Researching and Reviewing Different Literature

I started this task of reviewing and researching different literature by reading Paula’s blog on ‘The Dinner Party: Literature for your Critical Review in M3’. I had to read the post a few times in order for it to sync in and understand the idea in this way. The concept gave a storyline to what we are working on and how it should develop during the module much like a dinner party does. 

For a dinner party you choose your guests, invite them for dinner, greet them when they arrive, have dinner, discuss common interests, and what is going on in each others lives. After the evening has finished you feel like you have a better understanding of what is going on with everyone.  

Our research is similar as we pick our the relevant literature that is related to our inquiry. We discuss our opinions, knowledge and ideas with others and by the end of it we have learnt more about the subject we were inquiring about. However like some dinner parties we could come out of the end with more questions and resolved issues that need more exploration. This can come however as we further our careers down this route. 

Here is a ‘table plan’ of my literature….. 

Table Plan

These are the main areas of my research:

Touring performing arts shows, Culture, Production, Analysis, Questions, Interviews, Ethics

For each of these areas I have started to gather different sources to research further to improve my inquiry, these are to follow……

Researching and Reviewing Different Literature

I started this task of reviewing and researching different literature by reading Paula’s blog on ‘The Dinner Party: Literature for your Critical Review in M3’. I had to read the post a few times in order for it to sync in and understand the idea in this way. The concept gave a storyline to what we are working on and how it should develop during the module much like a dinner party does. 

For a dinner party you choose your guests, invite them for dinner, greet them when they arrive, have dinner, discuss common interests, and what is going on in each others lives. After the evening has finished you feel like you have a better understanding of what is going on with everyone.  

Our research is similar as we pick out the relevant literature that is related to our inquiry. We discuss our opinions, knowledge and ideas with others, and by the end of it we have learnt more about the subject we were inquiring about. However like some dinner parties we could finish the evening with more questions and unresolved issues that need more explanation. 

Here is a ‘table plan’ of my literature….. 

Table Plan

These are the main areas of my research:

Touring performing arts shows, Culture, Production, Analysis, Questions, Interviews, Ethics

For each of these areas I have started to gather different sources to research further to improve my inquiry, these are to follow……

http://paulanottingham.blogspot.co.uk

Experiences - I want to hear about yours!

One of aspects I wanted to improve on was to get more involved with the BAPP community. I have a good network in my own professional community, but would also like to know what everyone’s insight is on the BAPP course. 

Most of us have come from a performing arts background and I would like to hear about some of your experiences of performing and particularly if anyone has performed aboard or in an environment with different culture?

My main inquiry is about performers experiences of touring in different cultural settings: Life on and off stage.

I would love to hear about any of your own experiences, however small or big it is!!

My general interests are looking into:

 Do people think there is a difference from touring a show aboard to touring a show in the UK?

If there are any differences is this regarding life on stage or off stage? 

I have written briefly about some of my experiences in a previous blog, please take a read and I would love to know other peoples experiences…..

Thank you 

Catch Up with Paula

After reviewing my feedback and having a one to one with Paula, I have gained three valuable areas that I need to improve on in module 3: 

1). Sources and Literature - I was struggling to find different resources and literature that related to my inquiry directly. Paula has helped me to understand that it is possible to research different aspects of the inquiry and cross reference the ideas to gain more from the research. Rather than giving up after not finding the exact topic in question, I need to think outside the box, so I can further my knowledge on my particular topic. 

2). Discussing my inquiry with other people on the BAPP Course - As we are all doing different topics and our subject areas in question are all very different, I find it quite difficult sometimes to add anything to what other people on the course are working on. I am sure it is probably the case the other way round as well. However there is still a lot to gain from other peoples perspectives and experiences. I am looking forward to discussing with others what they are working on, and I hope it will help me further with my inquiry.  

3). Time-Keeping - At the end of Module 2, I had ran out of time to complete the module to the standard that I had wanted to. I started the module later as I could not decide what to do my inquiry on as there were so many areas I wanted to explore within my Professional Practice. This module however, I am going to make sure I keep on top of my work and do not get behind. 

