Contemplations on Areas of Learning and exploring experiences

Had a great supervision with Helen this morning discussing areas of learning. It was great to verbalise my AOLs and gain an objective opinion on what the area might actually be. I found that often one can think it is one area, when in fact that area might be part of a larger whole. This was the case for me when I identified an area of adaptability in dance because I have danced in many different contexts and often have to perform on a variety of different surfaces to many different audiences. But Helen rightly pointed out that although adaptability was part of it, this area was more along the lines of dance performance in diverse contexts.

So I believe I have now settled at least on provisional working titles of my AOLs

Holistic Approach to Wellbeing and Selfcare in the Dance Profession

Dance Performance in Diverse contexts

Creative Collaboration in Dance

Dance Management and Administration

I found these titles by reviewing my CV and job description and drawing out elements which continued to emerge throughout. I was amazed to see when annotating how many times I talked about the mental challenges and needing to utilise strategies to deal with these challenges. This is also where the holistic side comes in and I will be integrating my Colour Therapy and Sports Psychology learning into the first essay as I developed many strategies from them which I have been integrating into my practice to help with the management of performance anxiety etc. Grateful Matthew for noticing this interest of mine from viewing my CV and actually prompting me to notice just how much these courses have helped me. 

All of this reflection on my profession and practice to date has had me fascinated by the idea of an experience and what it is that truly makes something memorable to us as something that we have truly learned from. I am exploring the work of Dewey and find his descriptions of experience resonate with me greatly. Here is a short quote from his book Art as Experience: 

Experience in this vital sense is defined by those situations and episodes that we spontaneously refer to as being ''real experiences''; those things of which we say recalling them, ''that was an experience.'' It may have been something of tremendous importance - a quarrel with one who was once an intimate, a catastrophe finally averted by a hair's breadth. Or it may have been something that in comparison was slight-and which perhaps because of its very slightness illustrates all the better what is to be an experience. There is that meal in a Paris restaurant of which one says ''that was an experience''. It stands out as an enduring memorial of what food may be.

(Dewey, 2005, p. 37)

References 

Dewey, J. (2005) Art as Experience. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group. First published 1934. 

Below is a collage which I did as part of my Colour Therapy course. I have an instagram account where I have explored this topic although I have not posted for a while. Below that are mind maps for my first two AOLs.