Getting Closer

I have had such an interesting week and one that has been full of changes in my environment and offered me time to consolidate, take a step back and take off again.  I almost feel like my whole body and the world around me has been part of a huge 'clean up' plan and the Spring cleaning/re-decorating has been in place - I'm currently still at the dust sheet phase of the decoration but the wallpaper and paint are next in line and that in itself feels good, as I know that everything is in place, even though it is not yet complete!

Last Tuesday (28th) I visited Middlesex University and had the absolute pleasure and indulgence of observing a Graham technique class and attending a lecture on 'A choreographic Idea - Its beginning and possible development' (Cohan, R 2014).  Both of these were fabulous and a real help to my deeper understanding of American Modern Dance.  As I sat observing the Graham technique class I was able to assimilate the intricacies of the exercises and combinations that I'd learnt as a student, and I was able to make much more sense of how and what each exercise was for, and make reference to the literature I've read into the background and knowledge of Graham's choreographic principles and technique. I felt a real connection to the work and privileged to have the opportunity to experience it 'first hand'.  The class was so cleverly choreographed and delivered with such inspirational teaching and attention to detail; I was desperate to be a part of the class and given half the chance, I probably would have joined in. 

My connection to Graham was then endorsed even further when I attended the lecture on choreography.  Now I was sitting in a studio theatre looking at Robert Cohan, who apart from being a revered choreographer and founding Artistic Director of The Place, prior to this, he worked with Martha Graham and was a member of her company for 20 years.  He was among the great modern dancers such as Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Jose Limon, Helen Tamiris, the list goes on as does his incredible and enviable CV; I felt as though I could almost touch the history of modern dance, to an extent I was looking at it, I was looking at a man, a dancer who has been part of the historical context that my research is based on; ............my literature review was coming alive, it was surreal, unbelievable and truly inspirational!  Not least of all, Robert Cohan is a remarkable man and who is mesmerising to look at and listen to, a legend of modern dance.  My Tuesday lunch time was most definitely one of the highest quality!

Being on the University campus last Tuesday, allowed me time to appreciate the student environment, take a breath as it were and enforce time out, away from the books, computer and reflective journal, it was an immense observational day that I have since reflected on and taken stock of all that it had to offer, not only to my research and my teaching, but to me as a person, a dancer.  As we all become closer to our deadlines regardless of what module we're on, it's easy to get caught up with individual stresses and frustrations.  Tuesday allowed me the time to let the dust sheet settle so that I was able to re-connect my thoughts and proceed with the final stages of my research.  It was great to meet with Helen, whom I must thank for escorting me from studio to studio and spending time out of her day to do just that. .  The days experiences fulfilled me on every level and has served to encourage my research inquiry with an additional momentum; a jewel in my memory box that I will cherish and use to inform my professional practice. 

Reflections and Process

I would say that I am naturally reflective and am a person that ponders and mulls through things before taking action.  However, I think this has probably come from  being the same person that also can act on impulse. This I have found through experience, is sometimes good, and sometimes not so good. The result of which all stems from the power of reflection and hind sight!  I believe that everyone in life experiences some kind of reflection and depending on what we do with our lives throughout our day to day activities depends on what level of reflection we choose to work with in order to empower our understanding of the developments in the world around us.

Since the beginning MAPP (DTP) I have been on an adventurous journey of learning; I know things now that I was completely ignorant to before embarking on the course and it has made me hungry to discover more and more.  In terms of digesting these new experiences I have used the power of reflection to inform and consolidate anything and everything that I have done and learnt so far.  It is the 'key' to where I am now in terms of my research study and almost acts as a confidante that enables and supports each task that I have done throughout modules 1, 2 and now 3.  In a strange way I almost find my reflective journal as being cathartic............not sure if that's the same for everyone, but for me I'm able to make notes, scribble thoughts and somehow this makes everything clearer in the long run, especially when I read back over the facts and emotions that have been recorded.  I suppose it's like having a one to one with yourself, re-evaluating what you've written and making sense of it all.  It's part of the process that provides clarity. 

 

My reflective journal is definitely my 'power tool' when it comes to writing essays, it becomes a text in its own right.  One of the hardest things for me throughout the MAPP journey, was having the confidence to trust my own abilities, working autonomously.  I'm not sure if that's part of who I am or the fact that I haven't come through an H.E. route in my education; probably a little bit of both. Nevertheless, my reflective journal has served the purpose of strengthening my ability to act autonomously and grow in confidence.  My advise would be to write anything and everything down that is relevant to the task in hand, how you understand it or not as the case might be (I've got plenty of those in my journal), emotional feelings, what you need to do, what you have done and so on.  No matter how you write it or draw it, too many scribbles are never enough when it comes to the final writing for each module. 

 

The books that I found useful are:

 

Helyer, Ruth (2010) The Work-Based Learning Student Handbook: Palgrave Study Skills

 

Bassot, Barbara (2013) The Reflective Journal: Palgrave Macmillan

 

Moon, Jennifer A (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning, Theory and Practice: RoutledgeFalmer

 

Good luck to everyone...............exciting and nerve wracking times ahead, but reflect and think how far we've come in our personal journeys.