New discoveries...

This week has been fast-paced to say the least (hence the late night blog now!) but a week full of revealing old habits and finding new beginnings.  As I share my knowledge and experiences with my students on a daily basis, through release-based practice in the studio, choreographic improvisations, essay tutoring, I am able check-in and remind myself of my values in life, in dance, and where those values have come from.  Listening to and observing my students evolving practice in dance I recognise traits in my own learning, ones which I've been able to move through and beyond with experience in practice as an artist and an educator, but which still hold a firm place and value in my journey.  

Today I led a research and development workshop with my company, working also with final year dance undergrads at Middlesex.  It was a great afternoon of learning, watching, talking, moving, understanding past practice in order to define our next journey.   Learning through sharing, an open dialogue, making new discoveries, not only in movement, but in relation to how we learn, how we know what we know, and how we find what we don't know and begin to understand why and what we need to know at this present moment.

 

Looking at your Areas of Learning, try to identify where, how and why that learning took place, what has it fed into for you, what do you value about it, what did you value then, what do you value now?  Time and reflection on time past is such an insightful thing, allowing us to contextualise our experiences and attribute value to them.  Enjoy this process, learn from it, learn from sharing with other (other MAPPers, Adesola and myself), and let the whole process (self reflection and sharing) feed your next journey...

Helen