Task 3a

After mapping out my communities of practice, like others who have done this task (Eleanor Byrne, Lauren Harper and Megan Louch), I was surprised to see the amount of branches. Some of these are purely professional but others are more personal. In my day to day life I do not think of these people and channels being linked to my practice they are simply linked to me. Then came the realisation, I am my practice. There is no separation between the me at work and the me at home, just different choices and different aspects of practice.

As Eleanor Byrne said in her blog 'it's not what you know, it's who you know'. This phrase is so true, sometimes hard work just isn't enough, the connections we make can open the door enough to get your foot in, to then be able to let all that hard work shine.

But how do these 'who you know' connections start? It could be as easy as sitting next to a complete stranger on a train and having a conversation; it could be a friend of a friend; it could be an email address passed from someone; it could be a previous or current employer. So why are some people completely different in a work setting? If we can make a new connection anywhere at any time, that could be beneficial to our practice, surely we went to make the right impression from the outset? Of course, in work we put our best foot forward and are maybe a little bit more sensible, but shouldn't we want to be our best self in every part of our lives? Don't get me wrong, I am the first to want to have fun and be a bit silly but our employers or potential employers aren't looking for robots they are looking for humans.

I chose to include 'internet' as a community of practice as if I am ever looking for advice, new ideas or resources my first port of call is usually the internet. There are so many forums linked to websites that you can get an idea of whether what you are looking at has been successful before without having to try it for yourself first. For example, I work 1-1 with a child at school who struggles making connections and understanding her emotions, I have spent a lot of time researching different ways to help her understand how she is feeling in a child friendly manner. I have found games, craft exercises and many more methods to help her with this. I do not simply find a resource and use it, I check the comments underneath and the reviews to see if it has been tried and tested and what parts worked and didn't. This way I can modify the activity accordingly to get the best results for her. At the end of the day, my practice involves enhancing other peoples lives, I want to give her the best chance I can at developing in every aspect of her life.

Looking at the internet to develop and enhance my practice. As my friends list is mainly comprised of performers, my news feed is an endless scroll of fitness videos and healthy eating ideas. I watch and save these regularly, I like to have a bank full of resources to help me develop my body's strength and flexibility and general well being, this enables me to use my time effectively and get the most value out of the time.

I have been asked to start a dance club after school, this will require planning and organising. This one event will benefit from me utilising my communities of practice: I can ask friends who I already know run after school clubs for advice; my Mum's friend is a governor of a primary school, I can ask what she would expect to see in after school clubs of this nature; As with everything, I need a helping hand to get going with choreography, the internet is a labyrinth of ideas: youtube; Facebook; Vimeo. Never mind, my shelves at home filled with past dance show recordings and my hard drive filled with my more recent professional work. By looking at these resources, I will be able to jot down dance moves I would like to use and ideas for possible themes (particular for the younger ones). Watching these resources will also stimulate my own ideas. Even now writing this blog, while thinking about videos I have seen on the internet or thinking about past experiences, I have managed to jot down ideas that I can put forward to the choir leader.

Some communities within your practice could be from years and years ago. my childhood dance teacher will never cease to inspire me even though it has been years since she passed. She planted a seed inside of me and nurtured it until it bloomed. She inspired my passion, my ability and my discipline. I always feel proud when I am commended on my professionalism in the workplace as I know I would not be that way without her guidance.

Networking is very often misused, I think Eleanor Byrne hits the nail on the head, I have copied and pasted two sections of her blog:

Capitalise' sounds harsh, impersonal and it has a slight economic sound to it. It makes it sound as if each actor has a game plan in order to succeed, and it is as straightforward as doing anything we can to accomplish this.

There are too many people who 'use and abuse' for their personal gain. I like to imagine that I can maintain dignity whilst still building on my professional network pool. 

'Maintain dignity' is such a key part of a professional practices and networking. I have always struggled with networking as I do not wish to appear to 'suck up to' or abuse my connection. I used to hate it at auditions when attendees would run forward to someone they knew, I have always wanted to achieve my goals through my talent, hard work and professionalism. This leads us straight back to the start 'its not what you know, its who you know'. Maybe, if I was less proud more opportunities might have opened for me? Saying that, in my dance career I have been incredibly fortunate and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunities I have been given.