Sources of Information

In this post I aim to explore the methods I use to gather and organise information relating to my professional practice. I have many tools that can assist me in differing fashions with some that I am heavily reliant on to perform day to day tasks.

Mobile Phone

As a tool, I consider my phone the most practical source I have. With the ability to have it on my person at most times it is the most direct method of contact for me. A good example of its use is if there has been a last minute change in scheduling and I'm not in the immediate area of which the information has been shared. A colleague can call and inform me of any developments pretty much instantly. As a device with the purpose of communication it can be put to effective use in my networking. I can easily share my phone number with a new contact building new bridges for my professional and even social network.

E-mail

I view e-mailing of the same ilk as my phone. The key difference being that despite my phone's practicality, I am limited with the volume and depth of information that can be sent. I consider my ability to send e-mails a much more thorough form of sharing information. I am able to write out my thoughts or message with the ability to review it, I am able to attach documents and extra information, all in a context that allows for easy documentation. I can share information in a phone call but unless my words are being written down or the message is being recorded, the only useful information is what is remembered by the other person.

Social Media/Web 2.0

For my professional work, Web 2.0 (especially social media) is a manner of sharing information with the specific intent of networking. It is a means to share information with hope of achieving the widest reach. This differs to my phone and e-mail as I can implement social media to act as an advertisement for myself. The other two have a much more personal touch and are used when you wish to share information among a specific contact. A good example is a website I have previously mentioned, 'networkdance.com'. It gives me the ability to upload information of my professional work and experience and provides a place for potential employers to seek employees.

DVD/CD's

My use of DVD's and CD's within my profession has had little to no part in my networking. I use them as a tool to absorb information. My most common practice is learning or cross checking repetoire through a DVD. The ability to watch and learn choreography from a video can take the weight off a repetiteur. With the compact format of a disc it is very easy to transport information and gives a dancer the ability to go over choreography in their spare time. This proved to be invaluable to me of late as I had a performance this very day in which the use of a DVD helped me perform a new role with short notice. A few days ago two company members cast in the same role went down with serious injuries (unrelated). As there wasn't a third cast, I was called upon to fill that place. I had rehearsals in the studio but was able to take a DVD home and cement the information in my head ready for the show.

Word of Mouth

My final source of information doesn't require technology but can still assist me in many ways regarding my professional practice. Two uses spring to mind when reflecting on my application of verbal communication within my work.

The first instance is simply direct information. A Phone can be useful extending the range on information shared through speech but being in an immediate situation is the most direct form of communication. For my work, being given corrections in class, directions on stage and feedback make my working days productive and effective.

The second thing I think of is something I've touched upon previously. Reputation. It is something I can have control over based on my professional behavior but is mainly an aspect of information sharing that provides an effect. If I have a reputation of being a hard worker, that will affect how my peers view me and ultimately how I am treated within my working environment. This can also have a knock-on effect regarding a network as people will talk and an overall impression will be created, potentially reaching beyond that network.

Theories and Concepts Relating to Networking

My last blog post concentrated on my initial ideas and thoughts that arose when thinking of the subject of networking. Whilst I covered various forms and gave examples of their relation to myself, there were still aspects that I overlooked. I have been learning about concepts and theories on networking and I wish to discuss them with you now.

Cooperation

The concept of cooperation is an idea that focuses just as much on the ability to take advantage of someone as the thought of working together for mutual benefit. It raises the question of what point does a mutual partnership and arrangement outlive its usefulness and competing for success become a desirable alternative. In which situations would one approach be deemed more appropriate over the other and how much can be gained from behaving in either way?

A very good example to put this concept into context is a game called 'The Prisoners' Dilemma'. Created by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher in 1950, then formalised by Albert W. Tucker in 1992, the game requires two players to privately decide whether they wish to 'Cooperate' or 'Compete' with or against each other. If both players cooperate then their is an equal reward. If one player cooperates but the other competes, the competing player gains a high reward. If both players choose to compete then there is a minimal reward for both of them. This does well to provide the example that despite best interests, two 'rational' individuals may choose to not cooperate.

