Friday 30 September 2022

Exploring the written word

 A great session today with Peter, Helen and other members of the MAPP community. It was great to unpack some ideas around what writing is and how it feeds our society. 

It was great to see how Peter structured the process of writing into the generating, organising and presenting segments. He suggested to us they we do not worry about the reader during the generating phase, and this seems key to me. He reminded us that the thread between these 3 stages is not linear and can be rather chaotic. This made me think of my tendency to over plan and how this sometimes kills the creativity of my mind. As Twyla Tharp says:

A plan is like the scaffolding around a building. When you're putting up the exterior shell, the scaffolding is vital. But once the shell is in place and you start work on the interior, the scaffolding disappears. That's how I think of planning. It has to be sufficiently thoughtful and solid to get the work up and standing straight, but it can take over as you toil away on the interior guts of a piece. Transforming your ideas rarely goes according to plan. 

(Tharp, 2006, p.119)

The biggest takeaway from this session for me was during the freewriting process focusing on the question 'What is writing?' I was quite surprised by the responses which were coming on to my page. They made me realise just how important writing actually is for me. Not only being a way of communicating with others but also as a way of expanding oneself, one's knowledge and generally making sense of the world. In recent years I have understood that writing is special to me, but I did not fully appreciate the important part it plays in my life until now. 

I was reminded after today's session that I was a child who could not read until the age of 7 and found spelling very challenging. Yet as I got older, I found a true love of writing especially interestingly enough when it is related to my work within the field of dance and based within reflective practice.

I feel that words are an important aspect of who I am, as both my parents are published authors, so we were brought up around many books!

But other members of the community highlighted the point that it is also a privileged form of communication, and this is such an important point. We rely on education to be able to write. It also had me thinking about people I know who find that they have no connection with the written word. It is not everyone's choice. 

I have decided to share my freewriting here as it feels important to do so.

Thanks to Peter for such a great session today.

References

Tharp, T. (2006) The Creative Habit. Second edition. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. 







Wednesday 28 September 2022

Performing Odette, Reflecting, reading, exploring!

 It's been a somewhat crazy week! So just getting round to blogging now and replying to comments today. 

I was dancing Odette in Stoke on Trent last weekend. It was a very special experience. There was a deeper level of performance that I felt I reached than when I last did the role. Perhaps because it was the 2nd time I had performed it and therefore it felt very much more embedded within my body. I felt like I was able to lose myself in the role much more easily. There were technical aspects which still need improvement but artistically I felt I was exploring new territory.

But I am also more aware than ever that it is my ability to maintain a positive psychological state and optimal level of arousal which perhaps allowed for better performance. Matthew's comment on my recent CV post has encouraged me to share a little more about the courses I undertook over the last few years in Colour Therapy and Sports psychology. I am also still in the process of completing a course in stress management. All of these courses I was perhaps drawn to because I was seeking ways to manage performance anxiety and psychological self-management generally. They have been a huge help to me and provided me with many techniques including visualisation, positive self-talk strategies and a much deeper understanding of the true power of the mind and how mental training is just as important as physical training in the training of a dancer.

Knowing myself and my tendency to get overwhelmed I switched my focus last week to reflective journalling and reading while I was busy performing.

Through looking at my journal over the last week, what I have noticed more than ever is just how much this recent experience of dancing Odette has motivated me to push harder and get to the next level in my dancing. 

I was exploring these questions as well and so I thought I would share some of these here.

What in your daily practise gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about?

How trauma affects and manifests within the body.

Why people act the way they do.

The creative process of collaboration with a choreographer.

How I can develop my ability to direct other by using an empowering approach.

Bringing ballet to people who would not otherwise access it.

Dancer health.

Connecting to an audience

 Reaching a deep level of characterisation within the roles I dance

 

Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

These are all people who all work or have worked in areas I am interested in, and I deeply admire all of them. They are just a very small proportion of the people I admire really because I when I think about it I realise just how many people I truly admire for different reasons.

Anna Pavlova, Kathryn Morgan, Misty Copeland,

Terry Hyde (dance psychotherapist) Lucie Clemence (Dance psychologist)

Nicky Keay (endocrinologist specialising in dancers, Stephanie Potreck (Dance nutritionist and doctor), Claudia Bagley. Layla Harrison (former dancer, now teacher). Alice Crawford (former dancer now teacher).

