own a nice fancy phone with lots of applications. I know that many people rely on their phones for organising because they have the technology for that. My phone cost about fifteen Euros and is very basic but I still use it to make notes about things. One thing I do not possess is an address book. This is something I am going to look into buying so that I can make a note of all of my professional contacts and have them in one place. I think this will be a good idea because even though I have contacts saved on my computer, technology can sometimes fail us and a back up could be necessary at some point.
Wednesday 15 December 2010
The Networked Professional - Theories Relating to Networking
Cooperation - People always say how competitive a career in the performing arts is. I have been to auditions with 500+ dancers all wanting the same job so on first impressions I cannot argue that this isn't so. However, the very nature of networking is seemingly cooperative. A network allows people to connect and work together in order for them to mutually benefit their careers. So when is it necessary to compete and when is it necessary to cooperate as a performer?
When I played the 'Prisoner's Dilemma' game, my first instinct was to compete because its a game is it not? And the idea of a game is to win. However, the idea of this particular game is not only to win but to obtain the highest number of coins. I did win by number of coins but I did not receive many coins all together. Next, I tried cooperating on every turn, this enabled both me and my opponent to gain more coins but it ended in a tie. Therefore, in order to win, a better strategy is to cooperate for as long as possible and then to compete in order to gain more coins than ones opponent. Researcher Robert Axelrod looked, in depth, into competition versus cooperation.
'To my considerable surprise, the winner was the simplest of all the programs submitted, TIT FOR TAT. TIT FOR TAT is merely the strategy of starting with cooperation, and thereafter doing what the other player did on the previous move.' Axelrod .R. (1984)
Axelrod wondered whether, in a real life situation, people would only cooperate if they were going to also gain from the act, 'cooperation based solely on reciprocity seemed possible.' Axelrod .R. (1984)
The Prisoner's Dilemma is a very simple way of looking at how important cooperation is when networking.
Yet, I can see patterns in my own networking forming through this game. Will I get the most out of my network if I choose to constantly compete with those in it? No, of course I won't because people will not want to network with me if I am only out for my own gain and never look to help anyone else. What if I only ever cooperate? I think this would work better because I would be helping others in my network and they will then, one would hope, want to help me through reciprocation like tit-for-tat. But how about cooperating up to a certain point and then competing right at the end? Well, this might work once but is that person you cooperated with, and then used to get ahead, going to want to help you out in the future? My guess is no. Again, this concept of tit-for-tat rears its head.
However, I have often helped out other dancers with no desire to benefit my own career. If they help me out in the future then that would be greatly appreciated but I don't expect pay back. However, this could be my human nature and Axelrod argues that this doesn't come into play here.
'But the present approach is strategic rather than genetic.' Axelrod (1984)
I can see that choices we make while networking often come down to strategy. For example, I don't want to always be the professional who cooperates in place of getting work I want. Yet, I find it unrealistic to completely rule out ones human nature in these matters. Even though I believe I have that 'competitive streak', I am also compassionate. If a friend of mine was a wonderful dancer but terrible at networking I would give them advice. I am not going to think ' I will not gain a thing from this, why should I do it?'. I think for networks to work effectively, people in them need to cooperate but selfless acts and a bit of healthy competition are also necessary.
Affiliation - Unlike Axelrod's ideas on cooperation, affiliation has everything to do with human nature. The term is used to explain our need to engage with other humans in order to fulfil our psychological needs and give us, 'a network of support that will help us when we are in need' Crisp and Turner (2007)
This network is most likely to consist of friends and loved ones, but, do I have a professional network of support? I believe I do because when it comes to times of need within a specific career who is better at understanding than someone who knows where you are coming from and has themselves been through what you are facing. My mum is, no doubt, in my social network of support but she is a high school teacher so she can't understand certain problems I may face in my career. Therefore, I need a network of performers that I am close to so that I have support within my profession. This may also give indication as to why I fell in love with a man in a similar field to myself and why my mum married my father who is also a teacher. Perhaps, subconsciously, we humans sometimes blur the lines between social and professional networks in order to gain the psychological support we need.
Homoeostasis is a principle of affiliation which describes each human's differing levels of need for social interaction. Connor and Rosenblood (1996) suggest this is connected to whether the person is an introvert or an extrovert. I am an extrovert and I like to be social. Yet, I can relate to the idea of homoeostasis, with reference to varying needs of social interaction, because there are times when I want nothing more than to stay in. However, staying in is not always an option when networking needs to be done. There is certainly a difference between going out socially and going out with a view to network, which can be daunting however much of a confident person you are. Networking that is done on-line may satisfy some individuals more than physically putting yourself out there. I know that I feel more confident hiding behind a computer screen than actually, say, meeting a possible employer in person and feeling pressure to impress there and then.
This links to the privacy regulation theory, Altman (1975) which explains that our need for privacy can change within a short space of time (the dialectic principle) and that we try to affiliate to our desired level (optimization principle). This could explain why some people are more comfortable with face-to-face networking than others. Perhaps those people are naturally more open and desire less privacy than others.
