My Sources of Information

As a dance teacher I need to keep up to date with relevant topics such as policies and rules of teaching, changes of the syllabus in exam work and even making sure I know about the latest trends in music. It can be difficult to keep up with these trends and changes but it needs to be done to ensure that I maintain the standard of a professional and experienced teacher. I do this by using a few different sources of information. These sources have their positives and negatives and are particularly applicable for certain situations/topics as I will discuss here.

Interaction -

• Employers and other dance teachers
• Friends and family
• Word of mouth

Media -

• Internet
• Radio
• Television
• Magazines

internet

The internet is a great way for me to keep my finger on the pulse, especially when it comes to music and the ever changing styles. If I like a piece of music I hear in a store while I'm out shopping, I will try and remember the lyrics until I get home where I can search for it on Google. I will often go to Youtube or Amazon until I find what I'm looking for. When I am watching shows or attending seminars I will mentally take note of any songs that I like, search for the pieces and then use them for myself later.

The internet is a good, readily accessible source for a lot of things particularly when you have a question or you want to find out more on a topic.

Negative

You have to be aware that using a single website for information could result in you adopting someones personal opinions even though that person could be a maverick, so using a diverse array of information sources is crucial to developing a robust understanding of the topic at hand.


Iona Holland raised a good point about how unreliable the sources on the internet can be:

" The main thing I have to be aware of when using the internet is how reliable the sources     are. For example, if I decide to use wikipedia as a source of research I have to be aware that anyone can alter the information so it may not be true. So it is up to me to decide how            reliable the source of information is, and to do further research if needed......."  (Iona Holland, The Sources of Information.)                        

This triggered off a thought that was mentioned to us at our induction for BAPP which I found very amusing and very accurate.

It was only yesterday when I was trying to find an answer to a question I had on the internet. I came across a lot of various sites all of which had information differing from each other. A lot of opinions were thrown in but not a lot of concrete evidence.

I read through Emily O'Shea's blog as she was an old friend from The Hammond. Emily put down Facebook  as one of her valuable sources of information. Reflecting over it I can see how Facebook can actually be a great source of information for various things. Not only is it a great place to learn about auditions as all my friends are connected and the information is passed around but it is also a good place to learn of music and videos. Facebook is constantly changing so is always current. Again though, Facebook is filled with peoples opinions and imput into topics so you have to be careful to verify each source of information.

radio

television

Whenever I am stuck for a piece of music I will use the internet but also television and radio.
Films have a lot of great soundtracks which I will often use, the movie itself giving me inspiration towards my choreography.
The themes and styles of choreography change frequently. I can usually establish what's "in" by watching entertainment TV shows and music videos.

Negatives

The television and the radio only play popular music but there are brilliant pieces of music and songs out there that are not mainstream.

magazines

books

It is extremely important for me to keep up to date with the ballet syllabus and making sure I haven't missed any changes. I keep myself up to date by reading the official IDTA magazine and book which holds all the information I need as a teacher. The IDTA dvd is also really helpful as I am somebody who likes to watch and learn, absorbing more information by visually observing.

Negative

Whilst popular internet pages are constantly updated and when you visit a website you can usually tell if the news is current or not, a book or magazine could hold information that is not relevant to today.

dance teachers

employers

Employers and other dance teachers I work with play a crucial part in keeping me informed of current news.

Employers who are more experienced than I and more established in the professional world of teaching are really helpful for letting me know of not only new work in the syllabus, of upcoming seminars and events but also of any policies and health regulations that I should be aware of.

Negative

The information you gain from employers and other dance teachers may not actually be correct. A lot could be based on opinions or be lacking in research. Again, the information gained must be verified by research using other sources before it can be relied upon.

family

friends

word of mouth

I listed family and friends as good sources of information. I categorised these separately as for me personally my brother has been a continual source of information when it comes to modern technologies and the music fashion whereas my more experienced dance colleagues are a good source of dance syllabus information. Quite often, especially when it comes to organising a street class, I am stuck for music as I am not an absolute follower of today's trends. In these situations I will turn to my brother for help who often has good ideas.

