Questioning questions/exploring the landscape

I am writing this post to clarify for myself what we discussed on Thursday in our Module 2 Skype session and also to see if it can spark anymore discussion amoung my peers. I had been eager to discuss some ideas and questions that I had been thinking about over our summer break for my inquiry and have started to zero in on a few and this is where my thought process is at the moment...

With help from Helen, Laura, Naomi, Nikita and Amber, I was able to delve further into 1 idea in particular - the silencing of a ballet dancer's voice during training. Earlier this year during a contemporary contract I realised how shy I have become in the studio in terms of voicing my opinion or questioning how my body can achieve certain movements or even just speaking up within discussion. This I think stems from my training. As ballet dancers we are taught to only do as we are told and to never talk back. Essentially the studio must be silent and the teacher is 100% in control. This is how I have been bought up, having started professionally training at 13 and I feel there are consequences (admittedly both good and bad) that have come out of being taught in this environment. Through discussion we started to question this idea further and the different angles I could take to explore this pedagogy focus. 

After the call I wrote down all of the questions that had arisen during our discussion. Here are some of my main areas of interest at the moment;

-Have other vocational students experienced this feeling of being silenced and unable to truly voice their emotions? 
-How does it effect us as dancers and people?
-How does it affect the work environment?
-Is this something that needs to be changed in ballet pedagogy?
-How can I going forward into my career, make a change to the way I teach and conduct a class in order to avoid my students having this experience? Will this be a good thing for them? Are there definite elements that shouldn’t be changed?
-Do other industries experience the same thing?
-Will this be a universal welcomed change? 
-Does it have an affect on mental health?

These are just some of the questions that I discovered during the session on Thursday and going forward I plan to explore further into all these areas through various literature resources. 

If anyone does have any opinions or more questions for me based on the idea of 'Does ballet pedagogy silence a dancer's inner voice' then please feel free to comment so that we can discuss further! 

1st Blog of Module 2 - My Party Guest list...

On Thursday (27th September) I attended our first Module 2 Skype session... And I couldn't be happier that I made it to this one! My initial read of the module 2 handbook had left me overwhelmed by the tasks ahead but after discussing with my peers (and discovering that they all seemed to be in a similar situation to me) I feel reassured that my thoughts had in fact been going in the right direction!... Here are some of the insights and tips that I gained from our discussion:

The Literature Review
Before starting this, you need to zero in on your focus. At the moment this will be quite broad (and don't be afraid that it is). For example, I have recently undertaken a few more teaching jobs, so I have been wandering if basing my inquiry on ballet pedagogy could aid my practice best. Obviously this is a huge subject, with many different options for me to explore (such as my teaching techniques/focusing in on specific ballet techniques/student welfare etc.) So I have a focus to start me off... 

Now the literature comes into play. Using the literature (and that could be found from many resources such as theatre, books, videos, articles, online, within your own practice, in day to day teaching) you can start to explore your currently broad subject area. As you explore, certain articles and areas may start to jump out at you and it is at this point that the search is starting to narrow down to a smaller question (and not one that is aiming to 'change the world').

As you search, start to compile a 'guest list'. Imagine you are planning a party, and question yourself this - who are the most important people who have to be there? Who absolutely have to be there or the party can not go ahead? These people should go top of the list. This is how you should look at the literature. Which is the most important to me? This is your starting point. 

The point of the literature is to offer you a landscape/map. Explore the landscape from all angles until you start to find that one area that interests you most of all. And of course, don't forget to compile your guest list (bibliography) as you go! (*NOTE TO SELF!*)   

I hope this has helped anyone who didn't make it to the Skype session. I'm looking forward to discussing the outcome of everyone's guest lists soon!