Overall after reflecting with Paula, I have a clearer understanding of what is expected during this Module and how I can achieve it. 

My Experiences on Tour

I thought I would write a brief blog about the experiences I have had on tour. First of all I love touring. When I started dancing I never thought I would enjoy touring with a show as I enjoyed my home comforts too much, however when I was given the opportunity I thought I would give it a go. 

I am so glad that I did. Although touring can be very gruelling, the amount you learn is irreplaceable! 

Whilst touring not only do you get to travel and see the world, you are able to try new foods, experience a different culture, and attempt at speaking another language. I have also found that touring can make you a much stronger dancer. It can make you more flexible with the way you adapt to your surroundings. The stages, theatres and staff can all be so different from each theatre you perform in, you have to learn to adapt quickly to the different ways in which people work. 

Another great but not always so great aspect is spending most of your time with a cast. It can be amazing to get so close to your cast, you get to spend a lot of time together that not a lot of other work places do, however this can also be difficult if you don't always see eye to eye with everyone. 

Here is a link below which is a great insight to surviving touring…..

http://www.dancespirit.com/uncategorized/road_warriors_surviving_life_on_tour/ (1)

A fascinating area that I have noticed can effect your experience and the performance is the culture you are surrounded by. Here are some of the examples of my experiences whilst touring that have had to be changed or altered to fit in the countries social norms….

During my two tours of China I noticed a lot of differences in culture. Firstly the language barrier - not only could we not speak Mandarin, we could not even translate any of the text, as they have symbols rather that letters it can prove to be very difficult when communicating. Getting to places and ordering food was often very challenging, although there were some very amusing moments, a lot of the time it was very difficult to get any food that was what you had ordered or what you needed, not the best when you are dancers and need to have a particular diet. When words are translated they are not always exact and can end up looking like this…..

                                                                 Menu (2)

Another area that I mentioned in module one was about the access of communication China has. China is quite a strict country in terms of social media and the internet. When I went there last year a lot of the main social media websites had been blocked and so had some of the search engines. This made communicating with loved ones at home and even doing the work for the BAPP course extremely difficult. I wasn’t even able to get onto my emails as my account is with ‘Gmail’. This then gives an extra  annoyance on tour when you are not able to use the same applications that you can use at home. Luckily I had been pre warned by other performers that had experienced this before, however I couldn’t help but think that if they had not warned me how much harder everything would have been.    

Another cultural difference I had noticed with regards to the show performance, was that within the Chinese culture they find it unacceptable for the show to go up late, sometimes even starting the show early. Although it is in our culture not to start a show late, however we would never dream of starting a show without the main performers ready to go on. This was not the case in China. On several occasions we had gone up early and performers were not ready and had not warmed up efficiently, this did not help as a lot of the Chinese theatres are very big, it was difficult for them to heat up. This was dangerous for us as our bodies would not be warm enough to dance full out, and would higher the risk of injury. In UK however this would have been sorted as soon as possible as it would effect the health and safety regulations, which China do not enforce. 

On the flip side of China, whilst performing in Israel the situation was the complete opposite. We never started a show on time. Within their culture it is customary to wait until most of the audience had arrived which would be late every single time. This was also not ideal as we were made to be ready for the set start time but would not start until at least 30 minutes to an hour later. This also can affect the warming up process as you end up waiting around and cooling down again. It also meant we arrived back at the hotel later and our breaks between shows were shorter. There was one incident where we had a triple show day and wanted to go up on time so we could unsure we had the right amount of rest time between shows, however this did not happen and a disagreement occurred. This was an example of a clash of social norms and values as in our culture it is against our own health and safety laws and seen as unprofessional to go up so late with a show.  

