3A/ 3C Range & value of my current Networks/ Sources of information

Networking is a vital element within many career choices, the ability to interact and build contacts with people within your industry can be the key to building a successful and extensive career.

Being a successful Dance performer and teacher can rely heavily on reputation and getting you face known, be it by recommendations, networked online contacts, friends or even social acquaintances.

Recommendations/ Word of mouth.

In my teaching recommendations are vital to ensure I am continually in work. As a freelance performer and teacher, being self motivated and having the ability to 'drum up business' for myself is essential. Much of my work is based within Schools so being able to be in constant communication with the Headteacher is really important. When i first started out with my own business and began to find my feet i would question the head teachers to ask how they came across and would decide to employ different providers, perhaps by email, a phone call or flyers? At almost every case their response would be for them to receive a recommendation from a fellow Headteacher I therefore ensure I take advantage of head teacher networking meets and ask current employers to recommend myself as a way to get my name and work out there and known.

Social Networking i.e. Twitter & Facebook

Social network to most is a vital way of life, the ability to be in constant communication with the world at a touch of a button. Auditions can be posted as late as hours before they take place, location changes, cancellations and most importantly the ability to network with fellow practitioners in your profession. So much of the Dance and Performance world is now spread and built online, with many individuals taking full advantage of the ability to speak to near strangers to further themselves. I found that at many auditions it wasn't necessarily 'what you know' but more 'who you know' which to me just emphasized how important it was to be known within your industry. Getting to know Choreography & Casting Directors before auditions, being in communications with present cast members, finding out as much information as possible about the audition/job and what in particular they would be looking for. All of which can be done through the use of both Twitter, Facebook and other similar Web 2.0 based program's. In a sense not even 'who you know' but 'who knows you!' 

Virtual communities 

A virtual community is a community of people sharing common interests, ideas, and feelings over the Internet or other collaborative networks. Communities such as LinkedIn provide a professional platform for people to openly discuss topics with can In turn lead to many opportunities and 'opening of doors' which might otherwise be closed. One particular community I find incredibly useful to start and create conversation & communication are the BAPP blogs which provide a space to post thoughts and work to a closed community enrolled on the same course encouraging comments and feedback from fellow students and lecturers.

Websites/ Web 1.0 programmes

Websites such as Dance Cast, Spotlight & Dancerspro can be incredibly useful to Dancers such as myself as a way to advertise yourself and begin communications with potential agents and future employers. Each website enables Casting Directors & agents a platform to view online CV's, Head shots & Showreels whilst also giving the performer the opportunity to apply for auditions and jobs. They also provide a way to 'stay in the loop' within the industry and to keep connections open through Websites such as The Stage. 

Dance class/ Social engagements 

A good old knees up or night out on the Town can be the perfect place for networking! The relaxed, fun & social atmosphere can almost guarantee you will find yourself picking up a conversation with a complete stranger, for some reason many of my conversation seem to begin in the ladies loo...Glamorous I know! Many 'artists' tend to head to the same known night spots where you will be immersed by like minded people throughout the evening, random conversations discussing current Performance jobs, up and coming auditions seem to just flow naturally, which in many cases can provide incredibly useful information and give you a new 'contact' within the industry. 

Dance classes & studios again provide a huge platform for networking and picking up new contacts, a great place to mingle and collaborate with other industry professionals who can inform, educate and advise. The information which can be seen plaster across studio walls can be on its own brilliant in finding advertised auditions, workshops and classes.

I must admit when I first thought about Networking Tools my immediate thought was to think about Internet technologies, but when I really began to reflect and think about all the ways in which I Network the concept became so much more. I do believe however a way to possibly improve my personal Networks & contacts could be to take more advantage of the Web 2.0 based program's and virtual communities as I feel these do offer a constant stream of Networking possibilities 24/7.

2D Inquiry Questions

Along my BAPP Journey to date many exercises have made me consider different aspects and questions that I would have perhaps overlook in the past.
I feel these questions and topics could possibly be explored leading somewhere toward my later inquiry, but as yet I have so many that I am nowhere near ready to decide on one single topic or question.
A few questions & statements I have been asking myself and reflecting on are listed below.. I would really appreciate any of your thoughts...

Who should be the main disciplinarian during a one off workshop, the main school teacher or a visiting teacher?

The effects of my personal energy and mood on others during a workshop.

Which teaching styles and theories have the most success when applied in my practice, showing both development and may increase the children's learning?

Children's ability to retain information/ choreography... any possible theories or styles which can encourage this to a better level.

How pressure in performance can relate to a child's progression...sink or swim!

2C Reflective theories

Each and everyone one of us use reflection on a daily basis without even contemplating it. A natural process in which we are able to learn from experience, extend our understanding and to learn something ‘new’.

Learning from experience is a way we are able to turn information and learning into knowledge Work based learning programs (WBL) such as the BAPP rely heavily on such methods, as experience in a specific area is expected as a way to gain sufficient knowledge for the course.
Boud et al 1995 refers to needing 'tools' in order to turn learning into knowledge many thinkers feel reflection and reflective practice are key tools within the process.
Using such tools within my personal journey on the BAPP course helps me to find alternative ways to look at my experiences, in order to extend my own understanding beyond its present capacity, learn something ‘new’ and question personal and others experiences in relation to learning.

