Trusting The Process.

      While going through many articles and posts trying to gather data for my research inquiry, I found the following post in "Psychology's Today" Journal:

"Everyone’s rushing to get to the top, all the while failing to realize that the “top” is just a mindset; it can be limitless if you let it be. Instead, people are in a great big hurry to get nowhere in particular. It’s like they’re running on a treadmill, trying to get to where they want to go and convincing themselves that they’ll only have worth when they reach that next “level." Everyone wants to save time getting to the top, but all they end up doing is wasting it."

This got me thinking!
Do we ever stop trying to reach somewhere, or do we sometimes stop and enjoy the small things and moments along the way?
Hidden information-knowledge lives in those little moments that we pass by in a rush so we reach and achieve something.
I do believe that we need to make time and trust the process along the way, because after all its the journey that matters, its that that fills us with many educational points (hidden or not) and provides us with many moments that we can gain so many more.

Allowing yourself to grow through the process is something that if is achievable you can find greater motivation, and even a new purpose/goal that hadn't even occurred to you before.
That is why if we are talking about research methods , we should allow the research to lead us to paths we didn't think about before, so this can give us new results to questions we didn't know we had.

My advice: Don't put a limit on research findings!:)

For me and what I think the most fascinating and important part is seeing that happiness mustn't always be around trying to always achieve a goal, its knowing that the process is what is more important, any process shouldn't be rushed, taking time to achieve what you want and gaining as many as you can from the journey is what really matters.

Just sharing my thoughts!
Maria

Back on Track!

     After a great summer full of amazing moments and filled with beautiful memories,  its time to return to my daily life of working at my dance school and studying towards the final Module of the MA program, and I must say I'm really exited to see what this year  ahead will bring.
This year I will try and gain as many experiences as I can because as I always say a lot of good comes out of trying new things.
Dr. Seuss said: "If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good. If you never try new things you will never learn what you love."
By trying new things you allow yourself to grow, you can see the world with a different eye and be open to new challenges and this fuels up your curiosity even bigger...
Even though as humans its normal to be afraid of the unknown and it is common for us not wanting to get out of our comfort zones, judging by myself usually because of the fear of failing (!), all of us (including me) should realize that fear holds us back from living a memorable life! We should all embrace as many new experiences as we can and gain as many outcomes as possible!!
Looking forward to working with all of you sharing opinions and views this semester.
Maria

From a musicia's point of view!

Last night we had a very interesting discussion with Sam Murray as a guest speaker, talking to us about his current practice and previous work experiences as a clarinet musician.
It was a beautiful session as it involved a lot of musical pieces that were enrichened with improvisational quotations by him and his band.

The main themes the discussion revolved around were:
-Improvisation
-The importance of group compositions
-The ways people receive music
-Authorial intensions
-Interesting technological ways, as new approaches to music

Firstly we got to thinking on how improvisation has an impact on the audience, how can you make a person relate to a song whilst it is performed, how do people react towards improvisation during a performance,  and in other words how can you make the audience be a "part" of the show as a whole?
At this point (as a performer), I was thinking if this is the same as to when performing a dance routine to an audience, if you are trying to make them a "part" of the show as well of if dance sits differently to this situation. I'm still brainstorming on this point! What are your thoughts on this?

Later on we discussed about the importance of group compositions, and how one member of the team usually creates the skeletal form of a new piece, and later on the other members exchange constant ideas as to bring this skeletal form to life.
At this point I did find a big relevance to the creation of  a new choreography in the dance field, because especially when a group choreography is being made, you usually start of with an idea and later on as a part of the group you exchange thoughts on how this choreography can be developed and presented to a live form! Discussion between the group can always bring up new ideas and new thoughts that can contribute to the development of a piece in all different ways either in music or dance.

Another point of discussion was around the ways the meaning of a song can be transmitted to the audience, and if the meaning you give to it should be the same as to the one someone else gives it. 
I was thinking that the answer to that is no, because when you create something new as a song or a choreography, you should give the audience the freedom to react and respond to it the way they wish.
By giving up the idea of authorial intensions, as it was mentioned in our discussion, you allow the people to receive the meaning of the piece the way they want to, and most of the times this is done by creating a connection between the piece and something personal in their life  … 
I believe that dance or music does have this "power", it can help you bring back memories and make connections to personal aspects of your life even by watching or listening. You don't necessarily have to be the performer to get this feeling and make this connections.

At the end, there was a discussion around how new evolving technologies can affect the more traditional ways of presenting music, and I was thinking dance as well :) , especially during the current pandemic and the need for the use of online communication platforms much more often!
What I asked at the end how he feels about the pandemic situation, online performing and if he thinks the importance of physical contact and interaction is in a way now lost because of all the performances are now being done online,

Very interesting discussion to say the list!

Maria

Reasoning about change...

