Professional ethics - 5A

Part 5A -

Initial thoughts:

What professional ethics apply to my place of work/professional community? 

I decided to make a mind map to help me begin drafting my thoughts about professional ethics. I found this initially quite hard because lots of the points I made are taken for granted within the industry. For example, 'learn and retain choreography', this is taken for granted within the company and no one specifically tells you to do this but it is expected of you as part of your job as a dancer.

I was thinking that our industry also crosses a lot of lines that wouldn't be acceptable in other types of work place. For example, we are wearing costumes and having lots of quick changes meaning that often you will see your colleges in next to no clothes. This is obviously rather unusual for a work place and is just one area where the professional ethics in a theatre arts environment differ to alternative places of work.

Also in a dance environment it is normal for you teacher/choreographer to touch you to give you corrections or ensure you are using you muscles without you giving consent. Again in other work places this would probably be quite unusual! 

I will now do some research and reading into the topic of ethics within the work place and it will be interesting for me to compare what I learn to my initial thoughts! I find this a very interesting topic and think that it will be insightful to talk to other BAPP students about it because we work in different places so our points of view on ethics will vary. 

Quick blog!

I'm rather short of time this morning but trying to fit in a quick blog post before going off for tonight's performance! I missed the campus session yesterday but Paula kindly has posted a blog about the session and also a video on youtube which I've found very helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCdYXqER-oA&feature=youtu.be

The topics of discussion were arts-based research and activism. From watching the video and reading Paula's and other students blogs I can see that a transdisciplinarity approach is encouraged in arts-based research and this centres around a problem and utilises a collaboration between two or more disciplines. The students were saying that it's not only about your personal point of view but also looking at social needs and seeing how your research could benefit fit others on a larger scale. They also mentioned about thinking about outside the box and outside your own arts area of expertise. I am going to try to incorporate other arts into my arts-based research and will be interested to see the effects this has on my research and in turn my inquiry.

They also spoke about activism and the involvement of currents cultural and political affairs. It was interesting how people's perceptions of this topic varied but the word 'respect' was repeated by several students.

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On another note ...

Adelsola commented on my recent blog about research techniques into dance and movement therapy:

'So where does your research sit along the scientific and phenomenological? We are not really looking at scientific methods in this course, right? We are interested in experience - see all the ideas in Module one. So where does that indicate our research sits as you plan it?
What does this all say about finding a definitive 'answer' to our research or just finding out more and being more informed about your own practices?'

Although I had been researching this topic I don't think I had really looked at how it links to me and my research in the course so it was very helpful for Adelsola to point this out to me. This indicates that my research will be very much phenomenologically based as I will be researching into people's perceptions and perspectives. I have found lots of texts online about phenomenological research so it will be interesting for me to read these and see how they can inform me of how best to carry out a phenomenological inquiry! 

Research techniques in dance/movement therapy ...

From reading into the topic of dance/movement therapy (DMT) I can see that there is some controversy surrounding the topic of the accuracy and validation of various research techniques. The need for research in this subject is quite clearly pinnacle and although the idea of research inquiry is commonly encouraged there is much controversy around the issue of traditional scientific methods of research being advantageous for dance/movement therapy. This is where qualitative methods of research have burgeoned and less structured techniques of research have been channeled. I have found a paper which examines these research methods (scientific and phenomenologic) and discusses which of these are most applicable to the research of dance therapy and other creative arts therapies.  It is interesting for me to read into these topics as it may give me some guidance for the future about how I may wish to conduct my research for my professional inquiry. 

The Spectrum of Research Options in Dance/Movement Therapy:

Berrol, C.F. American Journal of Dance Therapy (2000) 22: 29. doi:10.1023/A:1005518409716

Lenore Wadsworth Hervey - Artistic inquiry in dance/movement therapy. - 

https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6VKcCQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&ots=YlLFezndCu&sig=mEROVXr3m2Z-pKTu-psq-HFKAU4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

'I believe the greatest research asset of the creative arts therapies profession is the fact that we cannot be exclusively identified with either art of science' (Mcniff. 1986) 

This quote above put a really thought provoking spin on the subject and although this is described here as a 'research asset' I guess it could also be regarded as a hindrance. People will have different views about where the creative arts therapies lie on the scale of science/art, and therefore will potentially have conflicting opinions about how research and development should be conducted. In a more science based environment it's more black and white. A fact is a fact. But in the creative arts there is perhaps more room for perspective. 

Although when I sat down to do work today I actually wanted to find another piece of literature to analyse and blog about I ended up finding a whole range of information and learning a lot about research techniques for dance/movement therapy which will be very useful for the future of my inquiry. 

Literature - 1

Literature - Generally refers to what other professionals or researchers who have expertise in your inquiry have written about your topic.

