Being in the right place at the right time🎲

Looking at my practice I have realised that the saying ‘it’s who you know not what you know” has never been more relevant. Sometimes knowing someone high-up in the industry can lead to better job opportunities, inside knowledge of how a particular audition is going to work or being given the best advice on what classes to attend. But is having this guidance fair to the other artists around you? Is everyone being given an equal opportunity to participate and succeed? What chance does this leave the rest of us in the audition room?

I wanted to look at how many people in the arts industry became successful through chance and 'being in the right place at the time'. You only have to look at Justin Bieber being scouted by Usher through you tube. What were the chances?! What if he wasn't on you tube that day and time? Would he have scouted someone different? Would Justin Bieber still be famous? Having this stroke of luck by chance means you are in the best position/place to take advantage of an opportunity. But how do you teach yourself to be in the right place at the right time? In short you can't because you have no idea when that time may be. Seth Simons wrote an article "How to be in the right place at the right time more often" he gave three ways in which you can help improve your chances. 

1. Proximity "You cannot catch a fish without being near the water" or in our case "You cannot land your dream role without attending the audition". You can put yourself in the right place at the right time more often by identifying an area in which you have the necessary skills and knowledge to capitalise on sudden opportunities. 
2. Practice - "The fish not caught on the first try is larger when finally caught" In every case, the practice that precedes the instance of 'luck' is just as important as the crowning moment itself. Have you given up on your practice only to wonder why you're not improving in your field and experiencing the same luck as others? What steps can you take today in order to hone in your senses and polish your skills so the next opportunity can be turned into a lucky moment? 
3. Persistance "If you do not fish often, the fish have little chance to bite" Being in the right place at the right time involves in being in a lot of places at a lot of times that might seem inconvenient or even painful. 

By using the idea of proximity to opportunities and following through with practice and persistence could I too become lucky and increase my chance of chance? Is actively participating in my discipline and practice enough to improve my chance? 

I have been lucky to have had experienced the idea of chance in a really positive way. I posted a video online which got 13.6 million views for a fashion business. It resulted in a lot of new opportunities in social media and marketing. Ultimately leading me down a different path away from dance which gave me a lower chance of succeeding in this industry as I was no longer actively participating. The video going viral was completely by chance and something I had no control over. Which lead me to think about how little control I have over my life as a dancer. I can't control the casting directors mind into picking me for a job, I can't control auditions processes and I can't control what everyone around me is doing.

I wanted to use chance as an area of learning in my essay but am unsure on what my area of learning would actually be? Could it be planning for a situation that is out of my control? For example when something goes wrong on stage? What can you learn from being in a situation that is completely out of your control? How to contend with something I will never have control over? How to respond to chance? The understanding that chance has had a positive effect on me where videos online have gone viral and allowed me new job opportunities? 

So many thoughts and questions - I would love to hear your experiences of chance and maybe some thoughts into helping me establish what my AOL could be around this as am struggling to use it in context. 

Abi x

References: 

• "How to be in the right place at the right time more often" Simon Seth https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/how-to-be-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time-more-often.html

The Power of Collective Intelligence

Being on a distance course it can sometimes feel like you are alone on your journey. I think it is important to remember that we have a great BAPP community around us and it sometimes just takes initiating a conversation to realise that they are feeling exactly the same. It was so helpful hearing and speaking with other students on my module today. It really helped me navigate my own thoughts to pinpointing one particular area of learning and not keeping it so broad. I think I finally understand what people have meant in discussion meetings now about this. For example I wanted to speak about communication as a generalised area of learning but there is so much surrounding this - intrapersonal communication, non verbal communication, communication between a teacher and student, communication between different cultures - the list is endless! I now understand that it is okay to acknowledge all types of communication in my essay but only unpack one of the topics to a deeper level. 

What I am trying to say is having a conversation with other people really helped me articulate my own ideas, spark new thoughts and ultimately lead me to a shift in what I wanted to speak about in my essay. It made me feel like I am not alone and starting a conversation isn't as scary as you think. The collective intelligence of us all is something really powerful. I am looking forward to learning and maybe sometimes feeling confused with you all as our journey continues.

Love

Abi x

PS- HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY❤️

Intrapersonal Communication

An area of learning I would really like to focus on is how Intrapersonal Communication is very much a huge part of my practice today especially in the form of self-rejection. Looking at how it has been detrimental to my mental health but also exploring ways I have coped and implemented new practices into this area of learning. 

