Task 3c: Sources of Information

Searching, and reusing information can also be thought of as a networking activity. I use various different sources to obtain information for various different parts of my professional practice. Each source can inform me differently for different aspects of my career and some sources can be more useful in certain areas of my career than others. I seem to gather my sources of information in my diary, which I would be lost without. It has all aspects of my life in there, whether that is performing, teaching, working on my degree course or my shifts for my part time job! When discussing the collating of information in skype groups, others have opened my eyes as to how to do this by suggesting things like keeping information on a voice recorder app, so it is much quicker to record and listen to than to write and read the info. However, having established I learn well from reading, taking notes and re-writing, I think I may stick to my traditional style of organising my information even if it does take a little longer! Having looked over my sources of information I feel I mainly rely on the web 2.0, and this is something I think is incredibly useful but also something I would like to move away from. I would like to expand my sources to gain a more rounded and more varied pool of information so I can make more informed decisions on issues within my practice. My main 5 sources of information are:

1. Facebook/ Instagram/ Twitter
Unfortunately I believe that these are my biggest source of information regarding my professional practice in the performing side of my career. I follow many pages and I am involved in many groups within these social media pages that inform me of upcoming auditions, classes or events that I may attend that will improve my practice and may open up opportunities for me. I can 'follow' different companies and organisations, whether that be casting companies, or choreographers and all of which post updates and keep me up to date with what is going on in the industry.

2. The Stage and Spotlight
I also have an account with The Stage and I am a paying member of Spotlight. Both of these send me emails of any updates of any auditions. These are vital sources of information for any dancer wanting to still perform as most auditions are posted on these websites. Spotlight also knows my height, my 'look' and my playing age so can intelligently filter out any roles that I would not be suitable for. Without being members of these two sites, I would miss out on so many potential job opportunities.

3. YouTube
YouTube is a vital source for me when it comes to teaching. Reflective observation is one of the best ways I learn. When watching others I can make decisions on what I like, what I don't like and that will help me to create something even more special. I use YouTube to watch others and get inspiration for choreography that I will teach, but I also like to show my students that original stimulus I had when creating the piece so I often show them the YouTube clip to show them what inspired me. Whilst watching others work and feeling inspired is great, there is a fine line between this and copyright issues. It is my responsibility to ensure all my work is my own and not copied from someone else, therefore I think it's best to watch things, let them settle and then start to choreograph so therefore you are not copying anything in particular, just using an idea of style to stimulate your own creative mind.

4. Face to Face conversations
When it comes to teaching I have found face to face conversations with other practitioners invaluable. Many of my friends and family are teachers and I have learnt so much and gathered so much information from them by just listening to their opinions and thoughts on various topics to do with teaching. I think face to face conversations are one of the best sources of information, as you can gauge as a human what may have made them come to that opinion or conclusion. If they have had a 'rough' day, then their thoughts on a certain topic may be biased one way or another, so it may not be an accurate representation of this or a valuable source of information. This is something I would like to spend more time doing.

5. Books
Literature is a new source of information for me. I have never really enjoyed reading books, but since having embarked on this course, I source most of my information through books I have bought by relevant practitioners within my field of work. I sourced these books from the key reading list provided to me by the course leader, however having started to read them I have gained so much knowledge about the subjects I am studying at that time and it is nice to read various different intellectual opinions on certain topics. This also creates a copyright issue in the sense that everything that is written by someone else must be referenced correctly, or else this could be classed as plagiarism.

Having written this blog I reflected that I would like to improve on how much I use talking to people face to face and also improve my understanding of literature to move away from my 'normal' sources of information. 

