A Conversation with Professional externals to the BAPP Arts Network

I have recently conducted my interviews for my Inquiry with my Employers and with other Freelance Dancers.  However, I have found it hard to organise a Focus Group as I have struggled to find a time that suits all participants.  Therefore,  I am hoping to arrange something this week.

The interviews I have carried out have been extremely interesting and the findings will be very useful when evaluating and analysing them for my Inquiry.  I was struggling to differentiate between the meanings of evaluating and analysing however the blog posted by Lizzie Martin was helpful as it explains what was discussed during a Skype chat with Paula, which I unfortunately couldn't attend.

I have also had an informal chat with a Casting Director over Skype, which I found very valuable in moving forward with my Inquiry.  He spoke about the criteria Casting Directors follow when auditioning and casting for jobs, which has made me think about how I can improve my own practice and what areas I need more work on.

I wanted to interview both fellow Freelance Dancers and Employers, as I want to compare their answers.  It has already been interesting to see what areas the Freelance Dancers and Employers opinions are similar and where they differ.  

Similar to the Casting Director, the answers from the Employers have given me food for thought on how I can market myself more effectively as a Freelance Dancer and what I should work on in order to secure work.  By interviewing fellow Freelance Dancers I am able to find out where they source their information for auditions and what they do in preparation for auditions and also how they remain professional in the industry.

All the findings from these interviews will work collaboratively with the literature I have researched and help me to have a better understanding of the industry and will also give me the contents for my professional artefact.  By using these findings I will be aiming to target and help other Freelance Dancers to understand what is being expected of them and what we can apply to our own practice, which will in turn help us to secure further work and remain professional in the industry.        

Reflections on working collaboratively using social media

When I first started this course (which seems like a very long time ago now), my knowledge and use of social media was very limited.  However, since then I feel the BAPP course has provided me with the foundations to discover what other social media I can use, which can be beneficial for my career and learning

I have always used "Facebook" and "YouTube", however I have now been introduced to "Delicious", "Google +", "Google Hangout" and "Instagram".  These social media tools have helped me to collaborate my ideas with others in order to explore further into my inquiry.

"Google +" has played an essential part in developing my ideas and thoughts for my inquiry.  It has been so useful for being a domain to view other members of the B.A.P.P course's blogs and join communities with similar interests. Before the course started, I had never written a blog and through the blogs I have been able to get useful feedback from my tutor and other students, which in turn has been useful to introduce ideas that I hadn't previously thought about or just to get reassurance that I am on the right track.  

We have recently had a major Bollywood theatre production and through "Facebook", "Twitter" and" Instagram" we helped to promote the show, which as a result was sold out weeks before the opening night. 

After speaking with some professionals in the industry about my inquiry, it has become apparent that it is essential for a Freelance Dancer to promote their self and think of their self as a product. Social media plays a vital role in Marketing yourself as a performer and contributes to networking and being seen for auditions in the industry and possibly even securing work.  Therefore it is extremely important to have the knowledge on how to use social media in the most effective way.

Showreels have also been brought up a various number of times and how they are very important in securing work.  Social media allows myself as a performer to share this marketing tool worldwide with ease and allow others to received it just as easily too.   

Also all our rehearsal videos for the Bollywood company are put onto a "YouTube" account where we can view the videos easily.  This is extremely useful as it allows us to work on the routines in between rehearsals and the show and make sure we are confident with the routines and have corrected any mistakes.


Commentary and discussions with your peers and S.I.G.s

In reflection, I think the S.I.G group I set up on "Facebook" hasn't been very successful.  I feel this is because every one is focussing on different topics and I haven't yet come across anyone from my year on the course who is exploring a similar topic.   Instead I have found speaking to individuals on my course through "Google Hangout" more useful.  I have also found speaking with my professional S.I.G more useful, as I feel even though they aren't on my course they are sharing the same professional experiences as me and often bring up interesting topics in conversation they would like to know more about.  This then encourages me to explore those paths, which in turn develops my own thinking and ideas for my inquiry. 

I have been extremely busy recently and feel I am slightly behind and haven't been commenting on other blogs as much as I used to.  I will now be making a conscious effort to get back into commenting and hopefully in turn this may encourage others to let me know their thoughts about my blogs also.