4a

Initial questions

I am at a new point in my career so I have many questions going through my head. I am going thought the transition from performer to teacher. I have taught Saturday school dance classes for many years now and my classes have always been successful  but obviously I still have things to learn and want me and my classes to be. The best they can be.

My overall general question I am thinking of looking at is:

What makes a successful/good dance teacher?

It is quite a generic question however I feel it opens lots of windows such as student teacher relationships, standard of choreography, previous professional performance experience my list could go on and on!

Thoughts please

:)

Task 3c

Top 5 ways I network....

Friends 

To me this is my favorite way of networking as I tend to be having a good time whilst networking with my friends. As you can be networking whilst having a coffee or a drink! Because I will be feeling happy being with my friends I will have a brighter outlook on my career! I think it is a very efficient way also because you are sharing your knowledge with each other so together you will come up with lots of information from different sauces! Word of mouth is very good in this industry as you can hear something from someone and then get in touch with your agent to maybe get you an audition or more information. Having friends in the same industry is amazing as you learn so much from each other. 

iPhone  

What did I ever do without this! I think I would be lost without it now. I literally manage myself from my iPhone. I can email or call my agent to get updates or castings from them and they can also get in touch with me ASAP if they need to. Times have evolved take The Stage for example in started out as a newspaper for performers and it contained information about auditions, then they get a website and now they have an iPhone app! This means I can look for auditions at the touch of a button ( touch of my touch screen, there's no buttons) . I can input reminders about castings so I don't forget. If I choreograph I can film myself and upload it to YouTube as a sauce of information for myself or whoever needs to learn the choreography ! It literally does everything I would be lost without it! I think as the years go on and the iPhones develop there will be even more that you can do on them! 

Agent

I think this is the most professional way of networking that I use! I have a good relationship with my agent so I am in touch with them a few times a week . I call the office twice a week and speak with my agent to see if there are any castings in for me and anything that we need to discuss I.e new head shots. This type of networking works well for me as I have a good relationship with my agent, however I know it doesn't work well for some people, they might not get on with their agent as well so don't like getting in touch with them. As well as getting in touch with them on the phone and email I also have meetings with them when I can this way it is easier to discuss certain things.

Facebook/ Twitter (social networking

This also covers networking with friends as both of these social networking sites allow me to get in touch with friends all over the world which is good. For example when I worked on a cruise ship just before I came home I was getting in touch with friends to get info on upcoming auditions, this gave me time to prepare and I had an audition the day after I was home which was great. There is so much information posted on these types of sites now to help me along with me career. This has literally happened in the past couple of years so I hope more and more casting directors start using it as I think most performers ( and none performers) have access to Facebook/ Twitter and it is a quick and easy way to gain vital information! These types of social networking sites also help us forward our career in the way that we can advertise anything that we have got going on for example a dance class or a performance. Again this is another way of networking professionally that I think will grow and grow over the next few years.

Professional websites

As well as social networking websites I also network using other websites such as Spotlight, The Stage and Dancers Pro. These sites are similar but each have their different uses . Spotlight is one of the best ways to find out about auditions and castings my agent will also use this to submit me for certain jobs. I do think they aren't always very easy and straight forward and easy to use but they are still helpful. A lot of these sites will provide you with the contact details of casting directors or choreographs that you need to get in touch with regarding certain jobs. Some of these sites now link me to my agent so I can print my agent over the site if I am interested in a specific job! 

task 3a

Networking.... This was something I was told about at college! My teachers told me was very important. One of my teachers used to say
you never know who you are talking to, it could be a choreographer or a casting director etc. They told me to be very aware of networking
in a theaters surrounding areas such as coffee shop's and bar's, as they are close to a theater, its very likely that people in the performing 
industry will be in there! 

Different ways I Network. 

Work

I work front of house in The London Palladium, most of the front of house staff there are also performers so I always hear about auditions or other performing opportunities from my colleagues. Obviously this is a really easy way to network as professional things get brought up in conversation on a day to day basis! Also we are in contact with the people involved in the show (performers, choreographers, directors etc) 
so sometimes we may find out about a casting before its officially announced. When I am not in a dancing job I purposefully get a job in a theatre for this reason as you stay "in the loop" and don't loose contact with the performing world.

