Task 2b: Reflective Writing

I found this task both interesting and challenging. I guess everybody has their own specific writing style so trying to change this each day was quite hard. I really had to think about exactly how or what to write as I often found myself reverting back to my usual style. However this did help me a lot in reflecting on my days and I found some of the styles that I had originally cast off, to be the most useful. I also had to be wary of anonymising those that I work with so I wasn't breaching any privacy policies. Here's how I got on with each style... I have set them out in order of how well they helped me reflect and learn from (starting with the least helpful):

What if...?:
The dreaming entry. I don't really feel this helped me develop thoughts on my daily experiences of my professional practice however it did help me to change my attitude towards things and put a more positive spin on events that would maybe frustrate me usually. I felt more appreciative of the day and it spurred me on to continue working hard as I could visualise and imagine my goals and dreams.

Another view:

I enjoyed writing about my day from a different point of view as it made me think about how I come across to others and try and see a different view on events without my personal preference/opinion clouding judgements. I actually wrote the entry as if I was my pointe shoes and included both events to do with with my dancing but also my reactions from an outside perspective. This style definitely helps me to look more outwards and question how I do things although in terms of learning from my experiences, I didn't find this style very helpful mainly because I was guessing what the outside perspective was. I don't actually know what my pointe shoes thought! ;) 

List:

• Easiest.
• Least time consuming - most likely to keep up with.
• Less likely to stray back to 'normal' style.
• Not enough detail for me to be able to reflect well on.
• Good way of seeing specific points/events quickly to refer to.

Descriptive entry:

My descriptive entry was closest to how I naturally would write a journal, describing what happened as if telling the story to somebody else. I did use reaction but it was mainly 'What? Where? When? Who?' and didn't really elaborate on my progression of thought. For example "I woke up at 8.30 and felt tired. Class was an hour and fifteen today which I found to be a bit short. Casanova rehearsal was a full run through and I felt it went well." Although this style is naturally how I would write a journal of which I explained in my last post, I'm an amateur so actually by going back to my entries and reflecting on them I learnt that although this style is of use to me, it wasn't the best out of the lot.

Initial Reflection entry:

This way of writing helped me to remember what I was thinking straight after events happened. It is good to look back and remember what I thought/felt (which I normally don't write enough of) and I found this helpful in learning to do that. I do find though that thinking over things more helps me and often my initial reaction and reflection on things is down to the heat of a moment and not always the most reasonable: "During centre work I focused on my balance although my turns could've been better, I was frustrated as they weren't as good as they can be and it dampened my otherwise good mood. "

Graphs and Diagrams:
This was probably joint top of my most useful ways of writing a journal. Infact I think I would use both this and Evaluation together. Along with the graphs and diagrams I used colours (as you can see from this blog entry). I have a somewhat photographic memory so when learning retaining and remembering information, colours really help. This proved to be really useful for me during my academic studies at school so what better way to learn when doing my degree! I have posted a couple of pictures of some diagrams I did so you get an idea on how I used it: 

This first graph gave me the basic outline on how I could think through my experiences and learn from them. Here is an example of one from my journal using my method above:

Evaluation entry:

I found this style was probably the best for me. It made me look more into what happened and how I could improve on the events. Surprisingly it made me reflect in more depth straight away while writing instead of coming back to the entry later and then evaluating each of the events in order to think in depth. It was effectively a more thorough version of my Initial Reflection style as I developed and improved on things while writing them down. When I came back to reflect on it and gain knowledge, it was easier as the 'in depth' thoughts I would usually be thinking over, were already written down so I could progress onto learning more. 

The thing I took away from this task was not only the news way of writing a journal in order to enhance my self learning, but to remember that my 'normal' way of doing things (on the contrary to what I may think) isn't always the most efficient or helpful to myself. I am a person who is open to new ideas but sometimes I lack the energy to bother as I dont always imagine they'll help me anymore. This task proved me wrong... Don't knock until you try!