Affiliation

Affiliation is a concept that focuses on a much more personal and social level. It is the idea around our need to be affiliated with certain individuals but also touches upon maintaining the desired levels of affiliation. As humans we naturally have a need for affiliation. The inclination can vary from person to person but where this ties in with professional networking is that due to our needs for affiliation, does this mean our professional networks develop due to instinctive behavior over a conscious effort? Is networking a result of our needs and not a calculated decision on reviewing the benefits?

These two ideas show contrasting processes although I feel they can merge together in many situations. I view cooperation as a conscious and very deliberate process, where as affiliation is more reflective of our human nature.

In my previous post I spoke of how I viewed the importance of networking to vary depending on the professional context of a dancer. I made my point in a very two dimensional manner only looking at the frequency of a network's use as a variable. After exploring cooperation and affiliation I see there are more angles to view networking from. I now feel that additional to the context of profession, a personal need and desire can affect how important networking is. Not only that but not every contact is necessarily of the same importance to someone. I explained networking purely by size but didn't consider the hierarchies or tiers of certain contacts. To me that makes the idea of cooperation more interesting by introducing the concept of critically evaluating each contact to make decisions on how 'useful' one would deem them to be.

As interesting a thought cooperation is. I can't say that it applies to my personal experience as a professional dancer however there are certain situations where it could apply in the dance world in general. One situation may be when a choreographer is offering a short term contract. Cooperation comes into play because they will need dancers to stage a piece but may have no interest in continuing the employment of a dancer once said show is finished. It could relate on a more personal level if a dancer has a guest contract with a theatre. They are cooperating in order to travel to a new place or to possibly receive a generous payment!

Perhaps the reason I don't recognise elements of cooperation in my working life is because I personally don't view opportunities and partnerships in a removed and selfish manner. That then boils down to ethics. It's all very well looking into what can provide you with the most gain but one thing that is equally if not more important to me is maintaining a healthy working relationship and atmosphere. It connects to my thoughts on reputation as well because people will wish to work with friendly and professional colleagues. The thought of "Cooperate until maximum benefit produced then defect." makes me visualise large corporations trying to get the most money they can. I feel the process is much more apparent in calculated business decisions than what appears on personal levels. Affiliation is much more apparent in my personal experience purely because it's nice to be sociable and have friends! Regardless of whether any of those 'contacts' can do anything for me.

I do acknowledge that so far I have mainly viewed cooperation in a selfish manner and that there must be more friendly examples. I guess that I cooperate with my employer in order to pursue my vocation and make a living.

 As I look back on what I've read and written, I feel that my initial concept of networking was very shallow and basic. Just by viewing these two ideas it has raised new thoughts on ethics and social context. Whilst my grip on the term seemed quite basic I now feel my thoughts and opinions on the subject have extra dimensions and much more depth.

Current Networks

Networking is a very important aspect of professional practice and dance is no exception. It takes different forms that also tie in to each other. I will look at Virtual, Actual, Professional and Academic Networks. I'll give a brief description of what I believe these to be.

Virtual

Virtual Networking is connecting with others online. With the ease of access and ability to share information on Web 2.0, this is a great method of making contact with people from far distances or in situations where you wouldn't ordinarily come into contact.

Actual

Actual Networking is networking via direct contact with the person in question. During the course of people's careers and lives in general, one will meet and come across many people that they may stay in contact with.

Professional

Professional Networking is the links and connections you make through your career. Relating very closely to Actual Networking, you'll find that the vast majority of Professional contacts will be via old or current colleagues. Depending on the situation and profession, Virtual Networking can play a significant role in Professional Networking also.

Academic

Academic Networking is the relationships and contact you keep with past tutors and course mates, potentially drawing upon the networks of these people for your own benefit.


Naturally the majority of the networking I have done so far has been 'actual'. From studying with different teachers and meeting many people along the way, either at school or summer courses etc. I have built a respectable network without having consciously thought about it. The area in which I have made a concerted effort to network has been virtually. I mentioned in my post about technology's effect on the dance world a particular tool that I use. A website aptly titled 'Network Dance'. I have harnessed the ability to share my professional information in the hopes of making connections with others, in this instance mainly choreographers or directors.

