refining inquiry ideas

It's been so difficult to decide what I want to base my inquiry on. Has anybody else found that they have had so many ideas that have taken them off on so many different tangents?! Starting off with performing and management I began speaking to other people and developing my ideas. I realised that management is something that I would really like to consider toward the end of my dancing carer but it's not relevant to my work right now and there's a lot more that I need and want to learn about the performing side of the dance industry before I move forward down the management route. Getting stuck into the ethics part of the module I discovered how strongly I feel about things being done in the correct way. It made me think over many situations in my life, not just dance that may not have been ethically dealt with in the right way. The fact that so many rules are "unwritten" due to many aspects such as culture, religion and even personal opinions made me want to delve further and further into the subject of ethics alone. I considered inquiring into ethics and how well different companies adhere to their policies and how different their standards and expectations were from one another but this would have been such a broad subject and so controversial. As ethics is a lot to do with people's decisions would the inquiry have been a benefit to performers such as myself? I continued chatting to others and asking questions and I felt my survey helped to pin point other problems. A big (or small if your lucky) part of a dancers life is injury. At some point in your career as a dancer it is likely that you will sustain an injury of some kind. Even the most minor of injuries can cause a lot of frustration. This lead me to my inquiry idea of "Dancers working through injury". What support is available out there for dancers with injury? What can be done to prevent it? What can be done to help cope with it? I feel that ethics will play a great part in the inquiry. Different employers may expect different things. If dancers know what to expect, how to deal with their injury, how to help prevent future injury then I feel this will benefit them a great deal possibly even help to extend their performing life. I also thought that it would be good for me to see from a dancers point of view the support that is needed or expected? What doesn't happen? This will help me in the future on the management side of the industry. Hopefully my inquiry will help me find the best ways to keep my dancers in shape and help them through injury when I need to. Does anyone else feel that they will benefit from this inquiry? I'd like to hear from you

Pilot Survey

Hi everyone so this is my pilot survey if any of you would mind taking a minute to try it out it would be greatly appreciated, thank you http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZJMPFYR  or do it here:

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Discussions

Hi guys, are there any good discussions going on? I really want to get stuck in but there doesn't seem to be a lot happening on linked in, maybe I just can't find it? How are everyone's ideas for inquiry's inquiry plans going?  Get in touch! x

Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin

Hi everyone, I've just got back from a visit to Berlin. I was supposed to be auditioning for the Friedrichstadt- Palast but found out that I had just got my new job pretty much as soon as I'd booked the flights to go over there. I ummed and ahhed about going to the audition but in the end decided against it. Although it would have been a great experience for me to go and be seen I knew they were looking for people to start in July and so I didn't want to waste their time and also I didn't know if it was really allowed. Maybe the company I'm about to go and work for wouldn't have been very pleased if they'd found out I'd been auditioning elsewhere. I'm not sure, I think it's another one of those "unwritten rules"!
Anyway, I decided seeing as I was there to get tickets to see the show...well... it was the most amazing show I have ever seen!
The theatre was just beautiful! The set, the costumes, the lighting - there had been no expense spared. The auditorium was full and the tickets weren't exactly cheap! It made me wonder how it's thriving so well when there are so many theatres and companies in crisis at the moment.
The choreography in most numbers was stunning and the dancers technique was exquisite. The style of the dancing is a fusion really of Jazz contemporary and ballroom but all the dancers have a strong classical base and it showed. There was not one dancer who let the cast down and it was a big cast. We counted 31 girls in the most stunning kick line before the interval and they were so clean and perfect it was so inspiring. The stage was huge when the curtain went up at the beginning the dancers looked so far away and then the moving stage bought them forwards... just fabulous. There was aerial work which took my breath away. My heart was in my mouth when a couple on the straps did amazing lifts high above the stage and the band was live which was the icing on the cake for the show.
I really urge you visit the website http://www.show-palace.eu/en/ and there's a little promo on there to give you a taster. If you're ever in Berlin you must visit!