Sally Marie (director, choreographer), Jack Philp (dancer, director and choreographer)

 

 

What gets you angry or makes you sad?

Dismissal of children’s needs and feelings.

 Dictatorship in directorship.

Not feeling I have a voice within the working environment.

 

 

Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found away to work around the sadness or anger? Alice Crawford, Emily Pimm, Julianne Rice Oxley. Steven McRae, Amy

 

 What do you love about what you do?

I love to get into an honest place with the roles I dance. I love collaborating with artists across diverse disciplines. I love to work with children, especially those who are dealing with mental health challenges and helping to build their confidence.  I love performing when I really know a role and feel prepared for it. I love reaching people who I wouldn’t ordinarily get to connect with by bringing dance to them. I love dancing in unusual places.

 

 Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

I feel that once again I am returning to Anna Pavlova as my biggest inspiration. She was the focus of my BAPP and my interest in her work and the way she bought ballet to so many through authentic and expressionistic performance remains a huge interest of mine.

She is the most prominent person who seems to be this example for me.

 What do you feel you don’t understand?

I feel that I am struggling to understand my place within the industry. I still feel there is a lot of dance within me that I want to share. I don’t understand where the boundaries are in my teaching sometimes, where my responsibility ends so to speak. I have a tendency to feel responsible for everything even that which is not necessarily my fault.

I really want to understand my upper body more so that I have better coordination.

 

Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?

Raymond Chai seems to have found his place within the industry as a dancer and teacher and held onto a sense of integrity through his work.

My ballet mistress has given her life to dance and teaches in a way that is nurturing and empowering to young people.

My director has devoted many years to working in this industry and she has such a wonderful port de bras and a true understanding of classicism.

 

These are just a few thoughts based on these questions and I will continue to explore them.

In the meantime I return to my CV as I draw out possible AOLs and my current reading of Schon's 'Educating the reflective practitioner'.

Tuesday 20 September 2022

CVs and the self we present to the world

Currently exploring and annotating my CV and looking for strands which can be focused on for AOL essays and so I thought I would share my CV here as I continue to introduce myself to the MAPP community. Here is my performance, teaching and academic CV. Depending on the context, I tend to alter how much of this information I put forward. I thought about this carefully... why do I do this? For example, for a ballet company audition I used to take out some of the crazier projects I was part of, even though these were in fact some of the most meaningful projects for me. But I felt that the mainstream ballet world would not understand them and they might actually make me seem less employable. This was a key reason why I became a freelancer, because I realised that I didn't really want to fit into a mould, and I actually love connecting with different individuals and practitioners in different fields and freelancing gives me so many opportunities to do this. I realise now that I want to live a life in alignment to my values and for me freelancing gives me more control of my life and work and allows me to work creatively too. The MAPP community is already igniting the more creative part of me which I find can so easily be suppressed in the mundane routines of day to day living. 


Below is my C.V. My full biography and more details about my work can be found on my website and social media accounts. 

 

Key Skills

Reliable, punctual, dedicated, creative, Hard working, good working with children, disciplined, positive, good team member, always willing to learn and help.

Performance Experience

Current (2022 season): Principal Dancer with English Youth Ballet. Roles Include: Odette in Swan Lake, Aurora, Lilac Fairy and Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty, Dawn Solo in Coppelia and Spirit Mother in Cinderella, Myrtha and peasant pas de deux in Giselle.

Bromley gala 2022 with Claire Calvert and Nicol Edmonds: Repertoire included: Chopin Variations, Porgy and Bess, Aurora's Wedding Act 3 (dancing the title role). 

2020-2021 season: Teaching and dancing in the Bromley (August 2020) and Torquay (October-November 2020) Tchaikovsky Gala courses. Performing Aurora Act 3 Variation from the Sleeping Beauty for filmed performance during the Covid 19 Pandemic. 


December 2019: Brecon Festival Ballet: The Nutcracker (Snowflakes, Waltz of The Flowers, cover for Arabian Dance)

2016 – 2019: Danced with Ballet Cymru (Ballet Wales) dancing the soloist roles of Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Also danced in the UK tour of Little Red Riding hood, venues included Sadler's Wells Theatre and WMC Cardiff alongside the National Orchestra of Wales.

Feb 2019: Performed excerpt from Jack Philp’s choreography EX SITU for The Welsh Business Awards at Cardiff City Hall. Hosted Gethin Jones (national TV presenter).

