Whilst doing the BAPP course I have started to look more at the ways I use networking to support my career and everyday choices. I have realised that I rely heavily on networking sites Facebook, and Twitter to spread the words about my classes. I really feel that Facebook is a great FREE way to promote a business and it helps to the word to spread. It also allows people who aren't my friends on Facebook to view my page and find out about the classes/events I have going on. I use this tool so naturally everyday that I never realised how much it helps towards my career.
This got me thinking about the networking I don't use as much and how i could utilise those tools. For example, email. When I take classes, I take peoples email addresses so I can let them know if a class was cancelled etc. But I have now started to, since being on this course, emailing all customers I have ever seen about upcoming events, classes and promotions, etc. I have had a good response from doing this and I feel that there is still so much more I could learn from networking and the many ways there are to do it.
Tuesday 23 April 2013
Tuesday 16 April 2013
Networking tools.
Networks.
Below I have made a list of all of the networking tools I use in my professional practice. I believe that these are the main tools that help me to gain the best out of the product I have to offer - ME!
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
FACE TO FACE
SOCIAL EVENTS
LINKEDIN
WEBSITES
EMAIL
TELEPHONE
BUSINESS CARDS
FLIKR
YOUTUBE
Monday 15 April 2013
Looking deeper....
What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?
The thing that really inspires me and makes me more enthusiastic within my daily practice, is the spirit I see in children when they dance. I especially find this inspires me with special needs or children or those with disabilities. When I see a child who is labelled less able, doing dances and moves with those who are not given this label, it really touches me. It gives me the drive and will power to want to see more of this across the board, and it creates a great passion inside of me to want to do more for these children. I really admire the lady who runs the dance school I teach for 'Denise Sasse'. Denise taught me dance from a very young age right up until I went to college and now I teach classes for her. She has always been a great person to be around, and you can tell she really loves her job and loves making children feel special through performing. Denise takes in all children to her classes and doesn't treat any child different from another, I really admire the person and teacher she is and hope to grow through watching her and learning from her.
What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found away to work around the sadness or anger?
Anger and sadness are not usually things people would associate with such an entertaining profession. But unfortunately there are plenty of behind the scene activities that really get me down. The one thing that angers me the most is the amount of unpaid or expenses only jobs for performers. People take for granted that it is something we love to do and therefore know that we will do it for free. However, we have to live, we have to eat and pay bills like any other person in this world. When I left performing arts college, a lot of the jobs i did in the beginning were unpaid. I did this to get experience and be able to post it on my Cv, to hopefully get a paid job. But so many performers work for free that it is expected of all of us and it is so hard to find good paid work. 'www.dancecastuk.com', is a website that post jobs for performers and it only posts paid work adverts. I think this is great and it is a start to making the industry better, and making a stand for us. It shows respect for us as artists and I am so glad that there is somewhere we can go that doesn't exploit us.
What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?
What do I love about what I do?? I love the feeling that boils in my stomach right before I walk onto the stage, I love that I am able to make people happy through dance and music. I love that I really enjoy my job, I know so many people that just do their jobs because they have to, to make money and to live. I hear so many friends complaining about their days. But to have such a great passion for something, and to be able to make it your career is one of the most rewarding feelings ever. I get great pleasure in knowing that I have changed a persons day, by helping them gain confidence and self esteem through dance. I love watching children grow into amazing performers through sharing my passion with them. As i mentioned earlier, I really love that theatre and performance can be for anyone, I love that I can help children with special needs enjoy dance and find something they love and can be a part of. I found this news clip about 'relaxed theatre' really inspiring http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22119823. I think that we should introduce more of this, as entertainment really is for everyone.
What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?
I don't think that I fully understand the transition from performer the next thing. I love performing and I always have done from a young age but I am finding it very hard to make a full time career from just performing. I love teaching and the passion I have for the children i teach is immense, but I think I have a lot of room to grow and I really want to increase my knowledge at every chance I get. I found that from reading Kim Walton's blog, I realised that she went through the same tribulations I am experiencing now. She worked in an office, and tried different careers but always knew that her heart lied with Performing Arts. Going back to what makes me angry, I actually do wish I could perform for free all day every day and not have to worry about the real world. If I could do that, I would be happy every day. But unfortunately money does make the world go round.
The thing that really inspires me and makes me more enthusiastic within my daily practice, is the spirit I see in children when they dance. I especially find this inspires me with special needs or children or those with disabilities. When I see a child who is labelled less able, doing dances and moves with those who are not given this label, it really touches me. It gives me the drive and will power to want to see more of this across the board, and it creates a great passion inside of me to want to do more for these children. I really admire the lady who runs the dance school I teach for 'Denise Sasse'. Denise taught me dance from a very young age right up until I went to college and now I teach classes for her. She has always been a great person to be around, and you can tell she really loves her job and loves making children feel special through performing. Denise takes in all children to her classes and doesn't treat any child different from another, I really admire the person and teacher she is and hope to grow through watching her and learning from her.
What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found away to work around the sadness or anger?