Negative

It is through word of mouth and friends that in the past I have come to know of some upcoming auditions. This is not a way I like to work though. News travelling through the grapevine is not always reliable, for information can become altered as the message is passed along and personal opinions can get involved which could deter you away from attending the audition. I have found out about some auditions through word of mouth but I have always checked out the information myself.

Conclusion

Different sources are useful for different topics, some of these sources are quicker and easier to use and some sources can be trusted more than others. I believe that maintaining a good list of sources, particularly experienced colleagues, and a rigorous verification of information gathered is crucial for my career progression.

A Critical Reflection on the Networked Professional

After reading the course reader on The Networked Professional I browsed through a few of my BAPP colleague's blogs to become familiar with the ideas. I found that the blogs I read shared my outlook or had very similar opinions on the topic. My next step to help with this task was to do further research on cooperation, affiliation, social constructionism, connectivism and communities of practice so I could obtain a deeper understanding with which to reflect.

A Critical Reflection on the Networked Professional

Cooperation at a glance is when people interact and work together in harmony to achieve a great result.
Probing further we see that it is not as innocent as it may first appear. Cooperation derives from human instinct, the subconscious workings of our brain and is closely associated with Game Theory. This theory suggests that we work together not exclusively for the good of others but for our own selfish needs.
For example, tribes, cities and nations form and work together not necessarily to protect one another but to protect themselves and what's theirs.
Why? We are physically and intellectually stronger together than alone. Also, ultimately most of us have the same ambitions and goals in life. We commonly strive, for example, for good health, security and a sense of belonging.

Joseph Broderick wrote on his blog:

The idea that people want your association purely for what they may gain from the connection, I find a little cold.
The added fact that the connection may be severed at a time the associate deems your value to the network, obsolete, I find even colder.
But if I think about it, is this not what I do?

Cooperation for ones own self gain does seem very cold and I often judge others when I sense that this is their motive. But who am I to judge as I completely agree with Joe's point that this act of cooperation is what I also do. It's a part of human nature.

A lot of the time I can be unaware of my motives but I would be lying if I said there weren't times that I did keep hold of an association purely for my own benefit and I was completely aware of this.

In her writing on affiliation, Hannah Shepherd described how people maintain certain contacts "just in case" they should ever be useful in the future. It is not just me who functions like this, but it is how everyone functions, consciously or unconsciously.
It's not that we dislike these contacts. Indeed, there may be friendships or mutual interests but somewhere there will be a more selfish reason for keeping these connections. While this is happening, we in turn are being used by these very same contacts for exactly the same reason. We may be beneficial to them at some point. This is a form of mutual cooperation.

I do have different modes and tactics for certain situations.

For example, when auditioning for performing jobs I am against hundreds of girls, so automatically I switch on my competitive mode. Cooperation would not benefit me in this situation. I have to be strong minded and competitive to prove that I am as good as or better than everyone else.

When I have the job this is when I turn from being competitive to cooperative to enable me to collaberate and work well with my fellow colleagues as part of a team.

The "Prisoners Dilemma" enlightened my understanding of this.

While playing, I found that if I cooperated then my opponent would do the same and if I competed, the opponent would retaliate. This backed up Robert Axelrod's ideas on "Tit for Tat" and also brought forward a thought that relates to every day circumstances in life.
While working together (cooperating) I felt that we (I) were making progress in the game but as soon as I retaliated then the game became much more static, competitive and less enjoyable.

Looking deeply into cooperation and human nature brings forth the selfishness of people to obtain and fulfill their own needs and desires. Ironically, on a grander scale, this selfishness encourages people to work together to develop a society which we can all be happy in.