Facebook/Twitter.

I have always used these social networking sites but they growing more and more useful to the performing industry. It used to be that it was just a way to stay in contact with fellow performers but now many Agents/ Casting Directors have their own Facebook pages / Twitter accounts and post information about auditions on them. I think this is great as it is so easy to use and most people now have smart phones so it is easily accessed wherever you are. It is also slightly 
more informal so you don't feel as much pressure. I think this will keep growing and more Agents/Casting directors will start putting information on there, I like this as I think it gives more performers a chance to audition for things even if they don't have an agent.

Agents

Most performers now will have an agent, again this is an easy way to network. I call my agent twice a week to see if they have any auditions/castings for me, I also try to have regular meetings with them to make sure we are both working together. This is important to me as I feel the better my relationship with my agent the more they will help me with my career as they will know me well and see my passion and drive! Some people may not want to get an agent because they take commission from your earnings but I think it is very beneficial to have one as they do help you a lot with your career and they also do a lot of networking for you as they will be the ones who first speak to the casting directer etc on your behalf. 

 I am intrigued to find out new ways of networking, I think it is a very important key in our careers, there is that famous saying "It's not what you know, It's who know " and obviously the more we can network the more people we will be in touch with and hopefully then this will help us develop our careers further and further! I think this course is a great way to open our eyes to things that are right in front of us but we just don't realise!

task 2c

I think that everyday we are learning without realising it! For me it was very interesting to see Kolbs learning cycle I think that this is something that we all do naturally but to see the process down on paper was interesting. I think If I actually wrote down all of my experiences that I learnt from every single day, my room would be full of pieces of paper!

In day to day life I have interactions with different types of people in different types of situations and I think I end up reflecting on them all at some point, whether it was a disagreement with some or a good interaction, from reflecting on these situations this helps you learn how to deal with them if a similar situation rises in the future!

A recent example where I feel I used Kolb.s learning cycle is last year i attended a “We Will Rock You” audition (Concrete Experience). I didn’t do very well in the audition and I came away thinking of things that I could of done better in my audition as I would of really loved the job (Reflective Observation) which then links the next process (Abstract Conceptualisation) as I had figured out what I thought I could do better. Then this year I went for the audition again and I did really well (didn’t get the job however L) but I put into use what I had learnt from the previous audition and it benefited me (Active Experimentation).

Reading Donald Schon’s concept of “reflection-in-action” I feel this is the same thing as Kolb’s learning cycle. Your brain is extremely cleaver and fast, so I think your brain goes through all of the learning steps in these situations just really fast. I feel that these experiences might not benefit you as much because they are happening at the same time as the situation you are in you may not remember them as well!
I think developing your reflecting skills is really important and interesting its amazing how much you are actually learning without realising it.

task 2d

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 ! 

I get enthusiastic about any bit of creativity. I love thinking of a simple thing and it turning out to be some amazing piece of choreography or staging and seeing it grow and develop and then eventually being performed and seeing the audiences reaction to it. My friend Gianni Onori is also similar to me in this way but with singing instead of choreography it's interesting to see a melody or a lyric pop in to his head and he gets excited about it and will have to record it so he doesn't forget it. It also happens in the strangest of places such as in the toilet of a Night club.

WHAT GETS YOU ANGRY OR MAKES YOU SAD ? WHO DO YOU ADMIRE WHO SHARES YOUR FEELINGS OR HAS FOUND AWAY TO WORK AROUND THE SADNESS OR ANGER

I don't like people that like to put you down. I feel that everyone should be able to feel comfortable in any situation. In the performing industry you get a lot of performers that love to tell you all of the things they have done and talk about themselves almost like they are justifying to you that they are good. The performing industry is hard enough with auditions and casting directors/ choreographers etc telling you are not good enough without fellow performers thinking they are better than you! In the industry I have several humble friends who have had AMAZING careers but never feel the need to "brag" or put anyone else down, instead they are looking for ways to better themselves , I have a friend CRAIG KELLY who is a MT performer who has just finished on the west end in blood brothers, he is lovely person that never feels he is better than people , he is always looking for new things to do and further himself as both a performer and a person. He blocks out other people's negativity very well and when it comes to an audition etch he zones out and just focuses on himself!