The reason why networking is deemed to be so important is that it can provide you access to opportunities and further networking that you may not have managed to obtain on your own. One example I can think of is when in my graduate year, I was in the process of searching for a job. One day I bumped into a friend at an open dance class, he informed me of an audition taking place the very next day for the company he was a part of. As I was previously unaware of the audition I hadn't sent any information about myself but he was able to have a word with the director and I was able to attend despite the short notice. Had I not known this individual, I wouldn't have had that opportunity.

As well as my network's benefit towards me, who I am as a professional can affect the networks others try to create. As important as it is to know people, it's arguably equally as important to be wanted to be known by others. What good is a professional contact who wouldn't wish to work with you? This leads me on to the idea of reputation. The way that one behaves in their work and their professional attitude has a lasting effect. A desirable trait of a dancer is to be reliable, whether that means being a fast learner, a consistent dancer, or simply just not getting injured regularly. If a director is looking for dancers and they draw upon a contact of their own to provide information on a potential employee, that employee will hope that he has a good reputation and others will praise their work and attitude.

As significant as it is, I think the importance of networking can vary depending the context of a dancers work. For a freelance performer, networking is crucial as hopping from contract to contract isn't the most stable way of making a living. Rotating jobs more regularly will mean that you're often on the search for new work and having a greater range of contacts is hugely beneficial. This also plays into my thoughts of reputation as your standing within your profession will be called upon more often. For a dancer hired full time by a theatre, their concerns may be less placed on networking. That type of employment is much more stable and the more immediate focus would be on your position within that company. Networking will still be valuable for the audition process but someone in a company may find themselves calling upon their contacts less frequently if at all!

Overall I feel that networking is an integral part of professional practice. Whether it be of more or less importance depending on your specific career style, it will always be worth having the strongest network you can manage. That goes for reputation as well. All types of networking are just as important as the other and if anything a good balance of contacts will provide the most benefit.

Introspective Q&A

For task 2D-Inquiry, I have been given a set of questions to answer with the goal of noticing how the ideas of reflection relate to me...

...here goes!



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?

Staatsballett Berlin performing Don Juan
Vladislav Marinov as Zaani

The main thing that keeps me enthusiastic is a solid piece of repetoire. What I mean by that is working on and performing a well thought out and enjoyable bit of choreography. If a show or role is fun for me to perform and is full of substance, I'll have plenty of material to delve into which keeps me occupied and eager to see how much I can make of it artistically. When you exercise your passion as a profession you can sometimes start to lose that initial spark, but having moments of finding work that reminds you why you started in the first place gives you that desire and hunger to keep pushing forward. The best example I can think of is that a few weeks ago I felt I was having a pretty slow season and wasn't overly enthusiastic about my dancing. Since then we began rehearsals for 'Don Juan', a show we shall be premiering next season choreographed by Giorgio Madia. I have had the fortune of being cast as Zaani, the assistant to Don Juan who serves as a jester like character. The role is very energetic and expressive which I feel suits me well. I'd consider myself more of a character artist than a princely or lovelorn hero type. The rehearsals have been extremely engaging and I've been having great fun, reminding me of back when I was a student getting to learn an exciting bit of rep at a summer school.

I'd have to say that I admire a select group of my closest friends and colleagues as sharing the same inspirations and mindsets makes us a tighter working unit. If we're on board with each other and working collectively in the same manner it can boost the group's productivity and enthusiasm tenfold! Working with like-minded individuals allows us to bounce of each others energy which results in greater performances and a better working attitude.


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 find that I myself am the main thing that gets me angry and sad! I deem myself to be a bit of a perfectionist and in that pursuit of reaching the goals I set for myself, I often find myself being overly critical resulting in low self esteem from time to time. Managing my frustrations has been something I've struggled to conquer over my entire time dancing. I'm nowhere near over it but I have certainly made vast improvements over the years. I find that the best approach to staying on top of my anger is acceptance. Acceptance that not every single day is going to be my best day, acceptance that in order to better myself I must put in the work first. If I'm having a day where my balance is off for example, that will frustrate me. To overcome that frustration I accept that technique is a constant battle and push through despite my feelings of discouragement.