Affiliation is the network of associations.
Affiliation is beneficial for all of us:

"The tendency to affiliate is something people have from early on in their lives. Larson, Csikszentmihalyi and Grief (l982) found that adolescents spent about 75 per cent of their waking time with other people. Such sociability appears to yield benefits. Teenagers were happier, more alert, and more excited when in the company of others than when alone. In contrast, a lack of affiliation may have a lasting negative impact...." (Crisp and Turner, 2007: 266-268)

In recent blogs I have talked about the importance of networking to benefit our career. This affiliation is not just desired for our profession but also in our day to day lives. Whether we are introvert or extrovert we all need to affiliate at certain levels to maintain our happiness, it is part of being a healthy human being.
I value my personal, private time a great deal but I do benefit from the contact of others who I can bounce ideas off, collaborate and generally socialise with.

Kym Walton identified well with the importance of affiliation between the teacher and pupil but also the need for a balance of privacy. I feel this affiliation between student and teacher is extremely necessary but it is equally important to draw the line for privacy so that the level of respect is not lost. I also feel that it needs to be understood that there are different levels of affiliation which alter for different age groups and standards. For example, when I am teaching ballet to a class of six to eight years, I will remain the teacher at all times, "the one in charge". In contrast, when I am teaching a group of sixteen years who have little experience in dance then I will lay down the rules and expectations at the beginning of the lesson but overall I will be more informal and talkative, my aim is to try and relax the students so they don't feel under pressure and hopefully through being at ease they will gain more from the lesson.

I also feel affiliation is necessary for people as it is a way for them to judge their level of success. By interacting with people and comparing, they can decide if a task has been completed optimally.

Social Constructivism is a sociological theory about how humans mentally construct the world through their own experiences.

Looking into this theory triggered off the popular phrase:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

There are a lot of different angles to a person. We are all aware of our own personality traits but some of these angles a lot of people don't get to see. For example, when I am teaching dance, all the parents and students see me as a professional, determined person, whereas these characteristics might be less obvious when I am with friends. Even within my friends there would be differing opinions about who I am as a person. Some might say I was really quiet and sensible whereas others might say I was loud, stubborn and daft! These friends have different outlooks with different characteristics which bring out certain personality traits in me, therefore, nobody is wrong, in fact all of the angles they see make up me as a person.
I see these angles of our personality put together like a rubix cube. The rubix cube twists and turns to suit the environment, occasion or person with certain colours showing and then the cube turns again in a new situation to show a few of the same colours or maybe a whole array of new colours.
When we are at work, out with friends or relaxing at home this rubix cube is constantly being turned and it's not just by us but it's by the people who see us in different ways.

The matter is based on personal opinions and has no intrinsic meaning, therefore the way we see the world is totally subjective.

What constructionism claims is that meanings are constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting. Before there were consciousnesses on earth capable of interpreting the world, the world held no meaning at all. (Crotty, 2005: 42-44)

This theory is strange to contemplate but I feel is accurate. To look at it in another way consider when people say someone is colour blind. For example, some people see green in a certain way which is different to how another person may see green.  To me, neither one of these people are colour blind as the classification of green is subjective.

Connectivism is the theory that information is not just transferred from teacher to student but it can be sought in a collaberative place online where it's kept connected to allow change and modification.This new way of learning means that people today are constantly being fed new information to ensure that they're kept up to date and combatting the half'life of knowledge.
The world's intake of knowledge is speeding up so therefore our way of learning needs to match the pace.

A positive way of thinking about it is that it is quick and easy to find a sophisticated discussion on a subject with knowledgeable people bouncing ideas off each other from which you can draw you own conclusion.

A negative of Connectivism is that it discourages independent thought, finding the discussion online as mentioned before is so easy that you don't need to put the effort into considering the topic fully and hence forming your own unique opinions. I think Connectivism could even encourage Groupthink, where an idea becomes established because it was proposed early on and others simply adopted it.

Communities of Practice is learning through social interaction instead of by individual knowledge.
The benefits with this type of learning is that a mixture of people who share the same interest can group together as equals with equal ideas and opinions. Thoughts can be thrown around which promotes new thinking and development of ideas. With a clear purpose in mind a lot can be achieved through this type of learning.

