Keep questioning

I had a very interesting conversation with my adviser, Adesola. She helped me to recognise the method of research. 

I was lost in books and information and did not see the path or even the research topic. 

I understood that the analysis is not about desperately looking for answers to all of the questions but it is about collecting information, making comparisons and to continue asking questions.

It is similar to when we are watching a different dance character and we don't need to choose the best one. There is no necessary outcomes just an interesting experience. We can speak about experiences and share opinions as well as compare the differences in opinions. 

I am going to keep my focus on the questions in order to explore the field that I want to research. 

I don't know the final outcome but I think I will have more questions. 

I hope I am in the right direction. 

What do you think? Do you think the same? Why do you think the same? If not, why do you think differently?

Different approaches

It was a very interesting Skype conversation, last Sunday. I really like to hear about how someone has become a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer. I was also thinking about how the private life, environment and political situation can influence the professional career and makes every journey unique.  

It is similar to creating choreography with a certain music, everyone will create differently because of their different circumstances, abilities, influences etc. 

I am just wondering about the private aspect.

The personal aspects of life such as getting married and having children is closer to the natural way of life and humanity as opposed to our focus on career and being perfect. Everyone is looking for love and wants to be loved which is the reason for living, for human beings. 

How can the Human aspect reflect in the dance performance? 

One of the greatest Hungarian photographer’s Éva Keleti said that:

“The dance has three aspects: music, choreography and the dancer.”

She always looked for the movement with her camera, when the human effect is shining through the choreography and the music fills them with emotion and expertise. 

The dancer cannot hide the personal situations of life because we are firstly human. The emotions can appear in the dance performance consciously or unconsciously. This can give the deepest content to the dance performance. 

The dancer’s personality is included in every step and movements, their power and emotion combines with the music and choreography. This is the atmosphere that the audience can feel during the performance, but each performance is different because everything is changing and we are not the same as we were 5-10 years ago. I think this is the most interesting thing about how the personality can expand and is developing within the dance career. 

Culture, religion and politics particularly in terms of dance practice

Dance was born in the earliest human civilisation, it was a ritual celebration ceremony and some cultures also used dance for a healing cremony and telling a story.  

There is some evidence regarding the connection between the authentic roots of dance and culture, religion and politics. 

Chinese dance has a long recorded history, which tells the story of the Tang Dynasty. 

Indian dance has its roots in Sanskrit text and the religious performance arts of Hinduism.

The North American Indians danced for the sun, rain and for a good harvest. 

Australian folk dancers imitate the actions of a particular animal in the process of telling a story. 

Arabic culture has a traditional dance form which is belly dance. It was a sacred dance in the earliest civilisation. The women in the tribe helped the bearing woman during childbirth with hips movements. 

In early European culture, dance was also used for the telling of myths before the production of written language and the Greek philosopher Aristotle ranked dance with poetry. 

During the mid-20th century every civilisation preserved its folk tradition by folk dance. Folk tradition which was popular in the country side and in villages included the folk dance form, which presented the folk tradition. 

Studies in anthropology have shown that the transformation of dance is dependent upon the culture, religion, society and political situation. 

‘The idea of dance as a formalised performance tradition is usually associated with industrial economies, urban societies, and a culture's economically secure or educated classes.’ 

(Source: New Dictionary of the History of Ideas COPYRIGHT 2005 The Gale Group, Inc.)

The political situation influenced ballet in the 18th century. The glamorous luxury of the French Royal court provided a good foundation for the formation of ballet. 

There is further evidence regarding modern dance. 

The creation of a new form of dance art such us modern dance formed in Europe after World War I. It is based on ballet but the artist began to appreciate the individuals thoughts, the religion, the emotions and they left the strict rules of ballet behind. It gives freedom and a new form of expression. Modern dance is still very popular and was the foundation of contemporary dance. 

In my opinion, dance is everywhere and is for everyone in every civilisation. Every situation provides an opportunity for the creativity, which is the foundation of art. When I take a look at what I have written, I realise that the traditional dance form transformed over the centuries to the perfect physical implementation and that today’s dancers have returned to the authentic meaning and to the communicative dance forms. 

It can be concluded that dance is not just for entertaining, it is a reflection of every civilisation and has authentic roots, a history and a future. 

https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-dance

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_dance

http://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/performing-arts/dance/dance

Guidance from the books

I have a feeling that what I am thinking and writing about is not just in my head because I am not the first one who was thinking about this subject. Someone definitely came across this matter before me. I believe in the collective consciousness, where all of our memories and knowledge of the world is collected, and this is the reason why I cannot stop researching and asking questions; who has already written about this? What did he/she realise and how did he/she discover it?  

I am looking for evidence, inspiration, feedback and knowledge from authors and their books. 

Evidence because someone definitely knows things better than I do, has more experience about certain things and may have conducted research.

Inspiration because when I start to write about something I need a pathway for describing evidence. This pathway can guide me on how I can write, what the starting point is, the content and the consequences.

Feedback because I already have experiences and I am curious about how someone else came to realise the same thing and what they concluded.

Knowledge because I have experiences but this alone is not enough. I have to complete my experiences with knowledge and learning about evidence. 

Life is about learning and developing. Learning from past experiences and developing for the future. Learning is like an endless chain, and everybody can add something new or exciting to the future. This knowledge is enriching and this development will be helpful for the future generations. 

