Capturing Dance

40 million photos are taken on Instagram everyday and 8,500 likes and 1,000 comments are given every second. Instagram is my favourite social media site I have a profile on. I love the idea of having a space I can post and document my favourite photos, capturing special moments in my life. I have a large number of dance related posts on my profile and I use Instagram as a place to express my achievements and success in my professional life. Below I have screenshotted some dance posts on my Instagram (my profile is private so the links would not take you to the photos).

This is me dancing in the Snow Scene of Nutcracker with Atlantic City Ballet. It was taken by one of the company dancers.

This is a 'selfie' taken by me and my room mate backstage before the waltz of the flowers dance in Nutcracker. In a skype discussion with Paula we were talking about my professional online image, when we googled me this photo came up in the search. We discussed the importance of having positive images like this online and how it reflects my personality and positive attitude.

This is one of my professional CV shots taken by Brian O'Caroll. I posted this photo on Instagram to announce my departure from England to America to start my journey with Atlantic City Ballet.

This image was taken by a teacher from a nursery I visited at Christmas for a Nutcracker outreach event. I was dressed as the Sugar Plum Fairy and taught the nursery children a few ballet moves and talked to them about being a ballerina. I posted this photo because it was a very special moment and it also reflects my view on the importance of inspiring others and encouraging an appreciation for dance and the arts.

I also interviewed one of my best friends Kaine Ward who was Billy Elliott on the West End and also appeared in the live show rounds of Sky's 'Got To Dance.' He has a very popular Instagram page with nearly 12,000 followers. The dance posts he puts on Instagram get a lot of attention and he even has fan pages. We talked about how he uses his online presence to promote himself as a dancer. He has his professional contact email in his biography section of the page so people have a direct link to contact him and also links to his other social media sites. He uses hashtags on his photos to target certain audiences and also tags well known dancers and people so that when he meets them in person they have already seen him online. He talked about the private messages section of the site and how he receives a lot of comments through that. This has been useful for professional contacts he has talked with but he also receives a lot of strange messages too!!

"getting it right is getting on with it.."

So after having a bit of a panic this weekend regarding where I am up to on my BAPP course and how I am going to manage my time I have taken a deep breath and decided to sort it out logically!

After having another read of both Paula and Adesola's blogs I found some useful points. It has helped me to view the course from a different perspective and have a much more positive outlook about what I am doing. I have really struggled with some tasks because I have been worried about not doing the right thing or not having the right answers. But, I have come to learn that there are no definite answers and no real 'right' or 'wrong' responses to tasks. The course is a process and more an exploration of ideas and questions as opposed to finding absolute results and answers... it has just taken me a little while to realise this!!

Paula wrote a post about 'Project Management' which broke down the management process and I used this to overcome the issues I was having;

Initiation-  I have written down what I am trying to achieve. This being; successfully making my way through the course and enjoying the learning journey. I am trying to refrain from looking at the course as a set of specific tasks I must complete in a certain way but more as a process of learning and exploring ideas that arise and how they relate to my professional practice.

Planning- I have observed the resources available to me (the readers, handbook, tutor's blogs, blogs of other students) I have written out my tasks into a timetable so that I have a clear time management plan as to what sections I should be on at what point in time. Hopefully this will reduce the risk of a last minute panic or running out of time. I also think that I need to look more specifically at what specific time I have available to do each task within my busy schedule.

Monitoring- I have considered the difficulties I am encountering (time difference, rehearsal and training schedule, performances, not having others around me needing to do work). I have thought about how I am going to stay focused. I have come to the conclusion that in my case time management is key to this and also staying in regular contact with my tutors and the others on the course. Communication is key and hearing from others in the same situation will help with motivation and staying in focus. Acting on this I am going to enage more with the online BAPP community through blog comments and trying to make it to skype calls. Adesola put it perfectly saying "Don't be a stalker, be a talker."

Closing- I am going to continue to track my progress and make note of problems and difficulties that arise so that I can overcome them calmly and logically rather than just stressing out!

Planning is essential it seems and I have recognised that I need to be more aware of it's importance. Planning is a part of everyday life and looking at my lifestyle I can see how good planning is effective and also how bad planning has a big effect. For example; well scheduled and correctly posted rehearsal and performance schedules make a dance company a much less stressful environment. Whereas, poorly put together schedules and lack of communication between departments can result in difficulties and problems that could be avoided through planning and management.

"Fluttering Feet and Fingers that Tweet" Professional Communication on Twitter

175 million tweets are sent everyday and an interesting read of New York Times article 'Ballet Stars Now Tweet As Well As Flutter' opened my mind to how "Twitter is making ballet dancers human'.

The article highlights how "dancers are expected to speak with their bodies" but by sharing tweets about their life beyond what the audience sees on stage is "starting to change the public face of ballet."