There has been research into both biological and cultural explanations as to why we affiliate. I think networking is part of our culture as professional performers. In Hofstede's (1980) research into affiliation in 22 different countries he found that in individualistic cultures people had a lot of social contact and a lot of superficial friendships. My career is individualistic, it is my career I don't share it with anyone else. Therefore, as a dancer it is wise for me to have a large network of performers so that I don't limit myself when it comes to working. Besides, there is often going to be a small level of superficiality when it comes to a working environment because we are there, primarily, to get a job done. Having said that, some of my closest friends in the world are performers because, as I have already said, there is a good level of understanding between us that satisfies our psychological needs.
Social Constructionism: This is the ides that humans construct their own meanings from objects and the world around them. The idea is that nothing has a meaning until a human names it and gives it a purpose. Also, everything is subjective because we are adding to pre-existing knowledge, we do not create anything completely from scratch.
Networks are social constructions. They do not exist without humans attaching meaning and use to them.
'What constructionism claims is that meanings are constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting' Crotty, M (2005)
Meaning that as we continually engage in the world we find more and more meaning. Therefore, the more we engage in networking the more value we will seek from it.
This made me think about my professional networks in an entirely different way. From a social contructionists viewpoint, I decide what my network means to me and what I want to gain from it. For example, I network with dancers here in Amsterdam in order to find out about work in Holland. However, some of them want to network with me to find out about work further a field because that is where I have experience. We haven't created our networks from nothing, the concept of a network has been practised by humans for a long long time and was given meaning by humans even then. However, we all shape and mould and construct our own networks to fit our varying needs.
Connectivism: Is a theory on learning which has only become popular in the last two or three decades, due to the invention of the internet and Web 2.0. Connectivism takes us away from traditional learning which is a linear process: teacher/book/web page to student. To a learning network made up of all these factors known as nodes and the student makes sense out of the information each node provides by constructing connecting paths between the information themselves.
It is unrealistic to think that one source (node) will give you all the information you require. If I speak to somebody in my professional network I do not expect they will, for example, give me the name of a company I am interested in working for, plus an email address, plus a telephone number, plus the name of the person in charge of casting and so on. Even if they did I would still want to do some background research for myself on-line. I would have previously thought of the person giving the information as one node and then the internet as the second node. However, where I find this theory interesting is that if each web page is considered a separate node, when I am using the internet, I must be connecting information from multiple nodes in order to gain the necessary knowledge. I feel I have been unaware of how much information I have taken in from different sources and I feel the more nodes I use the more lines of connection I can form and finally the more knowledge I can gain. Therefore, in the future I won't just stop when I think I have acquired what I wanted to know. Instead I will keep looking at information from as many nodes as possible because then I will have more lines of connection to gain understanding from and, most likely, learn something new.
However, one problem I have with this connectivism is its broad definition of nodes. According to the theory web pages, teachers, books and other professionals are all examples of nodes from which a student gathers information. A good teacher is there to help you to improve by correcting you and giving you feedback not just to give you information. I couldn't have learned how to dance say from Youtube. Even through dance tutorial videos I'm not going to learn a fraction of what I did from three years at dance college. So to say the experience one get from reading a web page is the same as the interpersonal engagement of a human being seems, to me, rather ridiculous.
Still, connectivism would suggest that I as an individual make the choice of what nodes I feel are most useful to me. Part of this theory is to be prepared for ever-changing environments and being able to make decisions in this evolving. Recently, I went to Paris to audition for a contract that won't start until April but, before I went, I was offered a month long contract starting immediately. I had to decide which one to do. Having had a bad experience previously working for the company that was offering me an immediate contract I knew the decision I was going to make. Also, knowing that the company in Paris is respectable through people in my network the choice was clear.
'[learning is] a persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world' Driscoll (2000)
Therefore, through connectivism we can learn successfully because we are allowing ourselves to adapt to different ideas and changing environments.
Communities of Practice: This concept revolves around the idea of learning in a group rather than individually, in a social and informal manner. 'Situated Learning' Lave and Wegner (1991) refers to how learning can come from situations where a group of people have the the same interests and can therefore learn together from one another to gain a deeper understanding.
My community of practice of professional dancers provides me with knowledge within the working world. In the first year after I left college I learned more about the dance profession than I ever have and possibly ever will do. At college my teachers could teach me how to be a dancer with reference to performance and technique but after that it was the communities of practice I became a part of that taught me how to succeed in a professional environment.
'length is rather variable as individuals go through successive steps at their own pace' Lave and Wegner (1991)
Lave and Wagner are here describing a community of practice of Alcoholics Anonymous, but this notion of the development taking a different amount of time for each individual applies to my community too. Some dancers will take longer than others to find their first job and therefore take longer to become part of a working community of practice. Moreover, I have discovered, these are the best communities of practice to be a part of with reference to furthering ones career because the members get to know one another so well and on a personal level that information is shared freely.
