Breaking Pointe- Part 2

There were various approaches the dancers had to overcome the challenges they were facing. For instance:

·      When the last show came round: Now they have to give it all they got. Although the dancers were physically and mentally exhausted, it showed that having a specific mindset helps to get through it all.

·      During the performance challenges:

o   You can't get hung up on it, you just got to keep on going…If you had a bad performance you have to put it away.

o   Just need to get out there and do what I know I can do, not get caught up in the wrong things

o   Everybody freaks out during out this time...se we all have to pull it together, no time for drama. Just focus.

·      Believing helps! Ronnie found that you need to believe you are perfection from head to toe, as it is your time to shine. Adam believed that Allison has a technical capacity that she might not feel she has

 

Breaking Pointe

Breaking Pointe is a documentary series about the life of a dancer with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. It covers all the hardships of a ballet dancer, showing the behind scenes of the emotional stresses they face. However through all the drama and struggles, they express why they go through it all:

Ballet is a beauty unlike anything else I have known, but there’s a side that no one else ever sees. We train more hours than an Olympic athlete. We suffer physical pain and shocking injuries. In a cutthroat world that fears competition. There’s rivalry and relationships. To be the best it takes passion, sacrifice and obsession. Why do we do it? We do it for that one chance, to have that one moment on stage where everything comes together. We do it to be perfect.

There are a few scenarios that are carried out during the whole of the series, portraying the struggles of dealing with being perfect, the physical challenges which affect the mind, jealousy and rejection, injuries, pressures from the directorship, professionalism and relationships (to name a few).  

Another inspirational blog

Touring life can be tough, especially when trying to find time and energy in between each show and many hours spent on the bus. Luckily I have enough inspiration to work on the odd bit here and there on the tour bus...might as well get a few things down. A great way to reflect too, listen to my group discussions so far and analyse on Evernote, and read. Recently I have discovered the most fitting as well as uplifting website for my inquiry, and for myself!

Pointe Magazine

I have sourced a few articles from Suzanne Friscia’s blog on the online version of Pointe Magazine, which include fun tips based on scientific or academic studies, for a dancer’s general health and well-being.  

1)Enhancing one’s mood- according to a recent study published in the Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, walking in a happier more upbeat style enhances better moods than walking in a slower and more depressed style.

Tip-“Previous research has already shown that our mood can affect the way we walk, but these results suggest that the opposite is also true. So the next time a difficult rehearsal is getting you down, hold your head high and put a little extra spring in your step as you walk to your next class. It might just give you the boost you need.” (Friscia, S. 2015)

2) Mind over matter: her analysation of a research project on the power of the mind and how it affects muscular strength, shows that imagery and the concept of mind and body connection is an important aspect in coping with an adversity. The adversity used here is injury.

Tip- “So even if you're recovering, or resting between seasons, keep picturing the strong, powerful movement you plan to get back to. It may have more of an effect than you think.”

Campus Session M3- 16/03/2015

For the first time I was able to make a Campus session carried out by Paula. This session gave me the opportunity to reflect on everything I had done (picture)¨as well as making a checklist of what the next inquiry stages should be.

Only Ruth and I could make it. However it worked out well as we could really focus on and discuss our topics together in detail through the different stages of writing up the inquiry process.

Step 1

We first started by our journey and experiences in our work practice whilst starting the BAPP course, which brought up ideas for our professional inquiry. We then explained what our project is about, whilst the other wrote notes on our plan and intentions. This brought up ideas on what to add into the introduction of the critical review. For example:

·      My experiences of rejection, tough times, disappointments etc. in my career lead me to the topic of my inquiry in investigating how to keep emotionally resilient though the adversities in the professional ballet industry. These events lead me to dancing with Cape Town City Ballet and currently Vienna Festival Ballet, which shows that the saying “when one door closes another one opens” is true.

·      The fact that I didn’t give up when disappointed showed some sort of resilience, and so I was curious to see where the thought of this ‘inner drive’ and sensation would take me.

This exercise was a good time to self-reflect, thinking back on how to put things right and change things for the better. I was able to conclude one of the main intentions of my inquiry, which is for my readers and audience to be able to relate to it and to the personal experiences of the dancers and of my own.

Two main questions in this section to consider:

What are you doing?

Why are you doing it?