As vague as this is, I admire anyone who is able to stay more level headed than I am. Especially if I know they're having similar feelings or struggling in another sense. Seeing someone stay active and professional despite their personal feelings reminds me that regardless of how I feel, I can do the same thing.


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 consider myself a very artistic person and just the fact that I get to dance and perform as a profession is wonderful. This goes further as I like to spread myself out and get to exercise many arts and disciplines. This includes various dancing styles, playing music, singing and graphic design. My time spent in Estonia has allowed me to do that with a diverse repetoire at the Vanemuine and other projects I have worked on professionally or semi-professionally outside of that.

Errol Pickford, Principal at The Royal Ballet
and my Sixth form teacher at Elmhurst

In the same way Dewey regards learning as experiential, I find that my inspirations are too found from my direct experiences and interactions. So far with each time I have thought about who I admire and who inspires me, my immediate thoughts are people I know personally such as my colleagues. It's my direct contact that gives me inspiration to keep working, whether it be competitive or merely in admiration. Not to say I don't draw inspiration from key figures in the dancing world, although even then, I've had that contact through the fortune of being taught by many great figures at school and summer/Easter courses. The most notable of those being Irek Mukhamedov, Jonathon Cope, Errol Pickford and Gary Avis.


What do you feel you don't understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?

If I'm being completely honest I still don't feel I fully understand ballet technique. In the sense that I have trained for years and fully grasp the basic concepts however everyone has their flaws and bad habits that ail them. I often find that just as I make a breakthrough in my placement or technique, that has a knock on affect to another part of my body as it is working in a manner it's not used to. Everything is connected in the body so any change won't be without consequence. It's like having a Rubik's cube and managing to match all the greens, but in the process you've messed up the reds you may have had. I'm yet to complete my Rubik's cube and doubt I ever will!

I can't think of a person in particular to admire but I'm fond of the idea that ballet is an art that one can never truly master (besides an exceptional few perhaps). There's always improvement to be had and there's always further one can go when practicing classical ballet. Even the greats admit that there's still plenty they can learn and achieve for themselves.

"Plié is the first thing you learn and the last thing you master." -Suzanne Farrell

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? For example, what level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?

Deciding the appropriate responses depends very much on the context of the situation and profession. Two scenarios spring to mind. The first being the approach towards teaching classical ballet. I believe that in order to train with the goal of making dance your profession, you must work with military routine. Many people may consider this too harsh an approach for something that is ultimately expressive and artistic but it's all for the sake of discipline. I've had experiences of my own where either I or friends were being shouted at and picked on by a teacher, even to the extent that parents would call in and complain. As horrible as this may sound I don't have any issue with my experience as it was all part of pushing me as far as I could go. My entire school experience wasn't like this but I noticeably feel the benefit of being worked so thoroughly. Once you're more resilient as a dancer it allows you to keep hold of that professionalism and discipline once you join a company where the atmosphere may become more relaxed and self motivation is required to maintain progress. This view works very much in contrast of Dewey's democratic beliefs as I'm speaking of what is essentially forced learning. You could argue however that the pupil has still been given the freedom to choose their path as ballet isn't thrust upon a child like Science or Maths would be.

The second thing, raised by the question, was about physical contact. This is less to do with discipline and is more of a social issue. Due to the nature of ballet it is very physical and often requires working within each others personal space. Pas de duex for example is reliant on a lot of physical contact that few other professions seem to require. For us as professionals it's part of our job and is something we're entirely comfortable with. For someone not involved in the dance world this may be an odd concept to get to grips with. In the same way that actors and actresses have kissing scenes in movies or TV shows, ballet can be used as another form of story telling so similar situations occur in our line of work. A fairly common scenario where I work is that there will be a kiss choreographed and one or both of the dancers concerned are in a relationship with someone else, yet we accept that it of course isn't reality and is part of our job to act out the story. I can imagine that for someone outside of the dance world this would be a very difficult idea to get their head around.

How does my learning experience compare to theories on reflective practice?

