5B&C Ethics continued………….

Your ethics have to change with every circumstance you are in. It is made up of Values and Belief of an individual, yourself. Once you then work within a company you have the obligation to follow the rules they have set in place. One has to be open-minded and respect that something may be highly ethical to you however disregarded by another individual, “agree to disagree”. This document explores the ethics a “dancer” should have;
http://www.ethicsdance.co.uk/resources/downloads/ethics-in-dance---a-debate-yet-to-be-held.pdf 

The more willing you are to do this will affect the society you live in. Everyone is entitled to there own opinion, yet when and how they discuss it is imperative.

Within my inquiry it is vital that it is ethically correct. To continue with this I need to present all findings as accurately as possible. The information needs to be stored correctly and should be honest and not manipulated in any way. I also want all evidence to my findings available, I will store everything whether I think it’s necessary or not. The people I interview should not be influenced by my thoughts; the questions should not be phrased to gain the answers I think I want. By doing all of the previous means to can collect all the information I need in an ethically correct manor.

I feel in my current situation on a cruise ship ethics are very exaggerated, especially at the moment due to the incident on the Concordia. Health and safety is at its height, with drills every cruise and more and more training sessions with information that we now have to know. Due to this in my previous blog I felt like there was so much information I could include, could it all possibly be ethics?

I have read Ahmets blog; http://mrahmet.blogspot.com/2012/10/2nd-campus-session.htmlwhere he refers to Adesola point, “ethics are a sensation, as appose to a thing”. In an audition for example would you really abide by the dance ethics and codes of conduct by Michele M Rasmussen; http://ezinearticles.com/?Dance-Ethics-and-Codes-of-Conduct&id=4623455

In an audition would you “share the floor?” By getting the job I have at the moment I had to share one studio with over 400 girls, I wanted that job and was not willing to share. I order to get this job I had to become someone I wasn’t, I had to put on an act and push myself to the front to be seen.

First thoughts on Ethics!

First thoughts on Ethics!

Taking my professional community on the Fascination I considered the ethics, which apply to me. I wrote down the first things that came to my head and did not refer to any documents.

Appendix A   

The thoughts I wrote down covered so many areas. Things that I personally like to abide by, things that I have learnt with experience of working not just as a performer but also in a call center, waitressing etc, and then also ethics set down by the company I work for. My ideas and thoughts on ethics were a continuous flow.

I think the fact that I work and live in a small environment means ethics becomes very intense and also even more important. I am continuously representing the company, even when I leave the ship for the day I am surrounded by guests and have to constantly be aware or my actions. I also live, eat and sleep with the people I work with, it’s important that we have certain ways of dealing with situations and people, if not things could get intense very quickly.

While I was writing down my thoughts I wondered how I’m aware of “how we do things around here”. Where have they come from?

I have attached documents and proof of where many of these come from but these are pacific to the company I work for but not necessarily the job I do .

Appendix B

In every cabin there is a folder, which is called Team Carnival Shipboard Handbook. It has six sections with the guidelines we are expected to follow;

Vessel Familiarization, Personal Safety and Accident Prevention, Environmental Compliance, Rules and Regulations, Carnival Look and Code of business Conduct and Ethics. In Appendix B it shows examples of common sense and also ethics I had to learn and put into practice. Unfortunately there wasn’t an appropriate section I could photograph under the last section, Code of Business and Ethics however I thought the titles within that section would give you a good idea of the contents.

General, Integrity, Environmental Protection, Antitrust Policy and Guidelines, Improper Payments and Bribes, Transactions in Securities, Use and Disclosure of confidential, Proprietary or Injurious Information, Conflicts of Interest And Corporate Opportunities, Outside Employment, Prohibited Receipts And Payment Policy, Gifts To A Third Party, Campaign Contributions, Public Company Reporting, Dealing With Auditors/Recordkeeping, Document Retention, Reporting Improprieties, Compliance.

I plan to read the handbook thoroughly and blog my rethink on ethics as I think one of my examples in Appendix B may be along the wrong lines!!

Hurricane Sandy, Sea Sick and Family Cruising!

The sights I have seen in the last few days have been quite incredible. Unfortunately it has effected my progress with the module but I will catch up as soon as I get a good internet connection and blog the work I have been doing while rocking about at sea for many days.

The tropical storm Sandy turned out to be a lot more damaging than first predicted. It effected the route of my ship and we were left at sea for over four days. We were able to dock at Freeport in the Bahamas and only receive the tail ends of the winds. My family are cruising so we thought we would make the most of it. The island had been flooded the previous day, roads were destroyed, trees ripped out, it was quite a sight. The lady that drove us around the island no longer had a house, it had been totally destroyed in the winds! What surprised me the most was her attitude, she laughed, chatted away and couldn't do more for us. Her attitude towards life was so positive. There was me worrying that I couldn't get online and her with no house. It put a lot of things into prospective!

