Key points so far...

Wednesday 27th February

Having received some feedback already (thanks Clare and Mimi!), I have started to think about the answers I have been given ...

Clare Orlandi (http://orlandi1.blogspot.co.uk) says: "...a lot of what motivated me at college was competition..with other students and myself. I always wanted to be the best..." 

This links me back to 'survival of the fittest' as talked about in the previous module: http://emilysarahhunt.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/theories-relating-to-networking.html

For some, motivation will come from the passion to be a professional within the Arts (whether it be a principal ballerina or a lead role in the West End) and it is this aim that pushes them to reach the top.

It is interesting to see that inspiration comes from various places, just having two separate sets of feedback shows this. One just adores dance and that's the main inspiration, where as Mimi Whitney (http://michellewhitney1.blogspot.co.uk) says:

"What inspired me was my teachers. The comments ideas and creativity they passed on drove my enthusiasm..." 

This is very different to how I felt once I reached professional training but it is so promising to see that some teachers provide(d) this inspiration, passing on their own passion to allow their students to deliver the very best they can. I think this is essential within training, it allows the students to always be surrounded by positivity, allowing each day to be on step closer to their goal.

It is also so great to hear that students were praised during training, again this will make them feel good about themselves, realise that they are doing well in what they are aiming for and will overall boost their self confidence. Having high self confidence will create a much more positive outlook which allows us to gain more from our training. Being praised makes you know you're in the right profession and we get a buzz from it so will therefore always strive to be praised again.

In my training, yes I was praised at times, but more than often there could be signs of 'favouritism' where students would get more comments than others and it would become obvious that jealousy would start between classmates. This links to what both Clare and Mimi say about competition and "..I'll show them, I'll do better" and "jealousy sometimes caused other pupils to try and put you off..." (http://emilysarahhunt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/questions-questions-questions.html#comment-form)

Through out this course so far, Clare and I have shared several similar views and ideas. Again, I am seeing this again on how we both kept feelings to ourselves and didn't express them. This is something I saw time and time again from myself and many other students and friends. People would too often 'bottle everything up' which created a circle of thoughts going around in their head, and their head only. Having someone there to share your ideas and emotions with, allows us to release our feelings, take the entire burden and weight off ourselves. This is one reason I feel that counsellors within schools would be so beneficial as it would enable students to have the opportunity to do this. 

I have picked up on the following words/issues which I should like to research further...

• SELF CONFIDENCE
• PRAISE
• COMPETITION 
• JEALOUSY
• KEEPING THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS TO SELF

Questions questions questions...

Monday 25th February 2013

Having seen that there was a successful and insightful campus session on module 2, I am excited and keen to hear more from all of the BAPP students and to discover the topics in which they are considering as their lines of inquiry. 

As seen in my previous blogs, I am interested to research and look into the mental strain of dancers and the pressures that they go through. We often neglect this and I should like to learn more about this side to the profession rather than the physical strain that everyone is so familiar with. I am particularly open to the idea of the mentality of dance students going through their training. 
Having a group of Arts students (BAPP) to negotiate with, I hope that I can gain knowledge about their personal experiences and the pressures, emotions and possible stresses they went through during their educational and vocational training.

As I have already expressed, I feel very strongly about the subject. Having started some extra reading, I began with 'How To Research' by Loraine Blaxter to get an idea of where to start with the path of my inquiry. This section stood out to me:


"Being selfish is something few adults would, openly at least, admit to. Yet it is central to the sanity of the hard-pressed researcher. At the start of your project you are about to take on a considerable commitment which is probably in addition to many continuing demands on your time . . . So be selfish, focus on what interests you, think about your curriculum vitae and your future professional development as well as the impact your study might have on the workplace, and then step forward with confidence. (Edwards and Talbot 1999: 3)" - Blaxter, Loraine. How To Research (4th Edition), 2010

I feel that it is so important to be passionate about what you want to research and study. Without having the motivation or determination to do something.. we wouldn't get anywhere, or, it would be a half-hearted effort. The same links to training, if you're not wanting to give it 110%, then you're not in the right career. Do what you want to do, then development and success will follow.

I have come up with a few questions so far for any who reads this, but BAPP students, I am particularly interested to hear your opinions and thoughts. If you would be so kind as to respond with your answers and ideas in the 'comment' box to this blog, I should be most grateful! ...

1. What was the key tool that made you motivated each day? (whether it be an emotion, passion or particular activity in your every day routine etc)

2. What inspired you and gave you the determination to go through your Arts training?

3. How often were you and your fellow students praised?

4(a). Did you feel that a negative attitude from yourself or others affected your day/general performance?