When I played the 'Prisoner's Dilemma' game, my first instinct was to compete because its a game is it not? And the idea of a game is to win. However, the idea of this particular game is not only to win but to obtain the highest number of coins. I did win by number of coins but I did not receive many coins all together. Next, I tried cooperating on every turn, this enabled both me and my opponent to gain more coins but it ended in a tie. Therefore, in order to win, a better strategy is to cooperate for as long as possible and then to compete in order to gain more coins than ones opponent. Researcher Robert Axelrod looked, in depth, into competition versus cooperation.
'To my considerable surprise, the winner was the simplest of all the programs submitted, TIT FOR TAT. TIT FOR TAT is merely the strategy of starting with cooperation, and thereafter doing what the other player did on the previous move.' Axelrod .R. (1984)
Axelrod wondered whether, in a real life situation, people would only cooperate if they were going to also gain from the act, 'cooperation based solely on reciprocity seemed possible.' Axelrod .R. (1984)
The Prisoner's Dilemma is a very simple way of looking at how important cooperation is when networking.
Yet, I can see patterns in my own networking forming through this game. Will I get the most out of my network if I choose to constantly compete with those in it? No, of course I won't because people will not want to network with me if I am only out for my own gain and never look to help anyone else. What if I only ever cooperate? I think this would work better because I would be helping others in my network and they will then, one would hope, want to help me through reciprocation like tit-for-tat. But how about cooperating up to a certain point and then competing right at the end? Well, this might work once but is that person you cooperated with, and then used to get ahead, going to want to help you out in the future? My guess is no. Again, this concept of tit-for-tat rears its head.
However, I have often helped out other dancers with no desire to benefit my own career. If they help me out in the future then that would be greatly appreciated but I don't expect pay back. However, this could be my human nature and Axelrod argues that this doesn't come into play here.
'But the present approach is strategic rather than genetic.' Axelrod (1984)
I can see that choices we make while networking often come down to strategy. For example, I don't want to always be the professional who cooperates in place of getting work I want. Yet, I find it unrealistic to completely rule out ones human nature in these matters. Even though I believe I have that 'competitive streak', I am also compassionate. If a friend of mine was a wonderful dancer but terrible at networking I would give them advice. I am not going to think ' I will not gain a thing from this, why should I do it?'. I think for networks to work effectively, people in them need to cooperate but selfless acts and a bit of healthy competition are also necessary.
Affiliation - Unlike Axelrod's ideas on cooperation, affiliation has everything to do with human nature. The term is used to explain our need to engage with other humans in order to fulfil our psychological needs and give us, 'a network of support that will help us when we are in need' Crisp and Turner (2007)
This network is most likely to consist of friends and loved ones, but, do I have a professional network of support? I believe I do because when it comes to times of need within a specific career who is better at understanding than someone who knows where you are coming from and has themselves been through what you are facing. My mum is, no doubt, in my social network of support but she is a high school teacher so she can't understand certain problems I may face in my career. Therefore, I need a network of performers that I am close to so that I have support within my profession. This may also give indication as to why I fell in love with a man in a similar field to myself and why my mum married my father who is also a teacher. Perhaps, subconsciously, we humans sometimes blur the lines between social and professional networks in order to gain the psychological support we need.
Homoeostasis is a principle of affiliation which describes each human's differing levels of need for social interaction. Connor and Rosenblood (1996) suggest this is connected to whether the person is an introvert or an extrovert. I am an extrovert and I like to be social. Yet, I can relate to the idea of homoeostasis, with reference to varying needs of social interaction, because there are times when I want nothing more than to stay in. However, staying in is not always an option when networking needs to be done. There is certainly a difference between going out socially and going out with a view to network, which can be daunting however much of a confident person you are. Networking that is done on-line may satisfy some individuals more than physically putting yourself out there. I know that I feel more confident hiding behind a computer screen than actually, say, meeting a possible employer in person and feeling pressure to impress there and then.
This links to the privacy regulation theory, Altman (1975) which explains that our need for privacy can change within a short space of time (the dialectic principle) and that we try to affiliate to our desired level (optimization principle). This could explain why some people are more comfortable with face-to-face networking than others. Perhaps those people are naturally more open and desire less privacy than others.
There has been research into both biological and cultural explanations as to why we affiliate. I think networking is part of our culture as professional performers. In Hofstede's (1980) research into affiliation in 22 different countries he found that in individualistic cultures people had a lot of social contact and a lot of superficial friendships. My career is individualistic, it is my career I don't share it with anyone else. Therefore, as a dancer it is wise for me to have a large network of performers so that I don't limit myself when it comes to working. Besides, there is often going to be a small level of superficiality when it comes to a working environment because we are there, primarily, to get a job done. Having said that, some of my closest friends in the world are performers because, as I have already said, there is a good level of understanding between us that satisfies our psychological needs.
