September 2014! - Fantastique! - Le Movement C'est le bonheur

ROL #Community 

So great to welcome the new mappers to the clan! Really welcome, and get ready for your own journey getting to know exactly who you are so that you can touch others [Fame:1997]. So glad that I was asked to blog about community, it really is something crucial to your personal development as a professional if I can give one piece of advice it would be not to feel alone, stressed or helpless. Yes! You are doing an autonomous MA but your not alone, no sir! You have an online community of classmates In a virtual classroom within the Mapp kingdom once you get your head round this you will uncover an Eureka moment! Take full use of the support systems at your disposal blogging being a powerful key within your reflexivity. So fasten your seat belt it may well be a bumpy ride! I guide you to the work of Austin Kleon who is at the heart of my studies, a genius on creative practice! [austin-kleon.com] The one thing I absolutely love about this course is that I'm blogging from Paris using everything around me as a muse for my studies. Do the same do what you love study what you love and you can't go wrong.

Summer Vacation!!

This summer vacation was probably the best ever. I came back to New York a week early to explore the city at night as working on the cruise liner I leave at 4pm so never get to see this fabulous city at night. 

There is something very magical about New York at night the Broadway district is very exciting! I went to see four very different shows 

The first being Pippin who is the son of a King who is trying to find his own way in life which he expresses in the solo 'Corner of the Sky'. 

He is followed by the ensemble in which I thought symbolised an entourage in the physical or it could be argued they are voices in his head. It made me think that everyone in life is on a journey and the many different roles until we are happy both professionally and personally we all undertake are all part of a chain of events leading to something that we want much like our MA experience. 

The shows choreography some how brought Bob Fosse into the room eerily and It was as if his soul was lingering, all his hard work on the show, it was very emotional for me watching his work by high level broadway artists and as you would expect it was eye lash perfect in sync! 

His choreography I felt didn't distract from the plot or from the lead performers. Neither was it cliche 'Jazz Hands' that people usually associate Fosse with. 

It was probably the first show I've seen that I noticed levels after reading The Choreographers Handbook by Jonathan Burrows the week before.

On another choreography standpoint, simplicity is a hard virtue to grasp and implement. How the smallest thing in movement has to be taught; a look, a pose, a gesture with purpose. 

Sometimes these factors which are of the most importance in performers stage presence are not focused on as much in class as audition type 'tricks'. Dancers after all are an extension of the leading artist and have to be actors as well, especially in this setting. 

Hopefully I will address performative pedagogy in my own jazz dance syllabi as my project is about finding an authentic way of teaching jazz in HE. 

Hedwig And The Angry Inch was EPIC! It was very hard for me to go in with fresh eyes as I received the DVD as a birthday present when I was 21, and the four Tony awards awarded the week before I was very excited and it didn't disappoint. 

Neil Patrick Harris starred as the German transexual rock star and was a star. Practically a one 'man' show it was a very different show from Pippin. Harris is charismatic and powerful and some how fills the stage as much as much as the cast of 20 in Pippin.

Hedwig made me reflect on issues of oppression and how the character is treated unjustly by his ex partner who steals her ideas and rock songs and commits plagrisim on a global scale to acquire fame. The world and press doesn't believe Hedwig. I feel because of his lifestyle is not 'hetro-normative' (Queering term), they favour and believe his ex-partner Tommy Gnosis because of his youth and looks. 

Once Gnosis runs out of material and he starts to fail professionally the truth to the world is outed of his past with Hedwig catapulting her to fame, as talent always will come out. 

This oppression data strikes a cord within my research of Jazz Dance and how racism altered it's evolvement. 

Following on from this if we compare Hedwig's and Pipin's journey or the chain of events that unfolded in the end would it had been different without the unjust obstacles/oppression they faced? How different would life and art be if we lived in a perfect world? Would people who are boxed in 'minority groups' express themselves to an extent they do when conquering their own inner demons if oppression wasn't a factor?

Guirano and Oliver present that Jazz Dancers who are successful performance wise, has a lot to do with who and what they are and stand for. 

So, their prior experiences and the 'type' of person they are holistically intertwine with how they present themselves whilst performing. 

Although I'm still reading literature I have really enjoyed having the summer break to take time off from the main project. 

I've loved how much I noticed from the world around me which I will be using as data in my research. Especially TV and the media, the shows on Broadway and the people I am around all of which challenge my perspectives and introduce me to new knowledge and how it all fits together with me, what I know, what I think I know and what I don't know. And also how much I've changed in Module 1 & 2 and what's ahead! 

APRIL ACTION!

Well we had a really great productive group tutorial covering a lot of ground! It was really fantastic hearing about Hopal’s journey into Module 3 shedding light and sharing advice. She spoke about how she was doing two things at once: the research, how she uses the data and then how she backs it up. Being a novice researcher is like learning a new language and we are introduced in society with research through mainly quantitative modes in newspapers and how were using more of a qualitative approach like social science.

Adesola also suggested to us to compare our inquiries like a presentation to an arts council for funding this is a really good course of action to follow. Then continued to talk about “mapping the idea out” or a fence round the area/field and how were using the data to draw a picture and how other people we incorporate into the research; their fencing of the area could be completely different.

