The research so far...

So on Wednesday I went for an observation in the morning with one choreographer, and then an interview in the evening with another. It was such a great day, and my mind is already whirring with ideas and further questions! 

The observation took place at Chichester university where I watched a rehearsal for the third year musical 'Anything Goes'. Without going into specific detail about the background of the choreographer, I immediately picked up on a signature style of movement, which is similar to that of another choreographer I know. Knowing that both these men are good friends, and are about 10 years apart in age, I now am very keen to know the reasons behind the similarity. Training at the same place? Friendship? Working on jobs together? Coincidence? 

I am hoping to complete the interview in the next few weeks so fingers crossed I will find out! 

The interview I conducted was with a choreographer I work with as mainly his assistant. The interview was incredible as I learnt so much about his past and how he has got to the place he is today. His signature style of choreography has a very specific process and I think through re listening to the audio and looking over my notes, I will be able to use the literature, to analyse this process. Once I have conducted some more interviews, I will be able to then cross reference against each other and find the similarities and differences.

Although I stil have a lot of research to do, I feel pleased that I have kick started the investigation, and that I am already drawing out interesting ideas... I can't wait to interview and observe more choreographers and see what I discover! 

The skype coffee morning

So this morning Adesola, Megan, Ruth and myself had a great skype session. Even though each if us were in different modules, I found it was really helpful discussing a couple of things I needed to talk through...

Generally I think we all feel that feeling a lot of us get at the beginning of each module- an uncertainty that you don't fully understand the tasks. I think just by being able to talk through these concerns and realise everyone felt the same really helped all of us!

Adesola reminded us that the design of this course encourages us to think like a community- all helping and supporting each other and using Web 2.0 to do this. This comment, combined with other comments made by Megan and Ruth re- opened my eyes to this way of thinking. I think as you start your dissertation proposal at the end of module 2 and enter module 3 everyone focuses on their own inquiry's and it easy to neglect getting involved with other peoples work. This morning before our skype session, I had a read of a few peoples blogs and realised that I hadn't done it in a while. I found some really interesting ideas coming out, and I think I need to get back into this mind set once again.

By being involved with other peoples inquiry, I will not only enrich my own learning, but I may be able to give ideas and opinions to help others. I'm glad that I have realised early on into this module that I have slightly neglected this mindset as now I can really benefit from it for the rest of my final module. 

The start of module 3....

So having started my dissertation proposal with a huge case of 'writers block', I am happy to say that I have passed module two and am actually quite happy with how the proposal turned out (although the marks might say otherwise!).

Reading over my feedback from Adesola, a few things have already jumped out at me. 

The first important piece of feedback I was given was to work realistically within the time frame and to not try and set myself an unrealistic challenge. This comment stemmed from the fact that I wrote in my proposal I wanted to interview 6-8 different people. Adesola has advised me to concentrate my time on 4 people and maybe interview them more than once to monitor development. I think my enthusiasm for interviewing more is due to the fact that I love the topic and therefore want to interview as many people as possible! But due to the time frame of the module, I completely agree with this comment and have decided to do a much more focused set of interviews. 

Secondly Adesola commented on my use of literature. While she said my choices were strong and well thought out, she also reminded me that 

It is important to see the literature as supporting your analytical process

This is something that I am a bit nervous about. I have been using the last few weeks to go to the library and further my knowledge of the literature around my topic. While I am very interested in my discoveries, I am also a bit unsure how to use them. I feel that my inquiry will work better if I interview the choreographers first, and then do the literature reviews as this way they will be woven together. However I must use my time wisely and continue to go to the library throughtout the interviews to make use of the time . I am off there today so fingers crossed I discover some worthwhile pieces of writing...

The third point Adeosla talk about is analysis. She says the following...

You suggest using coding to look for themes across the interviews and that you will look at these themes in terms of the literature and of course your own experience. This use of triangulation is key to the inquiry.

This triangulation of analysis is something that I need to constantly remind myself of. At the end of the day, this inquiry is for my own personal benefit and so I must constantly remember to draw on my own experiences and not just make the analysis between the interviews and literature. I'm also hoping this way of thinking will help me weave the literature into my findings. 

Finally, Adesola advises me about how I should see myself in the inquiry. She reminds me that I should not be afraid of the fact that I am in the research and I must use this. 