Task 3a: My Current Networks

Having recently been reading through and getting to grips with reader three, I have been thinking about my current networks and what I can do to improve them. Whilst considering what networks I already had in place I realised my professional network consists of others that I trained with that have continued a career within the arts, past teachers, previous colleagues and peers working on the same course as I am. I keep in contact with most of my networks via my personal Instagram and Facebook. I am in an 'instant messenger' group with all of my friends that I trained with, and that is how I seem to find out most about the industry as we tend to share information on upcoming auditions, events and other points of interest. I also am 'friends' with many of my previous tutors, many of which I have contacted recently to ask for references or to ask to volunteer in the schools they work in. This is where web 2.0 has worked in a great way for me as without it I would have probably lost contact with some of the most vital people that are now in my professional life. Since starting this course I have also started blogging, and reading others blogs and I now have a professional network of bloggers that are on the same course as I am, whether that be the same module or further down the process. 
I find web 2.0 as a vital tool for networking now within this industry. The search engines are now so intelligent that they can see what I search, and who I follow with similar interests and show me more of what I want to see. I often come across people that I would say are acquaintances within the industry and it allows me to connect with them easily. YouTube suggests to me that I should watch certain videos due to previous searches and this means I am kept up to date with new sources online without even having to spend time searching. 
Ideally, my professional network would be more varied but also more selective. I would like to research more into practitioners that I admire and view more of their work, and maybe 'follow' their pages so their work is more readily and easily available for me to learn from. I would also maybe like to remove people from my professional networks that are negative about the industry, and try to bring others down. It is easy to get drawn into being negative in an industry that is so tough to crack and therefore I like to surround myself with hard-working, ambitious and like minded people to myself. However, removing people that are negatively professional, may involve me removing them as my 'friends' from my personal social media pages.
This leads me to start thinking about ethical concerns within my professional network. As I said earlier, most of my networking is done via my personal social media. I have personal and professional relationships with most of the people and maybe the blurring of the two isn't very healthy. It also means that I only post things on social media that is part of my professional persona, but this isn't really something that concerns me as I am quite a private person anyway and don't post personal things on the internet. 
Having come to the conclusion that all of my professional networking is done via web 2.0, to improve it I would like to expand it to more wide bases. My friends who live in London, go to class regularly and have networked with other professionals, at different stages in their career, and this has offered up opportunities for them that may not have been there otherwise. When I move down to London in a few months, I would like to do this too and expand my network, and meet more people within the industry that are far more experienced than I am that I can learn from. I would also like to start volunteering in schools when I move. Therefore I need to find a way to contact and meet teachers, in order to connect with them and gain the experience I need. Maybe I could go to some teaching conventions to meet with others?

Task H: Inquiry

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

At the moment, I am at a transitioning point of my career. Having performed for a couple of years and then attended auditions for while and been unsuccessful, I have decided to aim to fulfil my dream of teaching dance within further education. This is because when I first went to college I wanted to be a primary school teacher, and dance was just a hobby. Being surrounded by amazing teachers and other passionate students, their passion wore off on me and by the end of my first year I had decided to dedicate my life to dance and wanted to perform. This is why I would like to teach in further education - if I could bring out that passion and spark from just one student it would make me what I consider to be a successful teacher. This is what makes me enthusiastic. I have been volunteering in both further education establishments and also primary schools at the other end of the spectrum. I have found I want to get to know each student, whether that be young or old, and find out about their hobbies and interests, how they learn best using different learning styles, and also what they see in their future. Each student is so different and responds totally differently to another, and I find it interesting that we have so many different personalities, all in one room, learning the same thing in the same way. I admire my A level dance teacher, who I recently connected with again and has allowed me to volunteer in college. When I was a student I thought she was a fabulous teacher and still now, 8 years later, she has the same passion and drive to do a good job as a teacher and give the students the best knowledge she possibly can. 

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?

I tend not to get angry or sad within my practice anymore. Whilst auditioning and performing within this industry I found it quite a tough time and I found it hard to deal with the constant knock backs. I would find myself getting frustrated when getting down to the last round of auditions and then just never hearing anything. Or I would get frustrated when I saw a line of girls 300 long queueing outside pineapple for the chance to dance 2 counts of 8 in front of the panel for them to say 'no thanks'. I was spending so much money on travel to and from London and not getting any work in return, which was intensely frustrating and a hard time of my life. That is why I felt it was my turn to give back to this industry - to make this industry work for me in another way. I can still be a part of it and use my passion for performing to inspire others, some that have maybe already made the decision to pursue a career in professional dance, some that maybe have not but may feel inspired to do so. I admire my friends, for growing a thick enough skin to deal with the rejection they face every day, but continuing to put themselves in that vulnerable position for the slight chance of getting that one job. They are so dedicated to going to class everyday, networking at the weekends, and working long night shifts just to pay the rent. I am proud of them and so pleased that they are becoming successful, and conquering this industry in their own special way, just like I am on my journey. 