Whilst interviewing people Adesola and Hopal shared that they experience not to stop people on speaking about something if at the time they seem to drift off on a tangent as you never know if it could be useful in the future- leading to a recurring theme or a new identified phenomena/link.)

Mary, and me I feel both found it useful having “the artefact” explained to us in regards to module three. We spoke about embodiment and how sometimes especially in dance words can sometimes not be enough and how the artefact can act as a vehicle to connect our practise and illustrate our work beyond words on a page. I for one am pro anything with the argument of submission of practise as research in the arts within academia and the many possibilities of this and also how it weaves into my proposal planning.

Adesola spoke about Module Three being a 12 week 3 step process being: Data Gathering, Analysis and then Creating/Writing. Knowing what is coming next has helped me with the Gant chart and logistical concerns of administration. I feel my proposal itself is coming together and really do find it as a process of layering and also I love the constant re-moulding of my work.

I will be posting a group discussion on Linked-In on Jazz Dance and would love everyone to participate. I read The Alchemist this week I highly recommend it and I leave you with a citation:

“There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered. “It’s through ACTION!” – COELHO P (2005) KINDLE LOCATION: 1523 

"Researching The World Around You"

I have two things to share with the group the first being http://pinterest.com I found this really helpful with "pinning" everything I am researching onto a virtual board. Very cool! Adesola recommended it to me at the end of Module One and I found it really helpful this week and found a really informative book on my subject, which I’ve ordered! 

Also a friend of mine on Facebook shared an article he had come across about a dancer living in London I had mixed emotions on it especially the negative title, but related to the passion. I spoke to my sister yesterday via face time and we spoke about my proposal idea she teaches A-Level Phycology and Social Science and it was really cool speaking to someone whose research modes and methods are the same but who is completely non-artistic! We went onto speaking about positive thought and visualization skills which if you hadn’t noticed is very much at the heart of my professional practice and my proposal has elements interweaved into this, she recommended to me some work of a Psychologist Bandura on Self-Fulfilling Prophecy his investigations included with chosen rats and mazes and if you believed your rat would do it well then generally it would complete the maze! Although I haven’t looked into it further it kind of underpins my own theories about being a "product of you environment" which interestingly is a theme in Middlesex University YouTube video on the home page. And also shares themes with the article I mentioned before:

 http://industrydancemagazine.com/2014/03/why-i-will-never-be-quite-good-enough/

Let me know what you think.

Being an autonomous distant online student I reiterate the importance of sharing your own work with support structures be it family and friends, social media, the blogs and linked-in. Also in the process of completing your brief literature review like bibliography’s can lead you to other findings, these support structures in your learning environments be it virtual or not can do the same.

March On Everyone! (March's Group Tutorial Summary)

Today on the Skype tutorial, Adesola talked about the year coming into itself and how it can be overwhelming and how we are all sick of winter (apart from me I’m on a Caribbean cruise!) And how especially the module two’s finding the lexicon of the course.
We all spoke about any queries that we had from the course mine being about titling as appendix form two states we can omit the work “Technique”. Helen went on to state that it is an opportunity to think about the title of the award we want. If are research is “Inherently Embodied” on studying a technique such as ballet, tap, contemporary etc. then the award would state “ MA Dance Technique Pedagogy” or if we want to look beyond the Technique for example a historical cultural development than the word would be omitted. This really clarified this situation for me.
We discussed how process of entering into academia it is expected to understand new vocabulary, which sometimes can be a daunting prospect. I added to thoroughly let the word marinate into my personal glossary of terms so I can become “A Reservoir of Knowledge” I have to understand where the word derived form either Greek origin or Latin and how the Dictionary really aids me with this. Helen also explained the differences between Pedagogy and Andragogy the latter being how we teach Adults, Rose added, “As an adult how I like to be taught - taking it further. And how Pedagogy is the theory and approach or to cite the dictionary; “the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept”

Adesola addressed how we should be referring to the handbook and not to forget about it in addition to further reading be it on research or personal literature. And how the handbook is always their as a guide, I see it as our shining beacon of hope! And don’t forget that big orange fish #BiteSizedChunks!
 I’m observing we are all devolping our Autonomy further. We are “Pushing ourselves to the next level” and “Were in Academia now!”. Adesola also added that an MA is mapping (No pun intended) out our geographical area and that if were to push to the next level a PhD would be building our house. I found this Imagery helpful and “The research project is a vessel of acquiring academia”.
We finalized and concluded the conference call with a new date 6^th April 11:00GMT and we all need to start Linked-In special interest groups on personalized interest (Mary and Amber  -on Male Dancers Development). It will be great to support each other on this I have lots to contribute on this matter I did an AOL essay weaving in my experiences on the subject and backing up my theories on a study by Dr Doug Risner at Wayne State University USA Google his name and his thesis “Why Boys Dance” I think it was called.

I went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter World this week in Orlando I'm the biggest fan especially being a Brit in a heavily American company! And I saw a saying from on of the movies that I really relate to in the journey of the Mapper:
“Broaden your mind use your inner eye to see the future”