Further Interviews and Observations.

So last week I conducted two more interviews and observed several dance classes of different styles.

The first interview/observation took place last Thursday with a dance teacher I have been working for the last two years and who is currently training me through my Modern Associates with the IDTA.

I felt I learned a lot from my first interview and so I knew what I wanted to do differently this time. The most important thing for me was to ensure that I press my questions, that I didn't just settle for the first and quick answer but instead encouraged the interviewees to go into further detail. This way I could feel I had left the interview with valuable and in depth information. I felt when reading the questions out loud the first time I conducted the interview that it might not actually be clear what I was asking for and therefore I might need to give a more detailed description with the question. I thought of this before I conducted my second interview and so was careful this time to briefly explain at the end of each question what it was I was actually looking for, such as giving examples of a classroom situation. This made the interview a lot more conversational based and put the interviewee in a relaxed frame of mind, more at ease in her answers.

I also audio recorded this interview as it was something I regretted not doing in the last one. This should help me clearly quote important parts at a later date. Also, instead of writing out notes this time, I used my netbook to type her answers which I found a lot more efficient as I'm a much quicker typist than writer!

The observation was very useful as the class itself was quite different to the first one I observed. It was a mixture of ballet, pointe work and tap all guided by the IDTA syllabus. As my first observation was at a dance college and this one was at a dance school, I could see the differences between the student and teacher interaction.

Again, I focused on giving brief explanations with each question for my third interview and this really helped to build a solid starting point for the interviewee to bounce off and give in depth answers.
The class I observed was free tap but the class was at different standards and some of the students were working towards their assessments so it was interesting to see how the teacher dealt with the mixed group.

My fourth interview/observation I have booked at a stage school where I work. I am intrigued to find out if the teacher/student interaction is different again to that in the college and dance school as this is something that has stood out to me so far in my investigations.