One other area I have experienced is going to countries where you need to cover up your body. In Israel there were particular parts of the country that we had to cover our shoulders, knees, chest and stomach out of respect to their culture. In Qatar the country in predominately muslin, therefore for our performance we had to alter our costumes so our bodies were covered appropriately. 

From my experiences I have realised that understanding a different culture and accepting the differences between you in order to get along is essential, particularly when working together. Although touring can be very challenging because of the differences, it is also amazing to learn more and adapt to a different life that is on tour. 

References

1)

http://www.dancespirit.com/uncategorized/road_warriors_surviving_life_on_tour/

2) Photo of a Chinese menu, photograph taken my myself. 

Task 4b

Hello Everyone! Here is my SIG community about touring shows. As this is the area in which my career has all been about. I wanted to look into further detail the different areas that make a touring show successful and whether touring in different countries with different cultures affects the show on a larger scale on stage and off stage. 

I originally created my SIG on my google plus account however I realised I had not got much of a response from people. Although I had my fellow BAPP students, people from my professional community did not have a google plus account therefore I was limiting the responses to find out opinions from people in the same industry as myself. Therefore I have decided to create a SIG on Facebook, which a larger number of people have access too. 

Here is a link to my Special Interest Group…… Please join as I would appreciate any insights people may have on this topic: ……… 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/554471681367565/

Task 4a

After reviewing Reader 4 on Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry I have reviewed my previous thoughts on the route of inquiry I was going to look into, which was maintaining a professional dance career. I wanted to incorporate the work I had previously done in Module one and use the topic area of what I love doing the most (touring) into my line of inquiry. There was a particular paragraph that made me understand what the inquiry should be based around, ’The term inquiry implies that you are examining what you do in order to ‘ask the right questions’ so that you will have a more-in-depth understanding of the presence and interaction of theory and practice. Inquiry based learning expects the adult learner to engage with relevant problems and scenarios, draw on existing knowledge, seek out new evidence, and analyse and present that evidence in appropriate ways’ Kahn and O’Rourke, 2004.  

From this I want to look into further detail the different areas that make a performing arts touring show successful, looking at the performers experiences on and off stage. As explained in Reader 4, I want to use my own experiences and knowledge to gain more information on this topic area. I decided to develop and talk through some ideas with my Dance Captain, to get her insight on the topic and whether she saw it relevant in our workplace. I started by asking her the following questions and here were her responses:

1). What do you enjoy about touring with a show? The aspect I enjoy the most about touring is being in different places and not knowing what it’s going to be like, almost like a new challenge each time. 

2). What don’t you enjoy about touring with a show? I don’t like living out of a suitcase and taking my stuff around with me everywhere. 

3). Are there any aspects that are easier/better when touring a show rather than staying in house? I wouldn’t necessarily say that anything is easier when touring, however there isn’t much boredom whilst touring as each place is usually so different and therefore it is more exciting. 

4). Are there any aspects that are harder/worse when touring rather than staying in house? There are a lot of aspects that are harder whilst touring, one mainly being not knowing what place you are going to and not knowing what the facilities and staging is going to be like. The travelling and tiredness are also very overwhelming on tour. 

5). What could be improved in performing arts touring shows, with regards to the performers experience on and off stage? Depending on the company you work for and the conditions that you are in, but mainly it could be improved by the preparation that goes into the tour. Knowing what to expect when it comes to the culture you are touring around, what the food is going to be like is a particularly big factor, as a dancers’ diet is very important for nutrition and wellbeing in order to look after our bodies and to prevent injuries. Knowing what the rules and regulations are also very important in order to know how to behave and what you can wear. 

After discussing with my Dance Captain her thoughts I have noticed that culture could play a big part in the experiences of dancers whilst on tour. This is something I would like to explore more. 