As you progress in the inquiry do not be afraid of the fact you are IN the research. This is the nature of qualitative research the important point is to be aware of your own presence in what you are doing: finding your voice in the research. After all the heart of the inquiry itself is the same  about understanding where the choreographer is in the choreographic process / understanding where the researcher is in the research process. Locating ‘I’ this will be the most valuable to you across creative processes.

Looking back over all the points from Adesola, I have noticed that there are two themes. This first is to be realistic with your research and plan your time efficiently. This is something that I think I can do well as I am an organised person, and with a slightly altered mind set towards the interviews, I think I can use my time wisely.

The second point made is how I use myself in this inquiry and also how I find my voice in this line of research. This is something I might struggle with more, however is the most valuable. I feel that phrase 'all the gear and no idea' could be applied to me right now. I have all the feedback and resources but I am still a bit unsure of how to actually do the task. However, I have had this feeling at the beginning of both previous modules and eventually I have got the hang of it. My plan is to have a skype session with Adeosla next week to discuss ideas, keep stimulating discussions on the Facebook page and also look over the archive of past blogs to help me kick start module 3.

Wish me luck! 

The Reflective Essay

This is my Reflective Essay for Module 2!

The Award Title

So after giving it much thought, as well as asking opinions of colleges, friends and peers, I think I have decided that I want my award title to be

BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Choreography and Performing Arts)

I feel this award title is suitable for many reasons. Firstly my diploma is a Diploma in Musical Theatre from The Urdang Academy, which already shows I have well rounded training in that area from a very well established vocational school. 

I was originally going to go with the title of Dance, but after much thought I have decided that I am already focusing my career and dissertation on choreography, and feel it will be very beneficial to the direction of my career to have choreography in the award title. 

Finally, I have added performing arts to the title because I want to show the field of work my career is heading, without limiting myself to a specific genre. I felt 'choreography' on it's was too vague, but together with 'performing arts' clearly shows what my strengths are without being too specific. 

6a. The planning of my 'piloting'

Having read through reader 6 a few times I have realised that there are a few things that I need to be aware of when piloting my research. I have also had some initial ideas about what methods of research may be most useful for my inquiry.

Punch states that there is a distinct difference between methods of research; the qualitative approach and the quantitative approach. Black then goes on to describe the difference between these two methods by saying that quantitative research is quite good at telling us what is happening, and often qualitative studies are better at determining why events occur. A good example of  quantitative research is a survey as you can find results from a broad range of people. However, when thinking about my area of research I feel that I want to focus more specifically on individual choreographers. The reason for this is because I am focusing on the choreographer and their individual choreographic process which requires interviews with various specific people. I then want to focus on each person and compare and question their methods. I will be piloting a survey over the next few weeks, and so I will at this stage keep an open mind as to whether I use this method in my final proposal, but I feel it unlikely.

When thinking about the interview method I must be very aware of the ethics involved around interviewing someone. I must also take into account people's personal backgrounds as this information could affect my research. The reader talks about interview structures and from reading them all I think I will mainly use the following:

* A semi- structured interview which includes set questions or themes with the flexibility of following interesting or useful emerging issues.  

The reason for this is because my inquiry is so focused on the individual I want to be able to give the person I am interviewing freedom to elaborate and delve further into points, but want to ensure the interview doesn't lose focus. 

I must be aware of using open questions wherever possible to ensure my questions are answered with enough depth. 

Although interviews will probably be my main way of researching, Punch reminds us that different questions require different methods to answer them. Having looked into the section about focus groups, I now feel that this may also be a method I may want to use in my inquiry. I have a few friends with who I graduated from the Urdang Academy with, who are now working as dance teachers. I feel it may be interesting to interview them all together as this atmosphere can open up issues that individual participants may not think about on their own. I think focus groups are a good way to get a more quantitative approach but still allowing space for people to speak openly and freely about their experiences. I must be aware of the issue Bell raises about being aware that strong personalities can 'also influence, and in some cases actually take over', but I feel that because I know these people this shouldn't be a problem.

