Sunday 13 November 2016

Visual Marketing

There are so many people out there now who are uploading videos to try and sell products. So I thought I would give it a go just to see what it is like to do a video. Well this is the result...



https://youtu.be/Gh5b-89VcY0



Ew. I hated it. Having to talk about my self and watching yourself back on the screen. But I did it. I tried it out. I don't think it helped when it was a cold wet Sunday afternoon with no Make Up but hey ho. It had to be done before the braces go on too!..

So many companies use videos to sell products and brands and I think it is fantastic. I know I buy products from seeing the videos and ads, but personally I did not like to use it for myself. There are things I would change about the video and the structure of my speech but it was my first one so I did not want it all edited otherwise it wouldn't have been the real me! Definitely room for improvement but I will take these on board for next time so the next one is better.

Please feel free to comment!

Flickr and Imagery in the Industry

Since looking into different Web 2.0's I decided to start a Flickr account. We use this at work to for our website so I am familiar with how it works, so though it was a perfect opportunity to set an account up.

Here is the link to my account-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/146453724@N06/

There is not much on there at the moment but hopefully it will build with my journey through this course and my teaching life.


Web 2.0 can be a positive way of looking at the creativity in the industry. I personally love looking at other teachers and dancers in this community. I find so much inspiration from watching others and it gets my creativity juices flowing. If you want to be a professional in this industry it is important to have a good showreel. You can see so much from watching 2 minutes of someone's dancing. I love it.

Instagram as well is great for this kind of stuff and this students love it too. I love seeing pictures of them when they have perfected a skill and they put a happy photo or video on there. You get the proud teacher feeling inside.

Dancers are such different people in ways of expression. You may talk to a dancer and no get much out of them but they choreograph themselves a dance and wow thats when you see the real them.

I recently had a student come up to me and say can I show you my dance and obviously I said of course. Wow. I was amazed. I have never seen her dance like that before, as she is one of the quite ones in the class. Then said she had posted a short clip online and got lots of compliments on it.

Photos are great when someone captures those special moments and you look into a dancers eyes and you just know how much meaning they are putting into it. I love it. Hopefully that will be one of my students in the future.

Please take a look at my Flickr and I will follow back. Thank you.


Lost.

Here I am sitting here on a gloomy Sunday just not knowing what to do. 

All the family have gone out so I can get on with my BAPP work but I just can't. All the Tv's are off. The dog is asleep. No distractions at all but I just can't do it. 

Since September my work load has been CRAZY. I took on more hours at work which was amazing as I have my own classes now and less assisting hours but it has been constant. This meant it all came at once. 

I signed up to this course as I really want to gain a full BA Hons but my teaching has grown and grown since starting this course. I admit it. I am REALLY behind on my work. 

So I sat down this morning with my brain in gear ready to catch up but I just don't understand it? What am I meant to be doing? My head is going round in circles and my anger is building up. I guess I am just crying out for help and for someone to explain to me where to start and which direction to head in. It is building up as I know I am behind due to my work load but I guess I can't turn back the clock now. I just have to get on with it. But I can't. I just don't understand task 1b. I have read the readers but my brain is just turning off. 

I feel like I'm at breaking point right now. I am lost with what to do...

My C.V Improvements

So we all know that for pretty much every interview you will need to take a C.V with you. Your C.V is a way for you to show off what you have done and gained over the years, and in some cases how an employer will remember you. These few pieces of paper could also determine you getting the job over another person. So they are pretty important.

I am very fortunate as most of my teaching working I have gained off people I already know so my C.V was not necessary- but I thought it was about time I updated it as it was well over due, as you never know when you may need it!

Here is an example of my old C.V...

                    
                             
      
       
As you can see it was very long winded. Even I got bored of reading it!! 

So here is my updated version...

              
      


I have condensed down the majority of it as it was very unnecessary. The point of an interview would be to sell yourself so you can elaborate on your C.V in the interview rather than trying to squish everything down on paper and make it very boring. 

Would love some feedback though of others as I always feel like there is room for improvement!

