Response to more Questions that i asked to fellow Dancers!

How do you think dancers cope with the pressures of the industry?

I think some dancers manage to deal with the pressure, especially if they are very experienced & used to how the industry works, however I believe there are many dancers out there that struggle with the pressure also, as it can be very negative, narrow minded and extremely competitive, with not many jobs available, therefore the pressures of money & image etc is a continuous thing for dancers to deal with.

Do you think there is enough help psychology for dancers?

I definitely don't think there is enough physiologically help for dancers. A lot of this kind of help out there is for general people. I feel there need to be people that have trained as a dancer themselves or have studied a dancers lifestyle & pressures to properly understand to give correct physiological help.

What do you feel the biggest pressure is in the Industry at the moment as a Dancer?

I think the bigggest pressure in the industry is the way you look which affects a lot of people as sometimes it doesnt actually matter how good of a dancer you are whether you have a strength in technique or performance etc but it more often than not goes on what you look like as to how likely you are to get through a round and get hired at the end of the day. in an open call this is worse than a closed call as in a closed or private you more than likely will only be called in if you are a particular height etc and they will have looked at cv's before hand as wel as your headshot so it is still based on your look height etc wether you get a call but you wont have wasted you time and precious money going to an open call just to be turned away because they were actually looking for somone 5ft5 and didnt specify that on the website etc etc. this goes for the tiniest things not just height but such as hair colour, weight etc which is very disheartening when you know you can do exactly what they are asking you to dance wise but because you are too small or have blonde hair when they want brown you will get cut.

How do you cope with this pressure?

sometimes its just literally a case of getting used to it. once you realise that its not your talent thats letting you down (sometimes it is everyone has off days) but thats it literaly that you are too tall or short which you definetly cant change, one you get that in your head it gets easier coping with the pressure of getting cut all the time and being disheartened is natural but doesnt do you any favors in the long run. however being too fat for a certain employer is difficult to cope with as everyones body image is different and most dancers are actually pretty small (in weight) compared to the average person you see on the street so that is hard to cope with and the pressure of that means that most dancers watch there weight all the time...feeling bad when you eat something unhealthy going to the gym as much as you can or any type of exercise to try and stick to that typical dancers body. i personally take class as much as i can and try to watch what i eat but stay happy i dont make myself starve or get to bogged down with it as you have to live your life still at the end of the day.


How do you think depression affects dancer?

I guess with depression sometimes you can feel like you are not good enough or you never will be so you become a bit hopeless and feel like you can't try as hard as you want to. Also depression is quite emotionally draining, so it can stop you having the physical and even mental energy to fully apply yourself. It can be like trying to dance with a bit of a cold or flour or whatever. On the other hand, on a good day, dancing can release endorphins and make you feel better, but you have to have the drive and positivity to give it your all in the first place.

THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS I HAVE FOUND REALLY INTERESTING (AS WELL AS THE ONES IN MY PREVIOUS BLOG) AND HAVE CONFIRMED MY CHOICE THAT I WANT TO BE LOOKING INTO THE PRESSURES IN THE INDUSTRY AND WHAT IS ACTUALLY OUT THERE TO HELP DANCERS?

I WILL BE CREATING A SIG. I THINK I WILL CREATE A FACEBOOK GROUP AS IT IS EASIER TO SHARE IDEAS THAT WAY. IF YOU WANT TO BE PART ON MY SIG ON 'PRESSURES ON THE INDUSTRY' AND 'PYSCHOLOGY ASPECTS' LET ME KNOW YOUR FACEBOOK NAMES AND WE CAN GET DISCUSSING!

HEATHER X

Response to questions

Below is my first response to a couple of questions that i have asked to help with my inquiry.

These questions have been answered by a 22 year old performer who is currently in between contracts looking for work.

What do you consider to be the biggest pressure as a performer?


I think the biggest pressure in the industry is to have the 'right look'. You are considered 'big' if you are in some cases as small as a size 10, and audition panels will automatically overlook you, regardless of your talent, dependant on whether or not they deem your figure to be 'acceptable' and by this, they usually mean the smaller the better. In such an overcrowded industry, they have the luxury of being able to be this ruthless and selective but it can be extremely disheartening to dancers who are not naturally tiny and in some cases is resulting in the most talented dancers not booking the jobs, simply because there are other girls available, who weighs less. It is also a huge contributing factor in the large number of girls suffering from an eating disorder within the industry as they often feel this is the only way they can keep their weight down and consequently find work as a dancer.