Observation was the method of research that sparked my interest in this topic. For the last few months I have been documenting my findings from observing various choreographers. Some of my documentation is more detailed than other parts, but I feel some of it may be able to be used in my investigation. I think observation will be useful for my inquiry as because my occupation is so physical it is always helpful to watch people 'practice what they preach'. However, when observing I must be aware of the role I play as sometimes I may be involved in the project as well. Reflexivity is a term used in social science to signify that the researcher needs to try and be 'as objective as possible'.  It is very important that I take this idea seriously as I want my research to be as genuine as possible. Linking to this idea of reflexivity is that of reliability, a concept developed by Blaxter to ensure constant results are created. In other words, that my results would be similar to those of another researcher. 

In conclusion there is a lot for my to think about when it comes to the methods of research I think appropriate for my inquiry. I am very keen on getting set of results which are detailed around specific individuals rather than a sweeping view from lots of people. But the piloting exercise will be a good way for my to reflect on the pros and cons of each method to make my final decision. 

5c. The reader and professional ethics

Now that I have thought about ethics strictly from my own point of view, I have been advised to look at it using reader 5 and  focus on how my ideas compare.

How does what you have discovered fit in with the ethics of professional inquiry and how does what you have learnt fit into the theoretical ethical framework? 

When concerning ethics, the first thing I have become aware of is, as a free lance choreographer my own personal morals and values are hugely important. The reader talk about ethics having origins in the Greek word ethos, which means character, and then goes on the state that it has further roots in moral philosophy. In order for me to have good, strong and fair professional ethics, my 'moral compass' must be strong as I am not attached to any sort of society or organisation, so therefore do not have a code of conduct laid out by anyone but myself. The importance of your own personal ethics are recognised in most situations because however rooted you are in your place of work how you feel and deal with situations affect each individual person. This idea is demonstrated perfectly using the following diagram. 

This diagram clearly shows the ripple effect your personal views have on your work, the job/ place you are working and then the audience receiving it. 

I developed this idea further by thinking about the fact that personal ethics can be informed by many sources- family values, religion, conscience. As a choreographer I could be asked to work on a project where my own personal views could determine whether I take it or not. A hypothetical situation is I could be asked to work on a piece of dance that is very disrespectful of God and may go against my Christian background. In this situation I would have to decide what was more important to me, my own morals, or the morals of my professional career. 

This personal/ professional debate was questioned in reader 5, under case study two, whereby Kevin Carter chose to let a child die because the ethical role and duty of a photographer is to observe and not interfere. From reading about this, I have learnt that I must be very aware in my professional inquiry that there maybe areas of sensitivity that I have to be aware of. In other words, I must be careful when asking questions that I don't make people question too much their own personal ethics to the point they feel uncomfortable. This case study also made me aware of the grey areas in ethics, and led me on to a debate talked about a lot in reader 5 which also can have grey areas; the debate about honesty. 

Aristotle believed that virtue is a character trait manifested in habitual action. This idea is then further explained using the example of honesty, and how honestly is not something you can't switch on and off, it is ingrained in your personality. Relating this idea to my field of work, there are points in my career already where my honest personality has been challenged and I have had to lie. I believe I have done this to avoid hurting peoples feelings and to stop potential arguments. In other words for the greater good, a theory

explored by Jeremy Bentham and JS Mill. Utilitarianism is described in the Oxford dictionary as the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.* I think this theory is very apparent in the musical theatre/ dance industry in general. People are not always honest, for example "you didn't get that part because you were too tall", when really the reality may be they were a terrible singer! However what good would it do to upset that persons feelings? Aristotle would argue that by lying to the person they are under false pretenses that they are a good singer and it is doing far more damage not telling them than if someone was honest. However I think this example just demonstrates how grey ethics can sometimes be. Table one in the reader shows the three approaches to lying:

* Consequentialist: Could be acceptable for the greater good

* Deontologist: Always wrong

* Virtue Ethicist: Moral behavior and character as important as action

I believe all three of these ideas have a place in my profession. An example of me using consequentialist lying is me changing a dance routine in a show because the person can't execute it properly but also could avoid injury. By telling them about the injury side, but not necessarily focusing on the fact they can't do the move well, I am helping them but not upsetting them. 

An example of lying being deontologist is my lying to someone and telling them they have been cast in the show and they haven't. In all situations if someone hasn't been cast I should never tell them that they have. 