Social Constructionism: This is the ides that humans construct their own meanings from objects and the world around them. The idea is that nothing has a meaning until a human names it and gives it a purpose. Also, everything is subjective because we are adding to pre-existing knowledge, we do not create anything completely from scratch.
Networks are social constructions. They do not exist without humans attaching meaning and use to them.
'What constructionism claims is that meanings are constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting' Crotty, M (2005)
Meaning that as we continually engage in the world we find more and more meaning. Therefore, the more we engage in networking the more value we will seek from it.
This made me think about my professional networks in an entirely different way. From a social contructionists viewpoint, I decide what my network means to me and what I want to gain from it. For example, I network with dancers here in Amsterdam in order to find out about work in Holland. However, some of them want to network with me to find out about work further a field because that is where I have experience. We haven't created our networks from nothing, the concept of a network has been practised by humans for a long long time and was given meaning by humans even then. However, we all shape and mould and construct our own networks to fit our varying needs.
Connectivism: Is a theory on learning which has only become popular in the last two or three decades, due to the invention of the internet and Web 2.0. Connectivism takes us away from traditional learning which is a linear process: teacher/book/web page to student. To a learning network made up of all these factors known as nodes and the student makes sense out of the information each node provides by constructing connecting paths between the information themselves.
It is unrealistic to think that one source (node) will give you all the information you require. If I speak to somebody in my professional network I do not expect they will, for example, give me the name of a company I am interested in working for, plus an email address, plus a telephone number, plus the name of the person in charge of casting and so on. Even if they did I would still want to do some background research for myself on-line. I would have previously thought of the person giving the information as one node and then the internet as the second node. However, where I find this theory interesting is that if each web page is considered a separate node, when I am using the internet, I must be connecting information from multiple nodes in order to gain the necessary knowledge. I feel I have been unaware of how much information I have taken in from different sources and I feel the more nodes I use the more lines of connection I can form and finally the more knowledge I can gain. Therefore, in the future I won't just stop when I think I have acquired what I wanted to know. Instead I will keep looking at information from as many nodes as possible because then I will have more lines of connection to gain understanding from and, most likely, learn something new.
However, one problem I have with this connectivism is its broad definition of nodes. According to the theory web pages, teachers, books and other professionals are all examples of nodes from which a student gathers information. A good teacher is there to help you to improve by correcting you and giving you feedback not just to give you information. I couldn't have learned how to dance say from Youtube. Even through dance tutorial videos I'm not going to learn a fraction of what I did from three years at dance college. So to say the experience one get from reading a web page is the same as the interpersonal engagement of a human being seems, to me, rather ridiculous.
Still, connectivism would suggest that I as an individual make the choice of what nodes I feel are most useful to me. Part of this theory is to be prepared for ever-changing environments and being able to make decisions in this evolving. Recently, I went to Paris to audition for a contract that won't start until April but, before I went, I was offered a month long contract starting immediately. I had to decide which one to do. Having had a bad experience previously working for the company that was offering me an immediate contract I knew the decision I was going to make. Also, knowing that the company in Paris is respectable through people in my network the choice was clear.
'[learning is] a persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world' Driscoll (2000)
Therefore, through connectivism we can learn successfully because we are allowing ourselves to adapt to different ideas and changing environments.
Communities of Practice: This concept revolves around the idea of learning in a group rather than individually, in a social and informal manner. 'Situated Learning' Lave and Wegner (1991) refers to how learning can come from situations where a group of people have the the same interests and can therefore learn together from one another to gain a deeper understanding.
My community of practice of professional dancers provides me with knowledge within the working world. In the first year after I left college I learned more about the dance profession than I ever have and possibly ever will do. At college my teachers could teach me how to be a dancer with reference to performance and technique but after that it was the communities of practice I became a part of that taught me how to succeed in a professional environment.
'length is rather variable as individuals go through successive steps at their own pace' Lave and Wegner (1991)
Lave and Wagner are here describing a community of practice of Alcoholics Anonymous, but this notion of the development taking a different amount of time for each individual applies to my community too. Some dancers will take longer than others to find their first job and therefore take longer to become part of a working community of practice. Moreover, I have discovered, these are the best communities of practice to be a part of with reference to furthering ones career because the members get to know one another so well and on a personal level that information is shared freely.
Friday 10 December 2010
The Networked Professional - Current Networks
a) The methods and tools I currently use to engage in my professional network are:
1. Being a member of the Amsterdam Dance Centre which is where many professionals go to take class.
2. Focusing on dance, I have been signed up to websites such as audities.nl, dancerspro.com, thestage.co.uk and starnow.com for a long time. Also, I recently signed up for LinkedIn.com since starting this course.
