Skype 26/02/20 - Communication

I'm finding keeping up with the Blogs so much harder this unit. This unit is a real time consuming monster! I've been around in circles so many times but still seem so far away from where I feel I need to be.



There were many discussions in this Skype but the overriding points I found for me were:

-Why/How does this relate to me? How will this help my practice? 
-Communication


I'm working on two ideas at the moment as I am still struggling to settle

1. Female stereotypes- possibly within Shakespeare
2. The choreography process

I have made some small progress with a literature review..finally. But the problem is moving forward the question does need defining in order to know how to conduct the research.... I'm struggling to narrow ideas down because I have very little communication within our BAPP group and even just talking ideas through can be really helpful. This was also the overriding feature of the Student Voice discussion. That little community between us currently exists.

Following the Skype a number of us stayed on to continue talks further and whilst a lot of this was just confessing that no-one knows, there was the start of a sense of community. Moving forward from this I think once we've all admitted were stuck, if we can try to help each other out to move forward, there could and should be benefits for all. I know I am going to make much more of an effort now to engage with you all... Beware !

A side note- there is now a closed facebook group "BA PP Community facebook"
Please, If your a member of the course feel free to add yourself to this group (I've added everyone I already know which is so few). The page will hopefully help to create a more instant community less formal structure. (This does NOT replace the need for Blogging)

Skype 05/02/20.... My Inquiry and... The BAFTAS?

I attended both Skype sessions on the 5th and in terms of answers I feel not much further along. I feel like I get this unit so much more than module one however i'm equally as stuck in a different way. I can't say I didn't gain anything from the skypes: The two most beneficial points were

1. The inquiry 'question' becomes clearest at the end.
2. Discuss with other people


As well as a performer i'm a qualified gym instructor who also attends lots of gym classes as regular training- keeping match fit as they might say- and as someone who just really enjoys exercise I think my inquiry should be based around this somehow. I've had a look and there's a fair amount of literature on 'dance fitness' and is dance class enough physically to get you to 'match fit' as I put it earlier. But the problem i'm having is that most of the literature makes the same points,of which I generally agree.So in terms of developing a question any further i'm struggling. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Ultimately I think that everyone should develop a program that is specific to them, their physique, their weaknesses, their time schedule and their enjoyment, but this requires so much knowledge that you don't necessarily have access to as someone at the 'start' of their career, and it is much easier to develop as you learn. Maybe there's something about being taught anatomy and an almost scientific approach to dance that is missing within training. But is it missing because its just a huge topic.

The skype chat was a really good way to reflect on Module one and how to approach it and trying to respond to the new Module one starters really made you think back... But I don't know if we were really much help in our advice because I think the overriding message was, 'None of us had a clue either but somehow you get through it' haha. I also felt reluctant giving advice on where to start or how to approach a module when we've not received our grades yet which ultimately means we don't know whether what we did was 'right' any more than them as yet... well I certainly still feel unsure.

In the chat Shaunna said she wanted to look at diversity for her inquiry and that was a topic I really considered and have collated so many thoughts on. I think it's so relevant in modern society but a real danger for being socially judged. People can make such quick and sweeping decisions, just from looking at you, it scares me to write anything about it down.

It upsets me because I feel so passionately about the diversity subjects and I think I could offer different perspectives but fear the judgement that may come with it, for example the big fuss at the moment at both the Oscars and the BAFTAS was there were no female directors up for best director and this is 'non-diverse'... but it's easy to sit there and say, thats not diverse....The question should actually be...'Were there actually any films out this year of the same caliber directed by a female?' (Definitely something to look into) but you can't point a finger without first having that knowledge. And there absolutely might have been, I don't actually know however I have seen comments batted around on social media and in conversation from people who also couldn't answer that question... Is that fair? It's almost a case of innocent until proven guilty, apart from general consensus on it is guilty until proven innocent? I'm definitely interested to see what the BAFTA inquiry into diversity concludes to.  There may be a shortage of female directors, which definitely needs addressing but it isn't something that is going to be changed over night, it will take time....And then on top of it all is the fact that every award is made on opinion, Its not like there's a finish line and the first one to cross wins, because performance is all open to interpretation anyway, so does winning actually mean anything? That's a whole other can of worms and I've already fallen into my usual trap of writing too much.

Also another point, I did feel I could write this without too much hate because I am female but If a male had said the same, I fear they would have been judged differently, and this applies to all sorts of diversity topics like race, sexual preference, self identification etc. (maybe not maybe that's my own sweeping judgement) but that's the point I was trying to make in saying people can make quick and sweeping judgments.

