Task 2d Inquiry
Task 2d Inquiry
What in your daily practise get you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?
In my daily practise I get enthusiastic about the character building process when working towards a performance. It truly is an incredible journey from initially learning the steps of a ballet to becoming ‘performance ready’. I admire my colleagues at Coastal City Ballet particularly those with much more experience than myself. We have just begun rehearsals for Midsummer Night’s Dream, a ballet I have never performed before. This week we learnt the fairies choreography comprising of six dancers. It was fascinating as to how each individual’s diverse ideas still maintain the same story. This highlights the artistry of each dancer and how the creativity of the mind differs from one person to the next. Furthermore I find it extremely interesting to compare the level of characterisation to the amount of professional experience each dancer has and have found this to be a positive correlation.
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?
The industry today is extremely tough. The ratio of dancers to available jobs is larger than ever. Therefore it is essential upon employment we prove ourselves on a daily basis to reassure the director made the correct choice. Unprofessionalism angers me. No matter how many years you have been dancing in a company you should always conduct yourself with the upmost respect. The first time I witnessed a seasoned professional turning up to class two minutes before we began with no makeup on and her hair not done it actually upset me! I couldn’t believe someone I admired so much could be so complacent and take for-granted the role millions of girls across the world desired. Katie Boren, Corps de Ballet at the American Ballet Theatre inspires me. Each morning I scroll through Instagram and watching her ballet posts encourages me to work harder than I did the previous day. She takes her job as a dancer seriously and not only does she stay after hours in the studio to rehearse in her own time but she also spends alot of time with a personal trainer ensuring she is strengthening the correct muscles for each role she is performing. She truly takes care of her body and has dedicated her life to ballet. Seeing this type of professionalism allows me to disregard the unprofessionalism I have witnessed previously and continue to stay focused on my end goal.
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?
For most of my life I have wanted nothing else than to be a professional dancer. I began dance lessons pretty much as soon as I could walk. The idea that what started out as a hobby through hardwork, determination and perseverance is now my job I simply couldn’t be happier. In my opinion Misty Copeland is a prime example of this, coming from a less fortunate, underprivileged childhood to now excelling as a Principal Dancer with ABT, she never lets anything get in her way. I had the pleasure of meeting Misty in July 2015 in New York City, listening to her early life and how she got to where she is today was truly inspiring. You can read all about her journey in her book ‘Life in Motion’.
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?
At times I still feel as though I don’t truly let myself go and allow myself to execute particular movements. Grand allegro has always been my weak point and although it is easy to assume this is due to my lack of strength and power I often wonder weather it is my mind that is holding me back. I admire my colleagues at Coastal City Ballet specifically Yoko Kanomata who has previously performed with Atlanta Ballet as a soloist. She has helped me alot with my thought process when executing these steps and having professionals with such experience in class has allowed me to be less tense and perform much more naturally.
How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? For example, what level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?
In my profession physical contact is inevitable. Whether that is performing a pas de deux or experimenting new works with contact improvisation. Truthfully it isn’t really something we give a second thought about as it is in the job description. This is very different however when teaching young dancers who may not be in vocational training, a local dance school for example. It would be inappropriate to have physical contact between a teacher and student under the age of 18 without consent forms being signed from parents/guardians. As these dancers are most probably taking the class recreationally they may get a shock if a teacher were to physically touch them when correcting them. As a dancer who has grown up in the vocational dance training world I am aware that to improve in the most effective way it is actually helpful for a teacher to physically adjust your alignment for example.
Bibliography
Books
Copeland, Misty (2014) Life in Motion, New York
Websites
American Ballet Theatre, Meet the Dancers. Available from: http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=238 (accessed 11th March 2018)
Instagram, Katie Boren. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/katieboren1/?hl=en (accessed 25th March 2018)
Misty Copeland. Available from: http://mistycopeland.com (accessed 25th March 2018)
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