There is a section within Reader 4 that talks about the idea of a ‘transdisciplinary’ approach with regards to knowledge. ‘Transdisciplinary’ means ‘a wider scope of understanding that crosses the boundaries of disciplines.’ Reader 4, p.10. The idea discusses how it can be useful to use knowledge from different disciplines to help with another. For example the success of a touring show is not just about how good the performance is but it’s success can depend on the marketing and advertisement the show has had in each area, how much the ticket prices are, the accessibility to get to the show, the conditions of tour life etc. Therefore it is important to use your knowledge from different disciplines in order to gain a wider knowledge. Gibbons et al. initiated an idea called ‘Mode 2’ this is mainly referred to in scientific inquires however one of the points of Mode 2 helped me understand this term a lot more, ‘2. Mode 2 knowledge production is transdisicplinary, which means it uses a range of theoretical perspectives and practical methodologies to solve problems […]’ (Gibbons, 2008, online). When I first read about this I was very closed minded and thought that the workplace I work within is in a disciplinary context and not transdisciplinary, however after discussing with my Dance Captain and answering the questions in Reader 4  she made me see that there are different aspects to our professional practice that can cross into different disciplines.  Although this is possible it is an area I could improve in for my own professional practice to explore a different side to the area that I work in. Looking at these questions in Reader 4:

Do you work within a disciplinary context in the arts? Or is your situation transdisciplinary?

Dancing is disciplinary, however when looking at performing arts touring shows, it is transdisciplinary. Touring involves, marketing, advertising, business, and logistics. 

What do you know?

My skills are in dancing and my wellbeing (looking after my body to prevent injuries) and the choreography for the shows. 

How do you know it?

I have has the appropriate training and rehearsing needed. 

Make a brief list of your competencies and capabilities.

• The ability to perform a wide range of dance styles
• Knowledge of different dance styles
• The ability to learn new choreography
• Knowledge of health and nutrition 

What knowledge and skills do you think you will need for the future? 

I will need to learn how to prepare more efficiently for tours and have a wider knowledge of the business side of a tour. 

Looking at Martyn Denscombe insight on what the propose of the inquiry topic might act to do helped me to pin point what I would possibly want to do. The options were:

Forecast some outcome?

Explain the causes or consequences of something?

Criticize or evaluate something?

Describe something?

Develop good practice?

Empower a particular group (2002, p. 41)

After researching what I would like to base my inquiry on, I will go back and look at these questions to help pinpoint what I am planning for my inquiry. 

References

Reader 4, Middlesex University

Start of a New Topic

I have looked into several different areas for my inquiry: 

• how to be more employable as a dancer
• Is there enough education in how to be self-employed? 
• The public perception of a dancer 
• The opportunities in different cultures to have a career in dance. 

Although I have a keen interest to research further into these areas, I know a few people already researching into this and I wanted to try and incorporate my experience of touring into my inquiry. 

For most of my professional career I have toured with shows, rather than staying at one theatre. Touring with a show can provide more difficulties than staying in one place, particularly for us dancers. I would like to look into whether touring a show has the same expectations compared with a show that is ‘in-house’, exploring from both points of view of ‘on stage and ‘off-stage’.

I started to write down some ideas on the different factors that could affect the show on and off stage:

On-Stage

Off-Stage 

From writing down a few of my thoughts, these are particular areas I would like to look into for this subject:

• Social norms and how they affect peoples behaviour compared to western countries and how that affects the arts. 
• Touring a show even in a UK tour, gruelling schedule can it affect performance? Look at reviews 
• Health and safety: Is it still the same in other countries (depending where you go?)
• The budget of a show and how much money it needs to make in order to be a success. 

These are a few of my thoughts so far, after reviewing Reader 4: Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry hopefully I will have a better insight to my topic area. 

Getting Back into Blogging

After a few months of taken some time off due to my work schedule, I have now begun blogging again. From the beginning I have struggled to get into blogging, even on social media I do not write a lot and it normally consists of uploading photos. The idea of writing what I think and about what I’m doing I find quite daunting as I am  private person. I released however that I do enjoy reading about what other people are doing and their thoughts so I thought what is the difference if it's mine. 

I decided to read and research more about blogging itself and I found this article which helped me. So for those who are just starting or struggle like I do this might be a good read for you…..

