Task 2d: Inquiry

What in your daily practice are you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?
As a trained performer I am very inspired by other professional dancers singers and actors, I get great joy out of watching YouTube clips and find it a great way to lift my spirits on a bad day, recently all over facebook my dancer friend have been sharing one particular dance clip which is really inspirational to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14p7tkbZ1Sw

Watching videos like this really make me remember why I love my chosen career path so much! The talent is unreal!
Kristen Chenoweth is someone who I admire and have admired for many years! She is the definition of a triple threat! I first found out about her when I bought the original 'Wicked' soundtrack. Kristen was the first Glenda and since then I have always followed her. One of my most favourite performances of hers was when she sung 'Taylor the Latte Boy' her comic timing is just perfect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXS0nEOx_20
Kristen is performing at the Royal Albert hall in July and me and my mum are looking into buying tickets. Going to the theatre is the a hobby of mine with gets me the most enthusiastic about my passion. There's no better feeling after watching a musical, its inspiring, spirit-lifting and feel good!

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around this sadness or anger?
In my dance practice, one thing that gets me angry is when professional companies expect dancers to work for free! We have trained most of our lives to make a living out of something we are passionate about, we have worked our hardest in the hope of being on stage and performing to hundreds and thousand of people, but this is something that some companies can take advantage of, they advertise it at good exposure and experience. I read recently that Kylie Minogue's dancers were expected to work for free as they didn't have money in there budget to cover the extra costs.
This is something that we as are seeing too often, not only in dance but across all performing arts. The sad part is that people are so desperate to get themselves seen by anyone possible that they will work under these circumstances, which really undermines those that are wanting this as a profession. Organisations expect people to work for little to no pay at all just because this is something we love; and that's not sustainable in any industry.
I admire all the performers in this industry who refuse to work for less than the Equity rate. Equity, the trade union for the performing arts, has negotiated minimum weekly pay rates with the Independent Theatre Council of £420.
'As a leading industry organisation, Equity is known and respected nationally and internationally for the work we do with, and on behalf of, our members working across all areas of the entertainment industry.'- Equity website.

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or an example of what you love?
I love the excitement and variety of what this industry has to offer. The hundreds of different avenues and journeys performing arts can lead to. We are so lucky to have such a wide range of skills that not only lead to performance but also many other different career paths. As we all know, dancing is not something we can do forever and there are many things we can do in the future which is connected to our qualifications, even more so now I am on the BAPP course I have opened many more doors of opportunities, the world is our oyster and that is the beauty of this amazing industry.
I admire all the people I have been lucky to work with throughout my dancing life. Especially my dance teacher who taught me from the age of 3-17, she always believed in me and instilled the love in dance that I still strongly have to this day. All of the staff and professions I have been privileged to have met whilst at college, who always gave off an infectious enthusiastic energy, all these people have been the inspiration for me to achieve and continue my love for my chosen profession.

What do you feel you don't understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions to you?
The thing I don't understand about this industry is how you go to an audition and can do amazingly well, I once got down to the final 4 dancers for the Royal Caribbean cruise ship for Chicago, I felt a great sense of achievement and it gave me tons of confidence, even though I was unsuccessful in getting the contract. So obviously I went along to the next one, it was the exact same cruise ship and show, they even did the same audition sequence; but this time I was cut in the first round! How can that be right? A few months earlier I was so close to the end and then that happens?
Time and time again I see people getting picked for parts and I just don't see why they have been chosen. Throughout my training teachers always had their 'favourites' they weren't necessarily the most talented students, but for some reason or another they got given better opportunities and I just didn't understand why, I would find it so frustrating. Why wasn't it me? What have I done wrong? And this is just something that will never ever change in this industry, sayings such as 'its who you know' how can that come above roar and pure talent? I suppose we will never be able to answer this, different companies and organisations will like different things. What someone may hate, somebody else could love and that will never change.
I have had this debate with my mum many times, crying down the phone asking her why. My mum is a great believer in fate and says that everything happens for a reason, this is something I now strongly believe in and it has really helped me to come to terms with all the knock backs and look towards the future instead of dwelling on the past.

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response to give in a situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? For example, what level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?
I think its very important to act and respond in a particular way depending on the situation, for example the way you might approach a teacher at college would be different to the way you would speak and approach your fellow students. Its crazy how some teachers at college felt its was okay to be so cruel and nasty to students. They said it was a way of toughening us up for the outside world, but being personal and down right rude was definitely not necessary or helpful. I think it's really important to have a healthy relationship between student and teacher, and by this I mean a friendly and respectful one, but the way I witnessed some teachers behaving at college was not respectful to students, yet they expected the upmost respect of each and every student.
Growing up in the dance world, I have always been very confident and open about getting changed infront of people, during quick changes in shows there is no time to be embarrassed when you have 20 seconds to change, I suppose this is something you wouldn't find in many other professions but we have no other option. I also think as dancers we are very open with our feeling and not afraid to show affection and physical contact. Doing paux de deux at college meant we had to be confident in working in partners and not to let it phase us or worry us.