3. Focusing on modelling, I am signed up to purestorm.co.uk and modelmayhem.com.
4. My show reel is on youtube.com and I have a link to it on my profiles on the websites above.
5. I promote myself to possible new employers by emailing them my C.V, photos and link to my show reel.
6. This blog, because by doing this course we are all networking with one another via our blogs.
b) A practitioner I admire because of the way they use their networks is a friend and former colleague of mine, Fiona Reed. Having worked as a dancer for over 10 years she networked so much and gained so many contacts and so much experience that she, along with her friend, set up her own agency for dancers. I admire her because she has been so confident in networking that she has worked constantly for most of her career and dance companies trust her so much that now she is finding them dancers via her agency. Whilst working with her she gave me so much help and advice and also helped my film my show reel, which I have used to secure work for myself.
c) I use facebook socially but it also helps me in professionally because I am 'friends' with past colleagues and we often tell one another about jobs, auditions and general information about the business. Furthermore, there are facebook groups which I often view that have information on auditions such as UK Dance Auditions.
d) There are many reasons people may use the various networks I have mentioned. For example, some people may use audition/casting websites to look for specific jobs. Personally I won't be using them, for example, to look for classical ballet jobs or jobs that require strong singers, however, other users of the websites will. Also, employers use these websites to look for potential employees and post jobs and casting calls.
When considering the dance school I am a member of, I attend classes firstly to work on my art but also in order to meet other dancers and network that way. However, some dancers go to follow a specific teacher's class because that teacher is affiliated with dance companies which the dancers themselves would like to work for.
e) My ideal network would be a casting website specifically geared towards show jazz dancers like myself. I am interested in work such as casino shows, cabaret shows and cruise ships. I am unlikely to audition for musicals as I am not a strong singer nor will I ever audition for say a contemporary company because it isn't a style I am very practised in. Therefore, for me a website which incorporates the type of work I'm interested in and less of the work I am not, would be ideal.
It would need to have a profile page for each member with a place for C.Vs, show reels, photos and personal information and easy access to casting advertisements. The website should be free for users because if you are looking for a job it is likely you are not currently working so why should you be made to pay? Another feature my ideal network would have would be the ability to write a review on a dancer you've worked with or has worked for you, if you are an employer, which would appear on their profile page. However, prior to the comments being displayed on the website they should be checked by admin staff and negative comments should not be allowed to be displayed. There should also be an anonymous forum where dancers can comment on their experiences working for dance companies. I have had bad experiences in the past which could have been avoided if I'd have read reviews about unprofessional companies. I have also had great experiences which I'd love to recommend to other performers.
f) To work towards my ideal network I could approach other dancers I already know and ask them if they would be interested in a website which incorporates my ideas. I could also write to existing casting websites with some of my ideas and see if they'd be interested in making some changes. I could create a group on facebook or a blog about my ideas to see if anyone else is interested and other performers could give their input too.
g) The most crucial tool I would need is the internet. This task would require a lot of research into existing casting websites and the needs of other dancers. I don't know if anybody else shares my feelings about a website like this. But I know that if I made a facebook group I could invite all my 'friends' to join who are dancers and ask for their feedback on my goals for the website. However, out of everyone I invite to this group not everyone will join and those who do may choose not to give their input. I also do not know how to actually create a website so if I were to take the project that far I would need help from someone who does.
1. Being a member of the Amsterdam Dance Centre which is where many professionals go to take class.
2. Focusing on dance, I have been signed up to websites such as audities.nl, dancerspro.com, thestage.co.uk and starnow.com for a long time. Also, I recently signed up for LinkedIn.com since starting this course.
3. Focusing on modelling, I am signed up to purestorm.co.uk and modelmayhem.com.
4. My show reel is on youtube.com and I have a link to it on my profiles on the websites above.
5. I promote myself to possible new employers by emailing them my C.V, photos and link to my show reel.
6. This blog, because by doing this course we are all networking with one another via our blogs.
b) A practitioner I admire because of the way they use their networks is a friend and former colleague of mine, Fiona Reed. Having worked as a dancer for over 10 years she networked so much and gained so many contacts and so much experience that she, along with her friend, set up her own agency for dancers. I admire her because she has been so confident in networking that she has worked constantly for most of her career and dance companies trust her so much that now she is finding them dancers via her agency. Whilst working with her she gave me so much help and advice and also helped my film my show reel, which I have used to secure work for myself.
c) I use facebook socially but it also helps me in professionally because I am 'friends' with past colleagues and we often tell one another about jobs, auditions and general information about the business. Furthermore, there are facebook groups which I often view that have information on auditions such as UK Dance Auditions.
d) There are many reasons people may use the various networks I have mentioned. For example, some people may use audition/casting websites to look for specific jobs. Personally I won't be using them, for example, to look for classical ballet jobs or jobs that require strong singers, however, other users of the websites will. Also, employers use these websites to look for potential employees and post jobs and casting calls.
When considering the dance school I am a member of, I attend classes firstly to work on my art but also in order to meet other dancers and network that way. However, some dancers go to follow a specific teacher's class because that teacher is affiliated with dance companies which the dancers themselves would like to work for.
e) My ideal network would be a casting website specifically geared towards show jazz dancers like myself. I am interested in work such as casino shows, cabaret shows and cruise ships. I am unlikely to audition for musicals as I am not a strong singer nor will I ever audition for say a contemporary company because it isn't a style I am very practised in. Therefore, for me a website which incorporates the type of work I'm interested in and less of the work I am not, would be ideal.