I can relate to this through most of my training at The Hammond, in particular when the whole class worked together as a team to choreograph a dance piece. We all had the same purpose; to make the piece as creative and professional as possible so that people would be impressed with the depth, quality and technique of our skills. Each of us had our own individual ideas and input but through hearing other peoples thoughts, new ideas were triggered and developed which otherwise would not have been thought of. One person could have good technique and technical ideas, whereas another could be good at creating new movements which are less technical but with more depth. Both technique and freedom of movement are fundamental along with other characteristics and so help in making the end result of the piece more rounded.


References

Crisp, J & Turner, R. (2007) Essential social psychology. London: Sage
Crotty. M. (2005) The foundations of social research: meaning and perspectives in the research process, London: Sage

"Easter" Event

I just wanted to quickly blog about my first dance show with Rossett Dance which took place on Friday.

The Easter Event was originally planned for March but unfortunately it had to be cancelled as it was that day that it decided to snow constantly and lasted for about a week! I was really disappointed and it was a very hectic day calling all the parents to let them know of the cancellation, but everyone completely agreed with my decision as it was too dangerous to drive in such weather. I was also able to arrange a later date for the show which all the parents were happy with.

Unfortunately, we then had two weeks break for Easter and so we just had one rehearsal before the show.

I was really worried that due to the long break all the children would have forgotten everything. I decided though that it couldn't be helped, there was nothing I could do, so there was no point worrying too much.

Surprisingly the long break must have helped, for in rehearsal everyone seemed to remember it and were actually performing much better than they had before!

I arrived a few hours early on the day of the show, to get set up, organising costumes, chairs, hair accessories and other bits and bobs. I remained relatively calm even though I knew that I only had about forty five minutes to get everyone ready into costumes. Three of the Mums from my ballet class had kindly offered to help so I also had to let them know of the running order and any quick changes.

I was worried that we wouldn't run on time and that it would be impossible to get all the children into costume looking tidy with hair neatly back. But thanks to all the parents help we did manage to start at 4:30pm. I think staying calm also helped!

I was a little shocked when somebody informed me that we needed more seats putting out. I wasn't expecting that big an audience! As it was my first show and I hadn't planned on it being a big event I was pleasantly surprised to discover that around seventy people had turned up!

The children were brilliant. I couldn't have asked any more from them. Especially my baby class - I have struggled for weeks trying to get them to make a nice circle when skipping! But on Friday they did it beautifully. I think the fact Mummies and Daddies were watching helped.

Everyone seemed really happy and kept coming up to me at the end saying how much they enjoyed it. It was a great success and it has made me confident about putting another, perhaps bigger performance on in the future.

With Olivia, one of the little ones from baby ballet, a shot taken by her father during the performance.

What I have learnt from this experience and what I will consider for future shows.

• The parents were brilliant in helping getting the children ready and the majority of hair was neat and tidy. Next time though, I will allow more time to get ready and insist on all hair being much neater with a lot of hairspray to keep back wispy bits! Also, looking back I wish I would have done a quick costume check before we started the show as there were little things that could have looked better such as all bows tucked into ballet shoes, all hats the right way, etc.

• I think next time I will need more assistance with children getting on and off stage, getting ready for quick changes and so on just to keep the show running smoothly.

• I did film the show with the parents consent and the video is very good but as the camera was set up in the corner there were a few things that wasn't caught on film so next time I think I need to organise this a little better.

• As this was my first show and we did the performance in the hall I didn't charge the parents to watch. Hopefully in the future when my school is a little bigger I will be able to hire a theatre and sell tickets for the performance.

I think all of the above will be improved with time as my school grows and I have more assistance from parents or perhaps other dance teachers I employ. 

Apart from being a great experience that all the children could be involved in it has also been a great advert for my school. As all the parents took pictures and have posted them onto Facebook along with spreading the success of the show this has got a lot of other people interested in Rossett Dance. I have had several phone calls and emails this week from Mums wanting to bring their child to dance class after seeing the pictures from the show. 