4(b). How did you feel/react to this negative behaviour?

5. If you felt pleased and happy with your training/day, how did show it?

6. Alternatively, if you had a 'feeling down day' and things didn't go so smoothly, how did you show it? Who did you talk to (if anyone)?

I don't want to seem as though I have a negative approach on dance/Arts training, I am just so keen to get down to the bottom of how people feel and felt through out their education and what was done to help or praise them.

Students thinking outside the box...

Thursday 14th February 2013 

      HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

..."students can no longer stay within the comfort zone of one discipline and argue from only this particular discipline’s point of view.” - (Rowland, 2006. Kreber, 2009)

My personal experience at school and college reflects this well. Other students and I often felt as though we were in a ‘bubble’. We were going through the same motions every day with minimal access to the outside world. When in this constant cycle, we didn’t know any different but reflecting back on it now, we were there to train for one discipline only. That is all we learnt, trained for, saw and heard.

I feel that personally, as a student, I was cut off from normality, the ‘real world’ seemed so far away and we (other students and I) would often refer to people outside of our school as ‘normal people’ which to me, says a lot.

I should be really interested to know whether other felt this way or something similar whilst in training and whether you also felt ‘cut off’ or distant from normality/reality.

Schools of the Arts are there to prepare you for the careers and worlds you are hoping to enter. Yes, they do their job well by training up the best artists around but I do feel that they deprive the students of an ordinary upbringing and it is worrying to think how they will behave once they enter the real world, away from what they are so used to.

It is thoughts like this that take me back to previous blogs and the idea that they need to be able to cope with the stresses and strains that come with the discipline. They should have the time to relax their minds and be distracted, have a taste of normality once in a while...

Another reason why I should love to be a therapist/counsellor for Arts students. Whether it be to talk them through their emotions and the mental strains that they are going through, or to simply discuss the latest news headlines!

Again, I must stress that I feel very strongly about this matter (as you can probably tell) but it is something that I would love to help put right to enable a happy, enjoyable experience for all of those going through single discipline training. It is important to be positive during the training years as many can easily lose the motivation and determination to get themselves into a career that they are or were so passionate about.

Thinking outside the box...

Wednesday 13th February 2013

I have copied and pasted from a word document so excuse the larger font... I can't seem to match it up with my others!

Having enjoyed studying and researching Kolb’s ‘learning cycle’ in module 1, it is interesting that it is already making an appearance again. However, this time, I am seeing it in another light, looking at it from another perspective. The course reader quotes that Argyris and Schon “suggested that if a single loop learning cycle (like the Kolb cycle for example) does not always deliver the changed required in the workplace” - (Course Reader 4, 2012) I had not thought about it like this... until now!

I now understand that although the cycle helps to explain how we use our learning styles, and how they work with one another, we could very easily get caught up in the cycle, and not escape it.

We can all get stuck into a routine and never branch out, look for other ways approaching or resolving issues. It is so important to ‘think outside the box’, let go of our thoughts to enable us to live a more varied life. We should use professional networking to get away from the ordinary people we are around and expand the groups and ideas that we have.

They say that we can ‘go around in circles’ and get ‘stuck in a viscious circle’ and it is this that I feel we should really try and not do. This will allow our personal development to grow and our professional practice to progress.

I believe that this comes into every day life, whatever your career may be. If I were to focus on a dancer’s life, it really comes into play... 

Many dancers will begin their career in the corps de ballet or ensemble and a lot of the time, they may become ‘too comfortable’ or fit in too well in their role and it is then difficult for them to work their way up within the company or production they are in.

Do other BAPP students agree with this?

It worries me that some dancers are in the corps de ballet and will only ever be in the corps de ballet. I understand that many would be happy with this, but I do find it concerning that they may be looked over as they blend in too well. Many will have much more ability to show yet are not able to express it as they dance in the shadows, unable to be noticed and not pushed to their full potential.

Professional Inquiry.. Initial Thoughts

Thursday 7th February 2013

"Professional inquiry is a way to learn about what we are doing whilst we are doing it."

Immediately, I am excited by this quote from the course reader. I enjoy learning as I go along and I hope that the more research, reading and exploring I do, the further my professional practice development will go. Module 1 taught me to reflect and examine what I do, whether it be every day life or tasks and events linked within my practice. I am now aware that I do this on a daily basis, always thinking about what I am doing and how I go about doing it. For me, it allows my routine to be simpler, more structured and easier to handle. I am conscious of what I do, how I do it and what may become of it. 

These first thoughts take me straight to the idea of becoming a therapist and analysing every thought, emotion and movement. Having an organised lifestyle allows me to keep on top of tasks and gives me the time to break down certain events or feelings (as a therapist would) to really 'get down to the bottom of them', enabling a smoother and clearer understanding of everything involved. 

