Product not production

I attended an interesting Skype on Wednesday , where we spoke about artefacts. 

I shared that after conversations with Adesola I have learned that the artefact needs to be something that represents your inquiry but in a different way. If one person  was to read the essay and the other to look at the artefact , they would share the same message. 

I feel that an artefact needs to be 3 dimensional. Not literally , but there needs to be more depth than just one idea. You need to make your idea and artefact ‘POP ‘ 

On the Skype call Serena said that she was going to choreograph and dance a routine with no music. Instead  of music she would use a voiceover that she would record herself. That to me sounds ‘3D’ which is a great idea  

I interviewed 5 people during my inquiry process . So I decided to create 6 books. Each one a pop up book representing key themes that emerged from the interviews.

The sixth book is my own thoughts and reflections.

There were a few questions on the call about how perfect the artefact needs to be. Sophie wanted to perform a dance but was concerned about the lighting ,angle and the fact it wouldn’t be filmed in a studio due to Covid.

I explained that I have learned that the importance is in the product and not the production. By this, I mean that it is the thought process, meaning and message that is important. The actual production of it is not as important. It is obviously important to maintain as much professionalism as we can but perfectionism is not something we will be marked on  .

 

Instagram V Reality

 ‘Instagram versus reality’ I’m sure most social media users have come across this phrase in the past. But what does it mean and how does this hold relevance for a blog post connected with my BAPP?

Firstly, what does it mean ?

Usually two photos would be displayed. A perfect example would be trying to get a photo of a baby. The perfect photo is the one you put on Instagram , and ‘reality’ is perhaps displaying one of the many photos that did not quite make the edit !! Showing that so much work goes into getting the perfect photo. And it hints at not believing that the Instagram photo is as perfect or easy as it seems. 

How does this connect with my BAPP?

As I have completed my inquiry now, and have begun the reporting, I have continued to reflect on my own career. 

My Inquiry topic is ‘Does career transition exist for professional dancers?’

I am semi retired and so have reflected upon my own experience so far. It made me think back to module one where I was able to be indulgent and talk about my own career. I remember looking through performance photos whilst doing module one , and thinking ‘wow what amazing times !’. However , to quote another saying ‘ the grass is always greener on the other side.’ 

It seems so temping to want to go back to a life of performing. I looked so glamorous on the photos!! And I was really lucky to travel the world, but behind each photo is a story.

 A photo is just like snapshot of one moment in time. The photo doesn’t tell you the story before and after. The photo doesn’t tell you the struggle it may have been to look like that , or the photos that were discarded in favour of that particular one. It doesn’t show the vigorous rehearsal schedule , the fatigue or personal worries you may have. 

It made me consider how realistic photos are? And that it is only through social media being so big now , that we sometimes get to see a snapshot of something that isn’t always perfect. Something that is a little more real. 

Either way , it is always wonderful to remember the good times of any professional contract , job and experience. But from now on I will try to take a more balanced view as so many times we project an image that might not necessarily be the most accurate representation. It is worth remembering this when we go on social media and scroll down to see so many perfect pictures. We don’t know their before and after. It may lt be all that it seems.

Word counts

 It’s been a while since I have blogged but I have been busy cracking on with my research report. When I first saw the word count , 5500, I thought oh no!! I am going to struggle to fill that. However, now I have ‘found my flow ‘ , I am finding the opposite is happening !! I’m almost at my word count and withso much more to write !

This also happened to me in modules One and Two. I had the initial panic of how I would reach the word count but in the end found myself trimming it down so it met the word count !! 

I thought it would be useful for others reading this blog , to just confirm exactly what a word count does and doesn’t cover  

The word count usually refers to the main body of your text, eg the main essay. It does not include the title page or the bibliography. 

The main body of your text is from where you actually start to write the essay up to the end. This would include citations , possibly graphs, charts , diagrams , quotes, headings etc. 

Within the BAPP course there is usually -10% allowed under word count and +10% over the word count. It is always necessary to double check on each module though !!

Most word processor programmes in computers have a feature built in , so that you can easily see at a glance where you are up to with your word count. Make sure you select the main body of text to get it right. 

 Best of luck !

