Task 3c: My Five Sources of Information

We can collect information from all sorts of various places in life that help us improve our knowledge of a specific subject. My professional practice being dance I have come across many ways to gather necessary information that I find necessary. Geri mentioned she put a spider diagram together on her sources of information to decide on the importance, which I thought was a good idea although I found it hard putting mine into an order as it depends on what information I am looking for to which source I use. Here are my five main sources:

1) The Internet...
This is probably the most obvious and broadly used of my sources of information mainly because it is often so easy and quick to find the information I am looking for. As we all know www.google.co.uk is incredibly useful when searching for such information as it produces a wide range of pages for you to find your answers from. On the other hand, I sometimes feel I am too quick to jump to google to find information. It is not always factual especially Wikipedia as discussed earlier in the course, as anybody can upload information on here without being a reliable source.

Beneath are a list of some of the specific internet sites I use regularly as resources for my professional practice. All are public websites so taking copyright into account, I am allowed to publish their links:

• http://balletnews.co.uk - This site is like a blog and notifies me on news and interesting things currently going on in the dance world. They also have a facebook page.
• http://www.vanemuine.ee/whats-on - This is the official website of my theatre. I use this to find out our show schedule and you are also able to access information on myself those I work with.
• http://www.networkdance.com - This is a network that helps me get an idea on companies and auditions.
• http://www.dancedirect.com/uk - Here is often where I order new dancewear from as it has a wide range of variety. An added fun fact is that my old school friend is one of the models :)
• http://www.youtube.com - This is where I access clips of choreography to learn, watch, take inspiration from. Its also a good source of finding music I like to choreograph to.  

I'd be interested to know if you too find use from the same ones and of any new sites you use? I noticed Megan talk about The Ballet blog which is actually one I have heard about but never used myself. Now having been reminded I will make sure to check it out more often. The idea of relating personal experiences with others would be a very beneficial thing for my practice.

2) Dance Europe and The Dancing Times...
Both of these are Dance magazines that I am subscribed to and they have so much information on companies, performances, people's experiences and other subjects in dance to read up on. They also have the latest news from the dance world and I can keep up with what's going on in the UK and around the rest of Europe. It is always an interesting read too and I often find useful tips for all sorts of things in here.

3) DVD's...
I use DVD's as a source of information a lot. They range from DVD's of performances both my own and other companies, to exercise and strengthening DVD's. As I previously explained I am a visual learner so gain a lot of knowledge from 'watching'. I often learn new roles currently in my companies repertoire from their previous recordings of shows. In my graduate year I was asked to step in and dance with Birmingham Royal Ballet in their 'Nutcracker'. I was given a DVD on the friday night to learn from and on the monday morning I had rehearsal with the ballet mistress. Luckily it was likely to be the easiest way for me to learn the choreography anyway. (On a side note its a beautiful and festive ballet currently on now for anybody interested: http://www.brb.org.uk/masque/index.htm?act=WhatsOn&urn=119&tsk=show) I also use exercise DVD's sometimes when I fancy a different workout and this often gives me new ways to strengthen and tone my muscles.

Under internet I also mentioned about youtube and its uses to my practice. Reading Megan's blog, she too noted youtube as a source and it was interesting to see that one of uses for it is to upload private videos on there as a teacher. In opposition I use youtube more to find videos than anything else but uploading videos of my own dancing (privately) could really help me to analyse my own work and see where to improve. This would allow me to measure my personal improvement over time too.

4) Word of mouth & Friends...
With the dance world being so small word of mouth is a very quick way to hear information. Having grown up doing it and being involved in the so called 'ballet world' from the age of around 10 (when I ventured from my home dance school in Newcastle to the Royal Ballet JA's in Leeds every saturday) I have made so many friends and contacts within my profession. Everybody knows everybody and you are rarely one step away from someone you know. Information via word of mouth isn't always accurate so to speak but quite often you get a general idea of news or information that can often be useful. Facebook is an excellent way to hear and give such information in an informal way. Ruth also explains on her blog how she finds out about jobs and auditions through facebook too which is another useful way I too find information. She also says how her sources were similar to others because they appeal most young people in our professions which I agree. Without the appeal, less of us would use them and then they would become less of use.

Megan also mentions about a friend being a good voice of reason and help giving you insight into other perspectives. This is crucial to me when evaluating my own work. The journal writing from another perspective seemed less valuable to me as I was imagining what others saw but if you have a friend giving you reliable perceptions it is a lot more useful when looking outwards and subsequently inwards to develop.

5) My main 'Community of Practice'/ My Work...
In my current professional practice my main 'community of practice' is my work at the Vanemuine Ballet. Work is a great source of information and I learn new things everyday. In class teacher's give corrections and information on how to improve technique and they are always at hand to ask for extra help too if necessary. Dancing with others means you can cooperate together and exchange information on how to develop specific things. You get to watch others everyday and can see how steps should be executed or what can help and having the privilege of working in such a friendly company, everybody is always happy to help.