Module 1 Focus Skype Discussion- November 16th

Yesterdays Skype call discussed how we synthesise information to produce our essays and artefacts. One of the main points addressed was the idea that the information we are gathering is and should be subjective rather than objective. Adesola encouraged us to remain open minded and curious when looking at our practices to allow a discussion to be opened up in order to let new ideas be formed and created ; we should be using our diverse learning community to communicate with others and gain different perspectives. 

This diversity is one of my favourite aspects of this course and community. Each student has a completely different story and is in a different stage of their career, yet the common theme of being artists runs through us all and allows us to link our different practices and experiences. This adds another dimension to my reflective process as hearing what others have experienced and comparing them to my own allows me to view things from a slightly different angle.

Amongst the many things discussed, the importance and disregard of mental health within the arts industries was a big topic. We talked about how many dancers feel like that have their personality and passion stripped away from them during their time in professional training establishments. We spoke about the Netflix documentary "Athlete A" and many of us found it easy to relate to what the gymnasts and many other elite athletes experience with regards to just doing whatever it takes and accepting whatever gets thrown at you with the hopes that being "easy" will reap reward.

It is no secret that professional training establishments are a breeding ground for mental health issues where derogatory comments are often posed as "constructive criticism. There is a huge stigma within the arts and many other professional industries against speaking out for change. It is a well known fact that many professionals and students have been stripped of contracts or scholarships as a result of speaking out for what they believe is right. In trying to help reform training programs to reduce the number of young children and adolescents exposed to toxic working environments many find themselves being punished and lose everything they worked so hard to achieve. 

This lead onto a discussion about how many artists are very introverted and keep to themselves but portray a very outgoing personality on stage. The perfectionist ideals preached by tutors and directors within the industry make it difficult for many to  be their own person and we briefly touched on how this environment can lead to artists becoming extremely self-critical and self-conscious. 

This was an interesting Skype call and I feel like we spoke about things that many of us are very passionate about and have experienced first hand. It was also a good way for us to bounce ideas off one another to try and gain other perspectives and a deeper understanding of the task at hand.