So hopefully it won't be too long before Rossett Dance can put on a bigger show!

Current Networks

What are the current and different ways (tools) that you have, or do, engage your professional network?

• Email
• Facebook
• Word of Mouth
• Google
• Dance Websites (Starnow, Dancerspro, The Stage)

I am constantly sending emails in my professional career. Here are a number of ways for which I use email:

Rossett Dance - To send all parents news and reminders.

Jobs - When applying for performing or teaching positions.

Employing - When I recruit a teacher for my school.

Enquiry - When I get in touch with various companies and businesses with queries regarding auditions and teaching opportunities.

Without email my life would be a lot harder. It is via email that I have sent my covering letter and CV and received approximately 80% of all the jobs I've had.

Where would we be without Facebook?

I am not a big Facebook fan but that being said I am coming to use it more and more in my professional career.

I am able to give weekly updates on my Rossett Dance page, quick and easy, where all my customers or prospective customer can see.

Along with helping to spread the word about my school it also provides more opportunities for me as a dancer. I have just recently come off Facebook now after finding two agencies offering dance work. Two extra contacts could mean extra work! I found out about these agencies as I noticed a friend had 'liked' their page. So you could say that it was also through word of mouth that I came to know about the agencies. 

Word of Mouth has been of great value to my school.
It is all very well receiving a leaflet through your door or coming across a poster in your local shop to advertise dance classes or any other business, but nothing works as well as word of mouth.
A person will take a friends advice and will trust their feedback as they have the same interests and understanding. If a Mum is taking her daughter to dance classes and she recommends these classes to a friend then that friend will more than likely give it a go as they trust this friends opinions and would like their daughter to socialise with other girls the same age.

If I need to answer a quick questions or find a bit more information about a topic I will turn to Google.

When I was at college and had just started looking for auditions, at the time I didn't really know of any dance websites that I could go to so I would type 'uk dance auditions' in the google search engine and this led me on to dance websites such as Starnow and The Stage.

In the past I have searched and applied for millions of jobs through dance websites such as Starnow, The Stage and Dancerspro. There are a lot of jobs on there that don't suit my criteria or location and it is a lot of hard work going through them all and using your own initiative to know which jobs are for you or even which ones can be trusted and are genuine. It can be a put off as well sometimes when you see how many girls have applied for that same job. Despite all this, I have come out with most of my jobs through dance websites and I always return to them when I am looking for more work.

What are the established (and different) ways that others use their networks, especially if they are more established or experienced practitioners that you admire?

A lot of my dancer friends have moved to London.
I currently enjoy where I am at the moment, I have built up a career and feel I have no reason to move but I can see the appeal in moving to London, especially for those who take advantage of what the city has to offer.

Being able to attend dance classes at Pineapplie Studios, all auditions more easily accessible and more teaching opportunities. All these reasons I think are great at getting your face seen and your name known.
In other words NETWORKING.

A couple of friends in my mind at the moment took advantage of NETWORKING to get them where they are today.

These friends have gone down completely different paths, ones ambition to be a ballet dancer and the other to do more commercial and musical theatre work but they have both used the same tools to get them the job they desired.

Below are the tools and their advantages:

* Attending weekly dance classes - Keeps you in the frame of mind as a dancer. Pushes your bodies stamina, builds your strength and maintains your technique along with testing your ability to pick up steps and routines fast which is necessary for auditions. You will also begin to build friendships with fellow class mates. These friendships will allow you to access more information in the dancing world. Whens the next audition? How did you hear about that workshop?

* Attending workshops - For all the same reasons as attending dance classes and more. These workshops are run by choreographers and directors. If you get your face known by these people then there will be a point when you go along to an audition and they will be on the panel; if they know your face and think you are a hard worker then it goes in your favor.
By attending workshops you are going that extra mile. You are connecting with other dancers and through these connections you will find out about more auditions. This is also a good way to keep on top of what's out there. What is your competition? Keeping your finger on the pulse and moving with the times. There's nothing worse than going along to an audition thinking you are prepared until you look at the other dancers around you who have a different style to you, who are stronger and have more personality in their performance.

