Task 4.A

Task 4.A

I have had an idea for my professional inquiry from the beginning, which I find really interesting and would love to find out more about, but I am worried that I may come unstuck with it. I am aware that I need to think of an idea and keep breaking it down into a sub-category so you don’t end up biting off more than you can chew. The subject has to be relevant to you which my idea is, however I’m not sure what I will gain from it other than a better understanding rather than an answer and is that enough?

I looked back at 2.D to which I came up with a few topics, which I do find interesting, however, I think I would be doing it more for interest rather than it necessarily helping me to progress in my career. My ideas were-

How does music stimulate the mind in such a way to make us feel emotion? Which I think is so interesting but maybe too deep.

History Vs the future of dance. Which again I find fascinating because look at the progression from Margot Fontein to Darcey Bussell, In 20 years time will dancers have to have a 360 degree ponche to be good? (I know that is a bit of a ridiculous example, but you know what I mean) everything is being pushed to be better.

What makes a good dancer? Hmmmm, I think technique and a natural ability to be graceful. What more could be added? Can somebody in wheelchair be a good dancer? But how will this help me? Not sure.

What do retired dancers do? How does it affect us? (My favourite) we all face it, either through age or injury.

How different ethics are in a dance company than in a ‘normal’ job. I think this is a good one too. In my experience in a dance company you do as you are told, you don’t answer back, if they say black is white then black is white, where as in a ‘normal’ job you just wouldn’t let someone treat you in that way (most of the time), you certainly wouldn’t have to ask to go to the toilet, you won’t get sacked because you got fat and your uniform no longer fits, you are not going to not get the job because you are too short, not blonde and look like a weasel and you probably don’t have to compete with 500 girls either. 

So, My idea is ‘retired dancers’ we strive all of our life to make it in to our chosen career, we give blood sweat an tears, we have devoted all our spare time to it from being three, we have sacrificed going out with friends, doing after school activities because we had dancing class. We have trained so hard to achieve what we have achieved and if you are lucky you make it as a professional. Dancing and being on stage I imagine is what drugs must feel like. We live and breathe it and then BOOM, you are 30 or even worse you get injured. Younger dancers are coming up and make you feel like you are about 95. You can carry on dancing so long as you don’t get injured. I know that there are some older dancers but they are few and far between. So what happens next, we have to retire but we still have 35 years or more to work. Everyone else’s career carries them through to retirement age. We can go in to teaching I guess which is a natural progression, but what if you don’t want to? I know a lot of retired dancers feel lost, they don’t know what is going on in their life anymore. People we went to school with who took a different path are settled and well on in their careers. We have to start again with 18 year olds, unless you want to teach? 

I feel my path is leaning toward teaching because I don’t have many other options. I would love to be a choreographer however I know how hard it was to make it as a dancer let alone a choreographer. Plus as you get older you need more stability and not knowing where your next job is coming from when you have a mortgage to pay is not ideal. I would like to set up my own company that put on shows but you need lots of money to do that and the competition is high. Do you take out a loan and risk loosing all that money then landing yourself in real financial trouble? You could completely re-train but as what? It is costly and how do you know you will like it? You could get 6 months into your training and think, nah, not for me, which I did with mental health a few years back. I would like to move into acting however that is just as hard as dancing to make it in if not harder and my mum says I need to be realistic. Just nice steady job on Coronation Street would do me, I’d be over the moon with that, it could take me right past retirement age too, but joking aside. This I find is a real dilemma for dancers coming to the end of their career. It is very similar to an athlete’s life I think. 

I have had a look on the Internet and there is research that has been done on retired/injured athletes. I also came across this phrase ‘ A dancer dies twice’, which I find so interesting because I think it is true. This issue I find is both a mental issue as you feel lost and under valued, ‘normal’ people don’t seem to understand us or what training or life we have had. We have gone from being great in our career, respected and valued to nothing. It is physical issue too because we have to move on and get on with life, choose a path and go with it. How can you go from being on stage doing what you love, wearing feathers and sequins/point shoes and a Tutu to sitting in a call centre because that is the only job you can get, whilst somebody shouts at you because they ordered “straight valves not angled valves” it breaks your soul. How can we prepare for this? How can we find something we love as much as dancing? And the truth is we probably can’t and that is the heart-breaking thing. Maybe I should set up a support group for old knackered dancers “OKD”, but on a serious note it is a cross road in a dancers life.

I do need to ask myself some questions about using this for my inquiry first and would really appreciate anyone’s advice.

What will I gain from this enquiry?

A better understanding? Is that enough or do I need an answer?

Will it give me more clarity to where I want my career to go? Or will it just confuse me even more.

Can I help others in my situation by doing this? Every dancer has to retire at some point.

Am I biting off more than I can chew? Is my topic too broad? Will I come unstuck and not know which way to take it? Is it too hard for me to do well?

I just can’t shift this idea from my head and I cant make out if it is a good idea or a bad one. One minute I think it is great and the next I don’t. Let me know your ideas, as they would be greatly appreciated. 

Some questions I may ask to my peers-

Would you like to teach dancing? 

Do you have other interests outside of dancing that could lead on to future work?

Do you have any other qualifications that do not relate to dance that could lead to work?

Would you like to re-train in something completely different once you retire? If so what? Are you 100% that that is what you want to do? Do you think you will be as happy as when you were dancing?

How does not dancing professionally again make you feel? 

Do you think dancers are in a similar predicament to retired athletes?

Do you think it is fair to say a dancer dies twice? 

Do you think ‘normal’ people outside of the dance world understand you? Do you think that they think we are not intelligent?

What options do you think a retired dancer has?

Now some for only retired/injured dancers

How did it feel when you retired?

Did it affect your happiness? How? Why?

Where you excited for the next chapter? Or worried?

Have you found something you love as much? (job wise)

What would you have liked to do? Why didn’t you? 

What obstacles have you come across?

What advise could you give to retired or retiring dancers? 

   So any thoughts or advice are more than welcome. Do you think this is a good topic? Or do you think one of my other ideas would be better (I will not be offended). I am concerned about exactly how much academic literature there is out there with regards to this, I have done some research into it but I have only dipped my toes into it at the moment but one quote I read was saying that it is under researched, am I setting myself up to fail?