Anyway On other note- I am one of the student voice reps for this year along with Sophie and Stella so if you have anything you want raised in terms of the course, good or bad, please get in tough with one of us! It will all be relayed anonymously.

And if you have any comments on the direction I should take my inquiry or if you just want to add to the wheel of conversation I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks

Starting Module Two

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Did anyone else find that they simply didn't have time to complete the assessment criteria and blog at the same time!? I would just get too absorbed in my blogs and then all of a sudden the day is over. I do think a massive part of this is due to not knowing what direction I was going in so using the blogs to feel like I was making some form of progression.

Anyway... Somehow through a maze of not knowing what an earth I was doing, I managed to hand something in for Module 1 and have provisionally passed. Feels like a massive achievement in itself although i'm still dreading the actual grade.

Module 2-

1) Keep Blogs Shorter
2) Interact more
3) Don't procrastinate

These are my three starting targets.

Having read the handbook multiple times already I have to say I feel I understand the concept of this module much better. YAY! ..However actually doing it and correct seems as daunting and 'new' as Module One all over again... Que 3 months of stress, tears, not enough time and  endless research.... But achievement, hopefully, at the end... If you hadn't already realised, I am a bit of a pessimist!

I am concerned that I haven't yet chosen my inquiry topic and time waits for no-one, but I have begun reading some of the suggested books from the reading list... and some are proving really helpful in breaking the module down into much smaller chunks and explaining the process of creating an inquiry.


I have a couple of ideas batting around but I'm concerned that I can see how a couple of topics could potentially cause offense. Is this a reason not to choose that one? For example research on race within castings. Inspired by watching the BAFTAs and the controversy about diversity.

Also I'm not entirely sure- My first go to when reading the handbook was 'What will help me improve my practice' and i simply thought if I could nail pirouettes and leaps consistently in dance auditions I would get further.... but this seems far to basic to be an inquiry topic, but I know i'm right in saying this is an area that I need to improve on?

What subjects are others of you looking into. There's a lot of teachers on the course so I imagine there will be some interesting thoughts on the way teaching is used/approached?

Handbook Activities- ‘If you haven’t got anything nice to say, Don’t say anything at all’

I've missed a week of Blogs. I'm annoyed at myself. I could use the excuse that I was working and very busy and feeling under the weather too....but I ultimately think I was feeling stuck again and just decided to ignore the issue. I didn't allow myself that time to 'recover' and now I’m ill again, but at least I have decided to try and tackle this again.

I have been working through some of the tasks towards the end of the handbook so am going to Blog my findings. There is a lot of crossover between lenses and tasks:

Presentation of Self-

This blog- is the social media platform that I feel contains the biggest proportion of 'Me'. I've come to the conclusion that it is because I am engaging in a subject, and with people, that all relate to my practice and ultimately this is what I spend the majority of my time engaging in. I am lucky that I am in a position to do that. But do I leave parts of 'me' out? Of course.

I think throughout my relatively short lifetime, web 2.0 has changed and developed massively.

Facebook- I started using Facebook as a child, in secondary school. Looking back now at 'memories' from years gone by I look over my posts and honestly all I think is 'What an idiot, how embarrassing, did the world really need all that detail?' I was young and naive but so was Facebook. My view on Facebook at that point was it was new and exciting and 'cool' to be involved with... a social movement away from 'MSM' where you only communicated with 5 friends from primary school towards a way of expanding your friendship group....The making of a popularity contest.

Now 10 years on, I think Facebook is dangerous. A tool used to haunt people for being young and naive, to manipulate them or to alter their career progression. I feel lucky that I was still very young when I realized this and I actually think it was through joining a competitive dance school that my opinion on Facebook began to change.

My then teacher started 'emphasizing the importance' of posting positive outlooks on Facebook, pointing out that 'you don't know who will read it'. Actually, in reflection this was manipulation, we were forced to positively promote the dance school on social media because it created more business and a 'great image' for the school. It didn't take long to realize that 'sucking up' on Facebook lead to rewards in class. That a big social media following lead to costume and brand sponsorship. When things were going well, I loved this but I began to realize that even when things were not good, I had to pretend they were because I didn't want to be punished for them not being. I effectively lost control over my own persona on social media from that point. I would love to say that when I left that dance school and eventually went on to engage in professional training that I regained control over my persona but I didn't. It was just as bad at my new place of training except now the focus had moved from Facebook to twitter! And rather than being manipulated into posting, we were simply just bullied into it, receiving hour long telling off, punishment and removal off opportunities if we did not participate. I really, really look back at it in disdain. This was a complete false persona. It provokes the question; who else is creating a ‘false persona’?