August 2016: Reconstruction of Pavlova's The Swan (Slaughter after Petipa) at The National Association of Teachers of Dancing Congress dinner dance, along side international stars from Strictly Come Dancing

 

July 2016: The Soloist Couple and Waltz Variation from Raymonda (Nureyev), Arctic (Jose Agudo) and Shaker Loops (George Williamson) English National Ballet School Summer show and New Wimbledon Theatre

 

January 2016: Le Corsaire (Holmes after Petipa and Sergeyev), English National Ballet at The London Coliseum, London

 

August 2015: Danced the lead role of Giselle for the Giselle from Scratch production (after Perrot and Coralli) at The Regent Centre Theatre in Christchurch Dorset.

 

Spring tour 2015: My First Ballet: Swan Lake (Williamson) English National Ballet in association with English National Ballet School, at New Wimbledon Theatre and Peacock Theatre, London. The Palace Theatre, Manchester and The New Victoria Theatre, Woking. Performing the role of the Queen, Big Swans and Princesses.

 

07/03/15: Mozart Allegro (Paroni) in Spring Celebration at The Linbury Studio Theatre at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London

 

October 2014: Lise from La Fille mal gardee (Slaughter after Ashton) with The Ballet Pod as part of the Berwick Ballet Initiative at The Maltings Theatre Berwick

July 2014: Sugar Plum fairy in The Nutcracker pas de deux with The Ballet Pod as part of the Berwick Ballet Initiative schools programme.

 

 

Teaching Experience

Current: Teacher for English Youth Ballet

Current: Teacher at Acton Ballet School: Grade 3, 4, 6, pre pointe, repertoire for summer school RAD

2019-2021: Teacher at Richmond Academy of Dance: Nursery Ballet, preliminary, Grade 3, Grade 6/7, Intermediate. NATD

Spring 2022: Host of Lecture demonstrations across 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school in Bromley with English Youth Ballet.

2019-2021: Teacher and assistant at Inspire Dance and Ballet, London RAD

2019-2021: Teaching assistant and cover teacher at Vacani School of Dance, London. Cechetti

2019-2020: Teaching assistant at Canada Waters School of Dance, London. Cechetti

2019: Guest teacher on Ballet Cymru Associate programme

2019: Guest teacher of ballet for The Welsh Rhythmic Gymnastics Team Cardiff

2018-2019: Guest teacher at Richmond Academy of Dance and Drama

2018-2019: Teaching assistant on Ballet Cymru Inclusive Dance classes

2018-2019: Private Coaching

2017-2018: Teaching on Ballet Pod workshops in play groups and bookshops.

09/15 - 12/15 Teaching Assistant on the ENBS Juniors programme at English National Ballet School

07/ 14 Assistant teacher and dancer in workshop for 6 different schools as part of The Berwick Ballet Initiative

09/12 - 09/13 Assistant teacher on Ballet Pod Associates programme

2010 - 2014 Assistant teacher to a number of Ballet Pod workshops

Film Experience

May 2021: Aprajita The Resilient Artist. Collaboration with Kathak dancer Anuradha Chaturvi Seth, produced by Madhuriya Art House and presented by The Nerhu Centre London via live streaming on both YouTube and Face book. The recording can be seen here at 18 mins. Aprajita The Resilient Artist

April 2021: Film of English Youth Ballet's Giselle in Aylesbury, dancing the roles of Myrtha and Peasant Pas de deux.

2020: Film 'Squashed' with Sally Marie Director of Sweet Shop Revolutions, commissioned by Sussex Dance Network

Current: World War 1 Pas de deux film to accompany musical composition Le Depart by Simon Winslade. Produced by Novus Visus Productions Ltd

September 2019: Dancer for film promoting the importance of Vitamin D in dancers and athletes with Nicky Keay, Sunvit-D3 and 4Media Group inc.

2019: Ballet dancer in Bollywood Film Street Dancer 3d, directed by Remo D’Souza coming to cinemas November 2019.

 

2019: Film extra for Bollywood music video starring Dytto.

