Having attended the campus session on Wednesday I just want to start planning and creating something on paper rather than all my spider diagrams,post it notes and bookmarks as for the last 3 weeks up to the deadline I am in a show and then off to NYC so lacking time to create my proposal. My original idea and topic has received mixed reviews especially in the amount of time needed to discover an answer so I have began to think that I am going to compare my data that I find out with literature about the latter part. Comparing the data that i discover with secondary data.
'Versatility and the practice of numerous alternate skills as a Performer is vital for a long and successful career. The sustainability and consistency of these attributes mean that they must be practiced from a young age. Does the impact of numerous arts based hobbies from a young age, inspire and prepare children for reality especially in the dance and theatre industry or is it detrimental to the child's well being and development by creating more pressure to succeed.'
My Action plan now.
- I have located numerous articles on the web, in books and dance magazines regarding how versatile Performers must be in the current audition climate. I have also found information regarding children that engage in numerous hobbies but not any research on children that engage in numerous arts based hobbies. e.g if a child participates in painting, badminton and reading these hobbies are far less intensive physically than the child that engages in gymnastics, ballet, tap, modern, singing and painting. I want to investigate how numerous physically intense hobbies are received by the children and the effects on them both mentally, physically and there general development.
- I have access to children (5-18) which i understand some do participate in numerous activities and some don't and i would like to study these children to understand the effects on them and see if they are gaining positives or negatives from the training and also observe them to see the effects. I also have access to students in vocational training who i would like to interview many the same questions which they may have undertook at a young age and try and see the positives and negatives they might be feeling now they are training to be a professional.
- I would like to take interviews with specific children with qualitative questions to understand more the reasons why and how they feel and also i would like to interview teachers and casting directors for their opinion on how versatile performers should be and when is the best time to teach this.
- I am very interested in understanding if too much too young actually puts a child off becoming somebody in the arts as they understand the competition and pressure or this is good practise for their mentality when they are older. I will only find this out by observing the child and asking them specific questions. I must remember to be objective and not become emotionally involved so i will choose children which i have no links to.
- I have become very passionate towards this topic since i have begun gymnastics to gain a 'trick' for auditions and struggled with the movements with a 5ft9'' body and also teaching children which undertake numerous activities and seeing them develop or suffer.
Very interesting, i think it depends on the determination of the child however if a child has been the best its his/her class from a young age it then becomes difficut when they go into further training to find out thry might not be the best. As a teacher i think that little extra pressure to get the best out of a chid is important to prepare them for this sort of compertition.
ReplyDeleteI think its a good thing that children do as much activity as possible as every sport has impact on pressure to perform.
I really like this topic idea. As a performer I wish I had started singing and drama from an earlier age as I believe I would have been more confident and developed by the time I started proffessional training. I also wish I had taken gymnastics and piano lessons from a young age as this also would have helped me develop. Espcially in doing tricks in auditions and playing my songs when practicing singing. But maybe doing all of those activities would have been overpowering at a young age?
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have thought about the topic a great deal and considered the access that you have to doing your primary research. I look forward to reading your further posts to see how this develops.
Danielle x
This topic choice would certainly make for an interesting study. I believe that doing all these numerous things from a young age would be beneficial from a professional dance career point of view however one thing that I think you must consider is the influence that parents have on the choice of activities that a child does. A child may want to do lots of activities but the reality is that parents may not be able to afford/ have tha time to take their child to numerious gymnastic, dance, singing,drama and other arts hobbies.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though you have the facility to conduct thins study just make sure you don't take on too much as it sounds as though you have a busy schedule.
This is an interesting topic. During my musical theatre training I wished I had trained in gymnastics as well so I could do tricks - seems to get you places in auditions. There's lots of theories from other countries where parents decide a hobby for their child and only that one hobby is allowed to be participated in by the child, however the child succeeds because of the focus in that one area. The Williams sisters father decided from an early age that they would play tennis and many of the Russians decide they're children will be gymnasts. This is the other side to an argument against versatility. Also have people succeeded starting training at a late age in comparison, is there proof that starting at an early age is necessary?
ReplyDeleteIf my children wanted to dance, I'd probably encourage them to do gymnastics too, but then do we have pushy mum syndrome? Hope this is useful. Where are you learning your "trick"? I want one!