Not only did I experience the effects of the hurricane on land but I also felt the effects on stage. Engaging your core muscles while on stage is extremely important however when you don't have control on gravity it's pretty much impossible. It got to the point where we were shortening the shows and taking out the risky numbers with lifts etc. We had to lower our kicks to 90 degrees and pirouettes were taken down to singles. Eventually the shows were cut!

I thought I would just update you on my whereabouts and why the lack of blogging. To top off my couple of weeks my family were also cruising, it consisted of a lot of sea sick tablets!
Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog, I word documented a lot of comments I have on other peoples blogs and will update with in the next week.

What makes a good performer??

After having a conversation with Paula via Skype we ended up exploring a lot of different topics. But one that got me going was performance!

What makes someone stand out on stage?
What draws you in?
What makes them so good?
Who is my favourite artist and why?

In cast change on the ship I am currently on I watched the shows for a month while learning them. One girl stood out every time I watched. I tried to watch other people but she had such stage presence I couldn't take my eyes from her. She trained at Elmhurst from the age of 11.........is this why??

Please comment and leave your answers and ideas.

Blogging slowly in the Bahamas!

Module 2 - 4a

After all the preparation there are still so many questions that I have, that could lead me for my inquiry but I am finding it difficult to know which route to take. I think this is because I want my inquiry to benefit my future career, as I am sure that all of us BAPP students intend too. The problem is I really don’t know where my future lies. I am currently on a cruise ship and only have just over two months. I also intend this to be my last contract with Carnival, as I want to start auditioning and try my career on land.

The reason I am doing this course is because I would like to eventually teach in schools, dance colleges and the original dance school where I trained , this course was a great starting point. But before I do that I want to keep auditioning, the more experience I have the better teacher I will be? (note the question mark!)

Below I have blogged my ideas and work I have done so far and would be very grateful for any feedback or ideas.

Please see a spider diagram that consists of topics that interest me. Appendix A

I found that the questions I asked were too general and open. I’ve narrowed down the questions and also managed to merge some together to form one question relating to areas that I felt were appropriate for my inquiry.

Is how you look essential to have a career with in the dance industry?

This question would cover a lot of questions on my spider diagram. From having a healthy eating regime and workout plan to wearing the right thing to auditions. I am a qualified ETM instructor and I am very interested in becoming a personal trainer that specialises in dance. It would give me something to focus on while in between jobs.

Could I have been better prepared for: Dance College

                                    Auditions

                                                               A professional Career

I would have to pick on of the three options. Dance college - I think this question would benefit me personally as a performer but also in the long run when I decide to teach. I feel personally that I was let down by my training as a child and there are a lot of things that I would have changed about my training from the age of 5-18.

Is there anyway I can prepare myself for the “unemployment stage?”

I really enjoy reading self help books and can see how they can benefit anyone, not necessarily performers. Maybe I could create some sort of helpful guide for performers that go through a dry spout in their career.

 Appendix A

When slowly up loading this blog due to slow connection in the Bahamas I have managed to look at a few linked in websites and also Facebook groups that have been created by previous students. That will be the next thing on my list to do when I get Wifi.

I look forward to your feedback.

One thought leading to another......

Yet again I haven't given myself a break longer than 4 days which is really a positive but very demanding and draining. A week today I fly back to America and onto a Carnival Ship to complete another 6 Months Dancing. I'm trying to prepare myself as much as possible. After a long conversation with Paula my thoughts and questions on my line of enquiry are continuously expanding, developing and changing!

One problem I have while deciding is where I am going to be when I complete the Modules. The day I sign off the ship module 2 will be complete. I will then be on land while completing module 3. I could plan all these questionnaires, interviews and different ways to investigate and then get home and not be in best place to complete my plans. All this needs to be taken into consideration.

As myself and Paula discussed,Preparation is KEY!

After receiving verbal feedback I know where I am at and what I need to improve! I am actually looking forward to the next module........whether it's because the thought of studying on a beach beats this English weather I am not sure ;-)

1st Module done......and already worried about the next!

It was a great relief to have handed in my 1st Critical Reflection........It wasn't half the standard I would have liked it to have been after falling behind on the ship. Once I got home in April I cracked on!! However as I said in my previous blog I fell literally straight into a job in Bannatyne Gym.

NOW...........I have been offered my 1st request for my next ship which I am SOOOOO pleased about however I am already worrying about the next two modules that I will be doing while on the ship. I will be based in the ideal work place but the lack of internet does worry me!!! I am going to get as organised as possible.........printing all handbooks etc which I have already done and started ready (-:

Any tips from people that have already been in this position? How did you all get on? I would appreciate all the help I can get. x