The first stage of learning is to be able to identify something is missing in order to gain knowledge to find and experience the new learning. Mcfee describes this by using an example based on the concept of the word 'Bachelor'. 
A way in which I was able to understand in more depth this concept was to reflect on a personal experience relating to colours. When looking at a towel which I presumed would be commonly seen as blue I found that my friend comment on the fact it was green. My first reaction was to question whether I was correct in my knowledge and perception, or the difference between us was our interpretation of the colour. In order to find and solve the misunderstanding between us I first had to learn what we both understood as Blue or Green ie a blue sky, a blue sea, the green grass, a green traffic light. But in my reflection I found myself again asking how we can be sure what each of us is seeing and interpreting? Part of what we know and understand is based on what we have understood and adopted from people who are around us frequently. An extreme example of this would be the film the Truman Show where he is conditioned into thinking that his whole world is with in a fixed environment and daily routine as this is all his has been taught and learned from birth. Therefore he has not had the tools to enable him to reflect and question his knowledge and to identify anything missing. We all to a certain degree except what is around us for what it is, the degree to which we question anything depends on individuals and there inquizitivness and need to know more.  
Going back to my original example I quickly realise that my friends family refer to that colour as Green and that is where her interpretation stems from. Whilst me and my friends have always looked upon it as Blue. 
In general we all go as individuals for the most commonly perceived view and acceptance of things around us, up to the point where someone questions it, we then need to make an evaluated decision on what the 'consensus' is. Sometimes to be comfortable in or minds we may just except this. 
In the case of the colour we could actually refer to an internationaly excepted standard suchas the Pantone which would say definitively what that colour was. As long as both I and my friend agree we are both looking at the same colour we can then interperate it individually as we wish. 

Within my role as a dance teacher my ability to understand individuals ways to learn and process information is essential, in order to be confident in this I need to ensure i am able to identify different ways and aspects of learning. Both Kolb and Gardner refer to this in their thinking, with Kolbs learning cycle & Gardners multiple intelligences.
I have discovered that the point in which i enter the 'learning cycle' can alter depending on what learning I am doing. Reflective observation and active experimentation are key processes to begin for my personal learning, I find to initially get myself started I rely on examples and viewing other people's opinions as inspiration to create my own ideas, however at some points I simply use 'trial and error' (active experimentation) as a way to get my ideas out and down on paper before editing for a final piece. 
As a child my Brother was extremely academic, flying high through school always performing well in exam situations and gaining fantastic grades at both GCSE & ALevel. For me it was slightly different, I hated exams and never thought myself to be an academic, I always classed myself as the 'Creative' one. My parents would constantly comment on how this didn't make me any less 'bright' for perhaps not getting an 'A' in Maths but that I shone in the subjects that required more practical elements. I never really thought about this until looking through the reader and reflecting which actually made me realise that infact my parents where completely correct in what they were saying and the fact was that the way in which I processed and learnt form information was completely different to that of my Brother. 
Children can be very vulnerable during times of learning and if they feel the information is not perhaps delivered in a way they can understand and relate, this can in some instances stunt their learning rather then insure its growth. In this respect Garderners concept of multiple intelligences or VAK can be incredibly useful. His research change the way we think of a 'traditional learner' and enabled us to uderstand that people can be 'intelligent' in a number of different ways. With regards to my teaching this can help me to identify the best way to communicate and get the best from my children in both a class and individual basis, ensuring each child can reach their potential though learning in the way which comes easiest and most natural to them. 

A major part of my work involves choreography, developing and adapting pieces
depending on individual needs. When devising choreography I rely heavily on methods such as reflection-in-action as theorised by Donald Schön (1987) to ensure a hands on approach to correcting and editing my work. Schon introduced the idea of reflection-in-action, and reflection-on- action the theory states that Reflection can happen both while you are in the middle of it or reflection can happen looking back on it. Referring back to the comparison between myself and my Brother, who I class to be more of an 'academic' as a-posed to myself would be a prime example of both types of reflection in practice. On a daily basis I head into a new school with little information as regards to ability of classed and individuals bar their age, the process of reflection -in- action is one i use frequently. If I find the children are finding certain steps difficult or the choreography perhaps hasn't developed as I would have hoped, I'm able to identify this and change parts as we go along to create the desired effect within the time allocated. Whereas My brother tends to use the concept of 'Reflection -on- action taking his time to reflect on previously written works to go back and develop at a later date after rereading & analysing from a new perspective. 
Dewey also makes this temporal distinction, looking at how the time/situation impacts on how you engage with new ideas, 'present' or 'future' being two distinct and different ways to engage with experience. (Jackson,1998;Dewey, 1934)

It has been a very interesting process looking at how relevant many of the theories are to me personally and how I rely heavily on many for my work  on a day to day basis. It had also given me food for thought regarding my possible inquiry questions .