In the last few weeks my ideas for what I will focus on for my inquiry have evolved in ways I never anticipated. First of all I began feeling that I would be focusing on the effects of trauma on ballet dancers. But the more I researched, the more I wanted to focus in on a particular type of trauma, as it is such a vast area and did not feel I would be able to do it justice. This led me to revisit the trauma of Long Covid which I have experienced and I explored the possibility of looking into the impact of Long Covid on ballet dancers. I revisited diaries and memories from my experience and this led me to remember a moment of enlightenment which occurred when I was very unwell.
I remember noticing that I did not miss doing ballet class which I had previously been somewhat addicted to. After 14 days in isolation entirely alone in my flat trying to look after myself when I was struggling to walk around even, and then the months and months that followed of being unable to do basic things let alone a ballet class, showed me what I missed most. I missed being able to walk down the street into the park and connect with the beauty of nature. I missed feeling the breeze on my face, seeing the colours of the flowers, touching the trees. I realised just how much of my life I had spent disconnected from the beauty of life itself.
This memory has returned at a timely moment in my life where I was starting to ask why? Why am I dancing to begin with and this led me to revisit a favourite children's book of mine which I asked my dad to read to me over and over again! Bravo Tanya, A book which tells the story of a young girl who loves to dance but when she is in the ballet studio and the teacher is shouting counts she cannot seem to connect to the dancer within her. Down by the brook she dances to the music of nature which only she and her ballerina bear toy can hear. One day the pianist is walking by and stops to watch Tanya dancing. Afterwards she applauds her and tells her what a beautiful ballerina she is and that she too likes the music she can hear there in nature. This surprises Tanya and the next time she goes to class she ignores the shouting and counts of the teacher and instead focuses on the music of the piano instead in which she hears 'waves, a storm and branches in the wind'.(Gauch,1992, np) Later, the teacher who had previously told Tanya's mother that Tanya was a lovely child, but that not every child was meant to be a dancer declared ''My goodness...what a little ballerina you are''. (Gauch,1992, np) This book spoke to me most deeply and has never stopped leaving an impact on me. I now use it with my own students because the message is so clear. When we connect to the world around us only then can we truly dance. This is of huge inspiration to me and when I forget this reason I end up questioning my career choices in general.
So my inquiry is now looking further into the training of a ballet dancer and how little time we spend in the natural environment, how that the then feeds into our careers. Also into how much intentional time we spend observing nature. I have been considering how much dancing in open air contexts may impact a ballet dancer's performance and how generally a deeper connection to nature may impact the mental health of dancers given the challenges of the profession. Therefore following a very helpful supervision with Helen I believe I have landed upon my research question:
How can a deeper awareness of and
connection to the natural environment impact the mental health and artistic
development of ballet dancers?
Which will take the form of this as my title:
An exploration of how a deeper
awareness of and connection to the natural environment impacts the mental
health and artistic development of ballet dancers
Although I do definitely want to pursue the research around Long Covid and dancers, I would like to wait a little longer before embarking on this as the area of Long Covid is still not fully understood.
This research around nature and ballet dancers seems to encapsulate the journey through trauma and Long Covid but also reveals a possible light, a feeling of hope in me which is asking to be pursued. I wake up in the morning with enthusiasm for the research ahead. This is how I know it is the right question.
So far, I plan to use a combination of grounded theory and ethnography
Doing interviews of classical ballet dancers who have performed both indoors and outdoors and a counsellor who specialises in dancers to see if he uses nature based treatments with his clients and if so how effective these are. I will also be drawing on my own diaries and artwork.
I will do another post detailing my literature review but currently looking at the work of Rosemary Lee, Anna Halprin, Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan who all have a deep connection to nature in their work.
I am looking to find more male dance artists through history who have a strong connection the nature and the environment. Can anyone help me out here?
I am also in the process of exploring phenomenology in greater depth and I have to say I find it fascinated. I find myself resonating with Heidegger's ideas but when I consider his political status as a Nazis I find it hard to comprehend how they can go together and find myself less trusting of his ideas. This in itself is indicative of perception and how our perception of something changes depending on the circumstances around it. For example with dancers I often find that dancers who are kind personalities seem to become more enjoyable to watch whereas if I know that a dancer is extremely narcissistic I find this starts to be all I see when I dance and therefore I don't enjoy watching them so much however technically excellent they may be.
But I am also reminding myself that I cannot get to absorbed in philosophy because I have a deadline to meet! But I could definitely spend a whole term just on the area of philosophy!
References
Gauch, P and Ichikama, S (1992) Bravo Tanya. The Putnam and Grosset Group: New York
Videos and podcasts currently being explored are:
Hey Ann,
ReplyDeleteThis all sounds really clear and exciting!
I actually made a solo about Alan Turing called ‘Hockey (or watching the daisies grow)’ based on a drawing his mother made of Turing getting distracted by flowers when they should have been playing in a hockey game. You just reminded me of this beautiful scene and the scientists and mathematicians who find solace in nature… https://www.matthewrawcliffe.com/hockey
It also made me think of Dancing at Dusk… https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/12644/watch-pina-bausch-the-rite-of-spring-senegal-beach-sadlers-wells
In terms of men maybe you could find something in Ted Shawn’s work?
Thank you Matthew that's great I will look at these. I should also have added any gender neutral artists as well.
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