Task 2a: Dear Diary (Reflective Practice)

Dear Diary,

Today I read through reader 2 and what was expected of me in task 2a. The main idea I got from this was we are to keep our own journal in order for us to reflect on our daily activities. Then from here we can analyse and develop our initial ideas and reactions on the events and learn much more from it. I can't say I have properly kept a journal before, apart from when I was younger and used to write my 7 year-old self's 'secrets' in the diary I had got for my birthday. Even then the novelty soon wore off and after a few days I would forget or lose interest. I tend to learn visually though so writing a journal (with use of colour, diagrams etc) is probably the best way for me to account my experiences.

I have started my journal writing and already see a running theme in how I write. I tend to simply note down the facts and occasional reactions to events. I am quite a logical person and lists of what happened is naturally what I would write about, beginning with what teacher took class or what role I danced in a performance. I am now going to try and explore the different styles of writing a diary and see if this helps me improve the development of my ideas. Hopefully this will help me to learn more from my entries. Will let you know how I get on! .... :)

Emma

How You Conduct Yourself

I read this article and video today on Elitedaily.com about the "Innovation of Loneliness" and thought it was very fitting to the discussions being had over Reader 1 about both ethics and social media in general. One of the points being how we use social media to advertise ourselves in the best possible light. In our industry this is what we have to do on a daily basis (and especially when applying for jobs) and although in the clip it is primarily talking about our social lives, this isn't always a good thing. I've posted both the video and link below. Let me know your thoughts and comments on it.

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/this-video-will-have-you-completely-rethink-how-you-conduct-yourself-online-and-in-person-video/


The Innovation of Loneliness from Shimi Cohen on Vimeo.

Task 1c: Starting out on BAPP

So I have to admit I have been dreading this task. Mainly due to the fact that I can't stand hearing myself back on videos but also because I have never actually made a Youtube video before. Like most of the other Web 2.0 tools it turned out to be pretty simple and a lot less difficult than I had thought it might be (although I still don't like hearing myself back any more than I did). So heres a brief introduction of me and what I want to gain from this course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqK9aMeWr5E

Task 1b (2): My further thoughts on Reader 1

I was having another look through Reader 1 and after posting my initial thoughts I thought I'd share with you my further developed ideas about Web 2.0 and it's tools that will help me (and already apply) with my blogging and my own professional practice.

Firstly after Paula's comment I've been thinking more about how my current ballet company uses social media and Web 2.0 tools. Here is a link to my theatre's facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/vanemuine.
Here you can see they often update it, promoting upcoming shows and concerts held here and what the ballet company and other theatre departments are involved with. They also update their followers on the latest news and whenever there's a premiere photos of the show will be uploaded. You can probably see the current cover photo is promoting our new ballet Raymonda. The company also have a Youtube account where they upload videos and clips from productions. This is quite a useful tool for my own professional practice too as audition videos can be sent as a youtube clip.
http://www.youtube.com/user/kaunitarjakoletis
I managed to embed a video of last seasons Beauty & the Beast (Kaunitar ja Koletis) off of the Vanemuine Ballet youtube page taken from the wings as a small promotional video prior to the premiere. I hope you enjoy!



In O'reilly's 'meme' it talks about RSS technology allowing people to receive notifications when they 'subscribe' to a page. I was wondering if Blogger has something similar? I find I keep going back to the list of blogs to visit other peoples and don't seem to be notified if somebody replies to any comments I make. Does anybody know if you can receive some form of notification? Or do we just keep having to go back to the comment to check? On my network dance profile I often receive emails as a way of telling me when somebody has updated their profile or added pictures etc. This makes networking so much easier.

So many young people these days are glued to TV/laptop/mobile phone screens subsequently because of the wonders of Web 2.0. It is so much easier to communicate and it saves a lot of time, effort and money. People can communicate with more than one person at a time and get replies straight away without spending a penny. However in some ways, although Web 2.0 has solved so many communication problems, has it also created them? Often people don't take as much time to sit down and have a one to one conversation with a friend in person. I know I tend to message people over ringing them now. I always enjoyed receiving post from home when I was away at school but rarely now do I write letters unless I have to. Sometimes its nice to have something to actually hold. Although Web 2.0 without a doubt has changed things for the better, as Melanie Cannon points out... I don't think we should forget those traditional ways of communicating once in a while :)

Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies

I have a confession! After reading the Professional Communication Technologies handbook my eyes have been opened. In today's society so many of us rely on the internet for our professional and social lives and without realising I have been using Web 2.0 without even being aware of its existence and its specifically categorized platforms.