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 seeing other people's enjoyment and knowing that you had touched someone in some way. As a performer you have the power to bring enjoyment to someone's life. On my last tour we performed at a venue where there were a lot of people with disabilities and the audience. The whole way through they were dancing along and it gives you an amazing feeling inside to know that you have touched someone and made them happy! I admire DELTA GOODREM greatly and through watching interviews etc i know that she also has a love for this. She always says that she writes her songs from personal experiences however she puts them out there for other people to relate to, to make them happy or help them get through certain parts of their lives. She says that she loves hearing stories of how her songs have touched people or have helped them work through something.

WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND?WHO DO YOU ADMIRE WHO DOES NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND IT OR WHO HAS FOUND A WAY OF NOT UNDERSTANDING IT INTERESTING OR BEAUTIFUL ,OR HAS ASKED THE SAME QUESTIONS AS YOU! 

I don't understand the performing industry and how it works. I know so many AMAZING dancers and Vocalists that are out of work, yet there are some people on the West End for example that are not that great, yet they seem to get work. I have a lot of performer friends that think this that battle on through auditions hoping to get that "lucky break" . I think they have to just set goals and challenges for themselves to keep them going! I have a lot of respect for anyone who appreciates the job that they are in and does not take it for granted!

Task 2b reflective writing

So i don't think i have ever really kept a diary trying to think back, i can remember when i was Young i did try and start writing one a few times however i think they always ended up like " I went to school today, for lunch I had sausage and chips etc" and to me seemed a bit dull really and all's that i thought about was food! So when i knew i had to start a diary for this task i wasn't really looking forward to it. I think the suggested ways helped me through it though, below is a description on how i felt on each off the different ways :)

Description 

I think this is the most basic way of writing a journal and i think this is how i most probably wrote mine when i was younger when i just used to write about what I had to eat! However now that I am older I naturally evaluate things so it was hard not to this technique (i think i did in my head though as it was too hard not to!).

Initial Reflection

I liked this technique as I feel that I am very in touch with my feelings /moods and I always tend to feel very strongly about something, I either love something or I hate it! So for this technique my hand was just flowing with my thoughts. This technique made me realize how easy it is to change my mood, which can be a good or bad thing.

List

I surprisingly liked this technique. When i read "list" i was thinking "hhhmm like writing a shopping list...boring" however I enjoyed it! I found my iPhone came in handy with this as a could quickly type something down as I saw it/ felt it etc. As i have said before I feel very in touch with my emotions so even me writing one or two words like, "Heartbeat" make me feel a certain way and trigger an emotion. So at the end of the day if there were any words that made me feel negative I could just delete them off my iPhone :)

Graphs, charts and diagram

I didn't really like or enjoy this one. I don't feel like I need a chart to show me how i feel about something and also you couldn't go into any detail with it. This was one of my least favorite of the techniques!

Evaluation

I liked this technique, i found that i was doing this in my head for most of the other techniques anyway so it was nice to write it down and go into detail! Also it helped me think positive and try and get a good outlook on things and see how a certain situation could help me.

What if

Again this was one of my least favorite. The type of person I am, I don't like thinking "what if?", I like to make a decision and stick to it an believe everything happens for a reason. for example, whilst writing my journal i got offered a job dancing at the Niagara falls in Canada. I made the decision not to take it within an hour and then that was that. A few days later I found an EX-partner of mine was doing the job. So I trust my gut instincts and feelings and don't live off "what if's"

Another View

I found this one interesting as I feel so strongly about things it was good for me to look at things from a different outlook! However this technique took too long as I thought about things for ages, so for me this isn't best as i am a very busy person, but would be nice to do every so often!

I'm not sure how long I will be able to keep up journal writing, however i did find it all interesting. I think the technique that works best for me and the type of person that I am is the "list" as it makes me remember things and then I remember them how i felt in that situation and when I feel happy y outlook on situations is so much better . Then as I said before I can delete the negative things so it could be a think to look over if I'm having a "sad" day! Also as i say i could do this on the go with me iPhone which is good for me :)

Its been a while...

Hey guys sorry i haven't uploaded in a while been a busy bee! My house mate should be sending my work from the house computer tomorrow so I will be uploading very soooooon! x :)