Coming to the end of the road...

With my presentation drawing nearer, I feel like I am coming to the end of my BAPP journey. In celebration of my journey, I'd like to share some of my reflections.

In seeking to understand one theory (the theory of Multiple Intelligence) I feel I have in fact gained an understanding of a theory of knowledge. The process has enlightened me to the value of research and given me tools to process the information in accordance to my practice and understand that information is not knowledge until it has been connected to parts of my life and transformed into knowing.

My thinking has been greatly informed by George Siemens Knowing Knowledge and I would highly recommend that anyone read it. I feel it is really relevant not only to my degree but also how we view information in the new digital age.

My idea of networks has now broadened considerably. In module 1 I could only think of my colleagues and associates within my practice or training and the connections I may have via social media. However, I now feel imagine my network as an abundance of scholars and theorists that create a pipeline of information that will help me develop my practice into the future. 

I have positioned myself now as an educator within the field of dance pedagogy as opposed to being just a dance teacher and have new confidence in my abilities. I have gained a better understanding of ethical considerations and how I have a duty as an educator to establish my own educational philosophy.

I believe that while I might not be the young fit dancer I was at 21, my experience has given me many tools for life that I am now in a position to pass on to my students. This has also given me confidence to share my work and dance my Module 3 artefact. Please follow the link below to discover a dance piece expressing my journey  

Dance Artefact

I look forward to sharing my work on Monday for my presentation and look forward to sharing the experience with our BAPP community.  

  

Artefact

This blog hi-lights some of the significant discussions I had during Wednesdays Group Skype and this evenings Module 3 Skype on how we communicate ideas.

From the first call I took away the idea of staying honest to my practice. I have been worried about where and how I am going to film my choreography for my video, as I don't have the facilities of a theatre or a professional cameraman and was concerned filming it in my dusty old dance hall would look unprofessional. However, on the call, I was reminded that we want to give an honest representation of our practice and give the viewer of our artefact a real view into what we do and to keep our artefact in context with our practice.

Tonight's call also reinforced this idea, with Adesola saying that the length of our artefact should be in line with what we create in our practice. In my practice there's a time limit generally of 4 mins, dancers and choreographers only have that amount of time to capture everything they want to say in their creation.

Adesola added - The artistry is how poignant it can be, not how long. This made me think more about the content of my artefact. I want to tell a story of the journey of my inquiry that will communicate to everyone. On the call, we discussed how the art is telling a story that is understandable and not letting the watcher edit it for themselves.

I want to express the passion I have for dance but also show where the threads start to tie together. I have felt the journey has been quite emotional and I hope my music choices for different sections of my dance hi-light this.

Expectations were also a topic of Wednesday's call, how things very rarely go to plan and how deviating from the plan is part of the process. My artefact has changed shape a number of times now, but I feel it needs to in order to grow and strengthen as an idea. This evening we discussed how we have to be aware of our own creative process in relation to our practice. For me, this is a reminder that I usually play around with ideas, I'll create choreography at home and adjust it as I'm teaching. I'll change it dependant on the space available and pupils abilities and on watching it back. I can't expect anything different from my artefact.

Lastly, one point that was significant to me was the question - Will the process of making the artefact add to my already existing data in my inquiry? I hope it does, while my artefact is about the journey I have been on, not so much the discovery of information I hope I can use this process to add more to my practice.

It may help me concentrate more on portraying a story or working with my students to develop their storytelling skills. Once I have shared my artefact I may have new questions or ideas that I can take further and add to my presentation. I am starting to see how all 3 ways of communicating my inquiry process - Essay, Artefact and Presentation are linked together.

Dance Artefact - Dance Your PhD

After last nights group discussion, I planned to write a post on Ethics.

I started with revisiting my Module 1 blog on Ethics which reminded me of a scholar 'Sho Botham' that is working to raise the awareness of understanding of Ethics in Dance Teaching. I re-read some of her work. Which is definitely worth a read, no matter what Module you are in.- http://www.ethicsdance.co.uk/downloads.html

And then I had a look through her bibliographies for sources of further reading and then  I discovered this TedTalk Video at https://allworlddance.com/Style/education/  and I instantly had to share it.

Last night we also discussed our Artefacts and our ideas on how we can present our reflections on our practice using other than words. Eduardo said that he has been thinking on how HE IS the artefact as he is a product of his practice and this resonated with many of us on the call. 

My practice is Dance, so I am currently thinking of ways to express the Module 3 process. Adesola recently reminded me that my body and dance performance can show my knowledge, my practice experience and my history. And I feel this video helps hi-light how dance can build more of a picture than writing in many cases.

I also wanted to share my journey to this video find as a reminder that we often find things when we are not looking, and that following a thread can lead to the most wonderful discoveries.

How does this video resonate with you and your practice?

Have you found any nuggets of wisdom when you weren't looking for them?


Bibliography 

Botham, S. (2018). download articles. [online] Ethicsdance.co.uk. Available at: http://www.ethicsdance.co.uk/downloads.html [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Smith, C. (2011). TEDx Brussels: John Bohannon & Black Label Movement in Dance Your Ph.D. [Blog] All World Dance. Available at: https://allworlddance.com/2011/12/06/tedx-brussels-john-bohannon-black-label-movement-in-dance-your-phd/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].