6A SURVEY

I have just completed a survey through survey monkey and found it really easy to use! I note that Joanna Adeyinka,Ross Dunning and cerys Dixie all used this method and  so I felt the need to fully support them by filling out there surveys in hope that they would return the favor! I will continue to fill out other surveys that continue to pop up on peoples blogs.For now I came up with my own survey which repeated a few of the same questions i asked my cast in part 4. I felt the need to do this as I could analyze the same issues of topic that i am studying in my enquiry but use as many different people as I could in order to get the fairest and most analytical result!

I now highly recommend using survey monkey to anyone else as it was quick and easy to use, here is my link

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XWXKZFJ

I would be extremely grateful for as many people to take part, it will only take a couple of minutes and I promise to return the favor :) many thanks, Jan

5C PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

The past few days I have been looking at the codes of conduct and regulations of my professional practice. From reading about the ethics in the reader it educated me more on the ethics and rules not just in the world of dance. The reader talked a lot more about these rules and ethics and went into things with a lot more detail.It made me think more about the rules of my enquiry that I wish to study, and if there are any, The image of a dancer ... are there any so called rules? 

The world of dance is a very competitive place, a lot of the time I find myself around spiteful, overpowering and very self centered girls ! very much into there image liking to think that there the worlds best dancer. I often find myself very self conscious whilst lining outside pineapple dance studios waiting for an audition and I am well aware of the wandering eyes of my competition around me eyeing me up and naturally making me feel uncomfortable. The reader states that

“Hobbes (1651) viewed ethics as a practical solution to social harmony and good through the vehicle of a social contract. He posited that in order to achieve peaceful, co-operative social order we need to adhere to a set of moral rules. These rules are necessary because of certain facts about human life which he subscribed to. These were equality of need, scarcity, essential quality of human power and limited altruism.”

Are there any rules to us not to stare at the girl next to us who is wearing far too much makeup or is wearing the wrong leotard that totally unflatters her shape, no there are no rules and thats where I see how right Hobbes is by saying without rules we don't “achieve peaceful, co-operative social order” that we should be setting as human beings.I agree by him Going onto saying how we have rules to try and control our behaviors as human life! These were “equality of need, scarcity, essential quality of human power and limited altruism”. I picked up on the word “need”, why do we all stand in the never ending queues of auditions? well the need of a job for all young dancers is so overpowering and competitive these days ,hobbes is right for using this particular word.

Auditions sometimes do have a few rules these days such as only being able to participate at being a certain height, certain color and even job opportunities such as the link I posted on my profile a while back on a job that you could only receive if you had the blonde factor! I came to notice kants view on rules, he states the following,

“Immanuel Kant (1779) believed that moral rules are absolute and he based this on reason rather than religion. He argued this from a categorical imperative stance whereby you should help people no matter what your desires are. It is not enough to say that you are not interested. For Kant, lying is always wrong no matter what the circumstances are and the categorical imperative is his main argument. If we have a universal law which forbids lying then to allow lying would make it common and before long people would cease to believe one another.”

Kant goes onto talking about “lying” which he goes onto saying is wrong! I can honestly say from my own experience I have infact lied to attend an audition where I was a few inches shorter than I should have been, lied on the slip of paper I filled in that stated my height and have even lied on my weight to make myself seem lighter than I actually was! All image requirements which I lied about that could of helped my case of getting a job! However I seem to be not the only one to do this ! I noticed both Ross Dunning and Hayley Bence noted kants theory on lying. Here is what Ross dunning states on Kants statement, 

“I would disagree with the views of Kant, as although lying is often wrong and used in a deceitful way personally I think that it is sometimes used by people to in a consequentialist way and one that may aide them.”

I agree with ross and therefore find that is no surprise that both myself and ross do the same things at auditions

“When it comes auditions and the height on my C.V I find myself often changing how tall I am. I don’t see this as being morally wrong as if this can get me a job and allow me to fulfill my ambition to become a dancer then surely lying like this is seen in a consequentialist way and not deemed as deontologist.”

Again after reading Hayley Bences Blog she states along the same lines as well as me and Ross

“lying in the case of an audition could be seen as ‘an act is morally right if, and only if, that act maximizes the good’(course reader 5 Jeremy Bentham and JS mil)l. I’ve lied to get a job so I’d like to think it was to maximize good.”

