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! :)