Jen Cooper - BA Professional Practice Blog

As someone who hasn't written an essay for a number of years the writing workshop with Peter Thomas couldn't have come at a better time. I'm currently in the midst of writing my module 1 essay and Peter provided that bit of extra clarity I needed. One of the most helpful things from the workshop was when writing your essay to; Generate:  Don't worry about the reader.  List, free write, mind map (document your thoughts), dictate. Organise:  Map relationships between ideas (more mind maps). Group ideas. Find themes. Present:  How does it sound. Proof read. Think about the reader. Write -------- Review -------- Rewrite  I've been trying to take my mountain of notes along with a very brief outline of how I'd like my essay to look and type them straight into a perfectly formed piece of writing. It hasn't been working and the idea of freely writing my essay without thinking about the reader to begin with (although probably quite obvious really) was a bit of a l...

Today's skype call had a lovely flow where all participants added and built on the conversation.  It was so interesting to hear different view points and thoughts. One part of the call was on questions. Question words, question what my practice means to me, question the meaning behind something to understand and gain knowledge. I absolutely love the idea that we question to find out more not to find out answers. What we know is always changing therefore we have to keep questioning to remain up to date.  If we weren't constantly questioning how would things change? How would we develop in our practice?  Whether its me questioning others or others questioning and challenging me this is a key component of continuous learning which in turn is part of growth, development and evolution. We are born curious, with a thirst for knowledge.  The average child asks 73 questions a day*.  These questions play an important role in the Childs cognitive development. It's how the...

The induction skype on Friday was very inciteful -  listening to those starting on modules 2 & 3 and hearing their tips for those of us at the beginning of this journey on module 1.  Something that was repeated a few times was the importance of blogging.  Post on your own blog regularly, read fellow BAPP blogs and comment on others posts.  The importance of the handbook was another take away that stood out.  I fully intend on structuring reading time with the handbook and repeat reading over the coming weeks to give me the best possible understanding of what's ahead.  I'm now really looking forward to the process of delving into my practice. To question and to reflect and to better understand and develop as a practitioner of dance. 

  Nervous, excited and ready to get stuck in!  After deferring my place on the course due to Covid-19 and with my 3 children all back to school I am raring to go with the BAPP.  My one to one with Adesola was so helpful and I'm feeling a lot more confident and ready to see where this first module takes me.  Can't wait to start my journey!

When I first started working as a dance teacher Web 2.0 wasn't  part of my practice or society.  On reflection it is quite unbelievable how the world (and my practice) has changed in such a short space of time and how Web 2.0 has allowed the individual almost infinite access to an array of information. Communication is instantaneous which makes life/our practice easier and benefits our time.   Just as an example I remember as a student teacher having to cancel classes as there had been a leak in the studio. Every student had to be called individually (mostly on home landlines as not everyone had mobiles!).  This took a lot of time.  If that happened now I would most certainly use a communication app such as WhatsApp or Flexibuzz to relay this information knowing everyone would have pretty much instant access to it even if they weren't at home and I'd be able to see that the message had been read. If I couldn't access these tools could I still continue in ...

Until our Skype call I'd never really thought about ethics and my practice together.  Of course its obvious they go hand in hand but my ethics in the classroom are more of an unconscious instinct. I don't consciously go into my classes  thinking about ethics - its already in me and is who I am.  As it is with everyone - it's part of what makes us individual. It got me thinking how I came to have the values I do?  What impact do they have on my students and how important is it we teach with good ethical standards? Parents/ caregivers are the biggest influence to us in early life but as we grow sources outside the home contribute to our own individual ethical standards.  Certainly for me my dance teacher was a huge role model in my formative years and shaped a lot of the ethics I have in my practice. Life experiences develop our sense of what is right and wrong from a early age. In the home, at school, with friends and then later from the people we work with t...

As the author Manoj Arora said 'Coming out of your comfort zone is tough in the beginning, chaotic in the middle, and awesome in the end... because in the end, it shows you a whole new world.'  As I embark on the BAPP course and read many of the blogs written by peers in the group these words ring true.  I am reminded that I am not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the journey that lies ahead but am reassured by those further on in the course that it will be a journey of self discovery and development. As a dance teacher it can be very easy to become comfortable in our methods of teaching.  The more we teach the more we learn and the more we learn the better (in theory) we become. But, if we allow ourselves to become comfortable in our practice how can we develop as teachers and inspire the people we teach? As a latecomer to the course I have had an anxious week playing catch up.  Listening to the recorded Skype call that took place at the start of the course, re...