Finally an example of  virtue ethicist is me giving someone critical feedback after an audition and even suggesting I help them on areas they are struggling with. In doing this I am being honest about their weaknesses but I am offering to help as my personality is very conscientious. 

The debate between the law vs morals is another area I found I could relate to my field of work. Platos theory that ethics draws upon a sense of perception is an interesting idea. In other words, a rule which might not be acceptable in one profession is perfectly acceptable in another. A good example of this is ballet and ballet teachers. Over the years ballet teachers have had the reputation of being incredibly strict, and even using harsh methods of teaching and physical means to make students do what they require. However, against the law of today, teachers are no longer allowed to touch students, unless it is really necessary and are certainly not allowed to hurt them. Do ballet teachers today go against a tradition that has produced excellent ballet dancers in the past, or do they have to go with the new set of rules of today? This grey area is something that as a choreographer I could come up against. The methods of teaching dancers are different to that of many other teachers, and I must always be careful that while I want the best possible outcomes for my students, I mustn't do anything that could affect my career and get me into trouble. 

This theory nicely links on to table 2; professional types. This table shows the distinction between different professions and for me raises the question as to whether you are better qualified for your job through experience or qualifications. This is something as dance teachers is regularly debated. Throughout November I am covering classes at Chichester University even though I don't have a P.G.C.E or dance teaching qualifications. However the table demonstrates that what professionals have (whatever the type (consulting, scholarly or professional)) is the ability to 'profess' and know better than their clients and therefore claim exclusive right to practice. So if I take this literally then I have every right to teach as my experience means I know more than the students I am teaching. 

The final area that I found I could fit in with my professional inquiry is that of negotiation. The diagram below is a good way to show how personal ethics, professional code and employer expectation should all try and work together in order to create a good working environment.

This is something that is very important as a choreographer as quite often you work as part of a creative team all with different visions and ideas, and you have to learn to somehow work all together. In addition to this, you also have to learn to negotiate with the students in the room. This is something I have learnt a lot about working at Chickenshed Theatre. Because my dance background has always been very regimented and technical I was taught that there was almost a right and wrong way to dance. However by working at Chickenshed I have learnt that this is not the case, and therefore I have had to completely later my perspective. I have altered my way of teaching, approaching and choreographing and have negotiated with them to find a way to access their style of dance which works for me. This section in the reader really prompted me to realise and also made me see that negotiation in any form of work is a vital ethical idea to work by. Non negotiation is the reason for the breakdown of friendships,companies and even starts wars. By relating it to my field of work I am making it accessible for me. 

Bringing everything I have learnt together, ethics is a very complex topic. There are a lot of theories explored around it and yet there is not a right or a wrong answer. However, with the nature of this course this way of debating fits perfectly as drawing specific conclusions are not the aim, but rather discovering finding and learning are.
Developing the ideas in reader 5 and then relating them to myself as a choreographer have allowed me to make sense of certain situations that have happened to me in the past and also be aware of things that may happen in the future. I found especially the section on honesty was very interesting as there have been times where I haven't known whether I'm doing the right thing, but by reading further into the topic I can see that I am only doing the right thing in some people's eyes and not in others. This I think will help me be less worried in the future and more confident in my decisions.
In terms of my professional inquiry and how I use what I have discovered, I can see that when writing my proposal there is a lot more factors to think about that I first thought. For example people's own personal views and backgrounds must be taken into consideration as they have a big effect on their professional career. I must be careful when asking questions that I don't put anyone in an uncomfortable position.  This is something I hadn't thought about until I began this topic. Another area is that of qualification. The debate about experience vs qualifications when teaching was something I was keen to debate. However, from looking at table 2 in the reader and making so much sense of it, I am not sure I am so bothered by it. I still want to investigate the area but maybe not put so much focus on it.
Finally I have learnt that so many of the ethics I have researched and related to can be put into any job or situation. The following four especially stood out to me as universal:
* The idea that your personal ethics greatly affect your professional ones
* Negotiation is the key to making most places of work/ relationships work
* Honestly is something that should be used as frequently as possible but in the right context
* The law/ rules can sometimes compromise/ question your ethics and morals

I feel that I now need to re look at my inquiry with this new perspective and I will probably find things have slightly altered!

*http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/utilitarianism