It seems all us dancers don't follow the rules at auditions! instead we sadly lie to heighten the chances of getting a job.Another fantastic example of showing how desperate and how important the image is of a dancer, my main line of enquiry!

I then went deeper into the reader and really connected and shared a link of my enquiry with the Ethics in Photography.I went onto reading the shocking story of the photographer who took the award winning picture of an African child dying before a eagle and not attempting to save her from starving to death because  the “ethical role and duty of a photographer is to observe and not interfere.” take a second to look at the photo that was captured by the photographer  below:

 From looking at the photo the following words came into my mind, frail, weak, ill, undernourished, skinny, unhappy? These words ring a bell ? Now how about putting Natalie Portman who plays the ballerina Nina Sayers into the same picture, any similar characteristics?

Just like the photographer watching the child there are many dance teachers who watch, train and work carefully with ballerinas. Sometimes I feel teachers encourage the young dancer to loose weight for the correct image, specially as a ballerina. The reader goes onto mentioning “Does there come a point where these ground rules and ethical duties as a photojournalist should be ignored for the sake of a human life?” now instead of photojournalist put in the words of dance teacher or media .There are no rules in media of not exploiting dangerous pictures around us on the net and on our screens, it is all around use even in fashion see picture below :

 Young dancers and models see these pictures and films like the above “black swan” and physically and mentally drive themselves into eating disorders and dangerously thin states. Just like the photographer who moved on and left the poor Ethiopian child the same photographers move on after taking the same image to the left, do you really think the photographer would speak to the model and help her or ask if she was ok or try to persuade her to see a nutritionist and tell her that she would probably die if she continued? again the photographers story all relates back to my line of inquiry and shows how I can fit it into the theoretical ethical framework thats portrayed in the reader. Dance teachers and photographers play a large part to my line of enquiry.Personally I think that there should be rules as to what should and shouldn't be encouraged, and when they should step in before its too late as shown by the photographer!

5B CODES OF PRACTICE/ REGULATIONS AND HOW THEY DIFFER TO MY ASSUMPTIONS AND THOUGHTS IN 5A

For this task I was asked to find the codes of practice / regulations that steer the framework of my professional practice. From looking at my thoughts and assumptions from the above task I came to realize that I had two in one! Being a dancer but also a crew member. I researched onto the net and found two brilliant formats of the legalization's for a crew member and also two examples of legal codes of conduct for a working dancer in a company.  Even though I am not part of a dance company on land I am part of a production team onboard the ship, the comparisons were similar and were as close as I could get. Here are my following links:

Crew member/ http://www2.cruising.org/industry/conduct.cfm

Dancer/http://www.taptotoestudioofdance.com/Forms/ttsd%20code%20of%20conduct.pdf

    http://www.dancewestballet.com/school/Code_Conduct_07_08.pdf

The crew members code of conduct

From looking at this a spotted an interesting quote that stood out to me as it not only applied as a crew member but as a dancer in my cast. I also find it interesting that its the guiding principle!

“As a guiding principle, member cruise lines conduct their worldwide operations according to the highest standard of business integrity and fair treatment of employees. All personnel, shipboard and shore side, have the basic right to be respected and treated in a fair and just manner at all times by superiors and fellow employees.”

Just as a dancer part of Jean Ann Ryans agency we have to give out the “highest standard of business” as a performer onstage and with “fair treatment of employees” being our fellow castmates.This fits in with the overall ethics in my professional environment!

“provide a workplace free of discrimination based on gender, race, religion, age, disability, nationality, sexual orientation, social or ethnic origin.”

Again this quote backs up my code of conduct as a dancer in task 5a where I point out that every cast member should be treated equally onstage and around the ship with colleagues and with guests. Here is another quote that I mentioned in task 5 a , it backs up the importance of the training and knowing all aspects of my job but in different wording.

“The work environment operates in accordance with Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, the Standards for Training Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW), and respective flag state requirements.”

I was also intrigued at other rules that I didn’t know were stated for every ship.The internet resource I found showed me different areas that I hadn't even considered looking at in 5a!

“All crew members receive room and board at no cost and live in a clean, well-maintained living environment. The crew areas on each ship shall be inspected on a regular basis by the ship's master or his representative.”

I always thought that this was just a bonus part of my job with my ship being six star, it has changed my views on working on ships and has definitely opened me up to receiving further jobs on ships in the future.Its not just the passengers that are well looked after it is also the crew, when your working on a vessel for a prolonged period of time it is Important that little areas like your living quarters are comfortable and satisfactory in order for you to love your job. 