I am quite an opinionated person and I really hate that for a good 6-7 years of my life my social media has effectively been filtered by adults who understood the power of social media but just used 'children/youth' to advantage themselves. This being said I am glad I have learnt from it and I can see what was going on, because it is all too common now for an old post to come back and ruin your life. I no-longer really post anything on Facebook other than fact, maybe the odd achievement and my Art business. My main purpose for Facebook is business promotion and audition hunting. I always think I would actually love to delete it but It does provide access and awareness of auditions and opportunities so I feel it would be detrimental to delete. 

I feel that in this line of work it is important to have an opinion because hopefully, to create an opinion you are engaging and thinking about things, but it is detrimental to post an opinion online because you just don't know who will oppose that opinion or who may be offended. It really annoys me that I actually feel restricted by this. I think, especially at current time with so many big topics in discussion, climate change, brexit, health, there is a lot of anger and aggression within society and that many people are using social media platforms to write abusive or derogatory posts as a way to vent their frustration. I dare not even defend myself out of fear that it may offend or come back to be used detrimentally, so therefore it is easier just to abstain from posting. But also, who is teaching them that it isn't OK to post 'nasty' things online!?  It’s an endless cycle. The saying ‘If you haven’t got anything nice to say, Don’t say anything at all’ Springs to mind.

So to summarize I feel like Facebook has evolved from a nice idea to socially connect, to a targeted advertising platform.  Of course, there are advantages, the long-distance contact that is available at the touch of a button. The information that can be extracted, for me auditions, and possibly the business platform. But most of this is passive usage of the platform rather than active usage and I feel when it becomes active usage there are so many political and ethical considerations that it does become a dangerous minefield. 

Twitter- My opinions of twitter are much the same as Facebook, probably because my twitter account was also abused to advantage others, however I don't really find twitter that useful for audition hunting and therefore have not used it in a very long time. I think there could be advantages to twitter but right now I value my time over allocating time to yet another social media platform.

Instagram- is my personal favourite of all the social media platforms but I think that is probably because my Instagram is private and quite 'small' or 'low key'. I admit it is my own fault that my Facebook is so open to people, I could delete all but those immediate friends and family and probably feel much more comfortable posting, but I have a business that heavily relies on Facebook orders. This could absolutely be viewed as a form of manipulation also so I suppose I should not really slam Facebook as much as I have. I still however feel that in comparison to my friends or colleagues of the same age, I barely post. My favourite thing about Instagram however is when you type 'Lorien Tear' into a google search, it acknowledges that my account content is private where as other platforms have loop-holes making you available to public viewing.... Twitter is the worst for this in my experience. However, Instagram is image based and therefore creates its own ethical considerations ranging from filtering or editing pictures to graphic content.

The original question of ‘How do we present ourselves, what parts do we ‘leave out’?

I think varies from platform to platform and who is viewing your content. But ultimately no online platform creates an all-encompassing representation of an individual and that is because it is effectively a fictional profile that is self-filtered, for better or for worse. Spotlight is a viewing platform and definitely creates a 'Persona' of you... Your best bits and that directly leads to your hiring, so in that sense your absolutely right to filter your persona. Online platforms emphasize this but this is true for ‘in person’ interactions too. I think this picture/quote sums it up perfectly….

Wednesday 16th Oct- 8:15AM Skype- How Does This Relate?

This morning was my first group Skype session which was not specifically One Module focused but rather a chance for all Module Participants to communicate and develop ideas. That being said there were a lot of Module One participants in comparison to others.

The Skype session was really useful and I think came at a perfect time for me in that I have made some progress towards Module One, but was beginning to return to that 'Lost' feeling... Which it appeared almost EVERYONE was feeling (Slightly re-assuring)

The themes or topics covered were:


• Module one = Theories/Lenses, Practice, Ethics
• Mapping 
    1. Colour coding
    2. Cards to categorize
    3. Using main headings or repeated words to connect and find literature
• How to find literature
• Deciphering relevant information
• Relating everything back to you and your practice 
• Viewing ideas from other perspectives
• Justifying your content
Many of these topics were just toughed on and many overlap.

I think for myself I like the idea of colour coding the mapping process as right now I am at a point where I just have a long list of words and am really struggling with how to relate them so breaking it into the visual colour coded sections may help me find a level of structure that is currently missing.

