Sunday PM skype discussion...

So this evening we had some great discussions around initial thoughts on Knowing and Leanring which touched on, leanring from and using past experiences, knowing what / knowing how, seeing things from different perspective, the translation of ideas and communication and language. 

We talked a lot about expressing our ideas and thoughts to others in ways that we feel our intentions would be communicable and we got on to talking about language and expectations. 

Some things we left the conversation cosidering were around communciation is its broadest sense, that things aren't always fixed things, that learning is a process and new contexts bring with them new challenges, encounters, new learning demanding many responses.

There were a lot of us in the discussion... I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on your blogs as you continue these conversations...please post the link to your blog in the comments below so that we can all continue to connect and discuss...


I completely forgot to give time at the end of the call to talk about Agata being your Student Voice Leader this year. This means you can communicate with Agata anything about the MAPP programmes that you would like to be raised within the university as a whole. Agata will then represent the student body at our Programme Voice Group meetings. It's an opportunity to engage in dialogue around processes, practice, and to voice the student experience, so do contact Agata with your thoughts in the coming weeks.

Agata if you could add in the comments here how you can best be contacted for this please?

New term...new blogs

First week into the term and it's been great touching base with some of you, talking to new starters and hearing from returning students... A note as we set into this term to really engage with the MAPP community in order to feel connected in your learning, use the rich resources that are you!!

I took part in a workshop with dance artist/choreographer Rosemary Lee today...we shared in her process and stories of making two participatory works, Meltdown (from Square Dances) for Passage for Par, both beautiful examples of connecting, sharing, making journeys...


This made me think of the premise of the MAPP programmes...such a rich place for practitioners to come together to share, to learn, with others that are interested!!
  
Square Dances
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXamnO0nE6A&t=44s


Passage for Par 
https://vimeo.com/276339048




One of the key connections of the programmes is the blogs...

Module Ones do get your blogs up and running now as a first 'task'  -a first post can simply be an introduction, you saying hi to others, introducing yourself, your practice, your thoughts, hopes, wonders coming into the programme... send your supervisor your blog address as soon as you can and we'll list these on our programme pages so that you can find each other, connect and comment easily..


Returning module twos and threes a chance to refresh your blogs, share your thoughts on progressing through the previous module, your feedback, things you're considering now as you move into the next module...let us know what you're thinking, pondering in your practice...

Do make sure you've checked in on Adesola's blog this week...some wonderful reflections on 'beginnings'... comment with your thoughts..

http://adesolamapp.blogspot.com/2019/01/beginnings.html 


Looking forward to lots of sharing...

Welcome Week...

Hi, welcome to new students and welcome back to returning students on the MAPP DTP, MAPP Dance and MAPP Somatic Studies programmes.

Our term starts next week on Monday Jan 28th.

This week is a settling in, getting started, getting back into study week.

New starters you will receive an email from your supervisor this week with further information on getting started, links to unihub programme pages, calendar of events and your study plan. Do make contact in repsonse to let us know you've received this and to ask any questions you may have in order to get you all set up and ready to go next Monday.

Returning students you will receive an email from your supervisor this week with your feedback from your last module/assessed work, calendar of events and your study plan to come back to and update ahead of our Jan 28th start date.  

Get your blogs up and running, re-fresh them this week too and note the dates of our skype sessions. Following your feedback we have a lot more skype sessions this term including some with a module specific focus.. Please make every effort to attend and contribute to the MAPP community!

Looking forward to a great term ahead!


Helen

Finalist Presentations Tues Dec 18, Wed Dec 19...

FInalist Presentations...Tues Dec 18th and Wednesday Dec 19th

We have our Module Three MAPP finalists sharing their research inquiry journeys this week. It would be great if you can join us at all (via Skype) to be a part of their day and support each other.

I will set up a Skype Group Chat for the sessions Tues AM/PM and Wednesday AM Please comment below to say which day you would like to join (or both) and I will make the groups.

The schedules for the presentations are below, you are free of course to leave the call when you need to (we appreciate you may have other committments during the days).

Schedule of the day: Tuesday December 18^th 

Session One:

10.30-11.00 Garry Clarke (S) – Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

11.00-11.30 Rebecca Sloan-Kirton  - Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

11.30-12.00  Elissavet Lintzerakou– Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

Session Two:

14.00-14.30 – George Kirkham – Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

14.30-15.00 – Brandon Sears (S) – Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

15.00-15.30 – Jane Syder – Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

15.30-16.00 – Hannah Jackson (S)– Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

Schedule of the day: Wednesday December 19^th 

Session One:

10.00-10.30 Laura Dudman– Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

10.30-11.00 Chelsie Innes– Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

11.00-11.30 Joe Kenneday (S) – Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

11.30-12.00 Katherine Bates(S) - Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

12.00-12.30 Sunita Bolton– Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

12.30-13.00 Emma Coutler - – Oral Presentation / Professional Artefact

Communication of ideas...