“All ships recognize the right of employees to voice complaints. All ships will maintain an environment in which crew members may express complaints and obtain resolution of those grievances without fear of retaliation or retribution.”

I had never though of this point in the above task but it has really made me think that this point should be considered in every job in my professional practice, as a dancer, as a teacher and as a crew member. We have someone we can talk to on the ship that we can talk to confidentially and feel at ease with any of our problems. This is great to know there is always someone around and I feel that in any area of work even at school as a child it is so important for you to know who this is as it can change the way you work and can ultimately give you more confidence,pride and self esteem in the practice that you are in, therefore making you improve in your professional practice.

The dancers code of conduct 

I found two readers on the internet that stated there dance companies code of conduct, I found that most of these were the same as ourselves performing on the ship, here are a few examples:

“Dancers are expected to be responsible for all costuming, shoes, and accessories.”

This applies to my presentation on stage, as a performer it is important to me to make sure my costumes are washed and that I have the correct hair falls, earrings and make up.

“Dancers are expected to maintain a professional attitude during rehearsals, choreography sessions and all events.”

This quote completely backs up my point of being professional at  ALL times, even as a crew member on the ship

From looking at both formats through different professional eyes has really opened me up to new ethics and how other companies and professionals look at them.But whats interesting is how they all link together to the world of work, whether this is being a crew member or a dancer we all share the same ethics and codes that we follow everyday.I also saw some findings that differed from my thoughts and assumptions in 5 a.

“Dancers MUST be in attendance the week of rehearsals before a competition or performance of any type. If a dancer is absent the week before competition they will not be eligible to perform.

Excused absences: illness (w/ fever or vomiting), wake, funeral, school related/education related obligation (must notify Michelle in advance). Unexcused absences: a party, last minute cramming for a test, homework, tiredness, a date, a school dance. (Prom is excused)”

I thought this was quite interesting and made me look more into the conduct of what would happen if one of us were ill. Well there is only 7 of us and each of us have such an important part , if one of us is missing our stage looks empty and is alot harder for us to fill in or re block a number if there was 20 of us ! It made me realise how important this code of conduct really is for us on the ship to show up to rehersals, peform full out and make ourselves strong with our fittness, nutrition and sleep maybe moreso to any other production cast on bigger ships. 

“Dancers are expected to arrive 10-15 minutes PRIOR to their rehearsal time.”

This is another good point, from my assumptions in 5a I said how you should attend all scheduled rehearsals but what about turning up 10- 15 minutes prior to rehearsal ? When I turn up for rehearsals we quite often go straight in and I can honestly say that I don’t give my body enough time to safely warm it up before whacking our legs up into the air in a full out tech run! Injury is a common factor in a dancers career and this point has made me more aware of the fact that I should be more considerate for my body and should take up extra time in thoroughly warming it up prior the rehearsal!

Both these new points have allowed me to look elsewhere into the codes of practice and regualtions. I have spotted areas that in fact can help me in my own practice and has defined to me how important they are and why we should follow and obey them !

5A ETHICS AND CODES OF PRACTICE

5A Ethics and codes of practice

Regulations and codes of practice for being a dancer and crew member on a cruise ship

• Be professional at all times, 

when we began our training in Miami it was important to act in a professional way, listening, concentrating and referring to detail when learning the new steps,

Even now we know the shows so naturally however we should still be professional in our dress runs and tech runs by doing the numbers full out, even though we know them off by heart.Its also extremely important that I maintain energy and enthusiasm on stage despite my own mood or circumstance.

• Be supportive and open minded to suggestions from other cast members all the time

 We are such a small cast with there only being a total of 7 of us. It is so important that we support one another as this can effect our moods and overall performance on stage, we should listen to one another to make areas of the shows better and point out the weakness that we can improve on

• Treat every cast member equally

We all have different parts of our jobs whether it being a singer or dancer, together we are equal and support each others different areas in order to give out a good overall performance. In our group we also all have different ages with myself being the youngest and the oldest at 32! Everybody comes from different backgrounds and also different countries, just because someone was trained differently to you doesn't make them any better or worse! also we all have different amounts of experience behind us, its important not to look past those who are less experienced and feel higher than them, we are ALL equal.