Intrapersonal communication can be defined as ‘communication with one’s self, and that may include self-talk, acts of imagination and visualization, and even recall and memory’ (McLean, S., 2005). Unlike interpersonal communication where two or more people exchange ideas you are solely relying on yourself for conversation. Intrapersonal communications allow you to learn through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice (Boud et al 1985; Boyd and Fales, 1983; Mezirow, 1981, Jarvis, 1992) in other words reflective practice. From planning to problem solving, internal conflict, resolution and evaluations, and judgement of self and others, we communicate with ourselves through intrapersonal communication. All of this interaction takes place in the mind without externilasiation and all of it relies on previous interaction with the external world. Your language and culture have giving you the means to rationalise and act but you are still bound by the expectations of yourself and the others who make up your community.   

 Intrapersonal communication is made up of three key elements 

1.     Self-concept: evaluating ones owns beliefs, values and attitudes and how that evaluation plays into what occurs in the outer world. 

2.     Perception: how people interpret what is going on around them. Perception can influence intrapersonal communication. 

3.     Expectation: expectations are based upon intrapersonal communication with ones own self and are predictions of what will happen based on perceptions of what has happened. 

 

Taking this and looking at my own experiences with intrapersonal communication I am able to pinpoint how I have self-sabotaged myself through the fear of being rejected. For-example not attending auditions after comparing myself to peers/people on web 2.0 platforms and telling myself I wasn’t good enough. Not only did this affect me getting dance jobs but it is something I took into daily tasks like putting creative idea’s forward at work. I was using critical reflection negatively as I was seeing reflection as a ‘constant strive for self improvement’ which ‘lead to feelings of self disapproval and self rejection’ (Quinn 1988/2000).

An experience that I still find challenging is queuing up for an audition. Straight off the bat I find myself comparing what I look like and my talent to the others around me. I was already in my own head before I had even walked through the door. Self-sabotaging and already in a negative mindset. How was I ever going to audition at the best of my ability when I had an ongoing battle in my head? 

Reflecting on audition experiences and rejection I have learnt ways to try and help me stay focused on what I am there to achieve. Instead of looking at the other people in the queue I now ask myself why I am here. I go over what I want from the audition and think of ways to get me there. Like John Dewey’s (1933) theory suggests there are three concepts - I stay open-minded and listen to what the choreographer/casting agent wants. I take responsibility for my actions if something goes wrong or if something goes right and I always stay whole hearted to my practice. Giving it everything I have got, focusing all of my energy on the audition. 

References: 

• McLean, S., 2005 - Intrapersonal communication definition 
• Boud et al 1985; Boyd and Fales, 1983; Mezirow, 1981, Jarvis, 1992 - ideas on reflective practice
• Quinn 1988/2000 
• John Dewey 1933 

3 fuzzy areas

After having a complete mental block and feeling like I didn't understand anything I have used the time to reflect on what I have learnt and what I am still learning from my practice. Trying to pinpoint a generalised area of learning has been the hardest thing but I think I am getting there. I have been looking at my areas of learning one at a time and trying to research literature and theories behind them. So far I have one area of learning researched - yay! It is amazing how much I have found and want to use in my essay but reading past students blogs I have noted not to go off on a tangent and stick to your point so this is something I am actively trying to take on board. I have booked a 1-1 with Dr Sam to discuss my ideas and check I am on the right page. Fingers crossed. 

A great exercise that helped me discover my areas of learning was from the Module 1 handbook:

1. Start by making a list of things you have learnt 
2. What was the situation you first remember the lesson being learnt? 
3. How did it change what you do now? 
4. How have I transferred the learning to other areas or situations? 

They gave the example of:

1. Having to perform with a sprained ankle
2. Learning how to care for my ankles
3. Changed the way I warmed up and took more care preparing 
4. Transferred the idea of taking the time to prepare properly when I had an interview

Generalising this experience to two areas of learning: 

1. Preparing for important events 
2. Injury prevention

I am still struggling to pinpoint my learning to a generalised area but I am hoping this will become clearer after my 1-1. At the moment I have three fuzzy areas of what my learning could be:

1. The Fear of Rejection 
2. Communication and Language 
3. Relationships 

Will hopefully be able to articulate and write about these ideas further after I check I am on the right path! 

Plan of action for this week:

• Go back through the handbook and link theories to my areas of learning 
• Research and look further into Areas of Learning 2 and 3
• Constantly push to unpack thoughts and reveal a generalised area of learning 
• Map out how I want my essay to look 
• Prepare to start writing 

Hope everyone is doing okay, check in soon.

Abi x

References: 

• Module 1 handbook