* Auditioning - The more auditions you attend the more likely you are to get a job. It not only speeds up the pace of getting a job but it also gives you that priceless experience that you can build upon or learn from for the next audition. The panels at auditions quite often cross over to various other auditions. You will recognise them and they you. If they see your work is consistent and you are constantly performing and pushing yourself to the max then the more likely they are to offer you a job.

Are there methods, approaches and technologies that you use socially that might apply and help you develop your professional networking?

The key method of excellent networking to me so far is through word of mouth and being socially active.
People who use these skills really well seem to go further down their career path than those who don't use these skills to their advantage.

I personally like to feel that I have done the research and hard work to find out about auditions and job opportunities without the help of other people. I see it as an achievement in itself to be able use my own initiative to find out about auditions to which I attend without having to follow the crowd.
This worked really well for me at college in finding auditions that weren't necessarily mainstream and a bit more unique than your usual cruise audition. I was able to find out about a few contemporary auditions that I came across using google. I wouldn't have found out about these auditions if it weren't for my own investigations.
So I believe that you can't always just rely on other people to do the work for you, you have to use your own initiative.

I recognise though, you have to put pride aside and know that everybody needs the help of others at some point and as I said previously, I do believe having contacts for sources of information and getting your face known are extremely vital in todays world if you want to become successful.

A dancers world is a small one. Everybody knows each other.

I would like to become more proficient in using these tools that are at hand.  Building these contacts will lead me towards different opportunities, getting my face and name to be known will ensure prospective employers hear about me and through my contacts that I have maintained they will know if I am the right person for the job.

When you reflect upon current networks, can you think about the motives of others to be in the network and what values and purposes they have in mind?

I mentioned before two friends who moved to London to get their names know. One is now touring with Vienna Festival Ballet and the other is performing in the West End production of Wicked.
Their motive was to achieve their dream and through building contacts and good relationships they were able to do just that.

What would your ideal network look like and why?

I have mentioned before in one of my previous blogs how I feel I didn't receive the support and careers advice that I would like to have had to lead me in the right direction.
My ideal network would be a place where dance teachers could collaberate together to put information out there for young dancers who are just starting out on their dancing career. A place where these teachers could share their experiences, give advice and provide the contacts to benefit a dancer of any style and any ambition, for example, giving a dancer the information and the right contacts on how to become a dance teacher or to somebody on how to make it in the musical theatre profession.
This network could be a place where information is not a secret and young dancers could ask questions and seek advice from more experienced professional teachers.

What realistic things could you do to work towards developing your ideal network?

I would like to be a teacher that can give that advice to young dancers. As my school builds and when my students get to the age where they want to know how to achieve their dream I hope to be a teacher that can provide information to get them on the right path.

What tools and methods do you need to use? What do you know about your current, and intended networks, and importantly, what do you not know?

To ensure that I am a dance teacher who knows how to lead other dancers in the right direction to achieve success, I need to first;

Build my contacts

&

Build on my experiences as a performer and teacher

Inquiry

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

Running my own dance academy has brought out qualities in me that I didn't know I possessed.
I am extremely passionate about the school for several reasons and I'm very proud of what it is and hopefully what it will become.

