After at other people's blog posts about potential inquiry questions and it has really surprised how many have been interested in the topic of mental health surrounding the performance industry. This is actually a topic that intrigues me, and if I were to develop this line of inquiry it would be good to have many other people to bounce ideas off (SIG).
My main areas of interest:
- Tour life
- Performance
- Marketing
- Mental affects
So some questions I have come up with so far are:
1) How can performing benefit or hinder your life outside of dance?
Ie. make you more confident/more critical/ a perfectionist/
2) What can performing on tour teach you?
3) Has your attitude towards dance changed since your professional training commenced?
4) Do you find dance/performance alters your mood/emotions?
5) How do you think life on tour differs to a more stable timetable? Eg. rehearsal period in London? Do you think this affects you at all?
6) Do you think the marketing of a dance company/ production or musical has an impact on its success.
7) Do you think that social media can help you progress/develop in your career and practice?
These questions are very much a work in progress are just show my initial thoughts for a potential line of inquiry.
Hello, you have got some really great ideas!
ReplyDelete1./2. I've also been considering this and blogged about how dance affects us socially because of our lifestyle. However, also how dance teaches us way more than how to dance, but gives us lifeskills and moulds our personalities.
3. Maybe you could develop this further through creating a timeline of how your goals and outlook changed and developed at different stages of training and becoming a professional. I know my years of professional training really altered my visions, goals and outlook as a dancer.
6. Something I am very interesting in researching. A performances audience is dependent on the marketing of the show... if people don't know about it how are they going to know to come? In addition, how the marketing and promotion of a show is dependent on that particular performances target audience. You seemed very interested in pursuing the topic of touring life... as a touring company you have to target the audiences in a variety of locations rather than focusing on one area... how does this marketing differ from that of a company who remains at one venue?
Would love to discuss these areas further with you! :)
Hi Rebecca, thanks for your comments they've been really helpful!
ReplyDelete1) After talking to my colleagues it has become clear that it is pretty much a general consensis when it comes to thinking that dance does mould our personalities. I've begun thinking about are we dancers because of who we are or are we who we are because we are dancers - if that makes any sense?!
3) Yes the timeline is a great idea and something that I will definitely be doing.
6) Yes I think the marketing behind a dance company is really interesting and I have looked on your blog and seen that your company do outreach work and performances. I think this is a really great idea and an ideal way to bring other people in to watch ballet! I am very interested in pursuing the topic of touring life because that is a big part of my practice at the moment and thank you for your thoughts in regards to this it has really helped trigger my line of thought!
Hi Madeleine,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog and the comments left by Rebecca, I personally think that dance does mould your personality. I think that it is very hard for it not to. We become so immersed in it in our training and dedicate so much of our time to it that I believe it shapes us as a person.
I am really interested in your last question. Social media is so huge now that I think that it does have a positive benefit. I for one originally got Twitter to follow dance companies to see when their auditions were. I also follow them on Facebook. I use youtube as well to watch videos of dancers that are in the industry. Without social media I'm not sure that I would be as up to date as I possibly could be.