SIG's: Education, Work, Home

INQUIRY REMINDER: What makes a dancer successful?

TUTOR:

 MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY PEERS:

WORK COLLEAGUES:

I had a chat in the dressing room with my fellow ensemble members about success and any advice they'd maybe give to other aspiriring professional dancers in the musical theatre industry. Most of the girls saw success as being 'happy' and 'content with your achievements'. They said 'hard work' was key and how 'ballerinas in particular are on another level - it becomes a lifestyle choice where huge sacrifice is involved. This in regards to the rehearsal hours and diet etc.' I found it particularly interesting when one girl said 'if I ever stop enjoying my job then I should change career' which continues to express that happiness is a key part of success to them. I was intrigued to hear how they thought other dancers can help their success by being an 'inspiration' or hinder potentially in regards to competition and comparison.

I also spoke briefly to the head of our wig department. He said 'I'm not successful without my team.' It makes me wonder how we can ensure success in a situation where others around us aren't deemed as successful. Is it possible to have a contingency plan for example or methods in place to help bring others up? It also made me think about how a musical theatre production must be a team effort for the production to be a success. It also made me think about how I as a dancer depend on other dancers such as my partner, or other departments to aid my own success. It reiterates the saying:

"you are only as strong as your weakest link." 

I'd be really interested to look at what other dancers and departments consider a successful dancer to be in order to collaborate more effectively and enhance the working environment. I hope by doing this I'd expand my networks and learn new skills/knowledge that could not only benefit my own success but that of the show!

FAMILY:

I often love discussing my industry with family because, with them all being non - dancers, they look at things with a completely different perspective. My step dad works in business and architecture and he was intrigued by the history of my inquiry topic and how times have changed. He mentioned how 'many musical theatre shows are now touring so to be successful you have to be willing to travel and be adaptable.' We also spoke about shorter contracts in today's musical theatre scene and time spent out of work so it's essential to be financially smart. 'To be successful you must accept that there may be times when you have to work other jobs that you may not necessarily want to in order to make ends meat' - either in between contracts or even alongside with the ever decreasing budgets. His idea of success seemed to be swayed towards making money and being in employment rather than the enjoyment of it like my colleagues.

My mum works in education, early years more specifically, and she spoke about the curriculum versus characteristics of learning. 'It is said that the children's success moving forward into primary school, is highly dependant on how they do in assessment aged 4-5. Not in regards to their numeracy and literacy scores (curriculum) but in regards to things like curiosity, persistence, problem solving and willingness to keep trying when things go wrong (characteristics of learning).' I found this really interesting because it implies that even without certain skills or knowledge, you can still be successful if you are the right type of person - I.e. Determined with a great work ethic. I strongly agree with this in relation to the working world of dance and believe it is those characteristics as apposed to talent that will provide longevity in a career. I also believe that the people who have to persist and keep trying, are the ones who will be more appreciative and acknowledging of their successes and in turn make them happier! What do you think?

My boyfriend works in the organisation of school games and in sports massage therapy. He expressed that success is 'personal' and must be 'realistic' to the individual. He also said how 'it can be measured internally in terms of satisfaction and pride or externally in terms of the jobs you've had or qualifications you've gained etc'. Key ideas behind success for him were related to networks and communication. He has to deal with several schools and their various members of staff, parents, a huge spectrum of children in regards to their ages and abilities, sporting organisations for courses/funding/venue hire etc as well as building a client base for his massage business. 'Being likeable and approachable is key.' I think this is also essential in dance because you are always meeting and working with new people. You often form large networks for relatively short periods of time in musical theatre so building a good reputation and forming positive relationships is very important. It makes me think that the better you are at collaborating, networking and cooperating effectively with other people, the more successful you will be - not only in the present working environment but for future career prospects as well. This links in massively with 'networking' from module 1.

As I said above, I'd love to use my inquiry to help expand and build on my networks. This in order to increase my success as a dancer in the current working environment of a musical theatre production. I also hope that by doing this, I will learn what a successful dancer is to other experts so that I can aid their success as well as my own and move forward into other productions with a higher success rate. 'Characteristics' from the conversation with my mum and the recurring theme of 'goals' from my peers particularly interests me as well. I also plan to look into 'psychology' and 'goal setting' and their impact on success.