Online Group Discussion - Thursday 22nd February
On Thursday I attended a Skype discussion with Adesola and Jae. I haven't been on a Skype chat with so few people before and, to be honest, I wondered how beneficial it would really be with so few people's input. Very! - it turns out.
I began by talking about a vague inquiry idea I'd had - basically technique vs creativity in dance (wasn't sure what question I'd draw from this). In my practice as an ISTD dance teacher, there is a strong focus on technique and being 'correct' to enable students to pass exams to the very best of their ability. In my role in a secondary school, working with extra-curricular dance events and GCSE dance students, much more attention is given to creative processes, developing choreography and communicating meaning. Obviously they do overlap but are not always given equal importance. This topic is interesting and important to me because I think my own practice is unbalanced. My students generally achieve well in technical elements but I perhaps do not get the very best out of them in terms of performance and creativity.
Jae said that, from her experiences living and working in Korea, the USA and the UK, Asian children are naturally more focused on technique but need help to express themselves in a creative way. This is the same issue I spoke about but on a much larger scale - different countries rather than just different settings for dance classes. Jae also told me that, in Korea, performing arts are used as a method to teach English. This is something I haven't experienced but may look further into. I like the idea of not fussing over technical or creative skills at all but giving dance another important purpose.
Jae spoke about adapting to living and working in different countries; particularly how she initially struggled to sell herself in auditions in the US and UK because she was raised in a country where modesty is an important and desirable quality. She summarised this by saying that in western countries it is important to stand out in an audition, whereas in Asian countries it is better to blend in/fit the part. Jae also explained how personal appearance is important in Asian countries and how, in her experience, 'good looks' may be chosen over talent.
It felt as if we were talking about different topics, but Adesola wrapped up the discussion by pointing out that we were actually discussing very similar things. Within different contexts, we have both experienced how people place greater importance on different things. Adesola suggested that we stop thinking in terms of dance class setting or country but instead look at cultures. I now plan to look into cultural studies about how/why/what is given more importance within performing arts in different cultures.
I found the Skype chat interesting and am pleased to have a clear direction to move in, as I had been struggling to get started on Module 2 without the same structured sort of tasks that were in the Module 1 handbook.
I began by talking about a vague inquiry idea I'd had - basically technique vs creativity in dance (wasn't sure what question I'd draw from this). In my practice as an ISTD dance teacher, there is a strong focus on technique and being 'correct' to enable students to pass exams to the very best of their ability. In my role in a secondary school, working with extra-curricular dance events and GCSE dance students, much more attention is given to creative processes, developing choreography and communicating meaning. Obviously they do overlap but are not always given equal importance. This topic is interesting and important to me because I think my own practice is unbalanced. My students generally achieve well in technical elements but I perhaps do not get the very best out of them in terms of performance and creativity.
Jae said that, from her experiences living and working in Korea, the USA and the UK, Asian children are naturally more focused on technique but need help to express themselves in a creative way. This is the same issue I spoke about but on a much larger scale - different countries rather than just different settings for dance classes. Jae also told me that, in Korea, performing arts are used as a method to teach English. This is something I haven't experienced but may look further into. I like the idea of not fussing over technical or creative skills at all but giving dance another important purpose.
Jae spoke about adapting to living and working in different countries; particularly how she initially struggled to sell herself in auditions in the US and UK because she was raised in a country where modesty is an important and desirable quality. She summarised this by saying that in western countries it is important to stand out in an audition, whereas in Asian countries it is better to blend in/fit the part. Jae also explained how personal appearance is important in Asian countries and how, in her experience, 'good looks' may be chosen over talent.
It felt as if we were talking about different topics, but Adesola wrapped up the discussion by pointing out that we were actually discussing very similar things. Within different contexts, we have both experienced how people place greater importance on different things. Adesola suggested that we stop thinking in terms of dance class setting or country but instead look at cultures. I now plan to look into cultural studies about how/why/what is given more importance within performing arts in different cultures.
I found the Skype chat interesting and am pleased to have a clear direction to move in, as I had been struggling to get started on Module 2 without the same structured sort of tasks that were in the Module 1 handbook.
Hi Natalie, I was unable to make this Skype session but reading your post gave me a great insight into what you and Jae talked about.
ReplyDeleteI found the idea of dance/performing arts being used as a teaching tool for something else (such as learning english) to be really interesting. Aside from dance steps and performance technique, what else are we teaching? Discipline, accountability, and self confidence are a few that spring to mind straight away but I would love to know what 'ex' dancers also felt they gained from their training other than the ability to dance.
Thanks for a thought provoking post! Laura :)