Communication

What does communication mean to me?

Communication is in my opinion a category of processes that have been created by people to make a word for methods of interaction between things. I went to bed after the skype meeting last night and couldn't stop dreaming about communication as a thing that we use everyday and in everything that we do. I thought of this question: What is the reason for choosing the method that we use to make a communication, and what process and reasoning do we use to finalize our chosen method of communication to achieve our optimal ability to communicate in any given situation?

Could you please try to answer the question in the way that you feel best suites you? or ask for clarification if it ins't a clear question. 

And if you have any reading material that talks about his subject in detail, could you please post it in the comments below?

Task 3

As a Module two student. I have been working around the ideas of positivist, and non-positivist approaches, as well as dualism, and embodiment.

positivist and non-positivist is a fluid idea. I think that it all depends on what type of information, or approach you have to the world at any given time may appear to be different each time. I can't say that I am either a positivist, or a non-positivist, as I experience both positions through each and every given day. As a teacher I am both a deliverer of information as well as a personal counselor to students with their many many questions about every aspect of their lives.

As a human being I think that a non-positivist approach to life is more often the case than a positivist one, however a positivist approach during times where emotions can make a strong bearing on a situation a more positivist approach may be needed.

Embodiment. Embodiment for me is very odd, again I am very fluid in my understanding of embodiment, and dualism. How come there can't be both? Is there a reason the mind can't be separate from the body, and be the vessel of knowledge, and the body become the physical connection of the mind to the physical world? or is the physical world really just a form of conscience that we aren't yet able to determine? Again I feel that as I get older, and as I get more life experience my views are constantly changing on what I believe, and don't believe, and where I am positioned in my understanding of phenomenology, pragmatism, and ontology. I am afraid that I will only get the answers I await for when I am dead.

TASK 1

I see many different dance companies each year as they come to town (I tend not to see the local company, for personal reasons), I also spend time on the internet watching various choreographic works that I really enjoy (the benefit of the internet is skipping what you don't enjoy, the downside to this though is we skip half of what we can learn from whether the learning is small, or large). I am finding that through watching choreographic works of many different individuals and groups, that I don't tend to see patterns except for in a select few. For awhile Choreographers were using the expression of "organic" I feel as though they meant to mean that they wanted more of a monism approach to their work, and if you could say it like this; "a more reflective method of dancing" meaning the dancers are more into themselves when they dance instead of really performing for an audience. Which could very well be the goal of those choreographers, as well as 'giving' the audience an intimate moment by watching the dancer be so into themselves.

As I learn more about different notions of knowledge I am finding that my own choreographic ideas are changing as I learn to understand through these ideas of knowledge as well. I am trying new ways(to me) of expressing communication through choreography, to see what I can play into an audience and performers imagination.

Speaking with audience members after various performances I have learned that there must be no single truth, as everyone can watch a contemporary dance performance and 10 our of 10 people will have a different idea of what was meant to be said, and myself learning upon speaking to the choreographer, that the intended performance was a mere exercise from a workshop experimenting with connectivism.

Ultimately I have no idea what people's view on knowledge are, until they die. By that time it is to late to find out. If peoples understanding is constantly changing, and learning is perpetual, then people understanding of knowledge is also fluid and constantly changing. I don't think as though I would be able to say that I am leaning to one notion of knowledge. I feel as in a single day I go through many.

Keeping on Track

The hardest thing that I am experiencing throughout the MAPP is staying on track. I think I am enjoying the element of 'discovering' too much. I start teaching most days at 8:00 AM and I end teaching most days at 8:00 PM because of this, time is very limited making it an extremely valuable commodity. Like any valuable commodity it needs to be used wisely, any minor distractions may become the difference between success and failure. Learning to stay focused is essential for any goal oriented project with a deadline to be delivered on time. The more time one is able to devote to the project the more quality the project should attain.

Using time wisely is unfortunately, for myself, much more easily said than done. This may be because of dyslexia, or ADHD, or it could really be more common than not, and I am just not aware of other peoples feelings on this. Reading books such as "The Mature Student's Handbook" by Lucinda Becker is both an immense help, and also perhaps also a little detrimental, as it makes the planning that is required to stay on track seem easy. This already can be extremely difficult for individuals who come from professional dance backgrounds because, as in my own case, and in the case of a few other acquaintances,  I have found that we (dancers) have been conditioned to thinking about many different subjects simultaneously due to the nature of dance. And on top of all of this thinking while doing, being a dancer also that you need know a little about variety of subjects such as mathematics, kinesthetics, and other various humanities in order to succeed and do your job as a dancer professionally. The difficulty with learning about our own professional experiences, and what we have learned, is that we don't consider what we do as learning, or learning in a form that can be documented because to us, all of our multiple subjects, is just what we do, dance.

All of this learning, and doing is very difficult on people in general, so how does this connect with time management? Dancers are used to doing a multitude of activities at all times, perhaps this multitude of activities makes dancers constantly over stimulated? whatever the reason, I find that dancers in general tend to 'run away' with various tangents frequently, whether the dancers are in rehearsal, or actively choreographing, or in discussions with other people (which we have seen evident in each and everyone one of our Skype sessions). I would even go so far to say that without our advisers we are basically a bunch of school children who are fighting over who has the ball, and then where the ball gets thrown. So now imagine ourselves trying to be organized, and productive, and stick to one subject without advisers, parents, or some form of authority making sure that we stay on track. I think I am one of the children with the ball. However, I will keep pushing until I get it done.

