Task 2D - Inquiry

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find more about? Who do you admire who also makes you enthusiastic?

I love to choreograph, this is a real passion that i want to take on further when I have finished my performing career. I am really lucky to have to opportunity whist on board to, along with my fellow cast members, choreograph and put together a bumper show that will be performed on the theaters 'dark night' on the 8 day cruises. Although the style of the show will me more typical Jazz with elements of cabaret and burlesque which is not the style I would naturally choreograph in but will be a great experience to learn from other cast members about their style. I naturally use contemporary for the basis of my choreography as I like to create abstract pieces of work that make the audience think and means they have a lot to look at on stage. I would like to find more about how physiology like to how a dancer performed. We have had quite a few issues already in my current contract that have meant a lot of feelings have been flying around and situations arising. I would like to see how issues outside of work effect issues inside and compare this to other jobs inside and outside of the artistic industry. I would love to connect these two ideas and see how I can explore this idea though dance and how I can get an audience to think about these issues. A choreographer I really admire is Wayne McGregor he looked in to the idea of how the body created movement, how the nervous system and the brain sent messages to the muscles to create the shapes. He collaborated with Cambridge University to research this before starting to choreograph. My cousin also introduced me to a few interesting ideas from her course where she majored in Philosophy. I also think these would be interesting to look into through choreography.

What makes you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who share your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?

It makes me angry that people think that those working in the arts profession are not as intellectually capable as those working in an office for example. The stereo type of dancers being thick is really frustrating especially when you think that they have to remember choreography, retain the details, perform, use reflection in action  as well as reflecting after. I don't think I can pinpoint just one person who feels this, I think that this is the general consensus across the whole of the performing arts industry. 

What do you love about what you do? who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

I love performing and choreographing just as much as each other. I love feeling that I am giving the audience a part of myself when I perform and the enjoyment they get from watching me. With choreography I love to experiment, be that with different themes, shapes, musicality I am really eager to explore how I can get the audience interested and thinking about what I am trying to put across. Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker seems to also love this, she experiments with the use of cannon, creating seemingly complex timings that come together in moments of connection. She also still loves to perform so occasionally will choreograph herself into her pieces.  

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 question as you?

There are a lot of thingsI don't think i understand. On a business level I don't understand what is entailed with being self employed, I don't understand how tax's work or how they effect me, what am I meant to do with them, I don't understand the running of a business. However, I have never had to deal with these sorts of things, I know I will need to look at it and learn about it at some point in the future as it will be relevant to me but right now I don't feel it is relevant to me work to make an inquiry about it.  On a more academic level, I don't understand how the mind works and I am very interested in the psychology and even sociology of the dancers working environment, be that on a sip, in a company or as a free lance performer or teacher. As I have said previously Wayne McGregor has looked at this in depth and has created pieces of dance to explore further in to his study, I think he has made the research process very interesting by gathering his knowledge to create a beautiful piece of art. 

From looking at my answers to these questions I can see a few possible lines of inquiry emerging:

Psychology of dancers in the workplace and outside

Sociology within different working environments for dancers

Philosophy 

The way different choreographers research or look in to subject matters

At the moment I feel these lines of inquiry are very broad so I need to research a little in to each to find specific ideas I want to research in to depth.