Task 5c

I have come across so many different ideas about ethics which I can understand from different points of view. I feel that this task is going to be ongoing into the inquiry as every situation is going to be different. What may be ethical to one person may be unethical to someone else or to the organisation in which the person is working. This could be due to many factors including: race, religion, sexual orientation etc. An example of this that I found in the reader is about nursing and religion and how a nurse may have to take part in an abortion procedure where this may go against the ethics of Christianity.

This is a problem that I feel that I will be sure to see in my line of inquiry, that people will often disagree with the ethics of their work as they go against their own personal ethics. Sometimes a compromise will have to be made and the ethics, either personal or professional may have to be gone against to reach an agreement.

I can now see that conducting the Professional inquiry is going to be difficult as there are going to be many different people to consider and the ethics may vary from one person to another. I don’t want my opinion to offend others who I am possibly going to be basing my inquiry on or distort their views. I need to also be open to the reasons people may have the opinions they do and why they may be different to my own. The reader helped me to discover this when it talks about the different theoretical approaches to ethics: Deontology, consequentialism and virtue ethics.

Thinking carefully about the different theories of ethics made me question what I live by. Consequensialism is a tough one to follow. If the action is a POSITIVE action for a better outcome then I would like to think that I would do something positive for the greater good. However it would be difficult for me not to do something or do something NEGATIVE for example “Kill one person in order to save 9 other people” (course reader 2012) because personally I believe it is ethically wrong to kill so I’m not sure if I would be able to do it or not even though I knew it would be for the greater good.  

This is not to say that I live by the theory of Deontology because sometimes I believe you do need to do something that is “not good” for something to happen. The reader uses the idea of lying and I would agree with the virtue ethics and place it as a “middle man” between Consequentialism and Deontology as it is about doing what you think is morally right that will contribute towards your character.

 I think that it’s easy to say what you think you would do in a certain situation but maybe you would act differently in the moment. I think that the actions that we do come from inside, we know what is right and wrong because we feel like we need to act in certain ways.

A quote from the reader that I thought summed everything up was “Now,university lecturers report that their fresh faced new students take it as obvious that there is no such thing as the “the truth” and that morality is relative.” (Julian Baggini, The Guardian, 14^th April 2007). Worldly circumstances are constantly changing, so what might be right at one time may be different at another.

 The reader has helped me to learn about analysing ethics when I come across problems regarding them in my inquiry and put them in a perspective that can be viewed from different angles.

When writing up my inquiry and interviewing people I need to be very careful of the terminology that I use. I need to “adhere to sound ethical practice” (Course reader 2012) and make sure that I don’t offend anybody for any reason. This will also create a trust between myself and the participant. I need them to know that the inquiry is truly professional and in turn make sure that it is as professional as possible.

I will need my inquiry to be a benefit to the people I am interviewing so that they will understand why they are being interviewed. If the inquiry is of no benefit then they may argue that there is no reason for them to take part as they are getting nothing out of it. There must be a valid reason for interviewing people.

Data confidentiality is another thing that was discussed at the campus session. As students we are going to have to be so responsible for the privacy of others who we are collecting the data from. This is a huge responsibility and one that we will have to be careful to go about in the correct way.

Has anyone else found that the ethics tasks have lead to many thoughts? I have found my ideas running away with themselves and it’s been difficult to stay focussed on the inquiry. Ethics are such a major subject and possibly something that I would like to look further into in the future.

task 5b

5b

This was a difficult task as at first I didn’t know where to look. At first I tried to look up different dance companies but realised that of course I wouldn’t be able to find actual contracts between employer and employee as these are confidential to the two parties.

Instead I read over my previous contracts and looked at other websites of companies that I’m a part of. I looked at many online communities including Facebook and Linkedin a site that many of us have just joined. I read over their terms and policies and realised that ethics are at the heart of how the companies are run and that many of the rules are there for ethical reasons.