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/15-reasons-i-think-you-should-blog/

Change of Topic

After looking into my inquiry with regards to ethics I have decided to completely change what my inquiry is about. Although I was interested in my topic in question and about Chinese Culture, I realised the inquiry would be too hard to carry out whilst I am still in the UK. 

I have now started researching about how to maintain a professional dance career. One thing I have noticed for myself and where I have seen others struggle, is maintaining their career. Once you have left college it is all about getting a job, would you get one? how long will it be until you do? have other people in your year been successful yet? All these questions and worries go through your head once you have left college and have join the big wide world. When I first graduated I got a job on a UK tour in the summer I left, which I was so excited about as I was not expecting to. After that I think most people think it will be easier once you have your first break… however it isn’t. 

Maintaing your career I think is one of the hardest parts about the industry and that is where most people start to give up or go into something else other than performing. From my own experience, and seeing my friends and colleagues going through the same thing, it made me want to look into if there was a way to help people with the smaller problems of being a performer in order to make the bigger problems easier. There will always going to be an area that you can’t control, which is whether you will be chosen for the job, however putting yourself in the best form possible will always increase your chances of being more successful. So many times myself and the majority of performers I know have not been able to go to auditions because they have had to work to get money to pay for rent, food, classes and the gym in order to live and stay in shape. However if you aren’t able to make the auditions because of this how will you get a performing job which is what you actually want to do.  

I started by thinking about the main factors involved.

1). How do you become a professional dancer?

2). What is a professional dance career?

3). Once you have achieved this status, what are the obstacles involved?

4). What would help overcome these obstacles?

5). Is that help accessible?

I have started a Special Interest Group (SIG) which I have created on Google Plus, please find the link below:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104886174522919743153

I would love to know everyone’s thoughts on this topic. 

Online Session - Ethic

Yesterday I joined in on the online session with Adesola. The session focused on the topic of ethics. We looked into several areas all associated around ethics and how it relates to our inquiry. There were a lot of points that I hadn't considered to be part of ethics. We started by speaking about our own inquiry and what we were planning on doing and how our inquiry would effect other people. Adesola talked about how our investigation could effect people or not and how we would know if it was positive or not? 

We went on to discuss how we would word our inquiry. For example I was going to use the term 'culture' in my inquiry however after discussing the meaning of culture and how would I define it, I realised it was a very ambiguous word to use as people could interpret it in several different ways. I have now decided not to use the term culture in my inquiry. After discussing this topic we realised we all needed to be very specific when wording our inquiry. 

We then looked into the do's and don'ts when carrying out our inquiry, especially if we are interviewing or using questionnaires. The main categories were:

Ethical Issues:

Make sure you make it clear you are aware of the ethical issues involved. 

Consent: 

• It is hard to interview children as they will say what they think you want to hear, it is better to observe them. 

• Do people actually known what you're doing and what you're inquiry is about, as the research constantly changes the inquiry changes, it is important that people can drop out at any point of the inquiry. 

• Always use pseudonyms 

Interviewing:

What the effect of being interviewed or not being interviewed can have on a group of people. If you are using people that are in a certain category such as people from a particular culture or elderly people, they may not see themselves in that category . 

There were many other areas that we touched upon. However one of the points that really helped me was realising that we do not have to find out one answer at the end of the inquiry. It may lead to other questions and open more doors. It is about researching the topic you are focusing on. I kept thinking that I needed to have lots of figures and answers at the end of my inquiry, however Adelsola pointed out that we 

are only looking into this topic over 3 months which is a small amount of time to make much of a difference. The inquiry is about finding more information about our topic 

area, which should lead us to other ideas or questions.

Overall I found the session incredibly helpful and it has made me see my inquiry in a completely different way. I enjoyed talking through the different areas as I was very confused before but now I feel like I have a better insight into what ethics involves. 

Thank you Adesola . 