Game changer

 I attended a great writing workshop Skype last week led by Peter Thomas. 

I found it really interesting and it was great to have the input of someone else as well. 

Peter explained about a website that really did make me stop in my tracks. This will help many others regardless of which module you are on. 

The website :

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

( Click on ‘giving examples’ on the left hand side, and then ‘examples of the main information in a sentence )

Basically this site will give you alternative ways to phrase is sentence.  

For example if I was writing ‘this writer shows us’ but felt that I wanted to write this in other words that were more ‘academic ‘. The site gives you alternative phrases. 

‘This is evident in the case of’

‘X illustrates this point clearly’

‘This distinction is further exemplified in studies using ‘

A very good site for if you need alternative phrasing or if you have writers block  

On the topic of writers block ! It is now time to really make a  start on the essay for module 3. In each module I have always found it hard to get going but once I have started it had flown easier than anticipated. My advice is to get the front page of the essay started and you will feel duty bound to start your introduction and then hopefully the rest will start to flow.

I’m struggling a little with time at the moment as I’m juggling a newborn baby along with my 4 year old but this coming week I plan to draft my literature review out as I have been preparing that already  Wish me luck !

Books for university

 Middlesex university has a library both online and an actual real life library ! You can request via post some books subject to circumstances and availability too. 

However I wanted to have an actual book ( not an online version ) to study and find quotes. I found libraries too restrictive with time constraints and needed an alternative. 

I came across a company called ‘world of books ‘. They are online and you simply search for the book and pay a vastly reduced price and get it posted to you. The books are all used hence the low prices. But when you need quite a lot of books it can get very expensive and so for me it was a perfect solution. 

I searched through to find the books that would be of interest and sometimes selected them due to low prices due to budget constraints. All others I could access online. 

Hope this is of help to others. The website address is :

https://www.worldofbooks.com

Perseverance

 I remember around 20 years ago , working in a cabaret show abroad. The lady I was working for had plans for a photo shoot. On the morning of the shoot we had rehearsals and the photographer didn’t turn up. There was also an issue with the hotel where we were rehearsing and we had less time than originally planned  Basically everything that could have gone wrong did !! I remember being amazed that this lady was moving everything around to still be able to do the photoshoot. I remember thinking why not just give up ?? Admit defeat ! 

But you had to admire her absolute tenacity and iron strong will to get the job done! She bought a disposable camera used a different part of the hotel and ran the photoshoot  herself! 

You may be wondering what relevance this holds to my BAPP. The answer is quite a lot. 

From that single experience I learned that actually you simply cannot give up so easily. This learning can be transferred to many other experiences in life. Adult life doesn’t allow for giving up so easily. I have even blogged about perseverance before, in module 2!

Over the years I’ve sometimes had challenging situations and have realised that one of my strengths is perseverance. To unpick that idea .....I think I can sometimes only feel satisfied when I’ve chased the answer down and solved the issue. 

As humans we find it easy to criticise ourselves but we are often not as quick to identify positive character traits, and for me perseverance is one of mine  

As I enter into module 3, I need to remember to persevere. No module has been easy initially. I have had to work on it and chase down the answers until it was complete. This module is no different, it still raises challenges, I just need to persevere. 

Failure to prepare... prepare to fail !

My first blog of the new term and first of module 3.

It’s been a busy few weeks. 

Over a week ago we welcomed our daughter, Valentina into the world ! I had a c -section and although the baby was fine at birth , we soon realised she was unwell and she was whisked away to neo natal intensive care with suspected pneumonia. She stayed  there for 2 nights and then we both went to transitional care for a further 4 nights. Luckily she picked up and we are now finally home. Big sister Amara is very pleased she now has a lovely baby sister to look after. 

It was quite a worrying week and really makes you realise how important health is and how valuable our NHS is. 

Prior to all of this excitement and drama , I had luckily managed to get a head start on the final module. In the weeks before the baby was due, I managed to do my 1 to 1 Skype with Adesola , enrol for the term , complete my feedback for the feedback received for module 2 and I even managed to complete all of my interviews for my inquiry project. 

So although this is my first blog of the term , I do feel I have hit the ground running !