Last week a module one discussion took place on the topic of learning in and as professional practice, frustratingly I was unable to attend the group due to a late rehearsal but I had read Adesola’s blog as well and many fellow students posts to try and get up date.
I watched the Ken Robinson-changing paradigms presentation with great interest and realised that for decades dance has tried to shed the preconceptions of what dance is in both an academic and performance context.
Dance is often mislabelled as simply entertainment or a display of physical aesthetics, but if we remove dance from any form of intellectual context we limit how dance can become an enriching learning experience.
Recently it has been easy to see that dance is not regarded as an intellectual subject area of merit with so many companies, arts departments, theatres and community projects budgets being reduced or cut completely. Possibly this is because dance can only leave behind threads of what was created and the volume of work and resources required to create a performance go largely unseen and possibly therefore unvalued.
Often recorded material lacks the unique atmosphere of a live performance and much of the choreographers intentions and the dancers intimate connections and characterisations can be lost outside of the live experience.
It’s almost impossible to inform non-dancers how a sequence of movements can incorporate ideas, research and complex thinking. It is vital that artists record their processes, experiences and knowledge in order for us to increase the depth of discussion required for productive learning and education in the sector.
As I watched the videos I took some notes and when I came to review these I found several of my observations really connected with my daily practice.
‘Collaboration is the stuff of growth’ says Ken Robinson and I have found this to be true in two ways, firstly in my weekly faculty meeting where student development, course progression and planning evolves from our open discussions and secondly the observations that we bring to these meetings have been informed by the studio/class collaborations with dancers and students as they reflect on their own learning, objectives and successes.
An area I can relate to a lot is that of the Aesthetic Experience, or more directly, how I ensure that my classes/rehearsals offer an aesthetic experience. I have come to realise that this is very dependent on my own mental state. When I fly into a rehearsal after a meeting has over ran, a theatre is on the phone regarding ticket sales or the physio as just emailed to say a dancer needs to be out of the tour for a few weeks (these are only a few examples but my point is that some things have a huge knock on effect that all need careful consideration and a long chain of decisions must be made) I didn’t eat lunch due to time and I also have time pressures of needing to create XX minutes of choreography by the end of the day etc. I can see that the process is going to be very stressful for all involved, I don’t produce my best work and also the dancers are not in an empowered place to collaborate effectively with me. I sense there resistance and my stress levels increase.
If I take more care in my time management and preparation then the whole experience becomes more calm and productive.
After further reflection I also recognised that helping people become more divergent in their thinking is a large part of my job, however surprisingly it’s not the dancers or students that require this from me so much, it’s the teaching faculty.
That’s in no way to suggest that they are not divergent or even poor teachers (quite the opposite) but often because they have come from a their own professional dance careers and the training they received as dance students, although detailed and successful, has limited connection to today’s education requirements and course structure (maybe this topic is worth another post later!).
Before I finish I think it is worth drawing your attention to the thoughts of Georgia Canning, an Australian dance teacher who discussed her observations on dance teaching in a TED Talks presentation in 2017.
What I find interesting here is her thoughts on what additional benefits dance training can bestow on dancers, both professional and recreational, maybe there can be further discussion on the ‘life’ benefits that dance offers that can add extra weight to the academic verses vocational values argument.
....Sorry for the long ramble, I can see that shorter and more direct posting is something I need to work on!!
Dear Christopher, what a beautiful blog page and post. I truly enjoyed sharing with you the daily struggle between productivity, fixed schedules and slowing down and allowing room for spontaneity. The intricacies of dance leadership swing in a delicate pendulum of balancing the daily challenges of dance and life.
ReplyDeleteJumping ahead I was curious about your comments of flexible and open thinking within the dance faculty. I had an interesting an opposing experience. My oldest teachers (very old though, mind you 96 and 76) were the most forward thinking professors that influenced my training. Perhaps their elderly age had permitted them witness several cycles within the dance world so that they were the most creative and flexible ones to cross my path. Perhaps it was this great adaptability that led them to have such long and brilliant careers both as artists and in dance education.
Thank you Christopher for your thoughts and the video you included. There is so much truth in what Georgia was saying about the life benefits of ballet training. On reflection I think I may have forgotten to focus on some of these important skills recently and I was grateful for the reminder. I know so many of my former students have told me how much the self discipline and focus they learnt in their ballet training has helped them manage their workload through university and has helped them achieve their career goals as lawyers, architects, doctors and nurses. But looking at them I realise they have also learnt so much else, grace, good posture, respect for themselves and others, skills that make them successful, not as dancers but as people. I am proud that I helped form such amazing people and I need to remember to continue focusing on that aspect of my teaching.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this Christopher. I enjoyed the TEDx video as well. I believe that these very valuable life skills Georgia Canning addresses, are the reason dance is moving to becoming a tool for healing and health. The breath work, physical benefits and factors listed in the video are what I sell to the investors (parents) so they understand what valuable resources the clients (students) learn. I do not own my own studio because I love being in the classroom and felt the administrative work was not what filled my soul. However, I feel it is important to advocate for dance by educating the parents and students about the life long benefits of dance. It is a beautiful addition to developing the love of the art. Thank you for sharing.
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