Dance After College by Charlotte Bateman

  “It wont always be comfortable” This is the one thing I try to remind myself from the Module Handbooks.  I really have to read and read the handbooks to help me with my essays / thoughts and especially reflection. I often think I’m not capable for this course - I find the words so difficult to understand - being dyslexic doesn’t help - although I’m convinced being dyslexic helps my Dance - so I guess it’s a good part of me. It’s part of my practice and so I have to accept and reflect on that when it comes to the academic side of my practice. Sometimes I think I’m moving forward and other times I just want to quit. But even typing that I know I’m learning from this course even if I don’t understand the terminology.  When I find the work hard I pause and remember how hard I found it last time or how I found a Dance hard to learn or a situation hard to cope with. By thinking about how I behaved and what went well and what didn’t go quite so well for each experience helps me with the nex

My first thought ( or maybe 2nd or 3rd - after what will I pack)  when I heard I had secured my first contract on a Ship was Aaggghhh how am I going to do my Uni work. It’s no secret I find the work challenging and the thought of doing that at Sea with limited WiFi worries me. However I have got myself organised an up to date with my work and am feeling confident I am going to give it a go. I have worked abroad before but not on a ship - so the question of where I am going to work is bothering me but I am determined to make it work. In some ways the solitude might help me study and I will have access to a whole team of dancers and different performers that hopefully will provide a good contact for my study. I may not be able to make the live zoom sessions but I often have to rewatch them to help with my essays so I will just have to do that! If anyone is in a similar position please let me know - any hints / tips will be gratefully received. I’m on the ship until January 2023 so I will

  Having submitted my Draft Inquiry Proposal Helen suggested I start a reflective journal as part of my research. The idea being that the journal reflects my thoughts and feelings and importantly my initial perceptions around my inquiry proposal. By detailing my thoughts and reflecting on my opinions I hope to be more objective and creative as I organise and challenge my own thoughts. Apparently this is now a widespread research tool, especially when you are already immersed in your topic and may already have experiences or opinions that relate to your research. The journal will help me keep my methods and understandings clearly documented throughout the process and will eventually be a formal part of my research.

Whilst thinking about the different ways to gather information and statistics on my topic I was thinking about the different methods I could use. As I am looking into body image I feel this is a very sensitive subject to talk to someone about face to face. I feel I could gather more honest and valuable information by producing an online survey which people can fill out anonymously. I think there would be more engagement and people will feel less uncomfortable and less pressured.  I can across a really interesting article about Mobile Ethnography which is a research method whereby participants are asked to use their mobile phones to record images that they can include as part of their evidence. I think this will help me collate some really interesting research and I know that the majority of my participants will love adding pictures etc  When thinking about what questions to ask I need to make sure I am being understanding of peoples feelings. For example I am not asking questions to pr

  After having the zoom with Sam on how to tackle the literature review I feel I am at a better understanding on how to approach this. As I move through module two I am constantly developing my inquiry proposal. For example I am looking at body image within the arts and on this zoom I took inspiration from what sam was saying and I will now also compare statistics and findings on body image in everyday life also. I feel this will give me a broader spectrum to work on and I will have more data to collect.  From listening to my peers on todays zoom I have also had the idea of looking into sports literature and how this compares with dance. I have been looking at reports and articles on my topic and I am starting to see the same reoccurring theme that body image has a huge impact on people in their day to day lives, especially dancers. I will continue to research and look at different types of literature until I feel satisfied with my findings. If anyone has anything to offer or knows of

Starting Module two I felt very overwhelmed as I am sure many others did. I have been reading through the handbook and trying to make sense of this module. After having the zoom with Sam I feel more at ease and have a better understanding of what it is I need to do in this module.  In this blog I am going to be talking about my "little wonders". One of the AOL I covered in module 1 was body image within the performing arts industry. I spoke about how through my college experience I felt pressured to conform to the "norm" when speaking about body image. I have been asking myself what my little wonders are regarding this topic.  Is there a stereotypical body type required for a dancer? Do teachers use the correct vocabulary when speaking about body image? Does every dancer suffer with negative thoughts regarding this? Are mirrors a necessary object within the dance studio? Is there enough support within the industry surrounding this topic? I need to also consider priv