O'reilly's meme map really helped me to understand exactly what Web 2.0 is and how we have progressed from Web 1.0. It has many specific principles but my main understanding is it has enabled one to one communication to be improved by enabling more people to interact and subsequently making the user become the creator as well as the reader. Valtysson suggests that more participation leads to less distinction between the reader and the creator (or consumer and producer) establishing the 'Prosumer' and Bruns' calls the act of users both producing and using 'Produsage'. These two ideas really help me to understand one of the main principles of Web 2.0.

So much of my current social and professional life relies on Web 2.0 already and the thought of going back to a one to one communication system is quite daunting because as sad as it is to admit, I would be somewhat lost without it. Living in Estonia for one would be a lot harder as contact with family and friends back home would be a lot more difficult and I would be likely to feel pretty ostracized. Having the likes of Facebook and Twitter help me to feel a lot closer than the 1090 miles away that I actually am and lets face it, why would I spend the time and money on writing a letter to have a reply a week later, when I could communicate with others there and then for free?!

As a professional Web 2.0 is extremely useful when it comes to networking and learning. An example being Youtube. This has been extremely useful especially since being a professional. Other than to be on there and goggle at incredible dancers who I aspire to be, it has helped me to learn choreography. I learnt a solo for a competition purely by watching it on there and have used it recently to watch parts of our newest ballet Raymonda. Another being Network Dance, a site designed for dancers to communicate and network between other dancers and companies as well as find important information and news.

"Ullrich suggests that one of the key aspects of a Web 2.0 model is that these services are constantly evolving and that each platform is progressively developed and replaced" (Reader 1)
This immediately made me think of how facebook is constantly changing the layout. I used to get quite frustrated when I'd log in and have to find my way around a new news feed layout or page/timeline settings but that made me think. What is it that keeps us all on facebook? When other sites alike such as Bebo and myspace were around they grew out of "fashion" pretty quick. Maybe part of the reason we all stuck to facebook is because its constantly developing. I believe many would have got bored if we were still only shown the top 3 status' of the day and a timeline was something we learnt about in History lessons!

Ethical consideration is a big thing in social media. As users we create interest on these websites for others to see but it is easy to forget exactly who can read them. Once posted, nothing can be re-done and although you can delete, out of those 1 billion users of facebook, 4 billion views on Youtube a day and the 200 million active users of twitter, SOMEONE is likely to have noted it. Although privacy settings are (or can be) high there are many ways to access data on someone and when applying for a job these social networking sites could quickly become your biggest enemy. Copyright is also an easy mistake to make and we must be wary of exactly who owns the right to things we post and do we have permission to post them.

Google Docs: Study Schedule

Today I have been playing around with the google docs tool and finally managed to upload something. I have drawn up a rough idea of my own study schedule. My days are often scheduled differently but I have tried to give myself guidelines to help. Here it is:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GrvSlGSQwHUHd8GOXcUqr4anHSZ7QkRAbjW1e0r0uis/pub

Task 1d: Flirting with Flickr

In the arts we are judged on face value so often. Imagery is a big factor in getting a role or a job. When I auditioned for dance companies they all asked for headshots and body shots so they could judge me before even inviting me to audition. This sometimes gets to me as I feel sometimes you need to watch someone in person before you can fully know. Or maybe not? I suppose thats where videos come in.

A photo holds a lot of information that you wouldn't necessarily get from a description and in social media especially and I find I am immediately drawn to an article in social media if there's an interesting photo. Would a photo decide whether you read an article or not?

Here is a link to my network dance profile that I already use to network with other people in my professional practice:

http://www.networkdance.com/Emma-Price

I have also set up my new Flickr account and uploaded photos of my work. I found using this Web 2.0 tool quite simple to use in comparison to the others I've been introduced to. There's a range of photos there all of which show different shows, roles and places I have worked. A lot trigger memories that I otherwise would have forgotten, another good use for imagery I find. Let me know your thoughts :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/104957692@N04/

Skype Conversation

Being in Estonia I admittedly have been quite confused about specific aspects of the course and what is required. Quite honestly despite having started the tasks, I was not sure really the reason for doing them!! After having a skype conversation with Adesola and some of the other girls on the course I am feeling much more clued in. We talked about how the tasks are not marked individually but are in place as a way of getting us to think and communicate our own ideas so we learn from ourselves and others. A very important point that came up is that we should link the tasks with our current circumstances so we can move forward in our own areas of professional practice. The final critical reflection in module 1 is a reflection on your journey. The tasks will take you on the journey by making you think and in order for you to learn and help improve in your own professional practice you should remember to bring ideas from the tasks back to this.