Training

09/13 – 07/16: English National Ballet School, Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance

Key Teachers

Samira Saidi (director of Dance)

Nathalia Barbara

Larissa Bamber

Ivan Dinev

Alen Bottaini

Nuno Campos (Contemporary)

Petal Miller Ashmole

 

Guest Teachers Include

Wayne Sleep

Yuri Demakov

Daria Klimentova

Irek Mukamedov

Elena Gurjize

Darcy Bussell

 

2007 - 2013 Trained privately in the Cecchetti method with Richard Slaughter

2012 - 2013 Ballet Cymru Associate Programme

2007 – 2012 Royal Ballet School Mid and Senior Associate Programme

 

 

Awards

English National Ballet School Dissertation Prize 3rd year. 1st and 3rd Year Progress prizes, 1st and 2nd year portfolio awards.

Recipient of the Stanley Hawkins Bursary for Ballet Cymru Riverfront Summer Dance, awarded by The London Ballet Circle 2015

Recipient of The Royal Ballet School Summer School Scholarship at The Young British Dancer of The Year Award 2012

 

 

Academic Qualifications

2018: First Class BA Hons Degree in Professional Practice in Arts (Dance) from Middlesex University. The focus of my degree was an extensive study of the work of Anna Pavlova and a performance of reconstructions of her solos.

2022: Protecting Children in Entertainment Certificate from NSPCC Learning

2021: Certificate in Inclusive dance Instruction from Paradance UK, passed with Distinction

2021: Diploma in Sports Psychology and Dynamics from The School of Natural Health Sciences. Passed with Distinction

2020: Diploma in Child Psychology and Development passed with Distinction

2020 - Certificate in Psychological First Aid for Children and Young People, Future Learn

2020 - Certificate in First Aid, Siren Training

2020– Colour Therapy Level 3 from British School of Yoga, Distinction

Current - Diploma in Stress Management, School of Natural Health Sciences

Current – Yoga Level 3 from British School of Yoga

2015 - Benesh Movement Notation: Score Reading for Dancers, passed with Honours

2013 – Level 3 Diploma English Literature Oxford College with Distinction

2012 – Level 2 BTEC Award in Nutrition awareness for Sport and Exercise

2011 – GCSE English passed with A*

2010 – Diploma in Art History from The London Art College, passed with Merit

2010 – Certificate in Essay writing from National Extension College




Monday 19 September 2022

Looking at myself as a learner

 Looking at David Kolb's learning cycle I believe I enter the cycle in the area of reflective observation. I find that although I am likely learning whilst I am working for example, it is only through the time afterwards that I am able to understand what I have learned, and I definitely need space away from my work for the learning to settle within my brain and body. For example, I have had an issue with the way I use my arms when I dance for quite some time. I was working for months trying to make changes to the way I used them. However, it was not until I took a week's holiday and then returned to dance that other people really noticed a difference in how I was using them. It felt as though the learning had to settle in me and with no further conscious thought I have gradually been able to make some positive changes in my port de bras.

Understanding that I am a reflective learner seems crucial in fact as I believe I can become quite unsettled if I am not given sufficient time for preparation and planning. I know that I achieve much greater standards in everything I do if I have applied sufficient time and energy into the preparation. 

I am also quite a visual learner and I like to do mood boards and collage to support my learning and as preparation for the roles I dance. Visualisation is also a key part of the preparation for any role. I undertook a course in Sports Psychology last year which has assisted greatly with this.

In the light of the recent challenges I have faced in teaching, I have decided I will do a teaching mood board next to support this area of learning.

Below is my vision board for 2022 as an example of how use collage to support my learning.


References

https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html




Learning through experience

 I have had a rather challenging week in a work sense. Trying to get my stamina up following the flu in time to perform Odette next week. I had to be patient with my body and yet at the same time push it to a certain extent. This must surely be one of the biggest challenges a dancer will face - learning when to push and wen to hold back. This is just one example of how I have been learning through experience.

Through my early training I remember being told that it was best to work through illness and that you had to push as hard as you could every day. Over the years after experiencing quite a number of health issues I have realised that you must work in alignment with your body. Because we are only gifted one. I try now to see my body as a friend. I want the best for it because I know that a healthy body will dance much better than an unhealthy one.