Starting Module Two

Starting Module two has been a bit of a struggle. I have completely failed at balancing my time equally between different projects. I was also stuck on what to create my SIG group on. After reading the handbook I started looking at what I had touched upon in module one. I started a mind map on the possible things I could base my SIG around and what I was the most interested in researching more about.

After going over the questions I wanted to look into in module one, and as most of my performance experience has been touring other countries, I have decided to look into the impact that dance has on other cultures other than our western culture, and to compare the two in terms of opportunity. 

My original questions after touring China were: 

-  Why are certain websites restricted in China?  

Can dancers be successful in this industry without the same networking Web 2.0 facilities? 

What is the accessibility of other dance styles in China?

Do you have to be well educated in order to get these opportunities?

Does the language barrier make a big impact? 

Now I have narrowed down what area I want to look into, I will now get stuck into researching and create my SIG ……

Task 3d Critical questions and issues that emerge

Overall module one has opened my eyes completely. I hadn't realised how much I had not been using the facilities available to me to improve and develop in my professional practice. Looking at the questions provided in this task it has lead me to critical questions and issues about my professional practice. 

First of all one of the biggest areas that have appeared to me, is how crucial communication is within the industry. Whether it be whilst still performing, teaching, learning or networking it is essential. One area, is keeping up-to-date with the technology available to us. For example I bought a MacBook Air in order to make a better quality show real and videos of my work. Knowing how to use technology to its full capability is important. Remaining up-to-date with your communication technologies is key as well, social media has a lot to offer within my professional practice and it makes it easier to stay in contact with people and find more job opportunities. Ultimately the biggest topic that has emerge is how much face to face interaction and taking more time to apply for opportunities is key. 

Currently my engagement has been limited and unplanned. I realised I had not been making enough time to network with people and to stay current with what is going on in my profession. Moving forward I have made a plan of how I can improve my time management and therefore increase the amount of time I spend in this area of my work. 

After touching briefly on some areas of the industry and from sharing and listening to the experience of others it has come to my attention that although we have an incredible amount of knowledge at the end of our fingertips, we may not be using these communication technologies in the right way. These are a few questions that I would like to explore further into: 

Are we relying too much on technology rather than communicating face to face?

Has the increase of accessibility weakened the professional industry?

Another area that I want to look into is largely inspired by my tour around China. I would like to look into the opportunities available to Chinese performer. Also after struggling so much with the restrictions to certain information and realising how vulnerable you can be if you just use one source of information for your profession, I would like to look further into how performers living in China find out about job opportunities and is it restricted? These issues have lead me to ask the following questions: 

-  Why are certain websites restricted in China?  

- Can dancers be successful in this industry without the same networking Web 2.0 facilities? 

- What is the accessibility of other dance styles in China?

- Do you have to be well educated in order to get these opportunities?

- Does the language barrier make a big impact? 

Task 3c Sources Of Information

Following on from the previous task about the different theories relating to networking, this task is mainly related to the theory of Connectivism. Looking at the way in which technology now teaches you.   

I started to look at the sources of information I currently use. I realised how much I have limited myself to just the internet. Although the internet is one of the biggest sources of information now it is definitely not the only source that is beneficial. Therefore I started to think of the different ways I could gain information for my professional practice: 

Books/publications: I rarely use books, publications or newspapers for my professional practice, as the internet is easier to access. When I would see articles about the industry or dance I would never had normally read them or books about dance as I used to see reading as a leisurely activity and therefore didn't want to bring what I do for a living into that, which seems ridiculous now. However since starting this module and looking into how I could develop my knowledge for my professional practice, I started to read articles about the industry, much like the one I have previously posted on my blog about auditioning. I now constantly try and find books or articles that I can read that will develop my knowledge further. 

Radio: Using the radio is great for keeping up-to-date with music and current affairs. With regards to teaching it is beneficial to be up-to-date as younger students enjoy dancing to the latest music that has been released. 