• Presentation Onstage

Going back to my line of enquiry on presentation I talked about how important it is to look good on stage, the audience wants to see pretty dancers so its always important for me to take care of myself and prepare myself well before the show

• Comply to all the rules and regulations to my contract

avoid endangering my own health when I get off the ship, eg avoid dangerous activities such as jet skiing, zip lining, roller blading

As well as dancing in the evening my day job is to be a silver seas crew member. My  job includes many other duties that I do with guests. These include, golf, volleyball, ping pong, socializing, shuffleboard, table tennis, internet and general library duties. Here are my regulations and codes of practice for being a crew member:

• I should be a confident member off staff

When walking around the ship the guests see me as staff, they should feel comfortable to approach me and ask any questions they have or with anything they are unsure on, they should have trust in me and they will see this by my confident presence

• Know all aspects of my job

I must understand the responsibility that I have for all the other guests  if the ship was to be abandoned or if there was an emergency, responsibilities include knowing where all the life rafts and lifeboats are positioned on deck, knowing what to do in an emergency and where to guide guests. I may go into this area more deeply as we are always undergoing safety training as staff to ensure that we all know what we are doing hence there was an emergency, we do this so often because its extremely important!

• Demonstrate professional attitudes,e g . being polite, being punctual and on time to all my duties and being pleasant and approachable and wearing the correct uniform. Give out a good attitude and respect and listen to guests.

To come up with these regulations I had to go back to my own personal ethics to which I probably learnt from my parents as a small child, these include my manners and general well being that makes me a good crew member, I also learnt more in school such as organizational skills with homework and again in college, small things like not leaning on the bar listening to instructions and a good work ethic and pride in the class room. Adding this together with professional ethics such as good technique and health and safety regulations makes me a successful crew member and dancer aboard the Silver cloud. 

4D AWARD TITLE

4D AWARD TITLE

Looking back I remembered when I started this course. It was the very first month aboard the silver Cloud. My first job and first contract, the job that made my debut as a professional dancer.I have always understood the competitiveness of the dancing world and so for me to have this job is such an amazing opportunity. Now coming to the end of my contract I realize I will soon have to go through the whole audition process again in order to get myself another job.But what got me this job? Well, from going through the audition process and by looking at the dancers I am working with, I’ve found myself thinking and understanding that image is an extremely important part of the process. I want to continue looking into this more as I feel it may help my chances again in finding another job. I have also noticed a large percentage of students studying the same area and I feel I can relate to them and share the many ideas that I have. I am always looking for new paths in order to extend this line enquiry, I would be very open and appreciative to any comments or suggestions.

4C DEVELOPING QUESTIONS

4C DEVELOPING QUESTIONS

After reading the handbook I figured the only people I could physically ask that were in my professional practice was the small production cast aboard my ship.At first I thought that this was a bad thing because it only consisted of 7 people whereas if I was at home I could at least meet up with all my friends and discuss questions and anwers. But then I realised how much I was wrong ! The production cast was made up of different types of performers and I felt this would be the ideal opportunity to infact compare answers with the different types of performers in my professional practice. This would be the ball room couple, the other two female dancers and the male and female singer. I wanted to ask the same question to each one and find out how they compared and how important image was to there professional practice in the world of entertainment. Here are the following questions that I came up with to ask to each :

1.) how important is image to you as a dancer/singer ?

2.)Have you had any good/bad experiences in your career relating to image ?

3.) How do you look after your image ?

4.) On a scale of 1 to 10 how important is your image ?

5.) Have you ever gone to any extremes to alter your image to improve your career, weightloss/surgery/diet/medication

6.) If you could change anything about your body/image what would it be and why ?

7.) What is your best feature on your body

I decied I would make the test fair by asking the 6 questions to the 6 people on there own so I would get there own personal views, lots of different answers and ideas that were personal to them ! Here are my following results :

QUESTION	NAME- Julia Cugini           POSITION - Female Singer
NUMBER	ANSWER
1.)	Julia tells me how she thinks that stage presence is more important than your size However your look is important, i asked her what she thought this was, she explained the stereotypical image, skinny, beautiful face and a strong toned body.
2.)	This is Julia s first job and admits  its her first experience with a show weight, she says how much lighter her show weight is to her normal weight now and told me how this is a big struggle to achieve!
3.)	Julia is in fact the only girl in our cats currently on a diet, I asked her what this was, she tries to cut out fried food, white bread and still allows herself treats so she “doesn't go crazy” she also tries to attend the gym at least 3 times a week
4.)	8
5.)	Diet pills which she implied never worked currently on a diet
6.)	Her entire body!  Would like to be leaner, more toned in order to feel better about her self, she says this would give her more confidence in auditions she has been told she has good stage prescience, a good figure would be fantastic
7.)	long thoughts, lips

