Sunday, December 2, 2018

Writing About Dance


This evening I was part of yet another discussion group with my classmates and programme leader Helen Kindred from Middlesex University Dance.  This Masters has truly been a gift in my life: the rich discussions, the books in the programme and those recommended by classmates and programme leaders...and perhaps the most important part for me has been the becoming part of the university dance community.  The exchange of ideas, the understanding how others have found their academic dance voice, and the connecting of knowledge and experiences is a unique privilege that I now enjoy.  I truly appreciate the support and ideas I have received as I work on my Areas of Learning and Reflective Essay.

Today we spoke about communication.  I am in a moment of transitioning with the preparation of my final essays as my Module One is reaching an end of term.  My work so far has been about an exploration and finding my artist´s voice through my life and artistic experiences.  I have organised my memories in reflective journal entries, creative writing tasks, mind maps, notebook notes and blogging.  Now, with a timeline set and the important things highlighted placing everything in context, I am stepping into a new phase passing from my anecdotal voice to finding my academic dance voice.  This is very new to me.  I find it easy to write papers with strict research rules: a literary review and voilà writing in the third person about academic topics becomes easier after years through academia.  However, to speak in an academic voice about personal experience is a new writing process.  To take from the experiential into the academic and connect with the enormous amount of dance literature as it resounds and shades one´s own perception is a very different type of writing.  It is a vulnerable and reflexive place, and yet one wishes to expand beyond the personal and trusting these experiences and instincts: find the universality of the area of learning as experienced and lived and as analysed and reflected upon through study and literature in agreement with or in opposition to what has been previously exposed by the academic dance community.  I am working on finding a balance between my life experience and my academic understanding.  It is the marriage between the embodiment of dance and the capturing of this knowledge and learning to a broader and collective understanding.

Today´s group discussion was all about making connections.  About our search through dance literature and personal reflection.  I am again grateful for the literature recommendations made, I can hardly wait to get back to mulling, reading and again to writing.

2 comments:

  1. lovely to read your thoughts on module one and the communication skype session. I also have learnt a lot from reading literature and being apart of the MDX dance community. I now patiently wait for my feedback response and grades from both my reflective essay and AOLS.
    Look forward to start Module 2 with you !
    Tara

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    Replies
    1. Tara thank you for all your support throughout. It is wonderful to be part of a community together. I find it so magical to think that you are so far away in London and that I am across the ocean in Costa Rica, and yet we can still connect professionally and support each other in our work. It is lovely to have you as a classmate, thank you!

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Creativity and Choreographic Collaboration

I studied extensively to become a dancer.  I was a dance student for so long that I do not remember ever not being a dance student- I was a ...