Reflections on Collaborations in Dance and Art

Today (17^th February) I have had a fascinating experience. I was recently approached by an artist who asked if I could come and pose for some images which he would then paint from for a 'dancer project' which he is undertaking. I had initially thought this would involve holding certain positions for the artist to take still pictures of. However, the actually process was far more interesting because the artist had decided on a piece of music which he wanted me to improvise to. He said how important it was to him to capture the essence of movement in these photos so that he can show this in the painting.

What was very strange was that the music he chose was a piece by Arvo Pärt called Spiegel im Spiegel which translates mirror in the mirror. In the last few weeks I have been improvising to this very piece! It is very meditative and continuous and I have found a sort of sanctuary within the piece with which I can personally reach a more spiritual realm. I must say that I was in a state of disbelief when he put it on.

The area which I had to dance in was very small but I found this all the more interesting actually as I had to find ways to move expansively in a small space. Also it was a conservatory so the light would reach me every so often allowing for deeper connections to be made. It was very interesting to have a photo shoot like this because I have never before done one with music playing. Indeed, I often feel like a fraud in photos, as if I am not being honest and showing a true representation of myself. The more I think about it, the more I realise that it may be the lack of music that makes me feel that way. I found myself asking the question why do companies and schools not use music when they are doing their photo shoots?

I have decided that the next set of audition photos I do, I would like to use music for to see if I prefer the outcome. This feeds in to the questions I am exploring in Module 2 about environments with which artistry can be accessed. The element of music therefore can be considered an essential environmental factor in the development of self expression. Also the impact that light, particularly natural light has for me as an artist. I have always found that I feel most able to dance freely and honestly if I am dancing in a field in the sunshine!

I have found it an immensely broadening day today, a lot of food for thought. I will look forward to sharing the finished work when he produces it. 

Image from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/carving-into-color-matisses-stunning-cut-outs/   (Accessed 5 March 2017)

Reflections on an Afternoon Performance With The Ballet Pod at Chirk Court Care Home: 3rd February 2017

I found this experience immensely rewarding. Our audience was a group of older people who had all decided to attend our performance of music, song and dance. They really were a very special and enthusiastic group. The space that we had to dance in was fairly restricted so we had specifically choreographed some dances for the occasion. It was important to take into consideration the fact that the residents would be sitting all around the space that we would be dancing in, so when choreographing we tried to ensure that everyone would feel involved and integrated. It was also essential to consider the costumes and show as much colour and variety as possible. The residents seemed to be especially impressed by the tutus with enthusiastic gasps emerging with each entrance that we made!

Because we had never performed at this venue before, I paid a visit before the event just to get a feel for the floor in my pointe shoes, which although not a dance floor, was in fact surprisingly good. It had a feel of spring to it, which I think is slightly deceptive because it is actually concrete underneath. It had a very nice non slip feel to it which was lovely for turning.

When performing in this situation, I began to think about what a good audience really is. I have found that those who are most appreciative and open are easiest to perform to. Someone with a critical eye is always hard to perform to and hard to please. I have found that I am much happier when I am giving to people who do not usually get to see ballet or dance. Indeed one of the male residents told us afterwards that he had never seen ballet before and that he thoroughly enjoyed it. This made me exceptionally happy as I feel like for him to have experienced something new and enjoyable at a late stage of his life, whilst at a care home is something very special.

I also found myself reflecting on the different ways in which we can give out when we dance. How for an audience at such close proximity such as this one, it is more effective to think of making eye contact with people and consider the performance as a sort of sharing of love and generosity. I found myself thinking that I would like to do more events like this one.

For ethical reasons I am unable to post any images of this event.

Reflections on An Afternoon of Tea and Entertainment with The Ballet Pod 21st January 2017

This performances was immensely rewarding for me. It was also surprisingly tiring and tough considering it was personally planned and performed by me and my brother and sister. Together we created a programme to perform. The programme consisted of our own choreographies as well as the Nutcracker pas de deux, a variation from Paquita and The Swan solo. My sister Clare, who works as a street performer and all round entertainer, performed cabaret numbers and songs and my Brother Michael also played the piano. We all performed together in a baroque dance interlude.

What was interesting preparing and performing in this event was analysing how to work with people who I know very well in a professional way. Although we have always worked closely together, it has been some years since we have put on an event together and I was intrigued to see how, now that we are all older, we work together. I believe that it was by far the best event that we have put on together actually. It raised the question in my head what does it mean to work together professionally? This brought to mind the theories associated with co-operation which I looked at in Module 1. I decided that the most beneficial way in which an event can take place is if all parties involved have an awareness of the following, regardless of whether or not they are a member of the family.

Good Time management

Empathy

Dedication

Flexibility

Positive attitude

Easy to work with

Commitment to the event and the rehearsals for it

Enthusiasm for the project

A sense of artistic communication and investment

The last element of the list above is a very important to me and my family actually. I was considering this notion of positive environments for artistry at this event too and I must say, I always feel very able to be myself when I am dancing with The Ballet Pod. I suppose because we all know each other so well, there is a special artistic bond between us all.