How do you feel depression affects dancers?

I don't feel that depression would be linked directly with the dance industry, but certainly that for somebody suffering with the illness, that the often constant rejection could contribute and perhaps make the symptoms more severe. It is without doubt one of the hardest industries- overcrowded, critical, painful, pressurised and in most cases you are faced with constant rejection. You push your bodies to the limit, work sometimes several jobs to be able to continue in such a low paid profession and hang around for hours to constantly be told no and for somebody suffering with depression when everything already feels like it's going wrong it can be difficult to take and you are perhaps more likely to be disheartened and unable to persevere and look towards the future and hope that one day you will get that elusive yes!

Questions

After a huge brainstorming session and research i have narrowed my questions down. 

I feel that i am in-between the stage of being a dancer and teaching as although i teach dance and i also still attend auditions.

 I feel i don't want my inquiry to be based completely on the teaching aspect of dance, as although this is something i am extremely interested in I feel at this stage of my career looking into psychology behind dancers will be more beneficial. This is something i am very interested in as i have also been aware of why people are doing things and how dancers think compared to non-dancers. 

This will also help me as a dance teacher, understanding dancers and the way we think and the profession will help me to share my experiences and that of others with children and help them if they want to persue a career in dance or whether they are doing it just for fun. 

'Pressures of the Industry' is something i am very passionate about as i am feeling the pressures of the industry and inquiring about this will help my professional practise as i am hoping to finding coping strategies and reasoning that will be able to help others as well as myself. 

Here are some of the questions i have come up with. 

• What are the main pressures of the performing arts industry and how do they affect dancers and what are the different ways which we can cope with these?
• What are the physiological problems caused from the pressures of the industry?
• How does depression affect dancers?
• What are different methods and solutions for dancers to cope with the physiological problems caused from the pressures of the industry?
• What are considered the main pressures of the Industry for a dancer and what are the best solutions for coping?

If you are interested in the same topics or have experiences of the topics mentioned give me an email and we can start to form so SIG. My email is heathersophiesmith@hotmail.co.uk 

Heather X 

Pressures of the Industry

I have been thinking a lot about my Inquiry and i came across this article (link below) and i feel that it is such a great source which i will be able to use in my Inquiry. I seem to be coming back to the topic about pressures in the industry.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/8554651/The-truth-about-life-as-a-background-dancer.html

In my previous blog post i have written a lot of questions and i feel this article explores a lot of these relating to Pressures of the Industry, Auditions and Agents.

Below is two extracts from the above article, this focuses on eating disorders and pressures to look your best.

"All that bare flesh, all those mirrors, all that concentrated thinking about your arms, your legs, your “look”, it can push people towards anorexia or bulimia. You see it mostly at college. “When they’re impressionable,” nods Karl. “And there’s so much pressure. You’re staring at yourself all day in tights and a leotard.” The teachers don’t help. Karl’s colleague Rachel Ensor remembers “the class before a Christmas break and the teacher said, ‘Make sure you don’t eat any mince pies.’ Everyone heard that as, ‘Don’t eat anything’.” Many dancers have some degree of body dysmorphia, they say. And who could be surprised? Nobody with a belly will be given a job in Chicago."

I definitely feel i can relate to this extract, the pressure of being at dance college constantly staring in the mirrors analysing your every move and body position and physique does mean you can start to loose perception on what is normal. It can become obsessive and un natural, of course this is not the case for everyone but i feel most dancers have become self conscious of their bodies, always comparing and competing against that person standing next to you. Will Storr, who wrote the article, mentions how,' the teachers don't help.' This i feel is a very bold statement as it is a generalising fact, not all teachers are the same or would say such things. I have however heard of dance colleges, where such statements have been said by teachers, this is a very difficult topic as each student will interpret such comments differently and can trigger problems such as eating disorders, this leads me on to this second extract below:  

"As well as poorer, dancers are getting smaller – the boys as well as the girls. Even the Inko dancers, visibly healthy every one, often go carbless, sticking to chicken and broccoli if something big is coming up. Michelle says: “You get a bit stricter when you know there’s something where you have to be looking good and you’re going to be wearing hardly anything, which for the girls can be most of the time.”