Alongside this I have returned to some teaching work and had a couple of challenging classes due to very poor behaviour in the class. I have realised that I find it very difficult not to take things personally. As educators we are always putting ourselves on the line to some extent. Trying to help others to learn. Yet those within our class have to want to learn if any learning it to take place. I remember a teacher I had when training who would say 'no one can make you learn. I can only give, it is up to you what you do with what I give you'. This stayed with me, and I really feel she was right. Yet now I am teaching myself I seem to feel overly responsible. I feel that if children are behaving badly, it must be my fault. Perhaps because I have a desire to learn and become better at what I do. But are there times when it really is the responsibility of the learner/student? Or is it always purely the educator's responsibility? From the current research I am doing on reflective practice and learning I can see that the divide is far less clean cut. I learn every time I teach and perform and always strive to do better. Therefore, is it wrong to expect that my students have the same work ethic? I believe I will have this conversation with them in the next lesson.

 I am considering the fact that perhaps I am naturally more of a reflective learner and I may be unconsciously expecting others to be similar and maybe my students want me to be more of a dictator. I am definitely not a dictator type of teacher and being home educated as a child I learned that unless I applied myself, I was not going to learn what I needed to learn and be ready for my exams etc. I took responsibility from a young age. But am I therefore wrongly expecting my students to do the same? As Bolton says 'The critically reflective practitioner is responsible for all their reflective work and the outcomes. Some come to professional learning assuming that tutors take responsibility. The slowness of reflective learning frustrates them, with it's constant reflexive involvement.' (2014, p.32)

As I continue to explore different learning theories and place myself within some of these frameworks, I thought I would share some of these insights as they emerge. I am interested to know other people's thoughts.


References

Bolton, G. (2014) Reflective Practice. Sage Publications Ltd: London 

Schon, A (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. Basic Books: United States of America


Tuesday 13 September 2022

Thoughts on Zoom session for Module 1, 12th September

 It was great to meet other members of the MAPP community on zoom yesterday. There were some interesting topics discussed. I was disappointed not to have been able to contribute with my voice but unfortunately as I am just recovering from the flu, I didn't have a voice! But it was great to be able to contribute on the chat.

Some things which really stood out for me were the idea of the 'performed self' which Honor raised and I found this really resonated with me. I feel that sometimes within the world of ballet especially, there is a sort of fake frontage which people put on to function within what can be a highly pressurised environment. I feel that over the years I would live behind a self which was not entirely authentic. I would be too scared to speak up for things that truly mattered to me, I felt that I must always be happy and denied myself of other emotions. What I find interesting though is that when on stage I often felt more authentically myself than in day- to- day life. I felt like in performance I could be my true self. Now I am embracing a more authentic self in some ways out of necessity. I am learning that I must listen to my body because if I don't, I will suffer for it and become unwell. This is hard for me because I naturally want to push to maximum all the time. But my body has other ideas.

There was also a fascinating debate yesterday about the arts and selfishness within the performing arts. I have to say I was very interested in this because I could see how the arts may seem like a selfish pursuit, in that it is self-focused while we prepare what we are giving out to the world. But in other ways think of how many people we reach when we give it out. Although the arts has been seen as low priority through the pandemic for example, think about all the ways in which people helped to support their mental health through the lockdowns by watching Netflix, tv, dance, listening to music etc. I am also very interested in seeing some of the health benefits of dance and the arts more publicised because I feel that this is an area which is still rather underrated. If mind and body are deeply interconnected, then it is no surprise that the arts could indeed play a much larger part in a health crisis than it has been given credit for.

I know for me as I have been making my way back to full health dance has built my coordination, memory, stamina and so much more. 

But I am interested to know everyone else's thoughts on this.

Please do drop a comment! :)


Monday 12 September 2022

 Hello and welcome to my MAPP blog.

My Name is Ann, and I am a freelance dancer and teacher. I trained at English National Ballet School and worked professionally with Ballet Cymru.  I am passionate about bringing dance to the rural communities which do not have easy access to it. I work mostly in the genre of ballet and currently working a lot as a principal dancer with English Youth Ballet and The Ballet Pod in North Wales. I am interested in authentic performance and striving to inspire the next generation of dancers to be the healthiest and strongest dancers they can be.

Following time off last year recovering from Long Covid I have returned to this profession with new outlooks and have been encouraged to see the healing sides of dance as well as notice most profoundly the aspects of this profession which can still be greatly improved. 

I hope you will join me on this explorative journey.



The Essay

 As I reflect on the enlightening session last week with Peter Thomas in which Peter was exploring what defines an essay, I am inspired to s...