5a. The personal perspective on professional ethics

I am looking at my initial approach to professional ethics for myself as a free lance choreographer. The ideas I am blogging are the first ideas I had when I thought about this area.

My professional view on ethical considerations are as follows....

* Professionalism- This includes me being co- operative, fair and considerate with my colleges and students. In addition to this I must be polite, on time and contactable. 

*Prepared- I must take the time to prepare for the project I am working on. I must consider music, style and who I am working with and be sensitive to dance ability. This is important as I must show respect for the project by taking the time to think about it outside of the rehearsal room. 

*Delivery- I must be able to explain my ideas clearly and then deliver them professionally. I must be aware of the fact that people learn in many different ways, and be sensitive to this to ensure the work is performed to the highest level. 

*Safety- This includes me properly warming up and cooling down the company to prevent injury. I must also make sure I take the time to find out whether people are injured, and not put anyone in a situation where they could seriously damage themselves or make a current injury worse. I must also think about safety from a literal sense in that I should be aware of hazards in the room, fire exits and first aid kits. 

*Emotional well being- I must ensure that at no point any company member/ student is made to feel uncomfortable or invaluable.

Now the majority of these points I naturally do already. However, there are some which I tend to neglect, especially under the category 'safety', and others can be compromised depending on certain situations. For example, I was recently working on a professional show at the Union Theatre. The choreographer and I were teaching a routine to the company which required quite high technical dance ability. However, I was not sensitive enough to the fact that some of the cast didn't have as much training, and it wasn't until I went away and thought about it that night that I realised I hadn't attempted to teach the material in a more accessible way. I had just stuck to my guns. This is an example of how ethics can easily be forgotten,and while this wasn't drastic and didn't have any major repercussions I think it is important to reflect on and see how easily you can forget.