I started out in August with the intention of just running one kids class and one adult class. I put out a few leaflets and posted an advert on our village diary website. The first week just one child turned up for the Ballet/Tap class. I remember walking away feeling really disheartened and ready to give up and throw in the towel. A career in the dance industry is a hard path to take and especially if your trying to set up you own business. I was feeling low and disappointed but my passion for dance took over and pulling my shoulders back I went to teach the class the next week. I'm really glad I did as it went from just being one child to four.
Suddenly every week I had a new child turn up and in just over a month I had a class of ten kids.
It began to feel like I was running a small business. I suddenly had a bit more to organise with bills, invoices, emails and ordering dance uniforms. It was only a one hour class but with preparations and organising this took several hours. I found none of this a chore though. I was earning a little bit of money but it wasn't the money that was making me enthusiastic, it was the fact I could see how my class had grew in the last few weeks and the prospect of what it could become. I loved the fact that the kids really enjoyed the lessons and came back each week but it was also the parents who were really supportive and encouraging.
I set up a website www.rossettdance.co.uk and attended our village festival to spread the word about the dance classes. This helped again in building my numbers.
At Christmas I decided that I would get really serious in advertising the classes but also expand and open new classes. Although my kids class seemed to be a success my adult class was not having the same luck.
I designed a brochure advertising the kids classes and adult classes along with the new timetable and I posted them through all the doors in the village. My persistence and determination surprised me as I had not realised before I could be so passionate about something without anyone telling me to do this or do that. I was doing it all myself. I was making work for myself. I was looking into and exploring ways I could expand my business and then going out and putting these ideas into practice.
My dream came true...Rossett Dance was suddenly no longer just a class but a school.
My kids class more than doubled, I had three adult classes that grew in number and my new classes brought new faces also.
The fact the school has grown bigger obviously doubled my work load in my spare time. It takes me over a few days now to sort out bills, emails, uniforms and letters
But as I said before, this is not something I dread doing or I get frustrated with. I love the fact that the only reason I do have a lot of invoices to write and emails to send is because I have a good amount of students that attend Rossett Dance.

I admire dance schools who have started out the same as me. Setting up a few classes at a village hall and over time growing and expanding and then becoming a big, ever growing, successful school and also a good business. The school I trained at from a young age did exactly that.
My ambition is to be as successful as Tozer Studios (please follow the link for more information- http://www.tozerstudios.co.uk/).
At some point in the future I would like to have my own building where I can set it up how I want and have as many classes running as possible. I want to become known as the school to go to for dance in my area. It is going to be a big step financially and at first I may feel more of a loss than a gain but I hope with persistence, passion and hard work my dream will come true.

I want my academy to be more than just a place for kids to come and dance though. I want it to be a place where adults feel welcome and can come to enjoy dance socially. As I wrote earlier, my adult classes have grown since seriously advertising after Christmas but there is still a lot more room for improvement.
My big question is: How can I attract adults to Rossett Dance? How can I make them feel welcome within my school?

When I first opened Rossett Dance, August 2012

                                   
                                                 

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?

Dance is one of the hardest careers you can get into.
We start dance from a young age, for example, I started ballet and tap when I was just two years old. From then on I attended classes every single week. It went from once a week, to twice a week to eventually four or five times a week I would be dancing.
I took exams in all styles starting from preparatory up to advanced level. I was involved in festivals and performed in shows and pantomimes to eventually I got to the point where I got accepted into a dance college, The Hammond, where I danced five days a week, 9:00 am to 6:30 pm.
In the last year of college I started auditioning. I graduated from The Hammond and I was still auditioning. Every audition was the same. Hundreds of dancers fighting for a job. Each girl with probably a similar sort of dance background to me just waiting for a chance to achieve their dream.
Eventually, after much hard work, I got a job as a performer with a well known cruise company.

There are two things that I would like to talk about that make me angry, frustrated and sad.

Firstly, I get upset with people who don't understand a dancers world and consider dance as a hobby and not as a profession.

There are people who don't appreciate the hard work that dancers do and the let downs and disappointment that we go through at auditions.
I know it is hard to get a job in any sector due to the times that we are in at the moment, but at least when they are successful in achieving the job/career they want it is acknowledged and understood as a decent, normal and money earning profession.

I am now a qualified dance teacher with the IDTA which is a well established examining board and one that I'm very proud to be apart of. I teach most evenings and every Saturday. My days usually consist of preparing for those classes and working towards higher qualifications in teaching. I don't earn a full time wage but I'm happy because at least I am doing something that I have a passion for.
But as it is part time work and part time money people question why I don't have a "normal" job. I am sure if I was to say I had a full time job as a receptionist or shop assistant a lot of people I know would say 'well done, at last you have a job!' but if I was to say that I had received an offer to work evenings for a big dance school, I am sure that this would not be seen in the same light and as easily praised. It seems ridiculous as I have been working twenty three years to get to the point where I can have a career in dance, not as a shop worker!

