"Bodies go where bodies shouldn't go"

I have often written about how social media and web 2.0 is so beneficial to dancers but I came across this article discussing how its actually pushing dancers to imitate dangerous moves and end up inured!

 http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4330305.htm

Well, my instant reaction was 'How awful", I would hate it if dancers became injured because they were copying moves. Also, yes there can sometimes be alot of focus on making the body do "unnatural" things i.e. over split, sway backs! However, deeming it unnatural also could have many negative effects on younger dancers, some bodies are made to do certain things and others aren't but saying its unnatural may cause a dancer to be ashamed of their body!  

Furthermore, who gives anyone the right to deem anything wrong when it comes to dance. Dance is an art and therefore subjective. Its bad teaching if children are being told to dance through pain, not bad social media.

On the other hand, I do agree that social media has allowed a floodgate of "showing off" and this can cause unhealthy competetion.

At the end of the day, a dancer should be taught the fundamental lessons of not dancing in pain and not over doing it! 

This is just a brief over view of my thoughts. Please comment what you think about this!

Data Data all around... But not a drop to drink?

So while collecting data for module I realised that I may have been getting a bit too over excited and not getting good quality data as I was going for quantity!

For my inquiry, majority of my study is actually of real people and their feelings and experiences. So I was experimenting with a few different methods of gaining good information. Some were effective and some not so much but it was a learning curve!

Surveys: I used an online website to create a fast and free survey which could be posted on social media and sent as a link. Using 'The Hustle' I managed to get quite a few responses however, asking the right questions can always be hard as some people will interpret them different and unlike an interview you are not there to explain. The good thing was it was completely anonymous and quick and some responses were good but while sifting through copious amounts of data I realised I was constantly asking them to elaborate... Alas they were not there to as the survey had already been done!

Causal chats: I find myself, due to work, always in situations where I can just sit and chat with fellow colleagues. While it isn't a formal interview session, certain topics that come up often spark off ideas in my head (see my previous blog about eating). Its not by any means formal and I couldn't take or even remember quotable data but it is always good to get things going.

Interviews: While time consuming, I have found the best way for me to collect data that goes beyond the surface of my question is to do an interview. Group sessions can also be effective but I enjoy being able to hear about a story then ask them to elaborate of snippets of  information that catches my immediate attention.

This is just a brief review of methods I found effective. Let me know if you have any more by leaving a comment!

 

Dancers and their food: Caring friend or just too involved?

So we are all aware of stereotypes surrounding dancers and eating habits, but while compiling my data, I noticed a trend that I wanted to follow up briefly. As well as living in close proximity, when on a cruise ship, we also eat in close proximity. This is a very personal boundary that when crossed, can create all sorts of situations.

Dancers and diet is a major thing in the industry, a body dependent job, spending too much time in front of a mirror and social media all have an impact on individuals in some way or an other. Most of the time a dancer is aware of healthy nutrition, we are taught about it at college and my personal experience is that with the amount of exercise I do, I have a more than adequate appetite!

However, this is not always the case and eating disorders do occur and may or not be noticed! Yet in a day to day situation, you are probably most likely to see "a colleague" have one main meal (usually their lunch). On tour or on a boat however, every meal is shared, snack times are often shared and its easy to spot what people are eating... Or what they aren't. 

Ironically, chatting over dinner, a few fellow dancers and I discussed a few negative situations that occurred where diet was being observed for all the wrong reasons. One girl, told me of how her company manger had gone behind her back to find out what she was eating as she suspected their was a problem, but like she pointed out, if she thought there was a personal problem, why didn't she deal with it personally.

Another situation was a girl on a contract, who had two girls spitefully discuss her weight and decided to act negatively towards her because "they thought she was going anorexic for attention"!

Obviously both these situations are dramatic and very much below the belt! Food and diet can be a delicate subject and it can be awkward, but when living in such close quarters, how is the best way to deal with a suspected eating disorder? Well ultimately I would say personally and one on one, but just because we are grouped together and suddenly become in each others pockets, how do we know their own personal eating habits? Paying too much attention to what others are eating is nosy, everybody is different, I could eat for England but my colleague could be satisfied with just a salad, my point being that getting too involved might go beyond the duty of care and could create more tension that's unneeded.

We all want to help and watching anyone suffer is not nice but minding your own business is important to. I would say that if there is a genuine cause of concern then raise it with your supervisor and hopefully they can  monitor it. No matter how close you feel to someone or if you want to play hero, when living with someone, when it comes to personal habits like eating its not your place to judge and whether "you are just trying to help" or not you can have a lot more of a negtaive impact!

Let me know your thoughts on this topic and if you have had any experiences with something like this! 

Its all about the journey: Module 3 Skype Chat

So after a really insightful Skype chat this evening from my hotel room in Italy, I just wanted to blog (after neglecting it for a while) about what was discussed and how it helped me!

Blogging: After discussing my project for module 3, it highlighted that with the excitement of data collecting and starting my new job, I have neglected my blog something awful. I now am setting myself the goal of blogging at least once a week to help my project. We discussed how a blog can be a reflective tool when evaluating your inquiry and methods. Furthermore, using a blog to just jot down a few sparks of data analysis that occur when compiling your data can lead to opening up some valuable discussions!

Time management: So when it comes to module 3, it was pointed out that we can become "too excited" with collecting the data that we can end up with a huge data pool of nothing, it was discussed that using time management wisely and really getting into a topic - like getting below the top layer and really delving in deep - we can end up with a much richer source of information. Personally, I have realised that I don't need to focus on trying to get a representation of everyone in the industry but just a rich source of information to just develop a more focused understanding.

Reflecting on the moment: Finally, we discussed that there is no specific "right" starting point, the inquiry is about building a landscape of an understanding rather than a specific goal. By having a false start it will make us have a richer understanding of the questions we are asking as the journey we went on to get to that point enriched it on the way! So whether we have a straight path or one that bounces from idea to idea, constantly reflecting on how we get to our destination is what helps us understand the question its not all about the answers. 

Please comment and feel free to add or ask!

More blogs to come very soon ;)