For anybody who was/is as clueless as I was I hope this helps :) 

Happy blogging x

Task 1a: Review of Professional Profile

After having looked at many other professional profiles and reflecting on my own, I found many were overly formal with very little personal touch. Infact in my own, I basically rewrote my CV listing specific details but not showing much of my personality as an individual. Often when going by the specific guidelines of writing a CV such things are forgotten and actually after taking a step back and looking at it in a different way, such as a "Profile", I feel the personal touch is just as important. Laura Houghton's comment on my own blog helped me to see this. I enjoyed reading Bethan Bullman's Professional Profile as she has included many of her personal qualities as well as including jobs she has done. I also Gabrielle Fairhead's blog interesting to read as she included photographs too which grabbed my attention.

I have redrafted sections of my profile in order to improve on it and try and help the target audience gage a better idea of me as a person. I began with the "Awards and Skills" section and decided to make it more personal than the formal bullet points by adding my interests and personal skills as well as events I have taken part in.......

"As well as dancing I have always taken a great interest in choreography. I am a social person with good communication skills and really enjoy working with other people. I also enjoy creating new things from specific ideas. I entered the English National Ballet School choreography competition and won 1st prize with a piece I did called "Your Loss" based on the four stages of grief. The audience really enjoyed this piece as many felt the could relate to it well. Also when taking my National Diploma in Professional Dance I based my final project on choreography. This involved me creating a piece for my fellow students to perform at a performance with a paying public audience. The process of this was a big highlight for me as I enjoyed creating something on others and seeing the development of both my creation and their work.
I have worked in promotion before which I enjoyed as I am an outgoing person and enjoy meeting new people. I have also worked with children which I loved and helped to organise fundraising events to raise money for charities such as breast cancer research. In fact when thinking about the future after dance event organising is something I have taken an interest in as I am a naturally organised person and really enjoy helping others."

I think this revised section makes me come across more humane in my profile and less like a computer ticking boxes. I do however know when sending a CV of to a director of a dance company for example (which is primarily who I have sent my CV off to) they have so many to look through. Usually a CV in such a situation is a way of choosing people for an invited audition. Maybe having this paragraph actually makes them less likely to read it as it is less easy to scan through? What are your thoughts? Would you be inclined to read this extra paragraph over the previous bullet points? Especially if you had several applicants for the one job?

Task 1a: Professional CV

So I thought I'd better make a start on these tasks and have uploaded my CV. Understanding that the primary use for a CV is to put yourself in your best light and impress your hopeful employer, this is what I have tried to do. This often means making yourself stand out from all the other thousands of CVs they are likely to look through. I have left out personal details as I'm aware this is a public blog but left spaces where I would usually put them.

Emma Price - CV

Date of Birth: _____                           Height: _____
Nationality:  British                           Weight: _____

Personal Profile

I am currently dancing corps and soloist roles with the Vanemuine Ballet Theatre in Estonia. I previously trained for six years at Elmhurst School for Dance in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet and I have strong classical ballet technique with experience and further training in contemporary (Graham, Cunningham) and Jazz (Mattox). I toured with Birmingham Royal ballet in my graduate year there and have received classical training from Desmond Kelly (Artistic Director), Errol Pickford (Principal, Royal Ballet), Samira Saidi (First soloist, Birmingham Royal Ballet), Marion Tait (Assistant Director, Birmingham Royal Ballet), Daria Klimentova (Principal, English National Ballet), Lee Robinson (Soloist, English National Ballet) and Gloria Grigolato (Soloist, English National Ballet). Since dancing in Estonia I have gained a lot of stage experience in both corps and soloist roles and risen to the challenge of jumping into new roles last minute.  