It would need to have a profile page for each member with a place for C.Vs, show reels, photos and personal information and easy access to casting advertisements. The website should be free for users because if you are looking for a job it is likely you are not currently working so why should you be made to pay? Another feature my ideal network would have would be the ability to write a review on a dancer you've worked with or has worked for you, if you are an employer, which would appear on their profile page. However, prior to the comments being displayed on the website they should be checked by admin staff and negative comments should not be allowed to be displayed. There should also be an anonymous forum where dancers can comment on their experiences working for dance companies. I have had bad experiences in the past which could have been avoided if I'd have read reviews about unprofessional companies. I have also had great experiences which I'd love to recommend to other performers.
f) To work towards my ideal network I could approach other dancers I already know and ask them if they would be interested in a website which incorporates my ideas. I could also write to existing casting websites with some of my ideas and see if they'd be interested in making some changes. I could create a group on facebook or a blog about my ideas to see if anyone else is interested and other performers could give their input too.
g) The most crucial tool I would need is the internet. This task would require a lot of research into existing casting websites and the needs of other dancers. I don't know if anybody else shares my feelings about a website like this. But I know that if I made a facebook group I could invite all my 'friends' to join who are dancers and ask for their feedback on my goals for the website. However, out of everyone I invite to this group not everyone will join and those who do may choose not to give their input. I also do not know how to actually create a website so if I were to take the project that far I would need help from someone who does.
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Inquiry
a) One aspect of dance that I am particularly enthused by is how dance relates to different cultures around the world. Two years ago I was working in Egypt and learned belly dancing and Egyptian folklore dance as part of my job. I was learning variations on dances that had been passed down through the centuries in Egypt, very different to the western styles I was used to such as Ballet, Tap and Jazz. Good belly dancers sometimes become famous, Mona Said and Naima Akef are examples of Belly dancer royalty in Egypt. Folkloric dances from every country have such stories and history behind them that is why I am enthusiastic to find out more about them.
I am inspired by the pop star Shakira because she is as much of an accomplished dancer as she is a singer. She is Latin American, in an interview for 'Tina' magazine she said,
"Yep. I am very proud of my roots. Because they always remind me of who I am and where I come from"
This pride is visible in the choreography she performs on stage. She holds on to traditional dances from Columbia and gives them an up-to-date twist. She also integrates other traditional dance styles from around the world. Belly dancing is often featured in her shows and performances http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJsZR3w776E and she has recently used African dancing in her shows too. We are so used to seeing the same type of 'pop-star' dances and I think that it is good that someone as famous as her is exploring different styles of dance from other countries.
A line of inquiry I am interested in is: in what way have traditional dances from around the world shaped western styles and also whether choreographers are choosing to use traditional styles in their modern works?
b) Unfortunately, I didn't have to consider my answer to this for very long. The aspect of my profession that makes my angry and sad is the sheer number of dancers with eating disorders. I have witnessed friends and colleagues become so obsessed with weight loss and it is very upsetting indeed. I have never experienced a disorder myself but I have often found myself, as I am sure most dancers have, thinking about my weight. Most dance schools/colleges, mine included, give parents and students a guide book on eating disorders and what that particular school's policy is. This excerpt is taken from the Royal Ballet School's eating disorder policy,
'The likelihood of these [eating] conditions occurring amongst students at The Royal Ballet School is increased because of a common tendency amongst young aspiring dancers to conform to a perceived stereotype of the ‘perfect dancer’,'
Students aspiring to be classical dancers like the ones at the Royal Ballet School possibly have the hardest battle to stay thin because of the pressure from the ballet companies they wish to work for. There is a tragic story of a ballerina named Heidi Guenther who died aged 22 from complications connected to anorexia nervosa. She, along with the 24 other corpse de ballet dancers for Boston Ballet, had been told to lose 5lbs. She was already only 115lbs. In an article for the Boston Globe Anna-Marie Holmes who was then artistic director of Boston Ballet and the person who advised the dancers to lose weight said,
"She [Heidi] was looking a little pudgy - her boobs, her hips, her thighs. You see a girl on stage, her butt is going up and down, it's not attractive. It's a visual art. Because it's a visual art, I can advise what looks good."
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/04/04/MAGAZINE2036.dtl&ao=2#ixzz17RXtz5Po
Now, as shocking as what Holmes said is its no more shocking than things that are being said currently to dancers all over the world. It was just that Holmes was cold enough to be documented saying it after Guenther's death. I was once told to lose 7lbs by an employer. I am slim with a healthy BMI and my diet is good so I wasn't about to become unhealthy by desperately trying to lose weight. Did the suggestion I needed to lose weight make me feel fat? Yes. Am I fat? No! Thankfully, I am comfortable enough in my own skin to know what is right for me and know that this is what employers will say so that you keep an eye on your weight. This, I understand but I do not condone. It is unlikely a dancer will gain weight on a contract anyway because when we are working by the very nature of our jobs we are exercising.