TV: With regards to TV I think it has made dancing more popular and has advertised the profession in a positive light, with the chance of instant fame. Shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, X Factor, and Got To Dance has made it easier for people to get into the profession and make a name for themselves. Although this can be great for people that haven't had the opportunity to have professional training, it is also frustrating to see people that have been seen on TV get a job over someone that has trained all their life not get a job over them. Usually the performer that has trained is the stronger candidate, however because the other person is now seen like a celebrity they are more likely to get the job, as the public would prefer to see someone they know perform. This isn’t always the case however I think the profession is now seen to be quite easy to get into when in fact it is an industry with a lot of competition. 

People: This area I decided to make the most of whilst I was touring with more established practitioners and ask them their experience and thoughts on networking. I interviewed three of the singers in my cast. Although two of them have predominately been singers and actors, one had been a professional dancer and has now made the transition into a singer/actor. I found the talk very beneficial and informative. For privacy reasons I will not use their names on the blog. I asked four main questions about networking in the industry:

1). What have you found is the best way to network in the industry?

2). Has it changed since you started your career?

3). Do you think the increase in technology/social media has made it better?

4). How do you think networking could be improved in the industry?

Here is an summary of the answers to the questions:

1). All three singers said that the best way to network in the industry was to meet face-to-face and socialise with people. As they have continued to stay successful in the industry they now find it slightly easier to find jobs as they have built a wider network. People gradually work their way up in the industry so the people they once trained with or worked with are now casting directors, choreographers or assist in shows. Therefore they have built an employment history and rapport with people. They all said to make a lasting impression you should put yourself out more and not rely solely on social media. This could either be done by sending a well thought out email that is relevant to the job you want, or attend classes or workshops with companies or choreographers you want to work with. 

2). Yes! Each of them had their own opinions of how it has changed. One singer said he had originally hated the idea of networking and had hoped that it wasn’t essential to be successful in the industry and that it was solely on talent, however over the years he has realised it is not such a bad thing and that it is essential in order to be successful and have a ongoing career. The other two singers stated it has become easier to contact people and network, with the increase of technology and social media. Before the internet wasn’t really used to find out information. You had to network through meeting people, finding auditions in the newspaper, subscribe to ‘The Stage’ magazine or look on the noticeboards at the local dance studios, or rely solely on your agent. 

3). There were mixed thoughts about this question. They all felt it has made the industry more accessible, easier to stay in contact with people and it is easier to find out information with sites such as, Facebook, Twitter, Casting Call Pro, Talent Cast etc. However they feel it has weakened the industry by making it more accessible. With the increase in popularity largely due to shows such as ‘X Factor’, ‘Got to Dance’, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘The Voice’, it has made people want and think they can get fame or success instantly. People that have trained since they were a young toddler and spent their lives dedicated to the craft are now working along side people who have ultimately just started. In the past if you had not trained at an established performing arts school then it was a lot harder for you to get anywhere. Although there are plus sides to this as people that haven't had the opportunity to have that sort of training are now able to make it, it also means the standard has dropped. If it is more accessible to anyone it becomes less of a craft, wages have decreased and a lot of jobs now are not paying. As the popularity has increased the value of jobs had decreased. 

4). They all felt if fellow performers, choreographers and casting directors could have more face-face time the industry would be better. Rather than just using the internet and social media websites, it would be better to spend time socialising and getting to know people more rather just another face in the crowd. The way the economy is at the moment in most areas of business want to save money where they can and spend as little time as possible on projects. As a result you lose the quality of talent, now a lot of the companies use performers that will dance for less. Making it less of a career but more of a hobby. Recently there have been petitions against not paying dancers for jobs. If more and more people continue to work for less it will no longer to possible to make a career out of it. Therefore they believe if there was a stronger union and performers stood by one another this would happen less. 

Conclusion

This task has made me realise how important it is to talk to people more and after discussing these issues with more established practitioners you can learn a lot about other peoples experiences. 

