'New Horizons'

Blog post 1: 4/2/16

Hello and a warm welcome to my blog! If you are casting your eyes upon this then you, my friends, are witnessing my very first post and I thank you enormously for dropping by!

My name is Megan and I am a professional performer from the land of Yorkshire, and have recently turned the 'quarter of a century' milestone - eek! I've been dancing since the tender age of 5 and after completing a 3 year scholarship at one of the most prestigious colleges in the UK, I have been lucky enough to work on 2 of the most popular musicals to date as well as one original musical in London's West End. In addition to being passionate for the arts, I am a keen academic and have always loved the idea of developing my Trinity diploma in Dance to a BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Arts through Middlesex University.
Both personal and career development is hugely important to me; and I believe exploring, reflecting upon and querying elements of the professional practise that I have been involved in and am currently experiencing will give me better tools and understanding in the working world. This aiding a mature approach to the professional environment and allowing me to make more successful and intelligent choices within it.

So, here goes. With this being my first written blog I was at a bit of a loose end as to where to begin. Currently, I am on tour and residing in Stoke for the week. I know I am super lucky to be doing what I love every day and touring can be great fun but sometimes it can also take its toll. This morning in particular the weather was beyond gloomy, I looked around at the run down streets of Stoke on my walk into work (which were also dead to the world) and after 2 weeks of a very busy schedule, I was feeling extremely exhausted and missing my family at home. Just as I was approaching the Regent Theatre, I noticed a beautiful piece of street art plastered across one of the city's walls titled 'New Horizons' by nature inspired artist, 'Fauna Graphic'. I was instantly stopped in my tracks and consumed by a feeling of what I can only describe as refreshing. At that single moment in time, the image before me somehow managed to alter my outlook to one that was positive again. The stunning colours of pale blues and pinks gave me a cool and calm sense of being and the grand images of these stunning birds gave me an overwhelming rush of inner peace and contentment.
When I saw the title 'New Horizons' the artwork immediately connected with me and it is that what made me believe this particular image would be a perfect way to begin my blog. After all, I am coming towards the final leg of my current tour so auditions are starting to filter in and I am just about to embark on this exciting new journey with my studies. According to 'the Cambridge dictionary', the definition of 'horizon' is 'the line at the farthest place you can see' and that's exactly why I wanted to begin this course - to broaden my own horizons, look at the bigger picture and to gain perspective through self managed learning. I decided to research the street artist and discovered that she wasn't actually from Stoke, but Sheffield - my home town! The powerful warmth I got from seeing the art, relating to the title and then discovering a link between the artist and I, rekindled my sense of being at that very moment and I instantly felt okay again, that I wasn't alone. For that I am eternally grateful and appreciative. 'Fauna' refers to 'living organisms that are categorised by voluntary movement' (www.vocabulary.com) and nature is what inspires this particular artist. Today 'Fauna Graphic' inspired me.

Never underestimate the power of your art.

You can check out other pieces of work by this extremely talented individual at www.faunagraphic.com and don't hesitate to visit their Twitter or Facebook page!

www.faunagraphic.com