Being able to dance gets me enthused on so many levels. Having trained in a vocational college for 3 years I got to dance every single day and I thought this was just amazing, the best life ever. Still now, 5 years on I re-live those dance college memories and remember how happy I was to wake up every morning knowing I was doing something I loved. Teaching others, especially younger children allows me to find that enthusiasm for dance which has pushed me more into creating a positive example to others who may choose the professional dance route like I did.
Having helped out at my old state school in the GCSE and A Level dance classes for nearly a year, I have watched the teachers so closely. Both of them taught me at school and so have been there for over 15 years and it can be known to everyone how much they love teaching dance.
So in answer to the question, physically dancing myself gets me really enthusiastic and the teachers who I am currently helping out inspire me which creates more self enthusiasm to further my career into teaching.
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 feel sad when I realise how little dance may be appreciated as a professional sport. It is not broad casted like other sports would be, apart from the occasional ballet on the TV at Christmas. Some people have absolutely no idea the amount of physical training you have to take your body through to get whats classed as 'good technique' . Like all sports you have to acquire a certain amount of talent at a young age which is then built upon as you get older and more importantly dedicate your life to doing it in order to become successful. The general public would probably only be able to name one professional dancer that they are aware of and that would be Darcey Bussell. The only reason they know her name would be seeing her on the judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing.
Whilst I was studying for my A Levels, we had a sports awards evening for students who were certified with an award of excellence for their particular sport. We had to vote leading up to the evening, and one of the categories was Dance. Nearly every single boy in my class would agree that Dance was not a sport and should not be included in the awards. As you can imagine a quite heated debate arouse which ended victorious for my side of the argument and lucky for me I ended up winning it! But all those years ago it sticks with me that Dance in sport is a area that seems quite grey. I have done some research into this and found a creative writing page which shows how Aubree James argues this point in a very fair way. Please take a look at what she has to say by following this link;
http://www.mibba.com/Articles/Entertainment/3068/Dance-Is-It-a-Sport/
I admire her for outlining clear enough that dance IS a sport!
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?
What do I love about Dance? I love that everyday it will be different. Maybe a different style that I may be learning/teaching, the music that you can dance to - the feeling you get when a good song comes on and your about to move to it, I instantly feel that buzz and I know I will perform better when it's a routine I like or particular style that fits perfectly with the music. A clear example of this would be when I worked aboard the cruise ships and there was 3 one hour production shows which we performed every 7 days. 2 out of the 3 I loved, the other one I just found boring and didn't challenge me. Looking back now I remember the music wasn't that great and I just never performed it as well as the other two. This shows how much of an impact music and choreography can have on a performer and performance. Music in Dance can range from Classical all the way through to Hip Hop Funk, which is amazing because most people have a preference that they like to work with whether it be teaching or performing, but it covers such a vast area that nearly everyone can enjoy it.
The one show that I adored when performing on the cruise ships was a jazz show which covered all of Jazz. My love for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers started at such a young age when I used to watch the old films with my mum and dad. One of the dance numbers in this Jazz show was a Fred and Ginger style and I remember absolutely loving it and really performed it because I had the image of those two iconic dancers in my head.
I admire all my friends who I worked with aboard the cruise ships. The all had the same love for dance and we all bounced off each other to create the best possible shows we could give the audience. I admire the friend I have who are still working aboard the liners and still having that same love and passion for Dance. Anyone who I come across in life that may still be dancing or has danced professionally in the past, I instantly feel a connection with them because they share that love for Dance as I do and always will.
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 making not understanding it interesting or beautiful or has asked the same question as you?
I have trouble understanding the limited jobs there are in this country for retired professional dancers who have performed and either have had to stop due to injury or even age. Teaching would be the obvious answer, but some people can not afford the funding to further the education which will allow the qualification that are required to teach. The list is getting bigger and bigger of what is required to be able to teach, and to me it seems funny that someone who may have just wanted to be a teacher, chose dance because its an 'easy subject' got through uni and landed a job in a school will have a lengthy career, compared to the professional dancer who has broke her ankle will never be able to dance professionally again comes home with no qualifications apart from a diploma form college which won't get you anywhere in this day and age. I wouldn't be able to provide you with an answer to this yet but I am willing to look into what other opportunities ex pros could take in order to continue their career in dance.
I have found an interesting website where it offers you workshops for schools whether it be dance schools or state schools that advertises professionals to take the workshop focusing on a particular area such as Ballet. I can see how this would be popular, and I do admire the people who set this up as you don't really hear much about this. Take a look at the link I found and see what you think;
http://www.professionaldanceexperience.co.uk/SchoolDanceWorkshops.html
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?
The example given to this question in our Handbook was 'level of physical contact'. In today's society you have to be extremely careful with those boundaries because if you cross them you could be out of a job. Certainly I know from helping out at the state school, I had to go through a CRB check because working with children this is obviously the law. In relation to dance I think now it is almost an area which doesn't cause much of an issue because unless you are having to be put in a position for choreography purposes you must just remember to conduct yourself in a professional manor. Back when I was a little girl my dance teacher used to approach things in a way that I am sure now would not be allowed for example holding you down in the splits to increase your flexibility, now you would have to think twice about that.
I was reading the Royal Ballet policy which outlines the fact that teachers will have to sometimes touch and hold the students in order to correct technique but in other situations I would have to say common sense would come into play. I have copied the link below from the Royal Ballet for you to see what they propose to all students and parents;
http://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Appropriate-Contact-in-Dance-Policy.pdf
Ideas for line of Inquiry;
What are different types of enthusiasm in Dance?
Is Dance a sport?
Different styles of Dance, researching backgrounds of styles of Dance.
What is out there for ex professional dancers to build a solid career on?
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