 
    Reading through blog posts about Sunday's discussion around "thinking ,talking and changing" ,which I could not attend due to work, gave me the opportunity to give myself a moment to make a connection between these 3 words and also think about where I place myself at the moment as an artist.
I think that everyone goes through a phase in life where they struggle to find where they belong: as dancers-as artists-as teachers even as humans in a more general way...
As I call it the "disorientation of self".

    Being vulnerable and uncertain regarding matters around dance such as body imaging, stereotyping,  <which is a big area of research in my research inquiry now in Module 3> color, culture etc. are something that have been debatable issues for many years now in this field.
These issues can provide an unsettling feeling to many, and have a big impact on the self imaging throughout the lifespan.

Moreover...
Thinking about that, lead me thinking about these:
-Being uncertain about something in life, gives you the advantage to have options!
-Having to have options, give you the chance to explore and change as a human!
-Exploration and change, gives you the chance for advancement!

    Everyday for me is now throughout my research, is  an opportunity for a deep analysis around matters such as these, a chance to have strong connections with others, hear their own personal experiences , share mine with them as a dance teacher, look through existing literature, and as a result  see how the profession of a dance teacher has an impact on these existing topics.

What I am brainstorming at the moment that will be part of my inquiry, is the role of the teacher as a whole.
Should a dance teacher be a mentor? a friend? an advisor? even in a way a psychologist that helps personal problems that emerge on the way? A combination of all of the above?
Does this lead to the "disorientation" that I've mentioned before?

What are your thoughts on this?
Maria

Thinking about theories and framework!

 Today we had a very interesting conversation based on Angela Woodhouse work as a professional and her projects with many well-known artists throughout the years.
Some of her work that seemed really interesting to me and would definitely look into them more, is the relation between materials-body, the relationship between the space and the dancer throughout performances, and and also her projects around the connection of dancers and objects.
While we were looking into her work, I was brainstorming about theories that I am personally engaging with in this Module and the framework I am currently developing around that, and my own data.
How I am looking at the growth of a theoretical framework (and how I progressed my own inquiry until now) is like this:
1.Identification of the statement I want to make and clearly wrote down my own research questions.
2.Evaluation of relevant theories around my topic of research.
3.Find and show where my own research sits in. :)
But,  in mind the following question (or thought), kept going round,
Should we place ourselves in a critical/challenging position towards existing theories, or just use these existing theories as a base for our own results/data development at the end of the research?
I am now thinking that we should do both, this way more questions will be developed and we will be able to dive into more research on the way...
Challenging myself with more questions is something that is constantly happening throughout this MA journey and is something I personally find really exciting.

Maria

Diving into my research inquiry

On Sunday we had a very interesting discussion based on Module 3 and everyone's research inquiries.
It was great  to hear everyone's research points and be able to discuss all of the questions we had around them.
I must say I was very nervous when my turn came to discuss my inquiry, mainly because I think that was the moment when it all became very realistic to me! Also I think that speaking out loud about it rather than just developing my thoughts and ideas in my own head, made me realize that I am actually doing this and I am actually in the process of this fascinating journey :)
Being able to answer questions about it, and even explaining my vision of how this will develop made me brainstorm even more and made me want to ask even more questions around my own research points.

 "Where am I now?"
So I am currently out in the field doing my interviews for my research inquiry, and I must say that it is a process I am enjoying quite much. I haven't done any interviews in the past so having to ask questions to other practitioners, hearing their ideas, thoughts is very interesting to say the least! I think that its like I am giving others the opportunity to share their own experiences and this gives back to me the chance to discuss further with them, ask more questions and more general allow a flow in the process of the interviews.

Looking forward to see how this process will develop.
Maria

Thoughts on knowledge, learning and information...

    Yesterday's discussion group was focused around knowledge-learning and information, and great thoughts, ideas as well as personal experiences were heard from many people.
As I've mentioned while we were discussing one of the first habits I picked up from the MAPP back from Module 1 is that I keep a reflective journal of my daily actions, things I am noticing during my teaching methods, all sort of ideas and thoughts I am having during the day, incidents I observe etc.
At that point when I started doing that I didn't know that I was collecting information that I was going to find so useful along the journey of the program. Reflecting back and noticing how I have changed as a professional throughout this time, how my teaching methods have developed, and how my communication skills have switched as well as have been developed, is something I find fascinating! 
Also things I've written down have helped me in many others way such as when I'm writing down an essay, a blog, or even when I'm trying to develop my own thoughts into written words...
So! Reflective Journal is a must !!
   Another thing I kept and would like to further think and dive more into from the discussion is how as an artist and more specifically as I dance teacher, I can communicate my  knowledge with others in new ways...
Because we live in times that are constantly changing, process and evolution are ahead I should always come up with new ways to pass on knowledge to the children. But what I find tricky is that in a dance class environment you can have even 5 different types of learners in only just 1 class.
How can you be sure everyone takes in the information you are trying to give? How can you be sure you are communicating your knowledge basically the way you want?
I am constantly thinking that communication can be achieved in 2 ways: by OBSERVING-LISTENING. By becoming an observer you can learn a lot more about your own self that you can imagine...And it always so important to just be a listener, not trying to be heard all the time.
As artists we think and act all the time, by being an observer and a listener when you teach-dance,  you can gain so many useful and important experiences that may lead to discovering  new ways to communicate the knowledge you have with others.
Just brainstorming at the moment, what are your thoughts?
Maria

Beginning of Module 3!

