MY PREZI

Here is the slideshow I used for my final presentation. I highly recommend using Prezi, there are so many themes to choose from, you are able to design something that is really unique to your inquiry.

I hope that by posting this up, it will help others who are in need of guidance- just like I was! It made a huge difference for me to see the format other students had used and find ways of structuring my presentation that put my point across clearly and concisely. Practising in front of friends or family is a good idea, you wouldn't believe how easy it is to lose your train of thought when you're in front of an audience.

Good Luck!

Presentation Day!

So the end of this journey has arrived, and it has seemed rather a long journey! There have been so many highs and lows during this course for me, but I can safely say that I made it over the final hurdle! 

Presenting my inquiry was nerve-racking, and I honestly wasn't sure if all the words I wanted to say were coming out of my mouth. As a dancer, performing to a huge theatre full of people you've never met seems easy, whilst  presenting in front of a small room of people you already know is incredibly challenging! 

I felt a sense of relief afterwards, and also a great sense of achievement in the room, as we continued to discuss each others inquiries. Listening to other students presentations was hugely inspiring and also interesting to see how many of our inquiry findings had overlapped or inter-connected in some way.

I wanted to attach this quote as it just highlighted to me how stuck I had become before I came back to complete this course. I was scared to change anything about my life, but couldn't understand why my career wasn't going in the direction I had hoped? I genuinely think that allowing myself to take on this challenge has opened my eyes to change and how much progress you can make by just taking a small leap of faith now and again. I hope that I will use the skills I've learnt to continue to improve, change and grow in my practice, whatever my practice may be in the future. 

Thank you to Paula, my tutor, for helping me to return to the course, and guiding me through this process with so much insight and enthusiasm! And last but never least, thank you to my wonderful husband for cheering me up when times were tough and always understanding the pressures of part-time study! x

Professional Artefact

Submission Done!

I finally pressed the 'send submission' button and it was all out of my hands! (In all honesty my housemate had to do it as I was too nervous!) It's funny how so many months, and in my case years, of attempting to achieve something can actually be almost finished! I can honestly say that I have come so far with my practice as a professional individual during this inquiry process, it feels overwhelming! I'm already beginning too think about putting together the upcoming oral presentation and particularly contemplating possible changes in my career path... This course has given me a confidence, I feel that I can go onto achieve anything I put my mind to, however big a challenge it seems to begin with. Will be posting up my artefact shortly! 

Pay The Dancers!

Today, I was made aware of this video created by commercial dancers based in Australia, that have chosen to speak out about a particular high profile instance of 'low to no pay' work in order to create awareness for the endemic that is occurring within the dance industry. 

The video has huge relevance towards my inquiry as the issue of 'low to no pay' work is often excused by high profile clients as 'good exposure' or 'experience' on a set with celebrity artists. The celebrities are very often not to blame for this, as they play little part in recruitment, however the dancers are very much exploited by the employers themselves. 

The issue of ‘Enforcement,’ means that dancers feel unable to speak up and assert themselves due to a lack of confidence in their employment rights and the fear of insecurity during short-term contracts: ‘Across the economy many workers with minimum wage problems are often too scared to assert their rights.’ (Equity, 2013)

Empowerment when it comes to saying no to ‘low to no pay’ work is only likely to be obtained by the strength of union therefore our reliance on Equity to fight with the government for better enforcement of employment rights is imperative. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfippeabpAg

Equity UK, 2013. Work Not Play: The rise in Low Pay and No Pay work in the entertainment industries. (PDF) Available at: < http://www.equity.org.uk/documents/work-not-play-brochure/ > (Accessed 15 February 2014).

HAPPY EASTER!

I am sat working on my review while eating a ton of chocolate!

Easter is brilliant, however this one is involving some heavy thinking... I am struggling with how to put together my artefact at the moment, has anyone finished theirs and have any advice?  

Finalist Workshop- Module 3

I attended a finalist workshop this week with Paula, Lizzy, Sophie and Carla (on Skype!) I thought I would quickly share some of the points that I found helpful from the session...

Appendices: Should be part of the Critical Review Document, not separate documents, and is put directly after the Bibliography. Can include a title/contents page in order to list what appendices are included. If you are struggling with too many words in the main text, try and put larger descriptive paragraphs/ full literature review within the appendices.

Word Count: If you are having difficulty being concise, don't worry! The word count is indicative anyway but its better to include everything into your first few drafts for feedback from your advisor. This feedback will help with being more specific. It is better to have less points in greater detail than hundreds of points that are unexplained.

Literature: Should be around 10-20 sources of literature within your WHOLE review. This includes any quotes/literature you use in the Intro and Evaluation sections too. In some cases, it may have been difficult to find enough literature for your topic (I'm talking about myself here!)...this doesn't matter as long as the sources you have found are substantial and highly relevant.

Artefact: If you haven't started working on your artefact or decided what you are going to create: now is the time to start brainstorming and make a decision. Remember its for your professional audience and should be 'meaty' and make an impact on the audience. Try to think about what your audience wants or needs to see. For example, if you are directing your artefact towards sixteen year olds- think about the music/ content/ images/ language they would be interested in.

Writing Style: Write in the past tense when discussing your inquiry, it is research you have already completed and analysed. This may seem obvious but wasn't to me! Also, be assertive within your writing, show your interest and enthusiasm for your topic. Separate big blocks of writing out into paragraphs as much as possible, and only separate and indent quotes that are longer than a sentence.

Analysis: Make your point and back it up. Use expert knowledge and quotes to do this. These ideas may be a work in progress- there is not always a simple conclusion to every point you make, this doesn't matter.

Hope this helps in some way! Paula has also posted information from the session on her blog too.

x