Sunday 9 October 2016

My Journey into the Dance Industry and gaining my Qualifications.

Well- Who am I you may ask. I am Kirst, 21 from Cheshire. I am a freelance Dance and Acro teacher within the South Manchester region. Currently I am furthering my studies by studying for my BA Hons in BAPP (Professional Practice in Arts).

When I was the young age of 5 my mum decide to take me along to a dance class one Saturday morning-little did she know that this is where my life really began. From that cold Saturday morning to this very day- dance has been my life focus.

I started with just Ballet and Tap at a Dance School in my village (which turned out to be where I got my foundation for my Dance training). When my teacher saw my potential I was asked to start the competition team- which meant I took on Modern, Jazz, National and Spanish as well as my Ballet and Tap classes. We were a successful dance school, competing all over the country and dancing at special events. This Dance School was my home until 17 years old. When I say home- I really do mean it. We spent 5 nights a week there, all day on a Saturday- I'm surprised the teachers didn't get sick of us. Dancing friends are really the best kind of friends, as they say- "Friends that Dance together, stay together".


At the age of 17 I decided I did not want to take up Dance as a career. No matter how many 'chats' my mum and I had about just going to audition for Dance/Stage school's I was adamant I did not want to do it as a career. At this point in my life I had left my first Dance school to follow one of my teachers who had set up her own school in a different village. One day my teacher asked me to help her out at an exam session for her students- so I thought why not as I loved being involved with anything to do with the school. On the way home from the session we happened to end up talking about her career and her college experiences. This is when I knew I was making the wrong decision and that I had to at least go to an audition for a dance college.

The next week at sixth form- where I was studying I pulled up the courage to text my mum and tell her I had printed off the application form and filled it in for Preston Dance College (now the Dance Academy). This ended up with me being asked to come to a Private Audition for the college) as I was away for the normal audition).

On the day of my audition I did not really know what to expect. After a short audition in front of 4 teachers I knew this is what I wanted to do. I ended up being offered a place for the College there on the spot with no second thoughts. Obviously I took the place and this is where my career started...

Whilst at Preston Dance College I successfully gained up to ISTD Advanced 2 Tap and Modern. I also worked towards my ISTD teaching qualifications in Modern and Tap. In my two years of being at the college I successfully gained all units for the teaching qualifications and left with my head held high. I knew whilst at the college that I wanted to ficus more on teaching and that going off to audition for cruise ships/contracts abroad was not for me.

Before I left college I had already had a job offer working for one of my old teachers at her Dance school near my home, back in Cheshire. So I took this instantly. From there my teaching jobs grew- from classes in my Gym where myself had worked in the past on the Bar and where some friends and family worked, to a Dance school which one of my college teachers owned and then that grew to being recommended to work at an established ISTD and RAD school 20 minutes up the road.

Along my teaching routes I had heard of a new curriculum/syllabus that was slowly making it's way into the UK called ACROBATIC ARTS. I know that there is a lot of discussions/opinions about 'Acro' making it's way into the dance industry but I thought you have to move with the time and go with it- we can't always be stuck in the past can we? So, I decided to save up and go on the teaching qualification course for this in Spring 2016. Honestly- all I can say now is that it is AMAZING. The children love it and I love teaching it and you see so much improvement in such little time.

I am also now looking at gaining my ISTD Ballet teaching to add to my list which I am managing to squeeze in around my teaching (which has now grown to 6 full days a week, sometimes 7! At to amazing school's in the South Manchester area).

Looking back my life over the past 4 years- it has been crazy. Going from having a place at Liverpool John Moors University to deciding to be a Dance Teaching- but it has all been worth it!! There have been ups and downs along the way but now with 2 successful jobs and lots of qualifications being me (ISTD Tap and Modern, Acrobtic Arts and Exercise to Music) it can only go up!!

I hope you have liked reading about my journey into the Dance Industry. I am looking forward to gaining my BA in BAPP to add to my list and seeing how it helps me progress as a Teacher.