We had a good conversation at our 2nd Sunday discussion group. Centred around the notion of communicating ideas we had people across the three modules talking around language, connections, sharing and ways in which different contexts influence how we communicate our ideas.

A question that arose was around articulating what we mean by by 'academic language' and the broader need to unpick terms and assumptions.

We considered the 'i' in research...where you are within your practice, your research, your writing. 

The balance in considering who you are, what you value, what embodied knowledges shape your ideas and those you are communicating to and the forms that might take.

Please do add in the comments here further thoughts on this and links to your own blogs to continue to communicate and share our ideas.

A note on Drafts...

Drafts of work are in which is great! 

Drafts are intended to initiate a feedback dialogue (in person, skype, via email) with your supervisor, they are not usefully used to ask if things are 'right' or sent with an expectation of receiving corrections, by way of a pre-marking opportunity.

Please do receive feedback as an extended discussion of your work. 

Often feedback contains prompts for further reading, suggested texts/practitioners to look at, comments regarding the level of critical thinking/analysis in your writing over overly descriptive personal narrative approaches etc.. Feedback comments are not telling you to 'correct' something and re-submit, but more trying to help you to move your thinking and writing on as we see the process of your work developmentally.

With this in mind, when you have received feedback on a draft of work, please take time to read and consider comments made, come back to your supervisor asking to extend the conversation, arrange a skype is you have further thoughts and questions as a result of the feedback, but please try not to send a 2nd draft asking if the work is now correct.

At MA level we put our trust in you as professional people and see our role as supervisors as guding you, being a critical friend, promting, pushing your thoughts, challenging sometimes in order for you to develop further. We are not testing you getting things 'right' we are interested in your engagement and curiosity about your own work.

Making Connections...

In the 2nd of our discussion groups today we had some great conversations around notions of creativity, advocacy and leadership, social, economic and cultural implications of dance and dance training. Connections were made between themes of interest, across cultures and communities of practice, between theory and practice and through utilizing the comments thread on skype to share resources as we spoke. I heard a strong sense of community in the sharing of practices and noticed the different perspectives we all experience and how we are able to nurture a community of learning through revealing these connections.

Those that were a part of this disucssion please do add links to your blogs below in the comments!!



I thought I'd share as a reflection on the conversations on creativity in our teaching and learning some notes from my own early PhD research around the relationships between environments, creativity and rigor in dance improvisation...

Creativity is not a new concept and creative exploration is not necessarily about seeking or finding ‘newness’; it is about approaches to learning and living.  Creativity is about allowing, offering, inviting a clearing of mind/body/space through which to think/move/feel a little more freely, intuitively perhaps. Whilst not suggesting that creativity is exclusive only to dance and dancers, or indeed the arts, this is where my practice and understanding is formed.  For dancers to engage in a process of exploration (to be creative) is not uncommon, and yet the facilitation of environments conducive with, and the level of engagement and understanding from this engagement can vary considerably and should therefore not be taken as a given facet of dance. To be open to acknowledging and accepting alternatives through the challenging of existing assumptions is pivotal to my practice-as-research.  To be spontaneous whilst re-visiting, re-ordering, re-learning I believe is at the heart of creative exploration in the arts.

 An area I feel is problematic within dance improvisation as a practice of creative learning is its apparent lack of pedagogical structure and rigour, making it a little ambiguous as an educational experience when sitting alongside a curriculum of codified dance techniques with (through documentation at least) longer more hierarchic heritage.  There is an assumption following this line, that improvisation in dance is instinctively creative, as it is apparently without boundaries, open and free.  Context is critical here as we begin to unpeel the layers of the arts in society through to dance as an art, through to particular nuances within the dance experience.  In the context of mainstream Western society, the arts are generally perceived of as free, open, accepting, experimental and creative.  Dance as the most explicitly physical, sensory practice in the arts, attracts the same breadth of description in the context of the other arts.  Within dance, contemporary (modern, post modern) is generally regarded to be more 'creative' than classical ballet, and improvisation, with its perceived lack of form as 'the' creative dance.   

I wonder what your thoughts are around assumptions held with regard to technique, form, structure and pedagogical value in dance?