Finalising questionnaire sheets

Yesterday I tried to attend the module skype session but unfortunately due to the snow here in North Wales the connection was really bad. Initially I heard muffled speech and after about 20 mins of that the sound cut off altogether! The one thing I heard was near the beginning when people were talking about ensuring they are not creating leading questions in their interview questions and questionnaire sheets. Determined to feel I had got something from the session I tried to consider this thought. Although I looked at it in Module 2, I thought now was a good time to look again especially as I am developing the questionnaire sheet for my performance at the end of March. In this performance I will dancing a selection of classical ballet solos as well as a more neo classical one. Audience members who have agreed to will fill out this questionnaire after the event.

I have tried to keep the questions so that the participants can write their ideas and opinions rather than simply giving them options to circle. I am posting the questionnaire below and would be most grateful for ideas on whether any of them seem to be too leading.

Questionnaire for audience participant

All of the information you provide on this sheet will be used solely for research purposes by Ann Wall towards her study for a BA Hons Professional Practice in Arts (Dance) at Middlesex University.

Please circle which age category you fall into

8-14

15-24

25-40

41-60

60+

Were there any elements of the dancing today that you particularly enjoyed?

Which solo did you enjoy the most and why?

Were there any aspects of the dancing today which you as an individual felt you could not relate to or did not like?

Did any of the dances seem out of date and inapplicable to you as an audience member of today?

Was what you have seen today different from what you were expecting prior to the event?

Do you regularly watch dance in a performance context? (have you been to a dance performance 3 times or more in the last 5 years?)

Do you, as an audience member feel you will take anything away with you from this performance? If so, is there anything particularly significant?

Thank you for filling out this questionnaire!

Performance Reflections February 10th

When I performed for this show I felt as though for the first time, I was expressing more of who I truly am. I performed in a very varied programme, it included a baroque ballet (historical dance) Swan Lake pas de deux (classical ballet) solo for The Little Mermaid (ballet in a mermaid tail!), a dance as an ugly sister from Cinderella (doing ballet very badly) a revival of The Pavlova Gavotte (aristocratic dancing) and an unusual piece largely based upon gesture called The Medieval Kindle.

 What was especially apparent to me was that I have become very aware of my audience. There were times when certain pieces felt as though they were not being received as well as others. I think this has a lot to do with the situation in which the performance was taking place. It was in a town hall, so the audience was very close and there were no stage lights to block the audiences faces. In this context it seems to me that dances need to be shared in a way which addresses people rather than the stage method where one’s eye focus is only to the back of the auditorium. I like to address my audience with a certain amount of eye contact when I am dancing in community settings. Not all of the dances in this programme enabled that and at times I felt as though the dancer/ audience connection was lost. People began shifting in their seats and looking around. This was an important moment for my inquiry as I was considering different audiences and contexts within my own working environment and practice.

 What was nice in this performance, was to show so many different aspects of myself in so many different characters.

 After the show with Michael Wall and Clare Wall

Reflections on starting Module 3

Over the last week I have been busy studying the module handbook. I have also been contacting my interview participants and arranging times for my interviews. I had a bit of a panic because one of my participants is now unsure of whether they will have time to do the interview. I felt so glad that I had made my list of back ups so I have now got in touch with another possible participant. This made me realise how important the inquiry plan is because I feel so much more prepared to undertake the real thing.
After receiving my feedback I have also been trying to consider more ethical questions which may arise from my inquiry other than the anonymity of my participants. This week I did my second ballet observation and have been formatting my notes today. I have found observations harder than I thought I would, as when I watch ballet I often focus on specific dancers and details and I have had to force myself to see the performance as a whole in order to ensure the validity of the observation. I am beginning to review my literature more deeply now too and am very much looking forward to the interviews coming up. I find myself feeling quite excited about the inquiry now that it is really in sight.