What in your daily practice gets you really
enthusiastic to find out more about?
Creating
routines to music that I like and enjoy is my passion, I love to teach but
there is nothing better than falling in love with a song and having movements and
sequences of steps running through your head. As a choreographer and teacher I don’t
always get to select the music for the routines I create, however when I can select
a piece of music I am passionate about I see a difference in the quality of my
routines. I have found working in this way results in the finished product
being more original and creative which helps me to develop and refine my choreographing
skills. I have to admit when choreographing to music I am less enthusiastic
about I often struggle finding inspiration for movement and new ideas, in this
situation I will take old routines and recycle sequences of steps and reliable
sections of movement.
Sometimes if
there hasn't been any new music that I am passionate about I will create a
themed mix or a mash together a group of songs I love. This is a skill I have
developed over time through hours and hours of editing on programs like
audacity.
Here is the
link to a Beyonce mix I made last year for a dance completion, I created the sound
effects myself and cut, mixed and edited it all on a program called audacity.
Who do you admire who also works with what makes
you enthusiastic?
Jennifer
Lopez is an artist I have followed for years. I love the way she constantly
reinvents her dance styles and always incorporates dance break sections in her
music videos. Michael Jackson is also famous for this and I take a lot of my
inspiration from his concert mash ups and remixes. They often put sound effects
in and over songs to add emphasis on the dance sections. This is something I
try to do myself and will often use their music for these sound effects. This
type of mixing music inspired me to search for my own sound effects to improve
my own music mixes and I have now downloaded a sound effects program that
allows me to create my own sounds.
This is a
link for one of my favourite Michael Jackson performances, he has many sound
effects added over the track to enhance and highlight the dance movement.
Jennifer
Lopez often has a dance break in the middle of her music videos giving her a
section to show her ability with specially made breaks and sound effects to compliment
the movement.
Britney
Spears also has some great dance breaks and being a child of the 90s I grew up dancing
along to her videos.
What gets you angry or makes you sad?
Children’s
negative approach to dance and drama in high school, I understand that
performing is not everyone’s passion but it makes me sad when children dread
the lesson. I try to make a conscious effort to get to know the students I
teach and their limits. I plan my lesson around the student’s ability and
always make sure they feel comfortable whilst still aiming to improve their
performance.
I get angry
when students persistently talk over me at a low level in a large class.
Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out exactly who is talking, the students
know this and play on it.
Part of my
job is to motivate students and come up with ways to make them want to learn.
It’s through this that I have found a passion I didn’t know I had, finding
resources and materials for lessons. I love spending time searching the
internet for facts, movie clips and any resources that relate to the topic I am
teaching that might have a positive effect and help motivate the students to
engage in the lesson. For example when I had to plan a drama lesson on
conscription I found an Ali movie clip with Will Smith playing Mohamed Ali that
was very powerful. This got the students attention and also opened up the
discussion of the different ways people deal with conscription and how it affects
the people around us.
Who do you admire?
I really
admire the head of the Performing Arts department at my school and the head of
the Dance department. They are both strong independent women who have managed
to transform Performing Arts into a strong and successful part of the school
curriculum as well as a respected and admired department. I have worked in many
schools and sometimes the performing arts departments are considered a joke and
never taken seriously. The school is very supportive of the Arts and with the
passion and hard work of these two women the students, teachers and parents all
respect the importance of the subjects within Performing Arts and encourage
their students to take part. It’s with all the support and hard work of these
outstanding teachers that has resulted in our GCSE students progressing into serious
talent making them a joy to work with. The standard is very high and continues
to improve making us stand out as a school in any performance we do.
Who shares your feelings or has found away to
work around the sadness or anger?
My head of
department is an outstanding teacher and is wonderful to watch. She has the
respect and attention of all her students that she has earned through years of
hard work and discipline. She says you have to be strict to start, set your
boundaries, then you can have a laugh and joke with the students, but the
respect and boundaries have to come first. She has the respect needed to be
able to show her enthusiasm and passion in drama, this I feel has a positive
effect on her students and helps to encourages the students who may not have
enjoyed it before. I take every opportunity I have to sit in her lessons and observe
as I have learned so much from watching her work and interact with the students,
She is an inspiration and my mentor.
What do you love about what you do?