Anger and sadness are not usually things people would associate with such an entertaining profession. But unfortunately there are plenty of behind the scene activities that really get me down. The one thing that angers me the most is the amount of unpaid or expenses only jobs for performers. People take for granted that it is something we love to do and therefore know that we will do it for free. However, we have to live, we have to eat and pay bills like any other person in this world. When I left performing arts college, a lot of the jobs i did in the beginning were unpaid. I did this to get experience and be able to post it on my Cv, to hopefully get a paid job. But so many performers work for free that it is expected of all of us and it is so hard to find good paid work. 'www.dancecastuk.com', is a website that post jobs for performers and it only posts paid work adverts. I think this is great and it is a start to making the industry better, and making a stand for us. It shows respect for us as artists and I am so glad that there is somewhere we can go that doesn't exploit us.
What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?
What do I love about what I do?? I love the feeling that boils in my stomach right before I walk onto the stage, I love that I am able to make people happy through dance and music. I love that I really enjoy my job, I know so many people that just do their jobs because they have to, to make money and to live. I hear so many friends complaining about their days. But to have such a great passion for something, and to be able to make it your career is one of the most rewarding feelings ever. I get great pleasure in knowing that I have changed a persons day, by helping them gain confidence and self esteem through dance. I love watching children grow into amazing performers through sharing my passion with them. As i mentioned earlier, I really love that theatre and performance can be for anyone, I love that I can help children with special needs enjoy dance and find something they love and can be a part of. I found this news clip about 'relaxed theatre' really inspiring http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22119823. I think that we should introduce more of this, as entertainment really is for everyone.
What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?
I don't think that I fully understand the transition from performer the next thing. I love performing and I always have done from a young age but I am finding it very hard to make a full time career from just performing. I love teaching and the passion I have for the children i teach is immense, but I think I have a lot of room to grow and I really want to increase my knowledge at every chance I get. I found that from reading Kim Walton's blog, I realised that she went through the same tribulations I am experiencing now. She worked in an office, and tried different careers but always knew that her heart lied with Performing Arts. Going back to what makes me angry, I actually do wish I could perform for free all day every day and not have to worry about the real world. If I could do that, I would be happy every day. But unfortunately money does make the world go round.
Friday 12 April 2013
Mirror, mirror on the wall....
Reflection.... We don't always like what we see, do we? I know I am very self critical and yet I walk past a mirror and have to look into it. I am a walking oxymoron. But to reflect on my reflection is something I have not consciously known I do. But by doing task 2C, I have realised it is something I use every day in my work life and home life.
When I am teaching, I constantly have to adapt to situations, as children can be very spontaneous. I never looked at this as a type of reflection before, and just thought of it as thinking on my feet. But I found the statement below very interesting and it made me look at my work with a different approach.
'The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation.' (Schön 1983: 68)
By looking at how I react to situations in my classes, I am able to 'reflect on action', I can make notes of the ways I reacted and create new theories and ideas for the next time something like this happens. I like to talk to other dance teachers and share experiences of things that have and could happen in classes. This helps me to develop new ideas and learn from those who are more experienced than I.
I like the idea that reflection is one taking everything out from their mind, being able to look at it and piece it back together in different ways. I got this idea from a quote I read, 'One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one‟s mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one‟s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.' (Rowling, 2000: 518). I like working this way, as I feel it allows me to create many different ideas and theories from reflecting on everything in my mind. I am able to open up more and see more ways I can approach situations.
I have found that by keeping my journal, it really helps with my reflection on my work. By writing down my experiences in my day whilst they are fresh in my mind it helps me when I want to look back later on, 'as reflection is slippery' (Moon, 2004: 4). You can forget something you did, or something that happened and it will be hard to then learn from that if the events are not clear anymore. But with my journal, I am able to make sure I note down everything that happens in my day.
When I am teaching, I constantly have to adapt to situations, as children can be very spontaneous. I never looked at this as a type of reflection before, and just thought of it as thinking on my feet. But I found the statement below very interesting and it made me look at my work with a different approach.
'The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation.' (Schön 1983: 68)
By looking at how I react to situations in my classes, I am able to 'reflect on action', I can make notes of the ways I reacted and create new theories and ideas for the next time something like this happens. I like to talk to other dance teachers and share experiences of things that have and could happen in classes. This helps me to develop new ideas and learn from those who are more experienced than I.
I like the idea that reflection is one taking everything out from their mind, being able to look at it and piece it back together in different ways. I got this idea from a quote I read, 'One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one‟s mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one‟s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.' (Rowling, 2000: 518). I like working this way, as I feel it allows me to create many different ideas and theories from reflecting on everything in my mind. I am able to open up more and see more ways I can approach situations.
I have found that by keeping my journal, it really helps with my reflection on my work. By writing down my experiences in my day whilst they are fresh in my mind it helps me when I want to look back later on, 'as reflection is slippery' (Moon, 2004: 4). You can forget something you did, or something that happened and it will be hard to then learn from that if the events are not clear anymore. But with my journal, I am able to make sure I note down everything that happens in my day.
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