Arts Critical Value

To learn about life through being an artist can be life changing. From a very young age you're exposed to an environment that's completely different to how you behave at home and in school. Discipline. There are many layers of learning self-disciple. By surrounding yourself in an environment that allows you to physically, mentally and spiritually connect with movements and music provides guidance. Unbeknownst to you, there are certain do's and don't's when you're in this artistic space. Of course this is the same at home and school though not quite the same. 

Through self-discipline, you learn to respect. Your teacher, other dancers, musicians, equipment and most importantly yourself. This is an essential learning that will later prove to be a valuable life lesson. Once you respect yourself as an artist, you allow to trust yourself as an artist. This will allow your mind to wonder without any limits. All thoughts, imaginations and ideas are welcomed. Your creative skills are explored through the capability to imagine. 

When you put this into practise, this is where the true learning happen. For example, you may have had years of training in dance where dancing on stage was the norm. Having practised in a studio full of mirrors and performed on stage for years, you become familiar to this routine. You've overcome any performance anxieties you have and improve yourself as a stage performer. Then, your creative thinking takes over. You want to choreograph an act where performance is showcased outdoors, daylight. You've allowed yourself to imagine. You've got yourself a new concept to work on. Finally, this is put into practise. During the trial runs you'll come to realise that unlike the stage, you've only got natural lighting. Costume colours will have a different effect in this space and the movements may need to be change to fit the flooring better. 

Being in the Arts teach you about life and vice versa. 

It's the application that one must give enough thought to in order to push barriers. 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zp9BmjdDBY

Is Performing Art Worth the Struggle? | Vie Boheme | TEDxMinneapolisSalon

Until next time,
Dils The Kandyan Dancer 

Third Term - First Week

I've just completed the quiz that's due today. This made me realise how useful it was to finally think about what's been said in the past two terms in this course. I always thought I knew where to find the relevant guides, read through the handbooks and participate in the Skype sessions whenever I could.

Going through the quiz made me think of how excited I was during first term and how exhausted I had become during second term. Dance has always been my only passion and it becomes difficult to make use of all the guidance when you lose focus.

The handbooks provide guidance in how to shape your research into something that is academically accepted, the Skype sessions explore the thoughts of likeminded individuals on topics that relate to everyone's practise and the blogs are here to put your reflective thoughts in one place. All these put together add value to your research project in ways you can't understand but it all come together.

Too often we get sucked into the whirlwind of life and lose focus on why we started what we started, it gets put in the back of your mind and when the panic mode hits you either do a sloppy job or you give up altogether. I spent weeks working on the RPLs in term one but I couldn't recall the title of the module during the quiz. I'm about to start my final term and I had to stop and think for a second how many characters I have on my student ID...

It's been a long year.

Now, onto putting together term three study plan!

Until next time,
Dils The Kandyan Dancer