When reading: "Inquiry-based learning expects the adult learner to engage with relevant problems and scenarios, draw on existing knowledge, seek out new evidence, and analyse and present that evidence in appropriate ways (Kanh and O'Rourke, 2004), I think back to my time and experience in full-time dance education. There were several occasions where I feel, and to this day, previous students also feel, a counsellor or therapist within the school would have been beneficial. Ideally, I should love to gain the relevant qualifications and become a counsellor for students within a dance school, whether it to just help deal with home-sickness or other issues from the pressures and demands within the hard-working environment.

I feel that 'learning from experience' will be an important and key part to the start of my thoughts for my inquiry. Having been through the motions of a dance school life, and seen what has gone on around me, I have a good understanding of how students feel and what they go through both mentally and physically. To me, the mental side to dancers is just as important as the physical.. however, it tends to be forgotten as dance is about performance and making sure the audience sees what it expects. Dancers, and dance students go through such enormous pressures when in training and during their professional careers. The outside world is aware of the physical strain, fast-paced and hard working life they lead but I truly believe that people need to be more aware of the strain they take mentally too.
Rejections, competition, jealousy, pressures of keeping a high standard, staying slim, working with others yet being above the rest... the list goes on but there is so so much that can be brushed aside, or not even noticed by those who do not go through it themselves.

It may all seem quite serious to read but I really do find it such an interesting subject and I wish I could help those who should want it. Whilst at school, I was often the one that people turned to for advice or support, and I want to continue to do this but at a professional level, actually being able to help people through their dance training. I think that if a dancer has a healthy mind, their overall performance, lifestyle and confidence will be positive, giving them the strength to take on the physical strain.

I could continue talking about this for hours, but these are my first ideas and I look forward to exploring them further with research and reading. Allowing me to begin to understand the mind of dancers and students and how I can go about helping and improving them.

Judi Marshall talks of her own self reflection: "Often these days I state overtly that an issye, event, theme, dilemma or whatever is an inquiry for me. This is a deliberate means to keep my questioning open and to help it develop." (Marshall, 2001, p.g 6). 
As mentioned previously, module 1 has taught me to do this also. I like the idea of taking every day life and events, whether linked to my professional practice or not, to help develop my inquiry skills. Reflecting and acting upon nearly everything I do allows constant practice and improvement on these and, sooner rather than later, it will become second nature to look at and deal with everything in such a way.

Using WBL for this inquiry will enable me to talk with other BAPP students and learn about their personal experiences in a professional arts school and the subjects, issues and emotions etc that they dealt with or learnt from. It will be easy to access them and to talk to them because, as the reader quotes, WBL "..can also accommodate workforce development strategies where more than one learner in the workplace is involved in the educational experience.' 
This could mean the educational experience we are all involved in now as BAPP students, but also the educational experiences we have all had previously, how they compare, and the similarities and differences that may have occurred. 


As you can see, just from starting this blog, I am already gathering so many thoughts and it's only day 1! I apologise for the long-winded entry but for me, it is best to get everything down as it comes to me and eventually after research and further development, I can whittle it all down to have one focus and aim.

Module WBS 3630. 3..2..1..go!

Thursday 7th February 2013

I have been in my new job down in Brighton for a month now.. time has flown by and I have been extremely busy but having an excellent time here. I have the day off today (and it has come at a good time.. I'm tired and it gives me a chance to get cracking on the start of module 2). 

I had long train rides last week from Brighton to Manchester and back - all in 24hours may I add, so it gave me the opportunity to read through the module introduction and course reader 4. I am keen to get this module underway and back into the swing of things.. it should be an interesting and exciting one which will help us all to realise exactly what we want to do and which path we would like to take within our professional practice.

My new job, although it be a 'General Adviser' in a bank, is enabling me to help others, do what is right for the customers I serve and it is the idea of this that still excites me and makes me want to become a therapist. Looking through the learning outcomes that we will have covered and developed, 'Cognitive Skills' (CS) stands out to me. Through previous reading on therapy and counselling, I learnt about cognitive behavioural therapy and the ideas behind dealing with anxiety, moods and other disorders. It was a fascinating subject to me and intriguing to see how many links you see between the stories you read and your own personal life. Small issues that seem so much bigger to you but when pulled apart and examined, there is a positive and productive way to deal with them and to help prevent future occurrences. I look forward to developing this skill and more...


Rather than continue on to my initial ideas on course reader 4 in this blog entry, I'll start another one so that I can be organised and keep different thoughts together!