Reviewing literature - 'Reading with the purpose of reviewing is very different from reading for pleaure. Reading to review has the goal of producing a product: an analytical evaluation of the research on your topic. This means that you are expected to unravel the reasoning that informs the research and arguments you find in the literature.' Hart - Reader 4

I am continuing my hunt for literature and decided to start with looking for articles about supplementary training for dancers as there seems to be more easily accessible information on this topic rather than dance therapy. I came across this article of the Trinity Laban website and it raised some interesting thoughts.

The benefits of supplementary training for dancers:

https://trinitylaban.wordpress.com/2015/11/28/the-benefits-of-supplementary-training-for-dancers/

Firstly I wanted to do some background research about the article and who wrote it and why.

Amelia Wilkinson - I found this biography about Amelia on the Trinity Laban website:

Amelia graduated from The Royal Ballet School in 2008 and has a BA (Hons) degree in Sociology (research major: dance) from Goldsmiths University of London and an MSc in Dance Science from Trinity Laban. Also working as the Health Administrative Intern at Trinity Laban, she is heavily involved in the provision of Dance UK’s POP package as well as the screening for TL dance students. Amelia delivers the lab skills component of the MSc in Dance Science at Trinity Laban and visits undergraduate institutions to provide Dance Science workshops. To date, her research has primarily focused on the notions of identity, passion and injury related coping and she is continuing to develop these ideas based on findings from her masters final project.

Knowing a little about Amelia's background is very useful for me and I now know that similarly to me she also has a ballet trained background, which may mean that we have similar outlooks on various subjects. I also found the bold section at the bottom of her biography very interesting because these are areas of research that I am also interested in. 

The title of the article is 'The benefits of supplementary training for dancers' so this immediately shows the reader that the article will solely be looking at the benefits of supplementary training rather than the negatives as well. The article starts by stating 'dance class has been shown to be fairly ‘stop start’ or intermittent in nature and as a result dancers’ cardiovascular training needs may not be simply met by participating in class or rehearsal'. Obviously some types of repertoire may be more stop start than others and some will require higher stamina so her careful use of the conditional 'may' is relevant. 

Amelia mentions 'screening' as one way you can identify areas that require focus and says that this could be in relation to cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscular endurance, strength or power. She also mentions how for each dancer the effects a dance class has on their individual body will be different because everyone has varying physical capacities and capabilities. This makes me think how although everyone is doing the same class everyone will take something different away from it and the physical effects will vary from person to person. This is not something I had really given too much thought to before so this could be an interesting area for me to do some further research into. Amelia refers to a training principle called 'overload' which is needed in order for physiological adaptations to occur and she points out that the dance class alone may not facilitate such changes, hence proving how supplementary training is important to make physical improvements and changes in oneself. Amelia also mentions 'fatigue' and how it increases the risk of injury so if one can delay the onset of fatigue it could, in consequence reduce the risk of injury!

She then proceeds to talk about various types of supplementary training such as:

- Pilates 

- Yoga 

- Aeorbic and endurance training 

- Plyometric training 

- A more somatic approach 

I am already familiar with the background and history of Pilates and yoga as I have previously done research into these topics as part of my diploma work at Elmhurst but the other three areas I have a lot less knowledge about so it has been interesting for me to broaden my knowledge and research into these areas too. I was especially interested in the results I have found about 'somatic approach' because the first thing that came up on google was 'somatic dance therapy'. As I have previously spoken about, dance therapy is another topic I was interested in researching for my inquiry and I feel like now I am definitely building a bridge between these two fields of research. I have found a lot more literature about dance/movement therapy now and look forward to reviewing it! 

Amelia finishes the post by stating:*The extra stress placed on the body through supplementary training can cause temporary fatigue. You should aim to leave at least two weeks between end of training and any scheduled performance periods. - This really got me thinking because when I am on tour with my company I am performing 6 days a week, so if I am following this guide it is impossible for me to fit in any sort of training! I began considering if perhaps this article is aimed more for for students who will have perhaps have less performance periods than professionals. I was also surprised that she has said allow two weeks because to me this seems like an awfully long time. Maybe there is some evidence to back up this statement, perhaps that is the optimum muscle recovery time? But for us professional dancers two weeks seems like a very long time!! 

Amelia has posted some other related web links and titles of books at the bottom of her article and I will continue my research by looking at these and seeing where they take me. 

One of the links I have found relating to dance/movement therapy:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aOnmCAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=somatic+dance+therapy&ots=jbErBc1w8H&sig=fVpkihHLLVsIMXkxMPS9GZVo_BQ#v=onepage&q=somatic%20dance%20therapy&f=false

Surfing the web!

When on the hunt for my literature I came across this link of the One Dance UK website:

https://diversedancemix.com/home

I had never heard of this before and saw Darcey Bussel's name so I decided to follow the link to see what it was about!