During the session someone said that in order to help then decipher relevance they constantly ask themselves "HOW DOES THIS RELATE?" which I think is an excellent way of noticing or preventing 'Going down the rabbit hole'- another quote from the session, by which they meant going too far with the research to the point that you can no longer see its relevance. However also discussed was that everything will probably have some kind of relevance to you, it’s just you don't know at what point you will realize it. But in terms of this course or this module, trying to find the current relevance is probably best.

The final thing I want to expand on was the idea of being able to see things from other perspectives. Many people said they hadn't considered things from another perspective but I actually find these blogs really useful in viewing things from alternative perspectives. I personally find that the informal, chatty nature of the blogs allows you to throw in opposing questions or arguments and theoreticize, (which is one of the bits I enjoy most) but the next step for me would be to find supporting literature for the opposing perspective rather than just leave it as an open question or theory.

Not quite so relevant to the Skype, as I did not discuss this, but this week I engaged in writing a letter to an agent. In this letter my key objective was to demonstrate pro-activeness within my practice as I know this is what appeals to this specific agent. Throughout the letter I ended up basically breaking down my past year of experience into-

1. Performance 
2. Financial Stability
3. Professional Development 
I was just wondering if anyone else views their practice under these categories or even if you would consider all of the categories to be part of 'your practice'... For me I felt I had to demonstrate ability; so, a CV/ performance information was key for that. All of my additional income I feel relates to the industry in some way e.g. gym instructor, but it was key to show that I have funds or means of getting to auditions and to try and build upon skills, which is why I included financial stability. And professional development included this course and gaining a full driver’s licence which I just feel may be useful skills either immediately or in the future. But some may say this is not part of your 'Practice'?



Anyway, yes, overall the Skype was a very useful discussion that has given me a few ideas as to how to progress again and if anyone has any thoughts or expansions on this I'd love to hear?

Modes of Learning

When I first read the Module One handbook, the first section that stood out to me was David Kolb's 'Learning Cycle and the process of learning. When I was making my way through the handbook I also decided to have a quick look at 'edX' courses as they are free online courses, which is unheard of! Whilst scrolling I decided to enroll onto a course called 'Leaders of Learning' thinking that this may help with this BAPP course. After a few weeks of neglect and really not knowing where to start with this course, today I finally decided to explore this 'Leaders of Learning' course again.

The course is run by Harvard Professor of Education, Emeritus, Richard Elmore with the idea;

"The six-week course will help students to identify and develop their personal theories of learning, and explore how they fit into the shifting landscape of learning."

Professor Elmore has developed his own 'Mode of Learning' Theory/Graph and the course itself is initiated by you taking a test to determine your mode of learning (without the bias of understanding that you are being assessed to determine where you fit) This was done via a range of questions where you had to rank the 4 answer options in order from strongest agreement to disagreement. Here are my results:

"Thank you for completing the Modes of Learning Assessment. Your results will guide your experience in Leaders of Learning. Please note that, within in each quadrant, the highest possible result is 100%.


YOUR RESULTS
In the Hierarchical Individual Quadrant you scored 15.87%

In the Hierarchical Collective Quadrant you scored 20.63%

In the Distributed Individual Quadrant you scored 92.06%

In the Distributed Collective Quadrant you scored 26.98%


The Link below will open a PDF of the basic framework for each of these four 'Quadrants'- as you can see I am heavily Distributed Individual Quadrant biased...
Modes_of_Learning_Framework.pdf


We were then given time to reflect on the results before further understanding the four quadrants. Here are the questions and my answer (not for formal assessment just self reflection)

1.How have your beliefs about learning shaped your education and career choices?

I feel that my education thus far actually shaped my views on learning rather than my 'beliefs on learning' shaping my education. Actually, I feel they are completely intertwined, For example I am both academic and creative but felt academia was a straight line that has obvious and definite progression whereas creativity is more of an open less structured path, so more of a challenge. But this ‘creative path’ has much more of an opinionated nature, so is more emotionally challenging, and I feel it is this that drove me down the Distributed Individual Quadrant pathway, which is about valuing and controlling your own learning, as if I did not value my own learning, no-one else would.