There are a lot of major company dancers with twitter pages, some of whom have private accounts but many post publicly. By reading the tweets of and following such dancers it allows audiences to get to know the dancers beyond the characters they portray on stage. It allows the dancers to develop an independent fan base and share news and feelings with followers. This can cause conflict with company directors as their dancers are the face of the company so they do not want them tweeting information that may harm the company's reputation and image. When Sergei Polunin abruptly left The Royal Ballet his twitter page became a big discussion point for fans as it was the only point of contact people had with him when he disappeared off the radar. His "outrageous" tweets about alcohol and drugs shocked fans and followers. Many dancers have a line in their bio section of the profile stating that the views and opinions expressed on their Twitter are their own. Katherine E. Brown (City Ballet's executive director) said "We rely on them to use their good judgement and discretion".

I have had Twitter for a number of years now and at first I really didn't understand it, but now I check my twitter numerous times a day. Admittedly I would deem my twitter page to be my least professional social media profile. I feel it reflects more my personality and light hearted humour about day to day life as opposed to serious tweets about my professional life. However, I do not have many professional contacts following me on the site right now but in the future if I do I may want to consider more carefully what I am tweeting.

I follow companies and dancers I am interested in whom post information on upcoming performances and news in the company a well as backstage gossip. There are also accounts which post audition information and links to workshops and opportunities for dancers. In addition, there are dance profiles which post links to articles or critiques on performances which are interesting reads and help me to keep up to date with what is going on in the dance world. However, there is a character limit to tweets which limits how much you can say in each tweet. Therefore most pages with post links to their websites for more information or to the full post on their Facebook pages, so it is not completely necessary or beneficial to follow them on more than one social media site.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/arts/dance/29ballet.html?_r=4

Who are you sharing with?

I have been doing some thinking and research into the privacy of Facebook profiles. At school we were given regular internet safety and awareness talks to inform us about the potential dangers of social media and the web. But, is everyone aware of who exactly they are sharing their posts and photos with?

There are many privacy settings available for users to make use of on Facebook, but some unless you actively know about them and change them they are not in action. Due to the number of professional contacts I have on Facebook I am very careful about what appears on my profile. Also, It is now extremely common that potential employers may look up candidates on social media to get an idea of your character and professionalism. For these reasons the majority of my account is viewable only by people I am directly friends with. However, I have my profile photo and professional dance photos public on my account so people can search for me and request to connect with me. I have some friends who have chosen to use a different name for their social media profiles for professional reasons and some with separate acocunts for 'professional' and 'personal' profiles.

I found it a little unsettling that people were able to tag me in photos and posts that would appear on my profile without my consent in advance which could potentially harm my online reputation. Therefore, I now receive a notification about tag requests which I have to accept before it appears on my profile. I am now completely responsible for what is on my Facebook page.

Every day 2.7 billion likes are given ad 300 million new photos are uploaded onto Facebook. I have been looking into what happens to the rights of our photos when we post them.

“…once something is posted or uploaded onto Facebook it becomes Facebook’s property. So if the original photographer uploaded the photo first onto Facebook and then others have taken it from there and uploaded it to their pages or profiles, this is legal and within policy, there’s nothing I can do about it unfortunately even if they are taking credit for the photos.” (https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2015/05/13/does-facebook-really-own-your-photos/)

Everytime I log onto facebook I am bombarded by viral posts friends are sharing. But when the original post was made was that person aware of how many people would end up seeing it? It takes a matter of seconds to create posts and share posts and potentially your posts can be shared and reposted without your knowledge or consent.

Deep in the terms and conditions of facebook this issue is highlighted but we are all guilty of skipping reading small print! Should facebook make its users more aware of the possible dangers of sharing things they may not want the world to see?



(Statitics taken from http://www.thecultureist.com/2013/05/09/how-many-people-use-the-internet-more-than-2-billion-infographic/ )

Using Facebook as a dancer

One of the most famous social media Web 2.0 sites is Facebook. 500 million people log in to the site everyday and it is estimated that Facebook users spend a combined time of 10.5 billion minuets a day which equals the same as 20,000 years!

I have had a Facebook profile for a number of years and don't actually check it as regularly as I used to anymore. I would however, consider it the most professional of my social media profiles and I am very considerate about what I am posting and who is going to see it.

Facebook has allowed me to connect and stay in contact with a large amount of people and has also helped me in a number of ways as a dancer. I am friends with people I went to school with, danced and trained with, teachers and directors I have worked with, parents of students I teach and also 'normal' friends and family who are not directly linked to the dance world. By being connected to these people it allows me to keep up with what they are up to via their posts and also hear about dance events and opportunities they are involved in. I am able to 'like' and encourage their achievements and developments despite not being in personal contact with my friend.

