Natalie’s blog - MA Dance Technique Pedagogy

Now that we are a few weeks into the programme and have had the opportunity to gather online for a number of Skype sessions, I think it's time for me to ask something. Does anyone else feel as though our discussions (although very interesting) don't seem to really correspond with the topic listed on our calendar?  I DO NOT mean this as a criticism as what has been discussed up to this point has been both intriguing and lovely. It's just that I read the title of the upcoming discussion in advance, I join the call and then... it happens. I'm confused! Not confused as in I can't follow the conversation, but confused because to me, it feels like the conversation has veered off of the set topic. For example, this week we were to discuss Theory and Frameworks. We did start off with a brief conversation, speaking about monism/dualism and then touched on the mind/body connection while dancing. We then took off into a conversation about choreography/repertoire/direction and ...

 As a continuation of my thoughts from the Sunday discussion group, I'm touching now on the topic of filming dance/choreography. I realise that filming and watching rehearsals and performances can be discussed, but I am choosing to focus solely on the use of filming within the studio, during class time. Over the past few years, I have been faced with a personal predicament with regards to filming in class, particularly combinations and choreography, towards the end of class. I feel a bit "caught in the middle". I am of a age that we DID NOT ever (ok, on very rare occasions) film ourselves as I was growing up and training or in rehearsal as I was working (👵🏻).  Yet, I am also of an age where I understand how technology works (most of the time!😉) and I am capable of simple filming my students in class. I am not going down the road of ethics and GDPR here. I do think that is a very important issue, but I have another quandary. Here is my issue... If we are constantly film...