As a dance teacher, I have to research these things because there are no books in the dance studio. Teaching dancing is not an objective knowledge, which means that there are many different dance forms and styles, as well as methods of teaching, teachers and students. In addition, it is a physical and artistic form which means teaching dance also requires support from predecessors, advisers, masters, and other teachers. Books can be helpful and provide additional knowledge for the teacher and student alike, for the lifelong journey of learning. 

Targeted questions

I started to observe my students, I checked their knowledge with targeted questions about the movements, music and history of belly dancing. I observed that this made them excited and gave them confidence. 

I am just wondering after my conversation with my Adviser, I really need to do the same with myself... This is where the confidence is coming from. 

My targeted question is HOW? 

How have I learnt this and that..?

I have learnt everything from my experiences and this is targeting towards my mistakes. I never thought that I would be blessed because of my mistakes. It does sound strange.

The benefits of mistakes can provide better understanding and useful solutions.

I made a lot of mistakes in my past, but finally I found the best solution. In other words, due to my mistakes I gained confidence and became a professional dancer. 

This is a benefit of my mistakes. 

We must get over our mistakes and realise that it is our responsibility instead of blaming someone else.

Joseph T. Hallinan says that:

 "We learn so little from experience because we often blame the wrong cause." [1]

We need to get over blaming and when we observe our mistakes, only then are we able to gain a better insight into the things we do well and simultaneously we can improve in the things that we do poorly. 

To be a teacher means we need to be patient and supportive because learning is a long journey and there are many (blessed) mistakes along the way. 

So I am going to explore the mistakes I made which enabled me to become a MA student. 

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[1] Joseph T. Hallinan 2009 Why We Make Mistakes by Broadway 

back to the roots - Starting point

Firstly I’d like to explain why I choose this theme. I had a feeling that I needed to get back to the beginning...

What is the starting point? This is the same feeling as the first dance class, after the introduction and warm up we learn the first position and then we can move in any direction. So the starting point is the experiences from the past.

I think the basic question is why does someone want to learn dance?

Their past experiences have led them to the present (they are at the class) and it can drive us to the future...I guess

Let’s see what happens...

I remember when I ran my dance school in Budapest, Hungary where I had many young talented students. These ladies were excited about learning, loved challenges and worked hard on technique. Most of them wanted to be an expert. Their purpose was to be a winner at competitions, become known and to ‘conquer the world’.

When I came to the UK, I met many different types of women. They represented the older generations who have never danced before and whom required a different context of teaching. They just want to have fun, gain some knowledge and do something healthy.

Dancing has many benefits. Dancing amongst other things provides happiness, excellent physical exercise, raises the heart rate, and burns calories, is way to make friends, being a part of the community of dance and for many becomes a goal in life.

There are so many reasons for dancing but I looked for something else. I realised that whether consciously or not any type of woman wants to return back to the traditional roots, both professionals and amateurs alike. They want to get closer to the spirituality and the essence of femininity. They are tired of having to maintain their appearance from nail extensions and hair care and external things, and going beyond the health benefits of dancing and personal aims, they are looking for the feeling of just being confident women. It is not about expression but it is about harmony.

What is that confidence?

Joyce Meyer the best-selling author at New York Times says that:” I believe confident is all about being positive.[1]”

What does this mean?

This means that positive thoughts create a good feeling body and also the opposite would apply which is that a good feeling body promotes positive thoughts. Ester and Jerry Hicks say that “the good feeling body is a power basis for an ongoing good attitude”. [2]

Why do they need that confidence today?

Even if these women are a different type of woman today with different expectations they have in common a similar life situation. The world has changed over the centuries especially in Western societies. Many women are working hard and caring for their children, husband and home, so there is no time to be a woman. These women often behave like men. They need to be perfect in many situations and the stress as a result causes frustration in women’s lives. Due to their mundane jobs or studying they feel under pressure and this is the main reason why they want to relive their stress.

There is a very well-known saying from Satire X of the Roman poet written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD:

"A sound mind in a sound body".

I believe that if someone realised that small and smart phrase, it could be the first step to a harmonious life and they could be on the way to take a first dance lesson.

Dance makes them newly born and in addition the movements of belly dancing provides them with a connection between the body, soul, mind and source of life. Cleansing chakras and enabling them to integrate that confidence into their personal life.

I am very excited now and I can not wait, the next steps…

This observation opened my mind and I started that journey with one question and now I have got many questions. I feel myself free, as if I can step into several different directions and I think there are many fields that are waiting to be explored.

Joyce Meyer. 2011. The confident woman devotional 365 daily devotions New York, USA: Faithwords Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Ester and Jerry Hicks 2008. Money and the Law of attraction Learning to attract Wealth, Health and happyness Padstow, Cornwall UK: TJ International

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first small step

I am really happy to being a part of the program MA Professional in Dance Technique Pedagogy.

I am at the first step...I have just enrolled and I try to find out how could I win the place at the Middlesex Unversity. This was my dream from my childhood to be professional in my field. I still can't belive.:) When I came to UK I could not speek English very well but a few years after I live for my dream and I get back to the school. 

The hard work will pay you, if you don't give up your dream will turn into reallity.

This is what I have learned.

My brain is upside down and I am totally excited. :)

I know it makes a lot of work and caffee. :)