Connections - right or wrong

I have been really excited by some connections that I am beginning to make. 
This blog is going to ramble and probably not make complete sense.  There is definitely no conclusion.  It's a lot of thoughts that are beginning to flow in my mind that I had not previously considered (I was going to say 'take shape' but there is no shape at present!).

Thoughts so far
Obviously dance is about the body and bodies are human so it seems obvious that dance and the dancer is about humans. If that is correct then humans live a life and a dancers world is part of that.  The two connections that I have made
1. Through AOL Hierarchy
I have noticed the connection between the hierarchies created in the dance studio and the variation of hierarchies that exist within our own lives. How hierarchy can be used to create harmony and used positively or how it can be used negatively and ostracise but there is a direct link for me between the hierarchy created in the studio and how that is/can be reflected within our daily lives and our history (or vice versa)


This morning I thought about the fact that I would not let young people wear hats and trainers etc. in the dance studio.  I am a contemporary dancer and work barefoot anyway but when working with groups of young offenders in the community and any community groups,  I have always held my ground in not allowing hats and trainers or jewelry into the space.  By bringing those items in, in the past, it has subconsciously given permission for participants to bring in a 'street culture' and street hierarchy which is defined for many young people by their clothes, trainers and the labels attached to those items. From experience, I know this does not allow the participants to start on an even playing field and has created an unhelpful hierarchy that does not encourage openness, participation and unity.


2. Through Cathy (MAPP student), Work based learning journal p38 (Jenifer A Moon) and my own experience
Is the connection (and more of an investigation that I would like to make) between the human being as described by The work based Journal.  "Reflection begins as soon as we are born and has always even if subliminally, affected how you view yourself and define your identity and profile".

She goes on to speak about 'mirror image' and that once an infant has seen their image they become more self aware. .... "begin to view themselves differently, indeed as a complete entity rather than the disjointed arms and legs they have looked down upon as a small baby".

This connects with how women (particularly) view their bodies.  Generally we talk about our bodies as body parts that we like or dislike. "I like the tops of my arms and ankles but hate hate above my knees ...etc.  This in turn reminded me of the skype conversation (October) where Cathy had been surprised that her 'body image' folder did not contain as much as she had thought it would. It also took my thoughts to us as dancers often working with a mirror and seeing our own reflections for hours and hours each week.  It made me wonder how much judgement we place on our bodies as dancers, positive or negative. Viewing our bodies as right or wrong.  Separating the right from the wrong parts.

In primary school we were one of only three black families.   In the infant department I was not aware of colour and the school made no distinction (as far as I can remember) between different races.  We were all just treated as children.
One day when I was very small definitely no older than 5 years, my best friend brought some very pale pink lipstick in and put it on.  It looked so pretty on her, so I then put some on and felt lovely.  I was shocked to look in the mirror to see how strange I looked.  Where as the pink blended so beautifully with her skin tone it was completely at odds with my own. This is the first time that I can remember being aware of colour and its personal relationship with me. I have heard it said and know from my own son that children are not really aware of different coloured people for many years.

Last night, my husband showed me a you tube clip, it was connected to another which I then viewed.
It was about an experiment in the 1940s with black  (African American) children, aged around 4 or 5 and two dolls, one white and one black. The children were asked a variety of questions about which doll was good, bad, pretty, ugly etc, which doll they would prefer to play with and which doll looked most like them. 63% of the black children preferred to play with the white doll whilst 50% thought that the white doll looked most like them.

Going back to Cathy, one of her comments and realisation seems to lie in the fact that as we try to accumulate information, resources and ideas, we are also seeing different perspectives of different people.  Who is right and who is wrong?  Is there a right or wrong or does it depend on the position in which you stand, sit or even fall? 

Trawling through masses of literature and coming up with different people coming from the same perspective must be really frustrating, as must not knowing whose perspective to believe because all of the points of view are so different.  


So many similarities, contradictions and questions have arisen from these snippets of conversations, thoughts and resources.  Questions connected to geographical space that we live in, culture, country, time, friends, families and how each of those will possibly influence the responses in ourselves in our students and in our work.



From our skype conversation, something that has stuck with me is, that no matter the journey, it is 'our own voice' (Adesola) that is most important at this stage.  It is 'colouring' the work and theories that we are coming across with our own perspective that makes our findings relevant rather than deciding who is right and who is wrong.

For many years, particularly when working with students new to dance, I would say "dance is not like maths. 1+1 will always make 2 but dance is a process with a never ending conclusion". A dancer is constantly striving for more for better, for longer, for higher, for lower for....... 
By looking at it in this way the journey remains positive and free of judgment (from self)


Interesting my journey through this MA, so far is leading me in the same direction as the direction I have always tried to encourage my own students to travel.  Its the road of "Trust the Process and enjoy the journey.  The product will come".  Only this time, I am hearing it from fellow students and advisers (Thanks all, particularly Cathy, you always have an interesting view, my thoughts don't always connect immediately on a skype call but much of what you have mentioned has resonated in one way or another for me)
 
This blog really is a rambling of thoughts and I would be really interested to hear any ones additional thoughts/perspectives.  This is not an area that I am specifically working on for this course but the connections have been so interesting, I wondered if anyone would like to add to my library of thoughts?

Tara