Education and Qualifications

2010 – 2012             Elmhurst School for Dance (Upper School)

                                 National Diploma in Professional Dance: Final project                                              on Choreography

2009 – 2010             English National Ballet School

2005 – 2009             Elmhurst School For Dance (Lower School)

A-Levels:                 Maths and Dance                      GCSE’s: 11 Grades A - A*

RAD:                        Advanced 2: Distinction (94%)    RAM: Grade 6 Flute, Grade                                                                                                5 Singing

Performance Experience

2013 Raymonda (Pankova): Clemence,              Vanemuine Theatre,    Sarrasin solo couple                                   Estonia Thriller: Dirty Diana solo                              Tallinn Nokia Concert                                                                         Hall & Vanemuine                                                                               Theatre, Estonia Beauty and the Beast (Stubbs):                  Vanemuine Theatre,   Belle's Sister, School child,                          Estonia                         Flower 2012 The Nutcracker (Par Isberg):                       Vanemuine Theatre,   Lotta (Clara), Snowflake,                              Estonia                       Flower, Baker’s child Sleeping Beauty (Par Isberg):                      Vanemuine Theatre,   Aurora's friend, Party guest                          Estonia Moonlight (Igor Barberic):                            Vanemuine Theatre,   Corps dancer                                                Estonia Cabaret                                                        Tallinn Nokia Concert                                                                        Hall & Vanemuine                                                                              Theatre, Estonia 2011    Birmingham Royal Ballet:                          O2 Arena London Nutcracker (Wright):                                  Birmingham Hippodrome Snowflake, Flower,                                    Maid                                       Birmingham Royal Ballet:                          Sadler’s Wells,                 La Fille Mal Gardee                                   Sunderland Empire,         (Ashton) Peasant girl                                 Theatre Royal                                                                                    (Plymouth) Elmhurst Solos Competition                      Elmhurst Theatre  (Finals): Medora Paquita pas de Trois (Petipa)                    Elmhurst Theatre Pineapple Poll: Wife (Cranko)                    Elmhurst Theatre Aspirations (Samira Saidi)                         Elmhurst Theatre

Awards and Skills

• English National Ballet School Choreography Competition: 1^st Prize Winner
• RAD Advance Foundation DVD filming
• Benesh Notation Reader: Basic
• Conversational French

References

Marion Tait, Assistan Director, Birmingham Royal Ballet

Desmond Kelly, Previous Artistic Director, Elmhurst School for Dance

Mare Tomingas, Director of Vanemuine Theater Ballet

After looking through other people's public profiles and CVs clarity is a running theme. A CV must be clear and easy for the target audience to read as often an employer will have a large amount of them to look through and very little time to do it in. I have tried to do this by setting it out in a logical order. Please let me know if and how I can improve on this.

I have also tried to keep my CV to an A4 piece of paper as lets face it, nobody wants to read through pages and pages of intricate detail on every single performance or job you have ever worked at in your entire life. Employers are just looking for an overview of you and your career. Again I would be grateful for your comments and thoughts on whether I could add or cut anything from my CV. 

My Very First Blog!

Hey everyone!

I'm excited to be starting this new course although a little nervous. I am currently based in Estonia so was unfortunately unable to attend induction day. Feeling quite far away from it all over here but after having my induction via skype with Paula I think I understand it all a little better now. I'm finally up and running on my blog (which is all very new to me) and just about grasped how to work the moodle site... just!

I am now into my second season at the Vanemuine Theatre Ballet which is based in a small but very beautiful city called Tartu in Estonia. I am thoroughly enjoying my job here and after 7 years of training in studios with little experience of stage experience, I can finally say it was definitely worth it. We are currently working up to the premiere of our new ballet "Raymonda" this saturday in which I'll be dancing the part of Clemence (Raymonda's best friend). Everything is pretty crazy here right now however during my breaks I am looking forward to familiarising myself with the course and all of you.

Primarily I have enrolled in the BAPP course to further my personal learning and development of new skills that dancing in a studio all day wouldn't necessarily bring. I hope to widen my knowledge on other areas of professional practice and help me to progress in my professional career. I am eager to learn from all of your own experiences through reading your blogs and networking with you. It was a shame not to meet everyone in person but hopefully there will be an opportunity when I can. Until then don't be shy and please tell me what you think on my posts.

Good luck to you all!

Emma x