'DDMIX is a full body aerobic workout based on a wide range of different dance styles with easy to follow steps. Choreographed by Darcey Bussell and Nathan Clarke, each genre is approximately 2.5 minutes long.'

The aim of DDMIX is to get people moving without being intimidated by the word 'dance' or the technicality of the steps, but instead to give a full body workout that is such fun that you don't even notice that you are exercising. With the vast number of dance styles around the world to choose from, no one will ever get bored!

We have a passion for dance-based fitness and believe the best way of getting fit is by doing something you enjoy. By participating in dance, you can achieve your goals by not looking upon exercise as a chore. We love group exercise classes with non-correctional instruction, that are fun and all inclusive.

Darcey wanted to create a program using segments of dance from around the world, providing great variety with a western touch. Given her deep interest in all forms of dance and having danced nearly all genres from her classical ballet base, the DDMIX adventure began. She contacted her good friend and talented choreographer and dancer Nathan Clarke, with whom she has worked on Viva La Diva, Darcey Dances Hollywood and the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. On hearing her idea Nathan agreed to join Darcey and they started working on the choreography for the first DDMIX.

I found this very interesting and it has shown me how there are new interesting collaborations of dance and exercise being created all the time. 

Finding literature

I actually am finding it a lot harder than I initially thought I would to find literature that I believe to be relevant to my interest for the inquiry. I think this may be because I am trying to look for literature that could be too specific rather, so I have begun to broaden my search in the hope that I will find some text of interest. I also could be looking in the wrong places ... I began my search by looking through the reading list on myunihub. I then re-read the reader to summarise what exactly it is that I am looking for and this made things slightly clearer in my head and I've picked out some especially helpful quotes and pasted them below:

'This section stresses the importance of searching for literature sources that add to what you already know, and examining them for critical thinking and use of theories from both research and sector experts.' 'The professional inquiry requires that you learn how to review examples of existing 'literature' in order to understand the topic you have chosen in more depth.' - READER 4 

One piece of literature I have already blogged about was:

Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science - Judith Bell
 - Looking back I can see that although I learnt a lot from this text I didn't approach reading it with critical thinking, so when finding my next piece of literature I will try to approach it differently (critical questioning).


I am finding all the the academic articles quite overwhelming so I've changed my direction of research into areas that I know are completely relevant to what I want to research. Paula suggested to look at the DANCE UK website and I immediately found something of relevance.

https://www.danceuk.org/news/article/strength-and-conditioning-dance-power-performance-and-rehabilitation/

For now this is where I am up to my my literature hunt! To be continued ...

Skype with Paula

Tonight Grace (fellow BAPP student) and I Skyped Paula and spent a very informative hour talking through module 2 and where our inquiries are heading. Although we are interested in different areas of inquiry it is always very useful to bounce ideas off each other and help each other out!

I felt like I just needed a little reassurance to ensure that I am working along the right lines in regards to where I am heading at the moment with my inquiry and wanted some feedback about my potential topics. After speaking to Adesola about my work so far she mentioned to me that many of my questions seem to be about looking at problems rather than looking forwards and finding solutions and problem solving.

"The first four questions seem more about looking back. I wonder how they develop your professional practice. they might but I think you need to be able to explain how they develop your practice to better understand the questions yourself. In the past these kind of questions can come from a feeling of being let down or of having had a hard time yourself and wanting to recognize that. This is good healing and to develop your practice you need to sometimes heal your past. But is that what you want? or are the first four questions about something else about now and the future...?

Then knowing more about this area would make sense. If its to just better understand yourself that might be important. But if its to show you had a hard time or the dance world is not great or how hard things are I don't see how the inquiry will have a lasting positive impact on your professional growth. What do you think."

So I decided to go back to the drawing board and try to focus more on positive areas that interest me within my practice and this brought me back to ideas of dance therapy and supplementary training like Pilates and Yoga. I spoke to Paula about these ideas and expressed that I wasn't too sure which direction exactly I wanted to go down and she said that I should try to develop my line of inquiry in both of these ideas as an umbrella topic. I am going to look into the literature I can find around these topics to try to find a focus point but for now I am interested to read around the topic and speak to other practitioners about their opinions.

Paula mentioned that Grace and I should start doing some 'ONLINE SHOPPING' and unfortunately she wasn't talking about looking on ZARA and ASOS... Paula suggested we started looking online for other sources and literature perhaps in the form of other practitioners, articles or audio visuals to inspire and stimulate our thought process. I am going to try to envolve people in my work environment and use this to inspire to and aid me on my learning journey.

I am interested to see where my line of inquiry will continue to take me and after my Skype with Paula I am feeling more confident about where I am heading.