Do some
very specific ideas emerge about your networking and sources? Does
your engagement to date seem appropriate? Limited? Focused? Planned?
Unplanned?
What has emerged through the process of this
module is the need for me to broaden my network to involve others who
are not in exactly the same profession as myself. Although I have
social friends who are not dancers, I would rarely discuss work with
them and I must admit that at times I feel curious to know how the
work of a ballet dancer compares to someone in an entirely different
profession. I feel like developing my network in this way would help
me to view my work in a different way. These ideas came to me when I
was talking to a dancer colleague who has worked in a number of
different fields such as in shops and bars. What I noticed was that
he was analysing and comparing some methods of working which I had
previously considered to be the norm and explaining how these are
quite unique to our profession.
Although I have quite a broad network of contacts,
they are mostly within the field of ballet and I have to be honest in
saying that really, I am quite scared to meet people out of that
context. Questions which always pop into my head are what will people
think of me? will they think I am odd? Also aside from facebook and
the BAPP blogs I don't have a huge online network. When I was trying
to find people outside of the course to comment on the work of I
found myself again feeling quite intimidated. I was pleased to find
the website www.4dancers.org
which has the blogs of different dancers on different topics, some of
which I found very interesting and I managed to leave 2 comments on this forum. However, I was hoping to be able to conect with more blogs outside the course and I really feel that I need to
develop my confidence to broaden my networking further in order to
expand my knowledge.
Some of my networking such as social media and
blogging is planned where as other aspects of it are not. For
instance I had never viewed my audience as a network before and
recently when I performed alongside the BBC National Orchestra of
Wales at The Wales Millenium Centre, I realised that I had just
expanded my network even further by working with a 70 piece
orchestra!
Rehearsing before the performance with the National Orchestra of Wales
Are your
ideas, positions or concerns shared by others within and beyond your
professional area of work?
Through looking at the blogs of others I can see
that I share many ideas with other people on the BAPP course. For instance
I found that the internet, books and magazines are common sources of
information for many of us. Also on the www.4dancers.org
blog I found an interesting post about how a dancer can manage mental
stress. The author of this blog shared my opinion that the physical
health of a dancer is wrongly given much more focus than the mental
health.
Through talking with other company members, I find
that I have a lot in common when it comes to thoughts about
professional practice. Equally I disagree with some of their views
too and it is always good to have a debate about a shared topic of
interest. I have also found that many audience members share the
feeling that I have about performance needing to be something which
is felt from the soul in order to be transmitted into the auditorium.
As I say I do not have great connectivity to those outside of my
field at present, although some people on the BAPP course are involved in
different aspects of the performing arts.
Does
sharing and communicating with others shift your thinking planning or
practice?
I often feel that when I share or explore ideas
with others, those ideas will develop a much greater meaning to me
than before I have voiced them. Learning what other's think about a
given concept or idea can again give new insights into them. For
instance often I will get quite bad stage fright before a
performance. However, if I tell a colleague, especially someone who
tends to be fairly laid back then I will immediately become less
nervous. This is a very basic example, but it is extremely important
to my profession seeing as I am performing all of the time.
Another example is when I was struggling to come
to terms with some of the concepts and theories related to networking
in this task and found that when I was talking to a family member
about them and relating them to my own practice, they suddenly made
more sense to me.
Does critical reflection help you decide what
really matters and the actions to take?
Critical reflection most definitely helps in my
decision making processes. Often I will have the feeling that a day
has gone very badly or that I could have done better. However, always
having these feelings can have a negative affect on me and my work. I
find that the process of critical reflection puts everything into
perspective. It helps me to see what I have learned from what has
happened rather than dwell on it negatively. It can help me to take
action and make changes to my work. I must admit that since studying
the BAPP course I feel like I have learned a lot more from my work
with Ballet Cymru than I would have had I not started on the course
at this point. It has made me analyse my work and how others have
worked over the season. I have also been able to really see where my
current restrictions are as a professional and hone in on them so
that I can make changes. Critical reflections also has the effect of
making me feel more positive about myself and my work by giving me a sense of being in control of an outcome.
To what
extent do concepts and theories assist you in thinking about your
professional networking in different ways? And do these different
ways of thinking have some purpose for you?
The different concepts and theories studied in
part 3 of Module 1 have helped me a lot. Initially I found it hard to
understand some of these concepts and I really had to work to engage
with the material. However, once I did, I found real benefits. For
instance the concepts of affiliation and cooperation have been really
important during this season with Ballet Cymru, yet I realise that I
have completely taken them for granted and never considered them or
analysed them as concepts in their own right. Learning about these
theories has also improved my confidence in social networking
situations. Knowing what different aspects make up a good network
gives me much more of a sense of security. Perhaps because I feel
that I now have different strategies to employ to make networking
easier.
Are you
left thinking differently prior to this part of the module? And if
so, how?
Before this part of the module I had no idea how
important networking is to my job. Now I realise that it will help me
to expand my knowledge within and beyond my own field of work and
that it is really worth spending the time on. I think it has also
highlighted for the fact that I need to further expand my networks
and ensure frequent participation within my current networks. I feel
inspired and more confident to take action and make this happen!
I have very much enjoyed the process of commenting
on other peoples blogs. The links to some of my comments can be seen
below.
http://www.4dancers.org/2016/10/coping-with-mental-stress-as-a-dancer/comment-page-1/#comment-118328
Module one has been absolutely fascinating and I
must admit some of the knowledge that I acquired I never thought I
would be learning about, such as technology and theories from the
areas of sociology and psychology. The amount which I have discovered
about my own work and how to approach professional practice has been
most beneficial during my first season with a ballet company. I look
forward to submitting my critical reflection and moving on to Module
2.
Thanks Ann
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