    I personally never believed in the commonly held notion that learning and education is only for children and young adults.
Education doesn't stop after high school and after a university degree, everyone should be open to it so a big circle of lifelong learning can be achieved during the lifespan.
Someone who keeps acquiring new skills and capabilities can develop an open mind, positive attitude about all the dynamics in the world, thus will achieve personal development alongside personal successful career paths!
If you can achieve being a lifelong learner and look for opportunities to expand knowledge and general understanding, curiosity and this new mindset can invite new possibilities in the future ahead...
Looking back to all the previous Modules I can see that a big part of my personal learning gain besides all the reading and researching, came from that communication with other practitioners, and from hearing other people’s opinions, views and thoughts in relation to the dance pedagogy field.
As Steven Spielberg said "When  you listen you learn. You absorb like a sponge and your life becomes so much better than when you are just trying to be listened to all the time."

So looking forward to starting Module 3 expanding and sharing my learning through this amazing journey ahead.

Wishing everyone a great term!
Maria

Communication. Can we we get lost in this process?

Effective Communication 
Definition: An Effective Communication is a communication between two or more persons wherein the intended message is successfully delivered, received and understood.

But how can we always be sure our message is delivered and comprehended the way we intend it to be? Can communication errors between senders and receivers occur?

In 1948 Shannon and Weaver designed and developed a model to describe the effective way a sender and a receiver can communicate. They found factors which can affect the communication process. Their model deals with concepts such as the source (sender), the channel,  the transmitter, the message, the decoder, the receiver etc.

By looking further into their model and research I've come up with more questions that I've originally started with.
Is 1-1 communication more affective than group mass audience communication?    
How can we be sure, especially us as dancers or dance teachers that we are delivering our message the way we planned on doing it the first place?
Are we playing a primary role as senders and the receivers gain the information as they want?

I believe that communication is not a one way process. We communicate by gaining the trust of our students, we think and act all the time by observing-watching and listening in our dance environment. As dancers or teachers we communicate our ideas through visual movement, and my own opinion is that our students receive our ideas differently based on the type of learner they are... Auditory or Visual Physical or Logical.

On the one hand  I think we should be adjusting the way we communicate based on our recipient, but on the other hand I think that art in general and dance more specifically,  is a very approachable field that can be understood and communicated in various ways.

Having more and more questions along the way...

Would like to read your thoughts on these ideas.
Maria

"Ethics"

   By being a Greek myself I notice how the word "ethics" comes from the Greek word "ήθος" ("ethos") which basically describes how we live our lives and what our responsibilities and rights are.
What is the meaning behind the words right and wrong or good and bad?

If we want to describe it in a more clear way ethics are a system based on  moral principles...
These principles have an impact on  how all people behave and live their daily lives.
But where does the meaning of choosing what I will do stand?

My opinion is that as humans we firstly adapt to all of the already existing moral principles in the world that allow as to live in a peace and in harmony with others, and later on we develop and adapt to those we think work and benefit for us.
But how does our instinct as as human beings  have the "luxury of choosing" ?
Does it work in our conscious mind and help us basically survive and how does this function everyday with having in mind the ethical consequences of doing it?
Are our motives for doing something always self-centered?
Or do we always think about others before we act?

Just sharing my thoughts and questions on the topic, what are yours?

Maria

Feeling lost in the process...

    As we are now in week 4 of the new term I find myself a bit lost in the whole process of studying and researching...I find my practice continually changing in many ways, as I am becoming an observer not only towards others, but also towards my own self.
I'm currently trying to organize my thoughts into written words and find more studying materials so I can familiarize more with transferring ideas into paper. During everyday life I try to keep a reflective journal of what I observe and notice during my classes as well as my behavior and students reactions towards me to use as date for further research.
   Although feeling "lost" I believe that this is a sort of "rite of passage", everyone goes through this not knowing exactly where they head to, but this kind of transition is part of life, not knowing precisely what you want to research or do can mean that you can try all kind of things before presenting any finished product at the end. If you feel unsecure and unsure for something "stuck" as I say, shake yourself off and keep going , ask for help or for others opinions if you feel you cant move on with research and all the new ideas you'll get  can create a whole new prospective for you.
   What are your thoughts on getting "lost" during the journey?
Maria