For example on Facebook you are not allowed to post information that is discriminative or offensive to other users.

I really wasn’t very surprised at some of the rules. They did however make me think about the boundaries. The rules are there but they can be pushed and it made me wonder where exactly the line is.

I reported a video on Facebook as it showed violent behaviour towards a member of the public. From the upload date and the comments it had been there a while yet no one had done anything about it.

If I hadn’t reported the video would it still be on the site? Has Facebook become so large that the owners don’t know what information is being uploaded? If so how can they get away with their terms of service if they aren’t keeping up their half of the deal?

I found this particular video offensive but would others?  

Maybe my ethical opinion is different from the person who had uploaded the video, who maybe did not think the video was inappropriate?

This also made me think about other companies especially larger companies. Many large companies boast high ethical standards, but how is the CEO of a major company supposed to know if one of his members of staff for example a supervisor is being unethical to other workers?

My point is that because many ethical rules are unwritten or the boundaries are un-clear can unethical behaviour be excused for a misunderstanding?

I was surprised that I had not thought about Privacy and confidentiality.

Every company has a strict privacy policy whereby they will not share any of your details with other companies/ third parties unless you say so.

This also applies on social networking sites as well as within the work place.

 You are also under contract not to share details of others or the company and in a contract that you sign when you start a new job. You agree that your job within the company shall be terminated if you do this.

The contracts that I viewed were also very strict on rules regarding health and safety in the work place. Responsibilities on contracts are listed and you agree on your contract that if you do not adhere to these rules and responsibilities that the company has the right to terminate your contract.

In conclusion it appears that Privacy, health and safety are quite clear cut, but more personal ethical rules are difficult to define and this is where I think it seems problems can occur.

Does anybody agree/ disagree?

New Job!

Hi there everyone!
I've been auditioning since I've been home and have been offered a new job to start in April. (YAY!) I'm finally going to be on land (so no chance of sinking!) and working with a different company which is really exciting.
It's made me think about my inquiry and it's relevance to myself and I thought about inquiring into joining a new company.
Any thoughts?
Hope module 2 is going well for everyone, so much has gone up on the blogs I'm trying to keep up and comment!
Emily

Task 5a

Without taking into consideration any official rules in my professional community there are many “unwritten rules” that myself and many of my other colleagues would use as a guidance of the way we work.

I think that many of these rules stem from personal ethics that we are brought up with and that many of the core points are to do with being polite and having respect for one another. We spoke about personal and professional ethics at the Campus session and how they are sometimes difficult to separate as many of the personal ethics are used under professional circumstances as well.

There has to be a mutual respect among the Dancers and between them and the Choreographer/ Manager.

For example:

Arriving punctually

Being prepared for what you are about to do

Listening to what you are being told to do and putting it in to practice

Trying your best and working to the best of your ability

Helping out where necessary

Being polite to each other and helping each other out.

There should also be equal opportunities and no discrimination against people for reasons such as race, gender etc...

These are rules that I would call personal as they extend far beyond any professional organisation and into our everday life.

Other ethics that I think apply solely to my practice are:

Following the correct etiquette

Turning up looking neat and tidy e.g nice hair and make up, professional attire (no holes in tights, clean shoes...) Don’t sit down on the floor during rehearsals- practice!

Being treated equally and fairly within the company by the employer.

Treating colleagues fairly and abiding by the other stipulated rules of the company.

I think it will be interesting to see if there are other important ethics that I haven’t perhaps thought about.

Awards Title

The award I seek as a result of doing this programme is BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Professional Dance.

After studying for three years for a National Diploma in Professional Dance at Northern Ballet School I have successfully been performing in the industry for over three years in many high quality production shows on board cruise ships which have helped me to grow as a dancer and performer.
It is my ambition to continue to grow and develop as a professional in this field by gaining skills and experiences from new and different areas including dancing in a variety of shows within other companies. I want to find out how different people work and how the best results are achieved, and through working with different companies, I would like to improve and develop skills of management so that I can eventually manage other people effectively and help them to grow as professional dancers.