Philosophy, Culture, and the Historically 'Maitre de Ballet'

I would like to say that my definitions of Western and non-western societies are considered Western as being derived from Greek and Roman philosophies, and non-western being societies haven't yet been contacted by western society.

This last two weeks I have been reading about trying to understand different cultures, various biographies and recounts of experiences with some of the world's most influential teachers of classical dance from various cultures, and some basic philosophy, all leading to personal discoveries of how relevant what I am learning is now.

I have been learning about approaching statements with a philosophical point of view (looking for premise, and conclusion, using logic), I have also been learning during the same time frame that it is probable that western idea of philosophy was unheard of, and possibly inconceivable from an indigenous[generalizing] perspective during the time of pre-contact with western societies, due to philosophy being a western concept/value [within my current understanding of the idea from gathered sources I have collected thus far].

During the last few months I have also been reading about the great teachers of French, Italian, Danish, English, Russian, and American classical ballet traditions. I have learned that they(the teachers) varied so much in their opinions about the underpinning pedagogical techniques, and the overall aesthetics of what ballet should be, and yet somehow ended up all have a common goal generalizing the purpose of classical dance in the forms of being a tool with which to communicate to  the audience something [this could literally be anything]through a codified system of movement, that vaguely resembles each different teachers interpretation of a 500(ish) year old art form.

All of this reading and comparison of teachers, and cultures has led me to realize that as Classical Ballet is a western art form, then it should never be forced upon any non-western society as a necessity, and this choice of participation must always be available to any individual, or society if there is any wish to preserve that society values, and culture, in tact.

This leads us to the idea that the individual or society needs to be the ones in charge of making this choice, not the bigger enterprises engaging in the exploitation of other societies with the idea that popularizing classical dance globally will seek better performing artists, and lead to higher profit margins[and the glory of Terpsichore]. Classical dance is for a very small audience globally, it should always stay this way in order to prevent more societies and their ways from being lost forever.

However if ballet is what a non-western culture would like to learn then the individual, or society that wishes to learn about classical ballet needs to be educated in the history of classical dance, and acknowledge that its origins are deeply rooted in western society. This will allow for the non-western society to attain a conscientious understanding that the experience of learning could heavily alter, or even destroy, the original culture of that society leaving those involved feeling as though they don't belong to any social group.

During this process of reflection currently have come to realize that there is currently no element of classical dance that accepts or allocates parameters for other cultures [non-western cultures, or non western cultures that have either been colonized, or become intermingled with western values, understandings, and ideologies] to actively be a part of classical dance societies[group, colony, field of study] while still maintaining their cultural values, and maintain their social norms.

This means that the International non-western communities could very well consider all of the teachings that I have learned through endless exploration of past teachers and teaching styles as "completely irrelevant, and non-existent" within non-western societies., and all the work to create a perceived conducive learning environment that would be completely viable within a western society looses all value and should fail and loose all appreciation, if placed within a non-western society.

This leads to a realization that the love that I have for classical dance[ballet] is one that only can be shared by people like myself whom have been raised with similar western values, or those whom have turned their back on fragments of their own culture [this may or may not be a bad thing] either by choice, or forced; and in order to share these values with which I personally care so much about one would need to explore new ideologies derived using intercultural communication in joint efforts from both western and non-western parties.

This would entail the participation of western, and non-western communities, with which the western community demonstrates a clear display of knowledge of classical dance, and brings this knowledge, along with western culture to the 'table', and the non-western parties would in turn bring their own dance ideologies and culture to the 'table'. If everyone is perceived as equal by both cultures then there it is probable that a new form of classical dance will be created, that blends multiple cultures.






Am I on an unacceptable train of thought? or is it all logical?

Breathing and dance?

This article showed up on my facebook news feed and made me start thinking about everything I have learned about breathing from experience while dancing, and training to dance, and also from reading artifacts from other teachers in the past interpreting their understandings of the relationship between breathing and movement.

Some ideas that hit me more are:
1. Joan Lawsons, words about breathing in which she writes about breathing on the closing of movements.
2. Nikolai Tarasov and his chapter on breathing and how the importance of breathing is intertwined in dance.

I focus alot on what I already know about breathing in my classes that I teach, now I am going to see what happens if there is a correlation between the breathing that is intertwined in the ballet movements already for the aesthetics of the movement,and the movement quality, with the idea that if breathing in properly according to this article, the students will also be able to think much more clearly about the movements, and the next steps that they will be executing.

Here is a link to the article. Enjoy!

https://neurosciencenews.com/memory-fear-breathing-5699/?fbclid=IwAR2qTJBzBWixjfyCvpb00sGKJaWIEm3xWsXE0hONfofEshRiJcfGveLhX94

Doing Your Research Project

I have just finished reading "Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first-time researchers in education and social science - Third edition" by Judith Bell. I really like this book. It is dong a research project presented in a "connect the dots", or step by step guide. I feel much better about approaching research projects now, and I feel as if I use the guidelines laid out in the text by Judith Bell I will be successful in my executing of a research project. 

Now, does any one have a preference of these options: APA, or Harvard, and if they do why?

Also now I have an idea from reading about different teachers and their approaches to learning and teaching about where I what I would like to research and how I will be able to get it done.