Thoughts Following Skype Session

I had an interesting Skype session with Paula on Tuesday about the direction that my inquiry will take. 
I still hadn't finalised or come to a decision about the exact direction of my line of inquiry, and speaking with Paula was really beneficial. I now have a lot of ideas to think about, and hearing a different perspective was very helpful. 
I had initially been interested in the issues surrounding body image and diet/ nutrition in dancers, due to my past experiences during and post college. 

We spoke about my current job in recruitment, and my plans for the future and how my line of inquiry might fit in with those. I want my inquiry to be beneficial to my future career, whichever direction it might take. 
Paula commented on taking the subject of body image further, and looking at it as 'dancer mentality'- how we perceive ourselves, and managing those perceptions. 
I have noted in bullet points below some ideas we mentioned during our conversation. I would like to develop my initial ideas surrounding body image further, into how do dancers think? And how this translates outside of the dance profession?

• Body image related to dancer mentality
• A projection of our personality?
• How we perceive ourselves?
• Knowing- self and managing perceptions
• Fitting into culture outside of dance
• Personality of dancers, perception of ourselves in society
• Transferable skills
• Social media- social learning. Knowing yourself
• 'Personality tests' in modern culture

Proposed Award Title

After some consideration, I have decided that in relation to my future career development, I would like my award title to be:  BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance), the rationale behind which, I have written below.

I feel that due to my continuous training and past experiences, dance is the field where my strengths and knowledge lie, and it is also where I would like my future career to continue to take me. 

Whilst studying at The Hammond School, the syllabus had a strong emphasis on dance, particularly ballet, and while we did also study Singing and Acting, dance was the main focus. Hence, I graduated with a National Diploma in Professional Dance. Since graduating from college, I have been employed as a dancer in multiple contracts. Since 2007 I have danced in various shows and also spent a while freelancing- throughout this time I was employed in a purely dancer capacity. 

I would like my award title to be BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance) as this course is based on our professional experience. My experience to date has been primarily within dance, and it seems natural to develop my National Diploma in Professional Dance into a BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance). It is through my experiences both at dance college and as a professional dancer that have led to my line of inquiry. 

My line of inquiry, and this award title, will be beneficial to me in my future career developments. I hope to one day continue my career within the dance field as a dance teacher. My line of inquiry, although not specific to teaching dance, I hope will increase my employability as a teacher in the long- term. The findings and knowledge I will gain, through my inquiry will be passed on to my dance students one day. I hope to give them a better understanding and further education surrounding diet and nutrition in dancers. With this aim in mind, I hope this award title will be beneficial in continuing my career and securing further dance related work.  

Pilot Interview

I decided to conduct a pilot interview as my 'informal trial'. I asked a friend of mine, or 'professional associate' to participate in the interview. She currently works as a full- time dance teacher, however is oversees, so the interview was conducted over Skype. I felt that her previous experience as a professional dancer would be beneficial to my future line of questioning. 

• Before the interview

Before conducting the interview, I devised a list of questions. Although I haven't yet finalised my line of inquiry, I know that it will be something like 'how does nutritional education affect professional dancers later in life?' I used my planned questions to get an idea of what information would be revealed, and aid in the research of my inquiry. 

An example of some of the questions I asked were:

1. Did you feel conscious of your body image whilst in training?

2. Were you ever on a strict diet whilst at dance college?

3. Did you feel that you were given enough guidance and education on the importance of nutrition and healthy eating whilst at dance college?

• During the interview

I began the interview by explaining to my professional associate that the answers she gave me would remain completely confidential and that it was a 'pilot interview'. I outlined the agenda for the interview- that it would last approximately 20 mins, I would ask her around 10- 20 questions, and that if she felt uncomfortable answering any of the questions then that was fine and she didn't have to answer. 

I wrote up her answers as we were speaking which was quite time consuming and did slow down the process. As we were on Skype, there was a slight delay with some responses, which also slowed down the process. As she is a friend of mine, the interview was very informal and conversational. The questions I had prepared often led to further questions. 

• Findings

Some of the answers I was given, I found really interesting. Conducting my pilot interview has definitely been very encouraging as to where my research could take me and the results I could achieve. However, I'm not sure if interviews will be the most effective tool/ method for me to use for my inquiry. As my interview was with a friend it was very informal and relaxed and went well. I feel that for other people it could be a very different experience. Answering sensitive questions face- to- face with a stranger may be nerve- wracking and off- putting, and participants might not be as open and honest with me. This could actually be detrimental to my research. A survey or questionnaire might be more beneficial. 

The Ethical Dimensions Surrounding my Inquiry

What is the motivation behind the inquiry?

My line of inquiry will be surrounding body image and healthy eating/ nutrition in dancers, and within dance settings.
During both my time at dance college and my years of dancing professionally, body image has always been an underlying issue and sensitive subject.
Whether directly or indirectly, body image and dieting has had a negative impact on myself at some point during my career. I have also seen it have a negative impact on my colleagues/ peers at some point. I would like to help change that, using research and a line of inquiry. I am interested in researching how dancers are educated on healthy eating/ body image at college.

Does the Inquirer want to bring about a social good?

I hope that my inquiry will bring about a social good. I particularly hope that when teaching dance in the future, I am able to use my research and line of inquiry to benefit my dance students. That I am able to give them a better education surrounding body image and healthy eating and nutrition, due to my inquiry.

Who stands to benefit most from the research?

I believe that I stand to benefit from my inquiry. I hope that it will aid me in becoming more professional in my practice in the future. I am also aiming for my future dance students to benefit from my inquiry- through the knowledge and understanding I can pass on and teach to them.

Who are the participants?

I am going to endeavour to contact a range of participants. They will be: my peers that I attended college with, students that are still attending that college, past work colleagues, dancers that attend auditions/ dance classes at dance studios in central london and the dance students of a professional associate of mine. This will therefore include a varying range of ages (roughly 16- 35) and varying levels of experience.

Why were these participants chosen?

I decided to choose these participants, as it is likely that all of them will have experienced the effects of diet and body image in dance in varying degrees at some point in their life.
I feel it is important to keep my range of participants quite broad, as this will hopefully give me a wider scope to base my findings on. I feel that each of the participants I would like to get involved, can have a valuable input into my research.

How will you contact them? Will you need to talk to gatekeepers to do this?

I will contact my participants primarily via social media, for example Facebook and Linked In. I will use social media particularly to contact students from The Hammond School, those that I went to college with, and those that are still attending. I may also use groups on Facebook such as 'The Hustle' to contact other professional dancers.
I will get in touch with the principle of The Hammond School via telephone (which may need to go through the gatekeeper) or through a formal email. I will also use email as a means to contact other participants.

How will you make sure that your participants can leave the inquiry if they desire to do so?

I will make it clear when approaching my participants that their involvement is completely voluntary and that they are free to leave the inquiry at any point. I will make sure to do this verbally- if possible, and well as sending an email making it clear what their involvement will mean. I'll also make it clear that their participation, e.g. questionnaire answered will be kept completely confidential and anonymous.

Do the participants have your contact details?

Yes the participants will have my contact details. I will give them my phone number and email address. That way, If they have any questions or concerns, they are able to contact me and speak to me about it.

Are you storing the participants data safely?

Any digital data will be stored on my laptop, that only I have access to. Anything in paper format will be kept confidential and in a secure, locked place, again that only I have access to. After having used the information for my inquiry, all data will be deleted or shredded.