Task 4c, an associate of mine...

Hey, I went to the Campus session on Tuesday and discussed reader 5 and the big part that ethics plays across all aspects of our lives.
I was travelling back from London with a professional associate of mine who is also a dancer in the same position as myself. I prepared questions and we spoke and developed them. 
Here is what happened in the interview:

A professional associate of mine...

Do you think it is important in order to fulfil your dancing career to move around and experience work in different places or to work your way up within a company?

“If you want to move up in a company it is important to have spent time there to learn what the company is about and how it works, however having experience from other places of work/ different companies etc could bring valuable skills and knowledge that could help bring fresh ideas to the company.

E.g I think it’s important to move round at first to get an idea of what you like and how different people work, so you have a broader range of skills to feed off if you wanted to move up the company.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? What would like your occupation to be?

If I am unable to dance in that time I would like to stay within the profession, however, I don’t know at this time what role that would be. During my education as a dancer the focus was always on just dancing, never the jobs surrounding the profession so I feel like I don’t really know fully what is even out there for me as a dancer moving forwards.

Do you think that in performing arts schools there should be supporting lessons about future career paths related to dance?

Yes! Although it’s hopefully a long way off, I think there should be some preparation. Also it helps to give an idea about how productions work as a whole, not just your specific role.

Do you think there is enough life in the industry for new companies to be founded?

Of course! You need new shows to be created, otherwise the industry would die. There are only so many times you can watch Swan Lake or the Nutcracker.

Do you think more traditional forms of dance are becoming less popular?

I think they are becoming less popular but they will never die out.

Do you think that there are skills from being a professional dancer that can be transferred to being management within a dance company?

Yes and no.

As a dancer you are always trained to follow instructions exactly and some people may find it difficult to transfer into the role of the person giving the instruction.

There are skills that would be good for management such as good teamwork, creativity, a strong work ethic...

Do you think people are born with these abilities or do you think these skills can be learned?

I think some people are going to be naturally better at somethings than others but the skills such as teamwork and work ethic can definitely be learned and improved through dance which will make you a better manager.

I then started asking questions related to work ethics.

From your professional experience as a dancer have you been fairly treated?

No, I think that there are very strong stereotypes within the dance world and how it viewed from outside the dance world. For example, If I say I am a dancer to someone they may have a different view of me than if I introduced myself as a ballet dancer.

Do you think you were treated equally to your fellow colleagues of the companies you have worked for?

Yes, in some places, but in others no. In the company where I thought I was fairly treated there was a clear hierarchical structure where as the company I thought I was not fairly treated the lines were more blurred and the unfairness seemed to be for more personal reasons such as favouritism  than professional reasons such as ability.

Is there anything that you could have done about this?

No, it would have caused awkwardness within the company, worsening my situation.

The questions that I asked about ethics stirred something inside of me and I realised how strongly I feel about how we are being treated as dancers. 

At the campus session we spoke about the film The Black Swan. Many of the ethical issues that occur in the film are of relevance to the questions that I developed.

I started to write down thoughts and questions that entered my mind.

Bullying, when does it occur?

How do people deal with bullying within the work place?

Favouritism, can this go too far?

How unfairly will dancers allow themselves to be treated in order to keep their jobs?

Can any action be taken?

Can we afford to take any action?

What support is available to dancers in this situation?

How can we keep personal and professional separate? 

Hierarchy,  in the work place - are the lines too blurred?

Etiquette, how can people get away with getting it really wrong?

I feel that by answering these will help me on the way to management itself.

Surely knowing how I should be treated as a dancer and what really goes on, what action can be taken within companies against mal- treatment of employees will help me to learn how to manage people for myself in the future.

How do you feel about these questions? Do any hit a sore point with you? 

Feel free to discuss with me any of these questions either here or on the SIG click here http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4318583&trk=hb_side_g

Thanks, Emily