Singer-Dancer-Choreographer, Paula Abdul has spoken very publicly about her battle with bulimia and I hope that more people in the public eye chose to speak out because I am sure there are more famous people with disorders than we know about. Abdul said of her eating disorder in an article from 'Jet' magazine,
"I learned at a very early age I didn't fit in physically. I learned through years of rejections from auditions .... I would ask myself, "Why can't I be tall and skinny like the other dancers?"
It is very sad but very true that in this profession looks count as much, if not more than ability, but why? A line of inquiry I am interested in is why do dancers HAVE to be very thin?
c) The very reason I became a dancer was so that I could perform for a living. Some dancers are very technical and thrive inside a classroom environment and gain the top marks in examinations. I was never this dancer. Yet, when it come to doing shows I come in to my own. I have always had the ability to perform, it just comes naturally to me and there is nothing that excites me more than dancing on stage to an audience.
I can't give an example of a person who inspired me because I think the desire to perform comes from within. When I perform I feel good about myself and full of confidence. That is all very well and good for when I have a job but what about finding one? I have in the past been so nervous in auditions that I haven't performed my best ans subsequently missed out on jobs. However, I have now trained myself to keep nerves to a minimum. I do this by pretending to feel confident and brave, even though I'd love to hide at the back of the group I force myself to dance at the front. I think nerves are one of the hardest thing to get over as a performer. I am lucky because I do not suffer from severe stage fright like I know many performers do and it would be interesting to find out how others deal with their nerves.
A line of inquiry which interests me is: How do people overcome stage fright and serious nerves in order to succeed?
d) One aspect of my profession I have had little experience in is teaching. I have taught before but not a great deal and I don't fully understand how a good teacher gets the most out of their pupils. This may come from me having to have more experience in the field, a hands on approach so to speak. But I think it is interesting how some teachers just know the right way to help their student flourish and other just don't.
When I was at college I had a teacher called David Needham. I know their are some other Hammond graduates and maybe some Northern graduates doing this course and I'm sure you will all recall your first class with him. I certainly do! I was scared stiff and filled with dread. At Hammond, unless you were superbly gifted, he wouldn't teach you until second year. So, until this point he had just been this scary enigma residing in studio five.
At first I dreaded his classes because I would be terrified of messing up and having to perform the sequence be myself. It certainly was character building thats for sure! However, I have never known myself progress faster in my life. His method of teaching, as frightening as it seemed to begin with, really helped me become the dancer I am today. And given time we all realised that he wasn't scary at all, just passionate about ensuring we left college the best we could be.
A line of enquiry I am interested in is: What makes a good teacher?
e) An experience I have had whilst living here in Amsterdam is how different classes are in the Netherlands than in the UK. At home, if you attend a Jazz class you will expect to do a standard warm up, turns, kicks, corner work and maybe learn a routine. Here, Jazz isn't the same discipline at all, it is closer to what I think of as Contemporary dance. The class has a lot of floor work, relaxation and flowing movements and the routines we learn are all about 'feeling' the music in our bodies. Unlike the arm here, leg there, placed Jazz I am used to. During my career I have worked with dancers from many different countries; USA, Canada, Holland, Egypt, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Spain.
I want to know about how dance training differs depending on what country you are from. What a standard class involves in different places too. Could the training in fact be very similar but we just call it different names? Or is it entirely different?
A line of inquiry I am interested in is: How does dance training differ from country to country?
I am inspired by the pop star Shakira because she is as much of an accomplished dancer as she is a singer. She is Latin American, in an interview for 'Tina' magazine she said,
"Yep. I am very proud of my roots. Because they always remind me of who I am and where I come from"
This pride is visible in the choreography she performs on stage. She holds on to traditional dances from Columbia and gives them an up-to-date twist. She also integrates other traditional dance styles from around the world. Belly dancing is often featured in her shows and performances http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJsZR3w776E and she has recently used African dancing in her shows too. We are so used to seeing the same type of 'pop-star' dances and I think that it is good that someone as famous as her is exploring different styles of dance from other countries.
A line of inquiry I am interested in is: in what way have traditional dances from around the world shaped western styles and also whether choreographers are choosing to use traditional styles in their modern works?