Reflecting on this further this evening I feel this very much relates to the Module One Skype session we recently had about our experiences shaping us. I don't like talking about my college training experiences much because it was not all that great for me, but within the Skype session we discussed the idea of past experiences shaping you.... I feel a selection of negative experiences can either drive you to 'give up', or drive you to 'push harder'. For me it drove me to take power of my own education. I found an appreciation for knowledge, and I strongly feel that you are in control of your own learning. I don't think tests and exams are the answer to ranking your intelligence. I am pleased that I did well academically in school, but did reading 'Of Mice and Men' teach me how to sort out housing benefits whilst I studied? Did 'Triple Science' teach me how to fill out a self-assessed tax form? Did Dance class teach me how to negotiate a Performers Contract? No- but it's all vital knowledge to my 'living'. I believe school is important, it lays some fundamental foundations for life and I will forever be thankful for the development I made during school, but to know that that is only the tip of the iceberg is to take the first real steps into controlling your own education. Where you go from there is completely open to individual interpretation but I personally found a negative 'post school', college experience drove me, and many of my peers to become somewhat 'selfish' in there education. Now, 'on the other side' and in a much healthier environment, I feel not so much grateful, but thankful, as I feel this selfish approach to education has developed (but positively) into an appreciation for self education and allowed me to have a 'self driven/motivated' mindset. But I actually feel I found this way of learning as a coping method, and advancement method in a toxic selfish environment.  


2. How did the Modes of Learning Assessment challenge you? How did it surprise you?

The assessment was challenging where multiple answers I viewed as equal rating. Whilst my score was obvious that I consider learning, or at least my own learning, to be within the Distributed Individual Quadrant, I could agree and see values and benefits to all quadrants. The biggest factor that influenced me was that I found some of the quadrants to be restricting and I do not believe learning should be restricted but I also feel this depends on the situation and environment. The Hierarchical Collective Quadrant could be an excellent way of accessing community, for example a sport and sporting team, however there are times when I believe if you strictly stuck within this quadrant there is a risk of learning stopping where the community stops.

Again reflecting further on this now I feel having a combination of approaches is ultimately the best way to access education. This course is based around being able to access the 'Distributed Collective Quadrant' via a Web 2.0 platform (this blog) so to be able to learn and aid this community is vital, but at the same time each assignment handed in is developed through individual study too, meaning you have to be able to access the aforementioned Distributed Individual Quadrant.



I appreciate the approach to the quadrant theory, I feel the concept is well broken down, and very applicable, maybe as my score was so dominant in one area, or maybe as I do feel the framework linked above does effectively describe my method of learning. Linking this back to Kolb's theories about the Learning Cycle- where I established that my entry into the 'Learning Cycle' was 'Active Experiment'- the two theories support each other in that 'Active Experiment' is a process of  'Trial and Error' (which in itself is a process of learning and adapting) of your own accord. The idea growing and developing is an extension as you progress in your learning. Combined, these two theories are a great platform for the breaking down of 'Reflection/Evaluation' as I can understand my process of learning better. 


The video below demonstrates how the active engagement and individually driven education differs from other obvious engagements in learning such as 'School' but I particularly like how this is connected to a search for happiness and an appreciation for creativity. I chose performing because I have always said that if I am to spend 80% of my life working, I want to enjoy it. In this the question is 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' and the answer I think applies to all.

                                    


My brain cannot cope with adding any more into this Blog but I have attached more links for myself and others that I have come across today that either directly or indirectly relate, and most need further development and research, but if anyone is interested:

https://drrogerwalsh.com/topics/lifestyle-and-mental-health/
https://drrogerwalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Lifestyle-Mental-Health-Advanced-Publication-PDF.pdf
http://cei.ust.hk/files/public/simplypsychology_kolb_learning_styles.pdf
https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en#t-1150120

I've actually started!... Module One

Helloooo, It's that time again to update my weekly Blog. 

So this week I have made reasonable progress in terms of actually starting some of the Module one 'Tasks' and official work. I have created my Essay Cover page (which really isn’t much of an achievement but having it written in a saved document feels really reassuring), Re-written my CV as a Programme Bio, and begun to list everything in or related to ‘My practise’ to try and understand the ‘Diagram’/ Mapping element a bit more.

I really don’t need to go into detail about the ‘Essay cover page’, so I shall start with my findings/evaluation of the task to re-write the Cv into a Bio for a Programme:

Programme Bio:

Lorien made her professional debut as an actor in the ‘Uk Touring Consortiums’ production of ‘To Sir With Love’ in 2013. Following this she trained in Musical Theatre at the Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama from 2015-2018 and The Actors Workshop Nottingham for Film and TV (2018).