I love
teaching teenagers who can lose themselves in performing arts. There is no
greater feeling than watching a child forget all their adolescent problems and
worries and feel good about themselves through performing. When choreographing
for teenagers I try to make the routines demanding but always keep in mind that
I want the students to enjoy it and feel good about themselves, so I try to
choreograph sequences of steps that I feel good doing and hope that the
students respond to it in the same way. I always plan lessons or choose
material I feel the students can relate to or learn from and use it as a way
for them to get out their anger or sadness through performance. I have watched
performing save so many children from so many painful experiences and watched
them challenge themselves, turning the pain into passion for performance.
Who do you admire who also seems to love this or
is an example of what you love?
I have a
student I have been teaching for 6 years, she started out as a shy and timid
performer always lurking at the back of the class. She has transformed into a passionate
and talented dancer and is a joy to watch. I remember the moment she had what I
call ‘ the click’, the click is when a good dancer has a moment of
transformation where their passion shines through in their performance. A dancer can have all the talent and technique
in the world but lack the feeling and performance quality that makes the
audience want to watch them. The click is when this finally happens and all of
a sudden they understand what you have been going on about for so long, the
passion is just there and it oozes from their body and face transforming from a
chorus performer to the one you want to watch. Her passion for dance has gone
beyond anything I could have taught her and watching her go from strength to
strength makes me feel proud. She is an inspiration and a constant muse for my
work inspiring me to be creative and modern.
What do you feel you don’t understand?
The hardest
part of my job that confuses me on a daily basis is UN co-operating parents. When a parent fights you over a detention
because they refuse to pick up their child any later than usual, or they just
refuse to listen and insist their child is not to blame. This is very frustrating
and is one of the hardest parts of my job.
When a child knows their parent will back them up no matter what the
circumstances they feel than can do anything and not suffer the consequences. I
know the UN co-operating parents of my students and any dealing with them are
always a head ache, having a good support system of teachers and Leaders in a
school is what gets me through these situations.
How do you decide the appropriate ethical
response in a given situation?
I always go
with my gut and try to be as honest and truthful as I can in any situation. Outside
of work I pretty much don’t have a filter and will always be truthful to my
mind, however working in a school I have to practice self control, I gather my
thoughts, take a moment and then add a pinch of reserve. I try to stay in
control and think carefully before acting on an ethical issue if I can.
Sometime in my line of work this is not possible and you just have to act in
the moment being as professional as you can. As a teacher you have to hold your
tongue and remain professional not only for the sake of your job but for the
sake of your reputation as a teacher, For example when a student does or says something
that angers me, it is important I remain calm and use the appropriate sanctions,
if I were to scream and shout showing my anger the student and the rest of the
class would know I had lost control. Part of being a teacher is being in total
control of what you say and how your react in difficult situations. Being a
teacher means you spend half of your life with your students, you see them five
times a week and naturally build relationships having students come to you for
advice or problem solving. This is where
I feel the ethical lines gets blurry and in situations I am unsure of I will
always speak to my line manager and head of department. I had a situation
recently where a student had told me something and wanted me to deal with the
situation myself, however I knew this would not be ethical so I had to pass it
on to the appropriate authority. This left me feeling like I had betrayed the
trust of someone who trusted me and the feeling of guilt was hard to shake off
for a while being unable to switch of outside of work. The situation was
resolved and the outcome was for the best which the student came to realize. This
was a great lesson for me as I now know to ensure the students before they
relay any confidential information that as a teacher I may have to pass it on
depending on the nature of the information.
To what extent are disciplinary responses
different to that you might expect more generally in society? For example, what
level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another
professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?
Dance and drama is very
physical so I feel I have more physical contact with the students than most
teachers. It takes time to understand your students and create boundaries so
for new students or new classes it is best to keep contact as minimal as
possible and demonstrate contact dance steps or drama with a teaching assistant
if you have one. As a teacher there isn't much cause for contact other than in dance to re position or demonstrate
movement, the occasional comforting hand on the shoulder now and again but that’s
as far as I would say contact goes.
What I find interesting is the
difference between teaching in a school and in an after school Performing Arts
Company. I have worked for a musical theater company for years and the students are more relaxed around teachers, especially younger students. They often run
in and hug you or try to hold your hand, this never happens in school as I feel
the students understand the difference in the boundaries.
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