Skype!

I had a lovely chat with Adesola this morning on Skype and it reminded me how beneficial it can be! So if any of you guys want to chat to discuss things then I'd be happy to :)!

I love how personal our inquiries are. Getting to choose what topic I wanted to explore has given me the freedom to pick something I was interested in and something that I felt was relevant to my practice. I am very lucky that with choosing 'networking' as my research, I am coming in to contact with so many situations and observations that are relevant. For example; auditions, press nights and class. These observations are so accessible to me as they are a part of my daily practice, therefore the information is right at the tips of my fingers! I suppose that's why I chose what I chose! But I wasn't aware of how much of an importance it would hold! 

Adesola and myself spoke about how important it is to be a 'thinker' in our practice. Not just when it comes to this course itself, but also in our work and experiences. Opening myself up to thought has benefited me in so many ways beyond this module. When first approaching this course, my aim was to just to get myself a degree so that I could open doors for myself for the future. Of course I was hoping to learn a lot but  I didn't at all expect it to have an impact on my practice and life. Being a thinker and questioning and reflecting are such amazing skills to have. Even if at the end of my inquiry I don't feel I've got myself clear answers then it doesn't matter. This whole process is the most important part and looking at where I started to where I end up is the most intriguing part. Speaking to Adesola about what my career is like at the moment has reminded me how much of an impact these skills have had, these of which I have acquired on this course. It is lovely for Adesola and myself to hear of the effects it all has!

Playing with ideas...

Possible presentation ideas for my artefact 

Booklet

Leaflet
Video footage: dance, performance,interviews with inquiry participants, tv presenter type of situation maybe?
Song
Article
Flash cards

Book 

Slide show 

Reviewing other people's blogs and also tapping in to my own creativeness has helped me think up some possible presentation ideas. 

My target audience is performers in this industry both professionals who are working now and also college students who are close to graduating. I feel that a visual source of information will be the perfect way to display my findings. It gives me the opportunity to create something exciting by using my own passion and creativeness. Being a performer myself, anything visual I find to be very appealing, therefore allowing me to take in the information with a better understanding and also making it more enjoyable. 

The last show I was part of required us to  learn about the British forces as this was the core of our show. We had an ex army   Leiutenant come in to give us a talk. He used a combination of slide shows using power point presentation as well as video footage, pictures and diagrams. Presenting this information to us in such a creative and enjoyable manner meant that as an audience we were pulled in right from the very beginning, enabling us to take in as much information as we could. This is an example of well thought out presentation, considering the audience and using techniques he knew would appeal to us. 

These experiences as well as reviewing other people's artefact ideas will allow me to create the best possible way of presenting my information. 

Sarah Robinsons blog 'some early thoughts on the professional artefact' (blog post 7/10/13) set off some light bulbs in my head. With inspiration from a fellow teacher, Sarah talks about the idea of flash cards, or something similar used as a quick and easy way of presenting the main points but to also give the audience the option, if they have the time, to delve deeper by providing them with other links. It could sort of be like an appendix I guess? 

I definitely want a visual approach to my artefact but I do feel text available to the audience is also vital. As I mentioned before, I could maybe provide them with links to more information. This could be digitally or hard copies. Maybe I could create a blog using video and pictures to display my findings but use text and links to support it all and give them the opportunity to discover more if they so wish. 

What is everyone else thinking? 

Literature- Trying out a new method

I used reader 7 to guide me through my recent literature findings. As we are looking at numerous pieces, I found this to be very helpful as it allowed to me to get straight to the important points by asking the right questions. I will now be using these questions as my guide when reviewing each piece.


Career planning: networking know-how

(Peradotto, Nicole. Pointe 10.2 (Apr 2009): 54, 56. 

Who is the author?
Nicole Peradotto; arts writer at the time for Pointe Magazine and former newspaper writer.

Publisher? 
Pointe magazine; international trade publication for ballet: news of company debuts, competitions, rising stars. Also reviews, company profiles, events, auditions, online store, blogs and higher education.

When was it written?
April 2009

Where?
New York 

Intended audience?
Ballet dancers and aspiring students. Aimed at both professional dancers now and also students starting their careers.

Intention?

We know from the opening caption that this article is going to be very 'pro' networking 'Using everything you've got- and tapping everyone you know- is the key to building a career'. Peradotto (2009). Incorporating her own views with the thoughts and experiences of industry professionals, Peradotto intends to show the reader the benefits of networking within this career and how it can help aid your success.

Writers own position?
Nicole Peradotto is a former newspaper writer but has been a longtime arts writer for Pointe Magazine. Being the arts writer for such an established magazine like Pointe shows us the expertise and knowledge surrounding these subjects. Although she is not a performer herself, this article demonstrates her experienced ability to put together well the thoughts and opinions of those established professionals.

Assumptions?
Nicole Peradotto creates her own assumptions with the help of professional dancers, choreographers and directors. This I find to very useful as we hear opinions and share experiences with different people who are in different fields.