Now that I have reviewed and experimented with my approach towards my journal and reflective writing, I will use what I have learned to compare my findings with the theories and thoughts of some select philosophers. I'll be looking at examples of great thinkers who pioneered reflective practice and the approach to learning, namely John Dewey, David Kolb, and Donald Schön. Before I look at my own experiences I shall give a brief introduction into the theories and findings of these three men.

Dewey

John Dewey was a key part in progressive education, which is the view that learning comes from doing. As a pragmatist he believed that we learn from taking a 'Hands on' approach and that reality must be experienced. In doing so, interaction with environment provides education through direct experience.

Kolb

David Kolb was highly influenced by Dewey and had the same beliefs in that learning is experiential. 

"Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience." (Kolb, 1984, p.38 'Learning styles model')

Kolb developed a reflective model based on the earlier research of Dewey that pays particular attention to how information is transformed into knowledge. The 'Experiential Learning Cycle' is a four stage cycle that represents each element of the learning process. Here is an example...

These four stages put forward the idea that progress and learning comes from a series of practices. This idea also works on the level that everyone naturally leans toward their own learning style and each stage is representative of a method of learning.

e.g.

Concrete experience = Feeling

Reflective observation = Watching

Abstract conceptualisation = Thinking

Active experimentation =Doing

He did however believe that no two learning methods could coexist if they were on opposite sides of the cycle together e.g. it's not possible to 'Think' and 'Feel' at the same time nor 'Watch' and 'Do'. consequently our learning styles are a result of the combination of any two methods in series. Here is another visualisation...

Schön

Donald Schön derived the notions of 'Reflection on action' and 'Reflection in action'. His ideas focused much more on the theme of approaches towards correction. Reflection on action is the idea that one will analyse and explore the reasons and consequences surrounding an action after experiencing it, where as Reflection in action is attending to the situation in the moment using past experience to solve a problem. Schön believed that the ability to reflect upon action was a defining characteristic of professional practice.

My Experience

As a professional dancer, my experiences certainly relate to Dewey's vision of learning as my whole career has revolved around being physical. It's the opportunity of continued practice that helps me progress as a dancer and it's reflection that keeps me on course as I look at what I wish to improve upon myself and using the ability to identify my strengths. I agree with Schön and his opinion that reflection is a major feature of professional practice. Dance is my vocation and I have spent many years honing my skills in order to pursue it. None of that would be possible if it wasn't for my self-evaluation and introspection. You can throw as much information as you want at someone but it isn't until that 'Hands on' experience, you truly learn how to become an adept practitioner.

I would argue that Kolb's cycle fits certain situations but can't be applied to all learning experiences. I feel it's very fitting towards thoughtful practice and relates to how the brain experiences learning but I feel that learning through 'muscle memory' behaves in a very different fashion. If approaching a situation where there is a dance step I'm struggling with then I feel this model is very accurate in representing my approach to correcting myself. Other situations in which one is already aware of what needs to be achieved, but simple repetitive practice is required doesn't seem to fit the model as I feel there is no reflection or experimentation involved. I have had many rehearsals in which I have learnt some new and challenging choreography, I'll come in the next day and without having necessarily thought about it in between the time, I'll find that I get to grips with the movements the second time around, as if it's more 'in my body'. Practicing guitar scales I feel is another good example, by simple repetition you 'learn' to be better. You could argue however that what I speak of isn't learning per say but merely conditioning.

Kolb isn't without his critics though. This is an extract from Steve Wheeler's blog (June 20th 2012) on "Recycling Kolb"

"A major criticism of Kolb's experiential learning cycle is that any or all of the four phases he identifies could occur simultaneously (Jeffs and Smith, 1999). Another is that the model does not sufficiently acknowledge the power of reflection on learning (Boud et al, 1985). Probably the most important criticism of the cycle is that depending on the learner, and/or the activities they are engaged in, some stages of the process can be bypassed, or repeated several times in any sequence."

 I can certainly relate to the theories and ideas that have been put forward. I do recognise many features of these within my working experience. I would say though that I wouldn't pin down learning as a whole into such simplified models but I feel they do represent certain elements with great accuracy.