Starting Module 2

Back-dating to the afternoon I had spent on campus, arguing and debating random dance-based lines of inquiry – and those not so- I found myself reflecting on my own ideas given to the topics.

I had previously looked through the handbook, and immediately jumped towards the generic ‘dancers mind-set’; the one that includes eating disorders and the whole ‘perfectionist’ outlook on life, and thought that although it is something that generally interests me, would there actually be any real point of inquiry as it has been done so many times before!

Instead of this I found myself drawn to the rituals in dance – not the literal dance rituals performed in different tribes and cultures all over the planet – but the everyday things that a professional dancer may do; What warm up do they do before class? Do they have to have their hair or make up a certain way? Do they have any ‘good luck charms’? What do they do when side of stage, before a performance? These sort of questions. Still within the mind-set barrier, but a little off the beaten track. However, when at the session, different topics were brought up, clearly more ethical topics, such as: Dancer’s wages. The fact that dancers will work voluntarily: does this make for a more culturally diverse audience or does it decrease the quality of the dance? Vocational schools: whether all student rightfully gained their place or whether they were taken for how deep their pockets were, therefore decreasing the quality of future dancers, and hindering those who share a classroom with them as they are sometimes not to the same calibre.

The last one in these topics brought up more than people expected. Through our discussion it shows that it is not just one person that has this point of view, however, some are not comfortable talking about this, and some have had this opinion kept to themselves as at this time it really was quite a hot topic. So for this reason, I decided to look deeper into my questions, and wanted to find something that many people wanted to express their opinions on.

 

Looking at professional dance contracts, and simply from going on my own, and my friends’ experiences with gaining work, I decided to list some areas that come up when looking for work.

 

Gender

Ethnicity

Sexuality

Protection

Learning

Money

Body Image

 

Now, not all things come under these headings, but it was a place to start.

The areas under gender, ethnicity and sexuality, seemed pretty straight forward to me, and the generic topics of: ‘Is it easier to be a boy in the dance world?’ Or, ‘Is it harder to get a job in a ballet company as a black female?’ Or, ‘Are there a higher percentage of homosexuals in the dance sector than any other?’ seemed all but a little boring to me, and in a way seemed almost ‘tabloid’ areas, and did not evoke excitement, or many ideas stemming from each that really got my brain ticking. Somewhat in the same for body image: Whilst this section itself is enormous, it is not for me at this time as I feel I would put too many of my own opinions into my research.

However, looking at the other three sections I had listed, more things came to mind: Firstly, looking at the protection side of things. This brought a whole different facet to my thinking. Whilst I had looked at everything before with the professional dance community in mind, this brought me round to the other side of things, and to the children I teach, and in turn their protection. It also says the protection of dancers in the professional community, where the issue of wages also comes into perspective. And then to the choreographing of pieces and how can you stop plagiarism in dance, or again how to preserve a piece of choreography? So in some ways, linking the three topics lead me to many more possibilities.

Having said this, and looking at all of the sections again I believe I have made a shortlist for my lines of inquiry:

 

Schools and Colleges: Am I here because I deserve to be, or to pay for another?

Body shapes – Company Specifics?

Dancer: Athlete or Artist?

Health and Safety in the Dance place: Help or hindrance?

Quality vs Availability

 

I know that these are still very vast topics, but they can be broken down into smaller chunks. Any preferences or ideas?