QUESTION	NAME- Becky Compton           POSITION - Female dancer
NUMBER	ANSWER
1.)	Becky had an interesting answer, she explains that in an audition you need a good image to get your self noticed However when working you have to all look the same on stage, even in commercial
2.)	In a professional job in Portugal she got told to loose weight She also got told to change the color of her hair
3.)	Go’s to the gym watches what she can eat has developed a knowledge of what her body can/ cant get away with eating
4.)	8 or a 9
5.)	she has had a boob job but this wasn't relate to her career, it was related to confidence! however its given her more confidence in auditions different diets diet tablets changed her hair color
6.)	Hates her hips Would tone up everywhere!
7.)	Hair

QUESTION	NAME- Hayley Allen Freeman      POSITION - Ball room dancer
NUMBER	ANSWER
1.)	Highly important! as a ballroom dancer you are quite often employed on your looks with that being a good body and good face
2.)	Hayley explains how her weight has always been a problem, when she was younger and used to compete in ball room competitions all her dance teachers told her she would get better results and were look better on the floor if she was smaller Teachers told her she should be restricted to , however she says hows she was always winning at the time and was always making the finals being somewhat heavier than most ! she says the most interesting thing was that when she stopped competing she dramatically lost weight because she was happier!
3.)	Be mindful of what she eats Tries to go to the gym 3-4 times a week Uses hair extensions good quality make up keeps a strong and bold bleach blonde hair color thats she says stands out and she also likes
4.)	10
5.)	Hayley is in fact 32 whereas I am 19, she has regular Botox injection on her eyes and lips to keep her looking young on stage. Has tried protein shakes and supplements but came off as she couldn't find any energy from them in order to dance.
6.)	Arms, in her costumes she feels that these are the most exposed and is always paranoid that people can see her arms
7.)	Stomach, she says how it is always toned no matter how much she eats.

QUESTION	NAME- Nicola Edwards      POSITION - Female dancer
NUMBER	ANSWER
1.)	Nicola explains how it is very important to look good but also feel good about yourself If you feel god the audience can sense that the audience also want to see a dancer that looks good
2.)	In college Nicola was Bolemic and anorexic, she thought it would make her a better dancer, now finds the whole idea st
3.)	Nicola eats well drinks lots of water stays fit by dancing lots
4.)	8
5.)	Nicola was bolemic for 4 years, she would eat and then throw up her food
6.)	change bum, thighs, hips, would love to be more toned
7.)	her legs, they are incredibly flexible and can move them well

QUESTION	NAME- Todd Heggie      POSITION - Ball Room dancer
NUMBER	ANSWER
1.)	Todd says this is very important grooming, size and shape, good skin, healthy hair
2.)	Todd shared both experiences good and bad ! when he was 18 he was told he a great face that drew attention, this was a great advantage  Todd had had bad experiences from guests who have commented on  his femininity
3.)	Healthy eating drinking lots of water Exercising using good products such as moisturizers, and good make up
4.)	8
5.)	Nothing
6.)	Would like to be taller, more employment
7.)	Face

QUESTION	NAME- Dean Zammit      POSITION - Male Singer
NUMBER	ANSWER
1.)	The most interesting thing is that dean practically gave me the same answer as did Nicola ! Dean mentions how looking good and Feeling good are BOTH extremely important. He explains how you sell yourself as a product just as you would with a car, nobody would want to buy a rusty looking car
2.)	In college dean got told that he was too scrawny and skinny looking, he was recommended to go to gym to build muscle
3.)	Good diet drinking water working out
4.)	10
5.)	Nothing
6.)	would like to be taller and more muscular Dean explains how he wants to look hollywood! looking amazing on stage like a hollywood actor is what people enjoy he also say s how image is more important than image these days !
7.)	Face

All these answers have opened me up to new ideas and thoughts, I will continue to extend on this and perhaps bring into later tasks that follow along the lines of my enquiry. If anyone has any comments on this task I would love to hear from you, thanks Jan