The qualifications I have are not really understood by people who are not in the dancing world. This is one of the reasons why I decided to start the BAPP course with Middlesex University. I plan to go on to gain a PGCE and at least then this qualification should not be questioned.

Secondly, what frustrates me is I feel that sometimes as dancers we don't get the help and support we need to lead us down the right path.

As young dancers all we know is that we want to become a performer or a teacher. To dance in the West End and tour the world or teach in a well established school or college. We attend a dance school, take exams, move onto a college, start auditioning and achieving qualifications but all the while thinking is this going to work?

I personally feel I didn't get enough support, careers advice and answers from teachers in school and college to guide me down the right route for where I wanted to go.

Eventually, at twenty five years of age and after twenty three years of training I feel that I know where I am heading. The qualifications I will gain in the next couple of years will enable me to get that full time teaching job in a college that I have wanted ever since I was eighteen.

To me it has been like being in a maze, going in different directions, seeing which way will lead me on further or which will just end abruptly, maybe with a qualification but not with an answer or clue as to how I can reach my destination.

Sadly, after a lot of stumbling around in the dark a lot of dancers grow tired and disheartened of not getting anywhere and they give up their dream. If they had the answers then maybe they would be able to begin the climb on the ladder to the career they want in dance.

A friend of mine from college never gave up. She knew she wanted a career in dance, her love being ballet and after so much hard work she has now begun her journey touring in a National Ballet. I really admire this friend and I am confident that she will keep on climbing the ladder to success.

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

To become a teacher after performing was always the plan.
To love teaching and it being one of the biggest passions of my life I didn't anticipate.
This only happened last year after returning from a seven month contract touring America.

After performing professionally I matured as a person and dancer and this affected me as a teacher. I felt confident within myself and that I could deliver classes the students would love and learn from. Being confident in your own ability does wonders. As I have matured with age and experience I have improved as a teacher and because I am confident in my ability I love what I do.

I enjoy entering the studio not knowing exactly how the class could go. It could be hard work and stressful and by the end of it I feel I haven't got through as many things as I wanted. Or it could be the opposite and I have achieved more than expected. Either way, it is always a positive feeling I get as I know the students are progressing and learning and that is through me and my teaching.
I love that students ask me questions and fully respect my opinions as a teacher. I always recall me when I was a student and the respect I felt towards my dance teachers. I aim to be like one of those teachers that I felt a big respect for and that a student can rely on for support and mentoring.

Rosalind Renouf, a friend and mentor is somebody I admire for their passion in teaching. She manages her school completely for the love of dance and not for any financial purpose. (Please visit her page for more information - http://www.deanrowdancing.co.uk/)

What do you feel you don't understand? 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?

At the moment my big question is will I eventually be able to make a living from solely teaching dance?

Currently, I teach about fifteen hours a week and for that amount of time I do earn a good amount of money, but it is not a wage I can live off forever.
My aim is to build up my dance academy with 100 to 200 students and to eventually teach in a dance college. I hope that my academy will be an ever growing profitable business and that my dream of earning a job in a good college come true.

Until that point though, this question remains unanswered.

A school I teach for in Warrington run a successful business. They deliver brilliant classes that the students enjoy but they also deal with the business side of things professionally to ensure it works financially. (Please follow the link for more information - http://www.stageproacademy.co.uk/)

A Critical Reflection

I have been mulling over a few ideas this past week and looking through theories in a bit more depth.
It is through looking deeply into these theories and seeing what interests me that I have created this 'Critical Reflection.'

I have posted my 'Critical Reflection here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B18e7KyrwDEZVzdUM01HZzVNYkU/edit?usp=sharing

Howard Gardner's ideas really intrigued me and I would be interested to know other peoples opinions on his categorisation of 'Multiple Personalities.'