However, because we all know each other so well it can be a challenge to always be on top form. It can be easy to fall in to the trap of thinking we can take it easy on one day or to automatically blame each other for something before truly analysing the situation. This brought me to consider one of the topics discussed in this module - single and double loop learning (Anderson, 1994). It really is essential that we employ double loop learning to any situation which arises when we work together if we are to avoid major fall outs! Peter Senge's vision of a learning organisation (Smith, 2001) also comes into play here. For example the idea of personal mastery and an individual's learning possibly having an impact on the organisation definitely applies to the Ballet Pod, where the success of it is dependent on each of our visions. Our director and coach Richard Slaughter also naturally employs the Senge's notion of a shared vision with each of our views contributing to the outcomes of the organisation.

Photographs above by Steve Lloyd

With Michael Wall

A snap shot during the interval!

Bibliography

Anderson, L(1994) Espoused theories and theories-in-use:Bridging the gap (Breaking through defensive routines with organisation development consultants).Unpublished Master of Organisation Psychology thesis, University of Qld. Available at: http://www.aral.com.au/resources/argyris.html   (Accessed 4 March 2017)

Smith. M (2001) Peter Senge and the Learning Organisation: the encyclopedia of informal education. Available at: http://infed.org/mobi/peter-senge-and-the-learning-organization/ (Accessed 1 March 2017)

Reflections on Performing The Swan for Richmond Academy of Dance

On January 8th I was invited to perform The Swan at Hampton Hill Theatre in London as a guest professional dancer for the Richmond Academy of Dance school performance. It was very special to finally perform the Swan on a stage with a lovely projection of a lake at the back and a spotlight too. Initially I was a bit worried about how it would be received in a school performance with so much variety in terms of other styles of dance. However, it was actually well received and seemed to fit petty well in the whole programme. With many music hall style numbers I felt like I was back in a time when Anna Pavlova was dancing! There was a lovely feel about the whole event and all the students showed a true sense of performance and a real love of what they did. I was very impressed by the amount that they all performed and the incredible dedication clearly put in by their teachers. I feel that the environment which the principal Harita Stavrou has created is very positive and is clearly enhancing these young people's lives. This was a clear example of an environment in which young people can find their artistry and self expression, feeding into my questions about environmental factors influencing artistry. I felt very honoured to perform for such a lovely school.

To perform the swan here had different meanings for me. It gave me the opportunity to give to both the audience and the children involved in the performance.

Some snapshots before the performance!

Some collages I created to help me with this role.

Reflections on A Nutcracker workshop with The Ballet Pod

On the 19^th December 2016 I taught and performed in a Nutcracker Workshop for children with The Ballet Pod.

I always find that these workshops are exhausting. Both teaching all day and then performing in the showing at the end of the day is always a challenge. However, a very rewarding experience. This year was made especially rewarding by the fact that one of the students, who has been coming to our classes and workshops for some years, has in the last few years been suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis. She did not believe that she would ever be able to do ballet again. But today she did the whole day and performed at the end. She was clearly so proud of what she achieved and it was quite an emotional moment when the performance was finished. It was hard because I found myself considering her needs all of the time, not wanting to jump too much, but at the same time having to take all the other children into consideration too. It all worked well in the end and I was very surprised by how much this little girl was able to do. In fact, when we spoke to her grandmother a couple of days later I was even more surprised to hear that she had not been in any more pain than usual the next day.

I felt like I made a difference to this young girl's life through this workshop, urging me to consider how dance can be used as a form of healing too and how every child should have the opportunity to have access to the art form. The other wonderful thing about this day was that this little girl was able to show enjoyment of her dancing and this was perhaps because she felt comfortable within the environment. This is one of the questions which I hope to explore in greater depth as I begin to plan my enquiry for Module 2.

A Time for Personal and Artistic development

Since just before Christmas I have been on break from working with Ballet Cymru (as it only works seasonally). In this time, which is a rare window in a dancer's career, I have in fact been incredibly busy! However, I have also had time for personal growth and development which I feel has been beneficial for me. I have been involved in some fascinating projects which have helped me in the formulation of some of my questions for the planning of my professional inquiry. Some of these events were with The Ballet Pod. An organisation here in Chirk which I have been involved in for 10 years. Within this project I work alongside my brother and sister who are also in the performance field. I have been reflecting on each of my experiences and am going to post up these reflections on my blog. I have left out certain names for ethical purposes but all those which I have left in I have asked for permission to include.

Task 3d) Critical questions and and issues that emerge

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.

https://alicesampson.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/task-3d-critical-questions.html?showComment=1481741553069#c3557271385044172854

http://josephdarbybapp.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/bapp-arts-2016-17-module-1-task-3b.html?showComment=1481737731360#c1522445044649347037

http://josephdarbybapp.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/bapp-arts-2016-17-module-1-task-3c.html?showComment=1481736886590#c8877803569900641957

http://georgietedora.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/task-3c-sources-of-information.html?showComment=1481738255472#c6010677778408234006

https://gonzalopreciado94.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/bapp-task-3a-current-networks.html?showComment=1481738733678#c8266311733590466734

https://gonzalopreciado94.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/bapp-task-3b-theories-relating-to.html?showComment=1481739325932#c3671769976640607693

https://gonzalopreciado94.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/bapp-task-3c-sources-of-information.html?showComment=1481740020011#c3305803537397791245

https://shannalogan.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/task-3c-sources-of-information.html?showComment=1481743305594#c6097498435981632705

http://www.4dancers.org/2016/10/coping-with-mental-stress-as-a-dancer/comment-page-1/#comment-118328

http://www.4dancers.org/2016/10/dancers-cross-training-with-yoga/comment-page-1/#comment-118329

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.