Samantha Klanac- Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

Drew Jacoby- Freelance dancer 

Christopher Wheeldon- The Wheeldon Company

Dwight Rhoden- Co artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet 

Elizabeth McGrath- Demi soloist Ballet West 

• The more people you can create relationships with, the better this puzzle of an industry fits together says Samantha Klanac.
• Talent is a key factor but stretching beyond that itself can help you achieve so much more 
• Some say networking in any profession is almost as valuable as talent itself in terms of creating opportunities: Drew Jacoby (freelance dancer) emailed top choreographer Christopher Wheeldon with her CV and link to her website. Impressed with what he saw, Wheeldon invited Jacoby to class. Jacoby persisted with Wheeldon for months, several emails were unanswered, but one day her phone rang and she was offered a job with his company.
• Jacoby talks about being open from the beginning in order to open those connections. Exposing yourself to build genuine relationships.
• Use every source possible; teachers, older students who are now professionals, class members. Create repores with these people; chat over coffee outside of the environment, introduce yourself to choreographers of masterclasses.
• Be confident and up front about the opportunities you are seeking
• Remember all these sources will have their own networks which could work in you favour e.g recommendations, job opportunities.
• Keep in touch with past sources; could lead to teaching work or helping with audition process's etc. 
• Constantly update these people of your situation, just to remind them that you are there and looking for work: director Dwight Rhoden explained how when he needed 3 spots filled quickly, he approached those dancers who had been keeping regular contact with him e.g emailing, inviting him to performances, asking to come to company class ' Being able to network that way is productive because the director sees you and see your interest'
• Social network- keep people updated- Facebook, MySpace, twitter, email, website
• It should be a natural process so that people see the real you!

  
  

  
  

Style of writing?
The text is a newspaper article and so the style is quite informal. It is precise and so easy to read for all. This allows you to read the text quickly and still be able to gauge full understanding. When reading a newspaper article, audiences don't wont to be challenged too much in terms of language as it is light reading and not too intricate. A lot of input has been given by industry professionals so the piece feels very honest and not just the opinions of the writer herself.

The author and references she uses feel networking is such a vital part of the performance industry and that it contributes to the success of careers. Communication in the form of face to face interaction is a big theme in this article: socialising in class, introducing yourself to choreographers, teachers, students etc. However this article shows us the importance of social networking and how the internet and technologies play a big part in our communication and development. Without a lot of these technologies, it would be virtually impossible to contact our sources, not to mention broadcasting ourselves.

Professional Artefact

So i've read both Reader 7 and module 3 handbook which helped with my understanding of Module 3, however I was still finding myself a bit unsure about the whole meaning of a Professional Artefact.

I did a bit of nosing about and managed to find this slide show...created by non other than Rosemary McGuinness herself! It is really useful and explains it in a fun, quick and easy manner. Straight to the point!

Http://www.slideshare.net/wirebook11/professional-artefact

After speaking to Paula yesterday I realised that I wont know until further in to the module what it is I am going to be explaining/presenting/writing about...however, after now understanding the whole concept a lot better, I am now scanning the blogs of previous BAPP students to try and find some inspiration on how I think I would like to present my artefact. Some interesting ideas are coming up!

1st Campus session module 3 2013- Reviewing Module 2

Campus Session

So here we are, third and final module!! How exiting! But I must say I didn't feel too excited this time Monday morning. Seeing all this work in front of me and not being as prepared as I'd of hoped made me panic...a lot. A few months off and I felt a bit lost. That's why I decided to make the trip from Liverpool and get myself to the first campus session. Well it's definitely helped as I hoped it would :)! Helping me get back in the zone and make it clear in my head what needs to be done. 

Paula asked us to explain to the others what our inquiry question was and what point we felt we were at at the moment. I felt vocalising it helped me myself make more sense of where I was at and I also find it really interesting hearing other people's proposals and subjects. It was so nice to see the passion behind it all. 

After Paula reminding us how to navigate our way around summon, I am now exploring more literature. I found quite a lot of extracts, blogs and articles last module surrounding networking but I am keen to find deeper and more educational theories written by more accredited people. 

We did a few fun exercises during the session. One of which we had to create something visually on a piece of paper, showing what that word meant to us. You could create any shape but you couldn't draw pictures. For example 'growth', I created a vertical line of circles which gradually got bigger from the bottom to the top, with arrows pointing upwards at each side. This exercise demonstrated a good way of getting your thoughts from your head down on to the page. Sometimes we find it hard to put in to words what exactly is in our heads. This is what we must accomplish in our inquiry and so this exercise is a great way of achieving this. 

We spoke about how strong the communication and social side of this course is. Peers, SIGS and advisors are constantly at our fingertips and we must utilise these sources to help us through this process; whether it be to ask a silly question about something you are stuck on or to just talk about your inquiry, asking questions and getting advice.