b) Unfortunately, I didn't have to consider my answer to this for very long. The aspect of my profession that makes my angry and sad is the sheer number of dancers with eating disorders. I have witnessed friends and colleagues become so obsessed with weight loss and it is very upsetting indeed. I have never experienced a disorder myself but I have often found myself, as I am sure most dancers have, thinking about my weight. Most dance schools/colleges, mine included, give parents and students a guide book on eating disorders and what that particular school's policy is. This excerpt is taken from the Royal Ballet School's eating disorder policy,
'The likelihood of these [eating] conditions occurring amongst students at The Royal Ballet School is increased because of a common tendency amongst young aspiring dancers to conform to a perceived stereotype of the ‘perfect dancer’,'
Students aspiring to be classical dancers like the ones at the Royal Ballet School possibly have the hardest battle to stay thin because of the pressure from the ballet companies they wish to work for. There is a tragic story of a ballerina named Heidi Guenther who died aged 22 from complications connected to anorexia nervosa. She, along with the 24 other corpse de ballet dancers for Boston Ballet, had been told to lose 5lbs. She was already only 115lbs. In an article for the Boston Globe Anna-Marie Holmes who was then artistic director of Boston Ballet and the person who advised the dancers to lose weight said,
"She [Heidi] was looking a little pudgy - her boobs, her hips, her thighs. You see a girl on stage, her butt is going up and down, it's not attractive. It's a visual art. Because it's a visual art, I can advise what looks good."
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/04/04/MAGAZINE2036.dtl&ao=2#ixzz17RXtz5Po
Now, as shocking as what Holmes said is its no more shocking than things that are being said currently to dancers all over the world. It was just that Holmes was cold enough to be documented saying it after Guenther's death. I was once told to lose 7lbs by an employer. I am slim with a healthy BMI and my diet is good so I wasn't about to become unhealthy by desperately trying to lose weight. Did the suggestion I needed to lose weight make me feel fat? Yes. Am I fat? No! Thankfully, I am comfortable enough in my own skin to know what is right for me and know that this is what employers will say so that you keep an eye on your weight. This, I understand but I do not condone. It is unlikely a dancer will gain weight on a contract anyway because when we are working by the very nature of our jobs we are exercising.
Singer-Dancer-Choreographer, Paula Abdul has spoken very publicly about her battle with bulimia and I hope that more people in the public eye chose to speak out because I am sure there are more famous people with disorders than we know about. Abdul said of her eating disorder in an article from 'Jet' magazine,
"I learned at a very early age I didn't fit in physically. I learned through years of rejections from auditions .... I would ask myself, "Why can't I be tall and skinny like the other dancers?"
It is very sad but very true that in this profession looks count as much, if not more than ability, but why? A line of inquiry I am interested in is why do dancers HAVE to be very thin?
c) The very reason I became a dancer was so that I could perform for a living. Some dancers are very technical and thrive inside a classroom environment and gain the top marks in examinations. I was never this dancer. Yet, when it come to doing shows I come in to my own. I have always had the ability to perform, it just comes naturally to me and there is nothing that excites me more than dancing on stage to an audience.
I can't give an example of a person who inspired me because I think the desire to perform comes from within. When I perform I feel good about myself and full of confidence. That is all very well and good for when I have a job but what about finding one? I have in the past been so nervous in auditions that I haven't performed my best ans subsequently missed out on jobs. However, I have now trained myself to keep nerves to a minimum. I do this by pretending to feel confident and brave, even though I'd love to hide at the back of the group I force myself to dance at the front. I think nerves are one of the hardest thing to get over as a performer. I am lucky because I do not suffer from severe stage fright like I know many performers do and it would be interesting to find out how others deal with their nerves.
A line of inquiry which interests me is: How do people overcome stage fright and serious nerves in order to succeed?
d) One aspect of my profession I have had little experience in is teaching. I have taught before but not a great deal and I don't fully understand how a good teacher gets the most out of their pupils. This may come from me having to have more experience in the field, a hands on approach so to speak. But I think it is interesting how some teachers just know the right way to help their student flourish and other just don't.
When I was at college I had a teacher called David Needham. I know their are some other Hammond graduates and maybe some Northern graduates doing this course and I'm sure you will all recall your first class with him. I certainly do! I was scared stiff and filled with dread. At Hammond, unless you were superbly gifted, he wouldn't teach you until second year. So, until this point he had just been this scary enigma residing in studio five.
At first I dreaded his classes because I would be terrified of messing up and having to perform the sequence be myself. It certainly was character building thats for sure! However, I have never known myself progress faster in my life. His method of teaching, as frightening as it seemed to begin with, really helped me become the dancer I am today. And given time we all realised that he wasn't scary at all, just passionate about ensuring we left college the best we could be.
A line of enquiry I am interested in is: What makes a good teacher?
e) An experience I have had whilst living here in Amsterdam is how different classes are in the Netherlands than in the UK. At home, if you attend a Jazz class you will expect to do a standard warm up, turns, kicks, corner work and maybe learn a routine. Here, Jazz isn't the same discipline at all, it is closer to what I think of as Contemporary dance. The class has a lot of floor work, relaxation and flowing movements and the routines we learn are all about 'feeling' the music in our bodies. Unlike the arm here, leg there, placed Jazz I am used to. During my career I have worked with dancers from many different countries; USA, Canada, Holland, Egypt, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Spain.
I want to know about how dance training differs depending on what country you are from. What a standard class involves in different places too. Could the training in fact be very similar but we just call it different names? Or is it entirely different?
A line of inquiry I am interested in is: How does dance training differ from country to country?
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