As I dive into the learning process literature, reflect and dissect my CV, and pop important dates into my calendar I have affirmed that the way in which I learn is how I teach and how I create. A variety of thoughts, patterns, ideas, make up my day to day life and how I present my ideas to the world. Here are some of my thoughts, and hopefully you can follow along ;)
I have never been a linear thinker or singular thought contemplator, rather I have always created in a way that follows my sporadic trains of thought, and has my busy mind occupied with many things all at once. I currently have...15 tabs open, two notebooks in front of me, am throwing the ball down the hall for my puppy, the music on, and my coffee is brewing. I can not do one thing at a time.
Looking back to being a young child I was always a dancer, but never focused on one style. I always did a blend of ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, hip hop, singing, musical theatre, and exam classes. It kept my curious mind calm and somehow in the chaos I was able to focus.
Once graduated from high school I travelled around the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. I was never in one place for too long, and always was doing many things each day to entertain myself.
In post-secondary this was a strength and really allowed me to enjoy my studies. I juggled management classes of accounting and finance, with Science classes of anatomy and kinesiology, and leadership classes of teaching, coaching, and entrepreneurial studies. My program was a blend of all things Sport and I loved it because it gave me so many different avenues to pursue post graduation. For lots of students, having a varied amount of classes proved difficult but upon reflection this was exactly how I already loved to learn.
This reflection brings me to present day...my CV. I resonated with Matthew in our last zoom when it was brought forward that as performer, you actually have about 7 different unpaid roles that all fit into that one title. Agree. And from Honor's comment about the struggle to consolidate an artistic CV into just a few main points. Mhmm.
So now as I look at my CV I am left with the spider web that is my life, and was all along a reflection of how I learn. I currently am doing my MA, but I also own a dance studio, am the manager of a Yoga Studio, teach at 3 different studios, and dance for a contemporary company part time. Each day I have at least 2 jobs, and I love the variety. Coming into the MA I actually left 2 jobs and still I have a handful! I like to be able to pop in and teach for 4 hours, head to my studio for an hour to write some emails, and then head to rehearsal. The next day I head to the yoga studio, teach a yoga class, and head to a high school to teach dance. The variety really is what keeps me going and looking at my CV I have never once in my working years had just one job. I think the ability to change my "hat" and become another version of myself keeps things interesting and allows me to tap into the different facets that make up the human that I am.
As I look at my choreography book or teaching books I can see organized thoughts, lesson plans, and exercises that follow an artistic and scientific approach; although some pages are written in cursive, some printing, some drawings, some upside down, and some a combination. If someone was to find my notebooks, they most definitely would not be able to lead my class, but somehow this topsy turvy spider web of ideas is a mirror image of my brain and the innerworkings of my thoughts.
So now my task is to continue to dissect the various parts of myself, what got me to this exact moment through different learning styles, and who out there in the world has the same thinking patterns.
Hey Caleigh, Thanks for posting this. I resonate with you on so many levels when it comes to have multiple jobs. Even though I mostly work within the genre of dance, as a freelancer I have lots of jobs going at the same time, sometimes teaching, performing or doing admin etc and it definitely keeps life interesting! I was thinking how it also keeps performers from being too self-absorbed when you teach alongside. I know for me it sort of takes my mind off all the challenging steps I am about to perform and gives me something else to get stressed about very often! I am interested to know if teaching yoga alongside dance has beneficial effects on your own wellbeing when leading such a busy life?
ReplyDeleteHi Ann! Great question. Yes absolutely- it has really helped me not only with my ability to handle the stress of life but also with my relationship to time. For so long I had friends who just didn't quite understand how I could work until late at night or have a late night rehearsal followed by an early morning class. I find it so hard to explain this to someone outside of the arts. So for me the yoga practice really helped redefine the concept of time and allows me to drop into concentration or ease by using the tools it provides :)
DeleteThat's so interesting and something I am definitely looking to embrace more in my own life/career. I often find I worry about not having enough time. Yet somehow when it comes to it, I somehow find time and looking back I am not sure how I found it! Time is a fascinating thing and the more I dwell on it, the more I think it is simply our perception and often takes up too much energy. Living in the moment is the most rewarding way to exist. Even though I know it is necessary to function as a society. :)
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