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

I love what I do because its my passion. I love to perform and when I get the adrenaline rush that I get when you hear the audience clapping and appreciating the work you have done, the feeling that I get is indescribable. I want to share this with others. I want to show others how amazing this industry can be, I want to share with them that feeling that you get where you feel on top of the world. I admire all my teachers that were around me whilst I went through college. They made me strong and made me who I am. They gave me the passion and tools I needed to successfully perform for a couple of years and that is why I will always be grateful to them for sharing their love for dance with me. 

What do you feel you don't understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?

I don't understand why 'the arts' (dance, drama and singing) aren't part of the national curriculum from a young age. I know there is a counter argument and kids only have a certain amount of time at school so it is essential they prioritise and learn how to read and write, but I think the arts are nowadays as essential as any other skill. We actually discussed this point recently in a discussion group and there were a lot of questions raised that made me think. Dance and drama isn't just a subject but also a method of learning for example you can learn maths by doing movement. Or learn English plays by performing them. I also want to look into the curriculums in other countries that may or may not include the arts. I also want to explore the option of schools that offer performing arts full time from the age of 12. I think being a performer gives you so many life skills that are transferable into other industries and make you a better, well-rounded part of society. One of my favourite quotes is that when Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the war effort, he simply replied, "then what are we fighting for?" I love this quote as I think it shows how integral the arts are in everyday life, and I love being a part of such an incredible industry. 

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? 

Ethics is a very big subject to talk about within the dance career. As far as I am aware, we are the only industry where it is deemed okay to only ask for people with blonde hair, and to discriminate against anyone that doesn't have blonde hair. I understand the integral part of this industry and we have to fill the roles that everyone knows and loves with people that are deemed appropriate, its just crazy to think that if an electricity company put out a job role post asking for only people with blonde hair that it wouldn't be frowned upon. There are also other things to consider when working in this industry. I know from working on a cruise ship, you spend a lot of time chatting and getting to know the guests, and sometimes people feel they can become your friend. I have had people send me packages with cakes in and expensive presents, write me cards and leave notes at reception for me. But where do you draw the line with this? You have to remain professional at all times. When someone wants a picture with you, you must always make sure you hand can be seen if you put your arm around them, by placing it on their shoulder as if it is hidden behind the back on the photo there can be any sort of discrepancies. Some would argue that even by putting your arm around someone for a picture this could be pushing the boundaries of physical contact, especially if maybe you are in a slightly revealing costume. It is something to be very careful of in this industry and one I think teachers are the most vulnerable to. Many teaching styles of dance can be very 'hands on' and this is something all of us need to bear in mind that it may make some people feel uncomfortable. What it all boils down to is that everyone will deem different actions either appropriate or inappropriate. Ethics are subjective and this is where a grey area can be created. I think to protect yourself, it is always better to be safe, and make sure that you never cross the line of what is deemed appropriate. 

Reflection Essay

Today I wrote an essay about Reflection and I wanted to share it with you all for your critique and comments! I think I covered everything I wanted to say in it but maybe feel like I waffled a bit and definitely need to be more selective with my wording and what I write. Anyway, I will leave it up to you to decide what you think! Enjoy!

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Laura :)

Journal Writing Experience (and touching on the discussion group on 20/03/18)

Over the past week I have been journaling my life at the end of each day using 7 different journaling styles that were laid out in the module one handbook. I have found it difficult to write about the day due to finding the time at the end. Normally when I finish work I like to relax and switch off my brain a long time before heading to bed so I can sleep well feeling relaxed. However, I managed to keep up with doing it daily and I actually feel like I'm getting into a bit of a routine.

I worked out my favourite style of writing was the "Initial Reflection" style. This means I wrote more about how I feel, what I was thinking and what was my mood, more than what happened. I did this style on the second day of my journal writing, and I found I had so much to write. I also found that whatever style I was working in, I ended up writing about my feelings and emotions about the day. Overall, looking at the different styles, I thought I would enjoy writing in the 'list' style as it is easy to jot down quickly when you are pushed for time but I actually found looking back on it that the key words I had written didn't really mean much to me as if had forgotten what they meant!! However, like I said earlier, I found myself more jotting down adjectives of how I felt which once again pointed at how much I enjoy writing about how I felt.

