Blast from the past............and finally making a connection!

My inquiry led me to dig up all my old exam sheets. I wanted to see what I was graded from 5 years old. It was every interesting looking back. I never reflected then, for me it was all about just getting the highest mark I could, not looking back at the comments and improving from them.

Now I have gone back to my original dance school I have finally at the grand age of 24 put a lot of things into place:

• The importance of syllabus work for core strength, technique etc. 

At the time I thought it was a chore, I just wanted to learn routines! I wanted to listen to the latest music and dance to it. I wanted to be funky!

• In exams you are given feedback.

I literally wanted to get honours in every exam and if I didn't I got grumpy! I never read the comments the examiner had personally given me, I looked at the mark. If I had took the comments on board I would have been more likely to get honours next time. 

• Mime! 

From the age of 3-5 you are not given grades, you get a certificate. With in the exam you have to do a mine, a fairy tale or nursery mine! Acting out the story so the examiner can guess the fairy tale is genus! I never looked back and realised I formed a character while performing. If I had carried this on through out my training as a young adult would my performing skills be better?

• The importance of the music

I always wanted to dance to the latest music however we had set music to every exercise. Now I see how important this was, the music is set for a reason. The rhythms, timing and phrases are all there for a reason and more modern music does not give this stability. It is nice to have a change once in a while but the set music is good grounding.

When I began this inquiry I wondered why syllabus work was so important. I never did it while I was in full time training why do it when your younger. However now I realise what a good structure it is and the reasons behind it. I think it is good to have a break from it once in a while and this is the reason I am planning a performance based class/workshop. I feel this will help with not only syllabus work but also performances and everyday life for young adults.

I am planning a class in which I can entice, encourage and help students with their performance skills. I am using my findings with in my professional practice, literature and current studies to plan this class. I think the above findings are also very important. If I can tell the students what I wish I knew at their age maybe they will benefit from this. Now I need to explore the ways in which I can tell them, verbally, with in an exercise etc. I want them to know how important it is to have the structure of a syllabus and how my class will help them use there feeling, emotions, experiences with in this work.

Linking Literature to finding!

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.mdx.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0197455612000020?np=y

When reading the above article not only did I discover an amazingly well planned inquiry and anaylse but also great information and bases for planning my artifact and backing up my findings.

The inquiry is based on a small group of psychiatric patients (psychotic or depressive disorders). The group has primitive expression (PE) form of dance therapy for 6 weeks with 2 sessions a week. Though the children and young adults I will be teaching do not suffer from either I feel the structure for the classes are good bases for all classes.

“The force of rhythm”

In my observation I noticed a dramatic difference between the classes that used syllabus set music and the classes that used chart music. The students showed on there faces that they enjoyed the rhythms and lyrics and were able to express their emotions however with the set music it was a mere beat form then to follow and keep in time too.

“The use of voice”

“Through his voice, he expresses his own personal feelings, consciously or subconsciously”

Not only does the voice express how some one is feeling but I also think it can help when describing something. When observing the classes I thought that I would hear a lot of dynamics in the voice to help verbalise movements and feelings however I didn’t. For instance a ballet teacher at college would describe a fondu (bending on one leg) literally “to melt” into the floor, as she said this her voice melted and slowed down. Her voice said it all. Talking through the movements always helped me grasp the feeling behind the actions and what a choreographer wanted.

“The repetition process”

Through this tool, the patient is made to “give a bit more” with each repetition of a given movement.

It’s very useful to repeat a movement and experiment with the feeling behind it. If you are going to be doing the same movement/syllabus/performance/show over and over again this keeps the feeling fresh.

“It’s nice to venture away from syllabus work and become more free, using the exercises and the movements from the syllabus but adapting those with a different style, strength or music” Quote from interview 1.

This is something that is already trialed with in the school however not that often.

“The importance of the group”

One thing that has held me back from “performing” is the thought of others with in the same profession judging me. I think it is so important that all the students feel comfortable with in a class. In all the interviews with the teachers I asked what the main aspect of dancing was to them and they all answered the same; the students being happy. Which reflects in the number of students that come back, observing body language and facial expressions.

“The use of play”

“He plays and dances roles from his own life and expresses them effortlessly without the criticism of anyone, because he is in a play”

Enabling yourself to create a character as you dance, expressing that person and letting go of you.

“The aim is to alert the participants to act and express themselves, while orienting their drives in a positive way”

Channeling your stresses, worries or anxieties from you own body in an acceptable way. Alter ego?

In summary each of the above tools from the inquiry can be used to create a meaningful and creative performance.

However, through the combination of all these tools, the dancer may feel freer to overcome the super-ego, possible limits and insecurities expressed in restricted movements, and may experience sublimation, enabling the feeling of enthusiasm.