On my profile I post main events that occur in my life e.g. my graduation from Tring, my move to America and performances I am in. I also share dance photos along with these posts. This allows people interested in what I am doing to see my progress as a dancer. Also, it helps to promote myself to industry professionals I am associated with.

I also use Facebook to read and share dance posts; videos, inspirations, articles of particular interest. I follow lots of dance pages, professional dancers and companies pages and I am also friends with professional dancers (a little fan girly a know haha.) This allows me to see their posts and what they are sharing which helps me to keep up to date with news in the dance world and events and opportunities I might be able to get involved in. I am also following audition pages to help keep in the loop about upcoming auditions in different countries. Admittedly I do not check these pages as much as I should but having rediscovered them whilst writing this post I am going to start checking them more regularly again!

Facebook groups have also been a useful tool for me as a dancer. 'One Million Ballet Dancers' is a public group I am part of where people post dance related articles and information about auditions and workshops. Also, in my final year at Tring we formed a graduate company called 'Encore' which toured around England performing. We had a company facebook group which included all the company members. We used this page to post schedules, rehearsal details, costume calls, key dates and announcements and also video footage of choreography and reherasals. People were able to post questions and make arrangements easily which was much more reliable than hoping everyone checked a noticeboard at school!

Being able to create events on facebook has revolutionised marketing and promotoing! I have been invited to so many performances, dance events and workshops via facebook (even weddings!!) It is a fantastic way for people to spread the word about events and increase awareness about them, particularly new and upcoming performances and companies.

So these are a few ways Facebook has helped me as a dancer, particularly for communication purposes. Would love to hear ways others have used the site professionally? Or dance pages and groups you have found useful?

Dance at our fingertips

It estimated that there are 2,405,518,376 internet users worldwide and 70% of them use the internet everyday. Nowadays it is considered that "connectivity is a basic human right" (Facebook founder Zuckerburg.) Society is becoming increasingly dependent on the internet. The rapid evolution of the internet and social media has had major impacts on the dance world. Dance is no longer a thing of just being witnessed in a theatre, it is now at our fingertips.


Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube have opened up a giant new platform for artists to share their skills and witness other peoples. Social Media sites have become a stage for individuals, companies, professionals and amateurs worldwide. Web 2.0 has massively increased general knowledge and awareness of dance and has reached out to viewers who may not otherwise experience the art form.

Over the past few years companies around the world have caught on to live viral streaming of classes, shows and dance events which expands audience numbers far greater than the number of seats in a theatre. It is important that the dance world keeps up to date with society but is this increasing online platform taking away some of the magic of going to a theatre to see dance?

(Statistics taken from http://www.thecultureist.com/2013/05/09/how-many-people-use-the-internet-more-than-2-billion-infographic/ )

Reviewing my CV

Having read many of my fellow BAPP Arts Students blog posts and comments on each others CVs and professional profiles I have looked at my own CV more critically and made some improvements. Paula made a great point that "they say that the employer is the audience to the CV." As performers we even have to perform on paper!!

I think it is very important for me to constantly improve my CV, keep it up to date and ensure it is presented in the best way possible for the jobs I am applying for at that specific time. It has been great to see other peoples CV's and read their ideas on layouts and content.

I was reading through Grace Hume's blog post and her feedback from Nora which was really helpful. I decided to take on some of these amendments on my own CV. Nora suggested the use of text colour on the CV to highlight important information. You want the key information to be easy to find on the page, the employer does not want to have to look frantically through 'waffle' to find what they need to know. Acting on this I have made my name at the top of the page slightly bigger in size and also changed it to blue. I have made key information including where I trained and who has trained me into bold. The headings to each section have been altered also into blue so it looks neater and more formatted.

In addition, after reading Lauren Hoskin's CV I decided it was a good idea to specifically list the dance genres I have trained and have experience in. My training in a variety of styles makes me a versatile dancer which could be of great interest to employers, so I think it is key that I highlight this. At the bottom of my CV I have added a Skills section.

Skills
Classical Ballet, Pointe, Pas de deux, Contemporary, Jazz, Gymnastics, Vocal (Mezzo Soprano), Acting.

Lauren's post also made me consider adding my playing age onto my CV for some jobs. For more classical ballet companies I do not think this information is that important. However, when I am auditioning for more musical theatre jobs I will add it on.

A discussion point amongst comments was whether or not it is better to put your personal profile and attributes on your CV or keep it in a cover letter. In the past I have just had it in a cover letter, however Paula mentioned that it is now expected to be on your CV. Some places specifically ask for a cover letter with your application, but open auditions often only take your CV and photos. So, I have decided that in cases where a cover letter is not requested I am going to add my attributes and short personal profile to the end of my CV.

I feel like I have really enriched my CV after looking at it from a professional point of view and taking on the ideas of others and what I have learnt from viewing their profiles.