Lorien is a ‘Triple Threat’ Performer who specialises in Acting. She is also an accomplished Saxophonist. Upon graduating Lorien has engaged in multiple roles and has just finished filming for a BBC short film- ‘Searching For Cowardice’ (2019), due to be released in the New year. Some other credits include; voice over work for Feature Film ‘How to Build a Girl’ (2019); ‘Ensemble’ in Birminghams’ first ‘Warner Brothers’ production of ‘The Polar Express’ (2018), which she will be returning to for this upcoming Christmas Period; and ‘Choir member’ for ‘Kerry Ellis’ 20^th Anniversary Tour’ (2018).

Blog Profile Bio:

My name is Lorien Tear. I trained in Musical Theatre at Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama, and attained a Level 6 Diploma in 2018. I am also a grade 8 Saxophonist. I am currently undertaking the BA Professional Practice at Middlesex University, a level 2 qualification in Gym Instructing and a Zumba instructors qualification. Along side performing I have my own business producing and selling artwork which currently runs through Facebook and social media, but I am soon to launch my business website.

So this was a really beneficial task (I felt) in terms of trying to view your practice as a ‘thing’/ ‘Object’ away from ‘you’. I think the necessity for formality in the writing really takes any personal attachments out of it, therefore forcing you to view it as a ‘record’ or list of employment, rather than a set of achievements or projects that I would rank differently according to how emotionally attached to (proud of) the role you are. For example if someone asked me what I am most proud of? I would probably say the ‘BBC Short Film, However in this listing It felt more appropriate to start with the factual professional Debut, rather than start with my ‘favourite achievement!’.

I wrote my Blog Bio when I first opened an account not realising it would be a task so in hindsight if I were to re-write it now relating more to my CV it would probably be a little different. However I do not wish to re-write it as I actually feel that the Blog Bio is a more accurate representation of ‘My Practice’ right now. This is because I’m starting to view my practice/ My job as being ‘Proactive’ rather than being a ‘dancer’ ‘actor’ singer’ ‘musician’ ‘performer’. What can I work on to improve either my quality of work or the position I’m currently in? And that’s why I have found it so hard to separate my practice from me, because sometimes what you immediately ‘Need’ to improve may not seem like a direct link….

I’ve been graduated just over a year now and during that year I’ve found my feet and had relative success at being employed. (after finally doing my taxes last night) I’m actually really pleased to say that the money I’ve earnt matches or exceeds the money I have directly put in to ‘My Practice’. I mean of course I WANT it to exceed but for a first year, to match, I’m not disappointed! Anyway the point I’m trying to make is employment is by no means constant! And to ‘Put yourself out there’ is by no means ‘Cheap’!

So: 

What do I NEED to keep on ‘Putting myself out there’?

Right now, I NEED more income and flexibility; to fund auditions; to fund classes; to fund clothing expenses; to fund updating.

Can I do this with something relevant to me?

Well I go to the Gym pretty much daily again because its proactive, but also because mentally it puts me in a good place…

So what about instructing a gym class?…

Gym instructing: Freelance, 0 hours, You get a workout whilst instructing and access to the gym area, the course itself will educate me in how my body works and how to train effectively meaning I can make my sessions more effective, and I will regularly practice standing in-front of an audience and interacting with people.… 2 birds, one stone, I can be paid to improve myself, and that is why I chose to be a Gym instructor too.

Can I make it any more specific?

Zumba?- The cheapest course to train on, I practice some dance/movement, I practice choreography, I practice performing, I will grow in confidence.

 So for me I spend a lot of time trying to connect everything I engage in with ‘My Practice’. I know Zumba isn’t necessarily the most technique driven style of ‘dance’ but as someone who definitely can dance, but really struggles with confidence in that I think this could be an excellent way to break down that barrier in a relatively safe, non-judgmental (away from the ‘profession’) way and I absolutely see these steps it as part of my practice so therefore my practice IS Me and grows WITH ME.

But if I had to separate my practice into a formal list then then yes a CV and Programme Bio can achieve this…But I really believe my practice is way more than a short written list on a piece of paper, which unfortunately is how the majority will view it......I'm not going to go into it right now but I think there is a strong link here to the web and web 2.0 as so much of that is about being 'viewed'. One thing that I know often plays on my mind is wanting people to see that there is more to this than the 'yes' to a role, and even though it might not be obvious that there is always 'background work' going on, even when you don't post about it every day. But also why do I care, isn't that a direct effect of Web 2.0 and actually I choose not to post regular updates so again, why do I care!?