I can relate to this extract to, i know if i have an audition coming up i will try and eat less leading up to it so i can feel good in my dance wear and look the smallest i can. After all nobody wants to be cut from an audition for being too big? Do i agree with this no, but this does seem to be the way it is. However has this really changed over the years or have you always had to be slim to be a dancer ? This is good questioning for my Inquiry. Are eating disorders and body dismorphia new and increasing in dance industry or are we just more open and aware about it now?

"The queue! Out of the door and up the narrow street. Hundreds of girls in full make-up, showing so much skin. Steph began hyperventilating. Then she went home."

This extract i can also relate too as i have been standing next to a friend who has panicked in line at an audition and made up an excuse that she was going to find a friend and then she never returned. This just shows how much pressure is put on dancers and how stressful auditions can be. 

Of course this is just one article about dancers in London and i am interested to find an article of New York dancers and see the comparisons. 

This article has had some critiques, some from dancers and non- dancers. Below is an example of a critique: 

"I thought the Telegraph being the kind of paper it is would have come up with a much better informed article describing the commercial dance industry. You wrote about all the bad stuff that SOMETIMES happens and it has been exaggerated and grossly slanted. I am actually a commercial dancer myself and have danced for Cheryl Cole, Nicole Scherzy, Rihanna and a regular on the X Factor series for 5 years. There are good and bad sides to our industry just like anyone else's, but it is nowhere near as bad as you have made out here. There are many many positive sides to what we do and alot of us have had long fruitful careers that are still ongoing (and we do earn money). This article comes from a very bitter jaded point of view. Not impressed Telegraph!!!!!!!!!"

I would argue that this critique has come from a dancer who has been very lucky and like they have mentioned had a 'long fruitful career' and it is getting harder and harder to get a 'break' in this modern world. However i do agree with the fact that this article is very one sided and it has left out a lot of positives that comes from working as a dancer/performer. 

I would love to know your views on this article and if there are any points in it that you can relate to and if you have any experiences like this that you would like to share and start to create some SIG.


Heather X

Task 4A

Once i started thinking of questions, i couldn't stop! I have so many ideas what i could do for my Inquiry, writing them out has really helped me realise that each question is very in-depth and i may need to narrow some of the questions down even more. 

Below are some of the questions (I'm sure i will be adding more and more!) that i have: 

Pressures of the Industry

·      Can the Vanity of being a dancer be harmful physiologically?

·      Can the pressure of the industry cause eating disorders?

·      Have people been pressured into working into the industry?

·      Do you have to sacrifice time with family and friends to be successful?

·      What is the right ‘look’ for the job?

·      Does Talent overcome ‘who you know’?

·      Do you need to be selfish to get ahead?

·      Do you have to be wealthy/money from parents to survive in this industry?

·      How to get ahead?

·      Should you take every job that is offered to you? A job is a job?

·      Is there such thing as luck in an audition?

·      Is there such a things as Right time right place?

·      Do you have to be Independent to be successful?

·      Do dancers feel they have to have quality of Beauty?

·      Do you have to be skinny to be a dancer?

·      What is the ‘correct’ size/physique for a dancer?

·      Are performers given enough support?

·      Why do dancers accept such low paid jobs?

·      Are dancers truly happy?

·      Why people drop out of Dance College?

    Why is dance sometimes not seen as a 'proper' job?

    Why is there more demand for dancers working abroad?

     History of Dance

      How has the employment rates of a dancer changed in the last 50 years?

      How has the style of dance changed within the last 20 years?

      Is the standard of dance continually improving?

      How/has has dance become more commercialised within the last 30years?

      Nutrition

What is the best time to eat?

What should you eat?

 How much to eat?

Who to eat with?

 Eating Disorders causes and solutions?

  Can dancers afford to eat the right stuff?

Money

·      How to afford to live in London?

·      Are performers dependent on family and friends?

·      Is it fair that some people get funding and other don’t?

·      How to performers afford train fairs/travel costs to auditions?

·      Are dancers underpaid?

·      Why is it so difficult for HMRC to understand a performers Tax and employment situation?

Auditions

Are auditions fair?

Should you go to every audition?

The difference between open and closed auditions?

Should they hold open auditions when they are also having closed auditions?

How to have a good audition?

What to wear at an audition?

How to prepare for an audition?

Are auditions healthy competition?

Agents

·      How to get one?

·      Is it a good one?

·      Why are there so many?

     How long does a career as a dancer last?

·      Why is working on a cruise ship not as valued as working on the West End?