References

WBS 3730 Module 1 Reader 3 BAPP Arts, Middlesex University, Page 8 

Task 3b Theories Relating to Networking

After reading The Networked Professional Reader, I tried to get a better understanding of what each concept meant and how it links to my professional practice. There were four main concepts that stood out to me the most starting with: 

Cooperation

The definition I found that seemed most suited was, ‘an act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit; joint action.’ (1)

Another way to describe this concept is, ‘the benefits of cooperating fully with others until you reach a point of maximum benefit,’ (2)

Robert Axelrod was the main researcher that looked into the benefits people take in to consideration when cooperating in something; is it worth getting involved or helping? and what can you gain from the situation? As I have been in China whilst carry out this module I have been surrounded by the Chinese culture. This concept reminded me of their culture and the way they carry out their business. This is called Guanxi 关系 meaning ‘the system of social networks and influential relationships which facilitate business and other dealings’(3). Most business transactions are carried out by favours. Helping one person out in exchange for something in return. This concept is also used in the performing industry. A successful way of networking in the industry is by gaining contacts that are useful to you who are able to help you and you help them in return. For example, by telling each other about auditions, opportunities, and putting a good word in for you. Without actually saying it out aloud you would expect that person to do the same for you, if you had done it for them, a lot like Guanxi. This also links back to Robert Axelord (1984) Game theory about cooperation. 

Affiliation 

Affiliation has been defined as, ‘a social or business relationship’(4). This looks into the way people like knowing or having a link to someone else. Crisp and Turner, 2007, page 266, explained this as an action that gives people, ‘a network of support that will help us when we are in need’ (5). I think this links into my professional practice when people ‘name drop’. This is when people like to associate/affiliate themselves with certain people. These people usually have something to give, either because they are successful, have power over something or are talented. For example, ‘The Royal Ballet’ has a great name for itself in the dance world. Therefore if someone mentions they performed in that company you will automatically assume they are great and are at a certain standard. 

Connectivism

At first I found this theory very difficult to understand. After researching different articles about the topic I feel as though I have a slightly better understanding. The idea has been described as ‘a learning theory for the digital age’ (6). It looks at the way in which technology now teaches you with interactive learning. The main researcher on this theory was Siemens, G (2004). 

In terms of networking and how we learn more about our professional practice is directly linked to connectivism. Technology and access to information has completely evolved. For example it use to be a lot harder to access information. You didn't carry a device around with you that you could use to send emails, photos, or gain all types of information that you could possibly need for an audition or job opportunity. It was also harder to stay in contact with people, but now with social media it is easier to stay in contact with friends, colleagues and employers. The increase of connectivism has made the performing arts industry a lot more accessible. 

Communities of Practice

This concept is described as a group of people with shared knowledge or interests that want to gain more knowledge in the area they are interested in. This idea is seen to be more beneficial than acting alone and finding information out by yourself. From experience this form of gaining knowledge is very strong. The performing arts industry is a specialised area in which not everyone knows a lot about. Therefore it is very useful to contact, work with, help and share opinions or knowledge about what you know as you will more than likely gain something in return. An example of this in my professional practice is on the social networking site called ‘Facebook’. On this there is a group called ‘The Hustle’. On this group performers share audition information, part-time work opportunities when you are not performing, deals on photographs, places to rent and any other information that could help in the industry. This is a great platform for fellow performers to help and share their knowledge, which I think directly relates to communities of practice.   

Conclusion

Looking at these different concepts has made me realise I need to share and gain more knowledge from others that are in a similar profession to me. I do not think I have been utilising the opportunities that I have around me, particularly with the contacts I have already made. My next step in my professional practice will be to start putting these concepts into practice. 

References

(1) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cooperation

(2) WBS 3730 Module 1 Reader 3 BAPP Arts, Middlesex University, Page 5

(3) https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=definition+of+guanxi

(4) http://www.definitions.net/definition/affiliation

(5) WBS 3730 Module 1 Reader 3 BAPP Arts, Middlesex University, Page 6 

(6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism 

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice