No Handicap To Dance

In an effort to research more into my possible line of enquiry, I ordered this book 'No Handicap To Dance' written by Gina Levete. I chose this book mainly due to the reviews everyone who had read it seemed to be benefited by it in one way or another.

I think that this book will help me understand more about dance therapy sessions, therefore broaden my understanding of the benefits.

Task 4d - Literature

I am not sure if YouTube videos count as literature but this video has really sparked further interest for me. One particular website I have found relating to my inquiry interest was dancevoice.org.uk. This organisation is home to Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP), reading through the various pages on their site I became more and more intrigued about the effects of art therapy, dance therapy in particular. So, I went on YouTube (I personally get a lot more out of a video then text) and typed in Dance Movement Psychotherapy and found 'An Introduction to Dance/Movement Therapy' delivered by Nana Koch from the American Dance Therapy Association. Just the way she delivers the talk is captivating. I am inspired, I am awed and now even more interested to delve deeper.

Nana Koch gave her definition of Dance Therapy as: 'the psychotherapeutic use of movement  that furthers the emotional, cognitive, physical and the social integration of the individual'. Surely, anything that can further these aspects of persons life is worth looking into and worth taking part in - whether you have extra needs or not.

She described the sessions structure: More often than not they would start the class in a circle, in a circle everyone is seen, in a circle everyone is equal. The students would then be asked to present a gesture that represented their feelings, this would give the teacher an opportunity to gage the way the class felt and who, perhaps, needed more encouragement to express themselves. The teacher could try delve deeper by asking 'what made them choose that gesture?'. They would then do a warm up, development and then a closure. During the closure, the teacher may ask the student  to, once again, present a gesture to represent their feelings. I feel this is important not only because it book ends the class and adds routine to the sessions, but it is a way of allowing the teacher and the student to acknowledge what the class has achieved.

Two final thoughts she left the viewer with were:

'A dance therapy session is the choreography of emotions in the service of the client.'

'The spark of life started with a movement and dance therapists use those sparks to ignite feelings in those lives who have dimmed.'

That last quote is so powerful. What a feeling it must be to reignite feelings in someone, however small the spark.

Here is the link if you would like to watch the video:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhoEjbvIEw8

Task 4a

As I read Reader 4, it is very clear why it has been split up into sections. There is so much information that sparks different trains of thought. Coming into this module, I have been worried I wouldn't have been able to produce a strong enough question. But after speaking to various people: fellow BAPPers; past BAPPers; colleagues and friends, more and more ideas are flying around.

I decided to make two mind maps; one for the feelings I get and hope to give others when dancing and another for the feelings I get and hope to give to others when teaching. There are so many key emotions that are on both mind maps:-

The reason for doing this was simply to see where my two passions correlated. As you can see, there are quite a lot of similarities. This was really comforting to me, as I have changed career, because I am able as an educator to get the same buzz and feeling of pride as I did as a performer.

Energy

As a dancer, having a solid amount of energy is really important. You could be able to physically do all the moves and complete the choreography, but without electricity behind the movement it would be dull to watch and the moves wouldn't be as strong. However, it is important with energy to know how to control it. There is no use using all your energy in the first 5 minutes of a 45 minute show, not only will the further 40 minutes be a struggle to execute, the quality of the show would also decline - resulting in the audience losing interest. Likewise in teaching, if by break time you have burnt out, it won't take long for the students to lose interest (thats when the disruptions start to occur). A passionate, exciting teacher is much more likely to get the most of their students, than one who is sat in their chair going through the motions.

Discipline

Discipline plays a major role in both dancing and teaching. From the teachers perspective in both a dance class and a school environment; there needs to be self-discipline to plan and prepare the lessons. For the pupils, they learn skills that will help them in all aspects of life, such as: presentation- uniform and appearance of themselves and their work; perseverance - learning something new is never easy and having the discipline to keep going and pick yourself up is a vital skill; respect - developing respect for individuals in a position of authority and for their peers but also for themselves. 

Due to my change in career I thought my questions may be too vague until someone said 'draw your two passions together' - Dance and teaching. This lead me to thinking about:

 The effects of Art Therapy on children with Special Educational Needs.
Can dance benefit children in their development?

For me, dance and music are a way of releasing my emotions and expressing myself without fear of judgement. A lot of the children I work with struggle to express themselves either verbally or physically. I would like to research further into the effects of dance and music and establish if it is a way to help them in the moment or does it increase their academic abilities across other subjects or both.

One particular question from an ABBA song kept playing over in my head:

Without a song or a dance what are we?

Module 2 - Reader 4 - Section 1

Enquiry - The act of asking for information

'Researchable questions set in motion a process of discovery that pursues meaning, cause, relationship, interpretation or significance' (Hanstein 1999 p.27)

These next two modules are 'a way to learn what you are doing whilst doing it' (Reader 4, pg5) this can be achieved by ''examining what you do in order to 'ask the right questions' '' (Reader 4, pg5).  The main aim is to 'engage with relevant problems and scenarios, draw on existing knowledge, seek out new evidence, analyse and present that evidence in appropriate ways' (O'Rourke 2004). Sounds easy when you you put it that way....

We have all just completed a Module based on reflection - looking at our practice and finding ways to improve it. However, more often than not we go about our day to day activities doing things without thinking. Have you ever been driving and thought 'have I been over that roundabout yet?'. Yes? Well, I think that goes for a lot of us, we run on auto-pilot. In dance, we have muscle memory, our bodies know what comes next in the routine before our brains have caught up. Using reflection in Module 1 and writing in my journal has helped me be more present and focused on my actions. I now think, 'are the tactics I use in work habit or are they purposeful choices I have learnt to help my practice?', 'why did I choose to approach that situation like that?', 'is there a better way?', ' what can I take forward from this experience?'.

It is important when reflecting to not look back on possible mistakes and feel down about it. Onwards and upwards!!! We reflect to improve, this is why I much prefer to reflect as close to the event as possible. Another thing I have learnt, is that I use reflection a lot on situations I have observed more effectively than I do in situations including myself.

Work Based Learning ' promotes the awareness of the workplace as a learning environment and uses this to extend the learners capability and individual effectiveness' (Durrant et al2009 p1 - Reader 4 p7). I feel this notion is relevant to me as I am still evolving my practice from performer to educator, I am constantly learning and developing my practice.

When looking into possible inquiries, they should have purpose and intent. If the matter is personal to me, I will be more passionate about the end result to reap the benefits and therefore benefit others around me.

'living my life as an inquiry' (Marshall 2001 p6)

This statement struck a cord with me, as it made me think: Why would I only want to better my professional practice? What about my personal practice? After all, we work to live not live to work!

Welcome Back Top Tips!!!!!!

During our 'Welcome Back' skype session, I jotted down a few key phrases that popped out to me throughout the call. I think that these will be important to refer back to as I move forward on my BAPP journey. Here a few - I hope you find them helpful. If anyone can think of any others, please comment.

Read anything and everything;

Get into a routine - read blogs, comment, research;

Keep using your journal - write down relevant and key ideas;

Expand your research further than the Readers;

Interact with other BAPPers;

Comment as your blog persona not as your google persona;

Find other peoples blogs on UniHub

1. Home
2. My courses
3. BA Professional Practice Arts (135W99X)

Liberate NOT confine;

Keep engaged

Note down useful research for later reference.

Happy Happy Happy

My new job is a wondrous place, this morning I took part in my first sign language lesson provided by the school. Some of the staff who have worked there for a few years grumbled as they climbed the stairs to the meeting room, whereas I literally bounded notebook in hand. I love learning new skills and sign language is something I have always been interested in learning. I can now spell my name, say numbers and colours. I literally can't wait till next week!!!!

That is all :)

First day at school...literally!

I was transported back over ten years this morning, as I experienced the first day of school nerves. What will my class be like? Will my teacher be nice?

After the initial panic, I was soon put at ease by how welcoming my new colleagues were. I was immediately given a mentor and shown my new classroom. Everything throughout the day was made perfectly clear and everyone was so happy to answer any queries that I had.

One of the nicest aspects was the relationships between the staff. A group have got together and are taking part in Tough Mudder this weekend - they even asked me to join them. Amongst the staff there are groups such as 'knit and natter', keep fit and book clubs. This is something I am really excited about, a good working relationship creates a better atmosphere not just for the staff but for the children. Plus, who doesn't want to feel apart of something!

I can't wait for the next few days and to meet the children on Wednesday!

Positivity, Well-being, Happiness

As I approach my first day of my new job, I have been reflecting on past experiences - wanting to make the most out of this new opportunity. I figure that I need to have a balance in all aspects of my life. I am a list maker, I feel it brings clarity to situations and tasks. Also, when it is written down there's no escaping it! 

Exercise and Dancing - Dance your way to fun, fitness and friendship.

Since changing careers I haven't been to any dance classes, I greatly miss dancing as it has always been my passion. I have researched different classes and am going to start attending various ones, then choose the ones I feel I will get the most out of. 

I hope to challenge myself and try a few different styles, I have even looked into self-defence classes! The ongoing battle to keep fit can be tedious, by doing dance classes I can keep fit whilst enjoying myself and meeting people with similar interests. 

I find exercise videos useful, a quick intense 30 mins really makes me feel energised and set up for the day. My favourites at the moment are: Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred; Jillian Michaels' Shred with Weights. Jillian is one of the fitness instructors on the Biggest Loser USA. She uses a variety of exercises, always accompanied by a simplified version.

Food - so long as you have food in your mouth you have solved all questions for the time being.

As we all know, what we put into our bodies reflects on how we feel, how much energy we have and even how we look. However, I am a big foody, I believe you should eat what you want and just be sensible about it. I don't believe that you should cut things out entirely, just be intelligent in the way you balance it.

Saying this, I try to reserve my naughty treats for weekends (not strictly, I ate a bowl of cookie dough last night!). However, starting my new job, I am aiming to have one carb free day and one vegan day within the week. Much research has led me to believe that both of these are good choices towards clean-eating. So, why am I not taking these choices on full time? Food takes up the majority of our life, I want to enjoy life, therefore I want to enjoy my food!!!! Luckily for me, I enjoy healthy foods, I am just as likely to pick up a tangerine as I am to pick up a chocolate bar. I would pick a salad off a menu because it sounds delicious, not because it is the healthy option.

Mindfulness

I have talked about looking after my body inside and out, but what about my mind? I am an over thinker, sometimes I spend my time thinking about all the things I need to do, instead of getting off my bum and doing them! 

Recently, I have started listening/watching Tony Robbins. He is so inspiring and some of the exercises he gets you to join in with during his videos really work. They're quite funny and make you feel a bit silly, but I guess that is the point, laughing brings happiness.

Morning Ritual

To bring all of these aspects together, I have decided to create a morning ritual. So, many times I wake up in time to get ready and get out of the door - very often eating breakfast en route to work.

Here it is: 

                20-30 mins - exercise

                10 mins - getting ready

                20 mins - eating whilst listening to Tony Robbins or someone similar

Any thoughts, advice, recipes, exercises, videos....anything this sparks in your minds, I would love to hear!