·      Why do more and more people want a career as a dancer?

    Teaching 

When is the correct time to decide to teach?

Why do some dance school employ unqualified dance teachers?

The difference between ISTD/RAD/IDTA?

Should schools do dance exams?

I Is dance teaching a more steady career than a dancer?

How to prepare children for the pressures of the performing arts industry?

Why do more girls dance than boys?

How to keep boys motivated in dance?

Should teachers have favourites?

how different teaching methods have a different affect on each student?

Should you be teaching children to be a triple threat? 

How should you approach a class when there are children who are doing the class just for fun and those who want to continue professionally?

Are you a better teaching if you have performing experience?

SThe difference between American dance and UK dance?

How to approach a situation if you feel a child is being abused/pressured into dancing?

SShould all dance teacher be first aid trained?

How do you motivate children to be the best they can be?

Should you home school children who wish to train as a professional dancer?

Module 2

Hello Everyone

Time to get cracking with Module 2.  Starting to find ideas, methods and planning for my Professional Inquiry after a lovely break.

As in states in Reader 4, Professional Inquiry is an approach to learning that acknowledges the central role of the individual to the process of learning and the

Goal is to explore a topic that will benefit your work and the work of colleagues and fellow professionals.

After reading about work based and organizational knowledge theories of learning in Reader 4 I have realized that some of these theories could be very useful when understanding my professional inquiry.

The first thing that jumped out at me was Peter Senge theories of learning. According to Peter Senge (1990:3) learning organizations are:

“…Organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.”

I felt that this linked into my professional practice as I can relate it to my learning experience when I was studying at dance college as although everyone was striving to be the best they could be, the college as a whole wanted to get the best results out of the whole college as a whole.

Systems Thinking by Peter Senge is all about seeing the Whole rather than parts. It is about the long term, not a quick fix, as this will come back around to haunt you.  Building a shared vision, rather than just having a personal vision, create a shared one. I think this will help me when planning my Inquiry to focus on what I want to achieve from my Inquiry as I know once I start inquiry new ideas and inquiry’s will open up and I don’t want to end up getting lost in a sea of thoughts. 

This brings me on to Senges idea of Personal Mastery, Personal mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively’ (ibid. 7)

http://infed.org/mobi/peter-senge-and-the-learning-organization/

Personal Mastery, people with a high level of personal mastery live in a continual learning mode. It is a process, a life long discipline. It entails developing personal Vision.  Returning to this quote when planning and carrying out my Inquiry will help me remember that I will be continually be finding out more and more, it will be on going and stop me rushing to get to the end result. 

After reading reader 4 I have realized that Professional Inquiry has many links to Work Based Learning.

Work Based learning (WBL) “May Promote self-awareness of such ‘blind spots’ in practice’ (medical education. Jul 2001, vol.35. Issue 7. P709-709.1p.) I feel that my Inquiry will be doing just this. 

WBL has areas of learning (AOLS) I feel that I could use these as a guideline for my Professional Inquiry. See diagram below:

·      Context: The context in which learning occurs.

·      Content: The experience/situation/task

·      Theory: The use of evidence based processes for decision making and problem solving

·      Level descriptors: Accreditation of Prior Experience Learning (APEL) is used to match learning outcome levels. Depends on the degree of knowledge and understanding.

·      Breadth versus depth: In-depth analysis and exploration of progressive learning.

·      Evidence: Proof of learning, valid, authentic, current, sufficient, reliable, Ethical, reports, conversations, emails etc. (This will be useful for my inquiry)

·      Volume descriptors: Satisfying the amount of learning where credits are awarded.

Schön devised a double loop learning system and I feel that using double loop learning will be unavoidable when carrying out my inquiry, this is because I feel I will come across new challenges and ideas and new things that will need me to approach things differently, rather than using Kolb’s single loop learning. Cycle. The double loop learning by Schön will still allow for the same desired outcome, but allowing there to be interventions along the way.

"In single-loop learning, we learn to maintain the field of constancy by learning to design actions that satisfy existing governing values.  In double-loop learning, we learn to change the field of constancy itself." [Argyris and Schön, 1974, p.  19]

(http://www.aral.com.au/resources/argyris2.html#a_as_toa)

 With all this in mind, I feel I am going to have a lot of ideas and methods that will help me with my professional Inquiry. For now I will continue to read through Reader 4 and the extra reading so I can crack on with Task 4a.

Heather X