Blog 21 - Fourth Interview Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

• The most important thing that I learned from this interview is that most dancers actually fail a lot more than they succeed. However, in order to succeed these dancers need the mentality of now giving up. Only then would a dancer actually become successful in the future. 

2.  How will what I learned affect my final lesson?

• From what I learned from my interview, I will be able to more effectively discuss what it means to articulate sounds. My interviewee went really in depth as to how things like textures and speed control could really affect the impact of a dance piece.

Blog 17: Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

• The most important thing that I learned from this interview is that a majority of making choreography has to do with crowd appeal. Instead of making choreography that I enjoy, in order to make it into the industry as a choreographer you have to focus on what other people would like.

2.  How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

• As the year passed and more interviews were being done, I've learned to ask more personal questions as well as learning how to follow up with questions. In my first interview, I did not ask any follow up questions at all because I didn't know how to do so but now as I interview, the questions just keep popping up.

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

            

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

• I am spending a majority of my mentorship at the same studio that I train at, Stylz Dance Studio. When I do go in for mentorship, my mentor usually spends most of our time teaching me different pieces and techniques that I could use to extend my knowledge of dance. I also learn different exercises that I must execute every day in order to fully condition my body into a dancer like state. I do believe that most of the tasks that I perform are meaningful to my topic considering the fact that I'm pretty much getting a hands on learning experience from not only my mentor but also from other experts that come in and visit the studio as well.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  

• My mentor, Liz Woods, is the director of a team called Nu Era of which I am also a part of. I joined the team just this summer and she was more than willing to help me expand my understanding of what it means to be a dancer. 

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

• At this point in time, on a scale from 1-10, I would say that me and my mentor are at about a 7. It's true that we train together and keep most of our mentorship time strictly professional but there are times when we just let loose and bust jokes at each other considering the amount of time that we've spent together through mentorship. 

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

• I believe that the interview went really well because, as a whole, it inspired me to try even harder than I already am in my dance career. She stated in the interview that it only took her about two months to progress as much as she had did, and I hope to push myself hard enough in order to make that same progress that she made. I really need to improve the amount of effort I put into my practicing because, in this month alone, i don't feel I;ve made any progress in my dance abilities. In order to address this, I will push myself to the limits  until I actually feel a sudden change has been made in my performance. 

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

 

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

• The most important thing that I learned from my interview is the fact that dance is an extremely competitive sport. There are thousands of people competing to be the best and at the rate I've been working, I won't even stand a chance. This interview made me come to a realization that I will need to work 10x harder if I want to get anywhere in the dance industry. The only thing I would probably do differently in my next interview is ask more in depth questions about their own personal experience. This would allow me to see dance from a different person's perspective a lot more. 

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

• I didn't get any specific contacts but during my interview, I was told that without connections I wouldn't be able to get anywhere in the field of dance. My interviewee also told me about the value of knowing the history of dance. I do believe this piece of information is the most useful because it gives me some ideas to research but also because it'll help me with the essays I'm gonna need to write later this year.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

• My interviewee, Denise Cancino, is qualified to help me because she has been in the industry ever since she was 10.  She has performed in numerous events and continues to dance even to this day. She also specializes in a number of different dance styles of which include Tahitian, Hula, and flags. Cancino has been my instructor ever since I first started dancing. I do believe she is very knowledgeable and more then qualified to be the one to help me as my first interviewee. 

Link to a clip of my audio:

https://soundcloud.com/yujik-2/ipoly-dance-interview-1

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

• I plan to interview my current dance supervisor, Denise Cancino. The reason why I plan to interview her is because not only is she an experienced dancer, but she has also watched me grow from when I first started to where I am now. What better way to start off my first interview than with the person that has been there with me right from the beginning. She has participated in group performances, private shows for schools and other events, and specializes in various dance styles ranging from Tahitian to flags. With this being said, I strongly believe that it's safe to say that she is qualified as an experienced dancer and is even more qualified to be my first interviewee. 

2.  Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.

• A few additional questions I would plan to ask would be aimed towards her past background in dance. Since I am only beginning as a dancer, I am very much interested in the age at which most dancers start and how they start off. The following questions will address this curiosity of mine:
• At what age did you start dancing and how did you get into it?
• What is the best way for an amateur dancer to become more comfortable in their movements, in other words less stiff? 
• At what point in your dance career did you become more involved in such activities like group performances and public shows?