One thing I did learn from this experience was that writing the journals in my work notepad was a bad idea as as I was doing work in between the different days my journal ended up being spaced out which meant it was sporadic and hard to follow. So my future plan, is to buy a diary that is of A5 size so there is enough room to write my journal but then it will all be kept in one place.

As I was planning on writing this blog about journaling tonight, I decided to chat about to journaling styles in the discussion group with all the different modules. I expressed my views at this point that I found it more of a therapeutic task, rather than a learning task. At the end of the day it was nice to write down my thoughts on my pad, and leave them there on the paper as I went to bed with a clear mind. However, from speaking to other students that are on module 3, they reminded me of the importance of journaling for reflective purposes. One idea that was thrown out was that journaling was 'leaving the breadcrumbs'. I learnt that it is so useful when doing the modules in the future and very easy to refer back to when working through them. It is a reminder of how you felt at the time and how maybe your feelings can change over time, and then you can analyse why your feelings may have changed.

During the discussion group we also spoke about how to get started writing the essay. Some key tips from module 3 were:

• Make sure your essay flows. Make sure the key readers inform the others and all link together
• Work out what's really important when trying to cut your essay down to the work count - what are the crooks of the point? What is it you are really trying to say?
• Essay writing and being more selective with literature is a skill you will develop in your professional practice as you go along
• It is all part of the journey, and throughout each module there is a notion of connection to the other modules and a flow through the whole course

We also spoke about some of the module 3 concerns which were mainly based on the inquiry. Sometimes I feel as if I have nothing to add to these discussions and I don't fully understand but I am always happy to listen and input where I can, as listening to these discussions can be a great learning tool. One thing that was discussed was why Dance and Drama arnt subjects within their own right in the primary school curriculum. I found this pretty interesting and something I actually think I may look into myself. I have a lot of family and friends who are teachers, some of which have a keen interest in the arts and others who don't, so it would be interesting to chat with them about their views and opinions on this matter too. It also gave me the motivation I needed to get into primary and secondary schools and volunteer as a teacher as this is something I would like to go into in the future.

Thanks everyone for reading and feel free to comment.

Laura :)

Skype Call 13/03/2018 and my views on Web 2.0

Having recently done my last skype call with Adesola, Helen and some of the other students from different modules, there were a few things said that got my brain ticking over. We spoke about technology again and I opened the conversation by suggesting that I have never really got on well with technology and have struggled to get to grips with reader 1. Ideas were suggested that being a networked professional in this industry meant it was essential to build a professional profile, but people understood that sometimes people found this difficult if they were quite a private person that they were exposing themselves more than they felt comfortable with. It was noted that it was important to find a happy balance and Matthew suggested to 'dance on the line' of this.
The discussion then led on to touch on the ethics of the web. We discussed that what was posted on social media a while ago now may be affecting future employment opportunities. It was said that many employers search names on social media and can form an opinion on someone just from their online profile - even though it may be their personal social media accounts. More and more people in the 'younger generation' (we're talking maybe 10 years younger than I am) seem to be posting everything instantaneously on social media and keeping everyone up to date with their movements. We discussed how things we posted in the past may be having an adverse affect on our professional profiles now and this led on to the thoughts of - is it worth going back and deleting all of that which will mean losing a following that has taken years to build up? It made me wonder whether actually things that were posted a while ago in a professional matter just show a development of the professional and shouldn't be looked on negatively. With the 'younger generation' posting so much about their lives now, I wonder how they will be affected when they are my age? Will employers look back at their history or will it be more accepted then as most of their generation will be the same? Or will our generation who are employing them still not accept it as maybe we are stuck in our ways? Will we move with the times or will it remain unacceptable to post certain things on social media that can be viewed by professionals? I guess it all depends on whether you keep the line distinctive between personal and professional lives by maybe creating a professional page and have a personal account that can be set to private and then there are no lines blurred. But then on your personal account will you have in a biography about where you work? Or will you post a status about receiving a promotion?
All of these are things I think we need to consider when creating a persona of ourselves online! I'm looking forward to thinking about this more and more over the coming months as I continue to develop critical thinking skills.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!
Laura