Progress and new encounters

This last week has been half term for the high school and primary school I work at which has been ideal for me as I've been allowed a whole week to get up to speed, make a plan and get myself organised.
As my first draft of the critical review is due in 14th November, I have exactly 2 weeks today to get to grips with what needs doing in that time.
I am conducting the first of my interviews on wednesday which I am keen to get started on.
Also, I found that whilst I was travelling on the trains over the weekend, I met a woman who specialised as a Nutritionist.  We began discussing what I did for a living and once I explained about my ongoing injury, she asked if I had ever been given advice from my doctors on how my nutrition intake could contribute towards the healing process of my foot.  This was something that had never been suggested before to me by any of the doctors I had seen, however I was interested to hear what she had to say.
She said that by changing what I eat could provide stronger cells in my body, therefore could rapidly increase the time it will take for the injured ligament in my foot to be repaired.
She then went into detail about what I should be eating and doing and then offered me her buisness card which included contact details and a website if I needed any further advice.
I found it interesting to hear a different perspective on the matter as this is what my whole Inquiry is about, finding different opinions and ideas on the subject.
I'm now at a stage where I am thinking about my Inquiry in my everyday routine, whether it be work or social activites. I feel I am really making a connection with the subject in hand and I am truly passionate about how it can develop my knowledge further.

Second literature Review, Dance UK announces £30,000 Donation from Harlequin plc towards the creation of the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science

Upon reading this article, I went through a series of different opinions.  The article title itself automatically shows a positive doing in the world, that was the writer’s intention.

    The writer has also highlighted the fact that even those outside of the dance industry have shown interest in the project and have even contributed towards making it possible.  The writer points out that an ex-football player now working as a manager expressed interest in the project.  Although he trained as a footballer whom is completely different to a dancer, the reason why his football career ended was due to the fact he suffered from an injury which prevented him from continuing to play.  However, this shows that on his own wave length, he is able to relate to how a dancer must feel if they are unable to continue with their chosen profession due to an injury.

    He stated: “Dancers, like footballers, are elite athletes who train intensively from a young age to work in a fiercely competitive arena, and their careers can be ended at any time by injury. I was shocked to discover the lack of health facilities in place to look after dancers, compared with that available to sportsmen and women. What Dance UK and their partners are trying to achieve in setting up a National Institute for Dance Medicine and Science will make a huge difference to dancers across the country.”

The article also goes on to state that a discussion was held between a group of professionals, these were Dr Emma Redding (dancer and Head of Dance Science, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance), Rambert Dance Company dancer, Angela Towler, Kate Prince, Artistic Director of ZooNation and Camilla Dallerup, TV presenter and 2008 Strictly Come Dancing champion.

  I fully support the idea of forming a discussion on the topic, especially one that includes such a variety of different roles within the industry.  It is a good way to voice your own opinion, listen to others and to create solutions to problems.  In the previous module of this course we were recommended to create a discussion group on our chosen topic.  Personally this helped me to develop my enquiry and helped me to develop my knowledge of my chosen subject even further.  I believe there is still much to learn from this industry and talking to people is one way of acquiring that knowledge.  I commend Dr Emma Redding for holding a discussion group as it reflects what I and the rest of the students have done on this course so far.

   It is important for an article such as this to establish what the foundations intentions are with the money, or they called it, “their vision”.  However, it was at this point that my opinion changed.  It was not the writer’s intention to do this; however I let my own views and experiences cloud my judgment; however I feel others in my situation would reciprocate this feeling.

  The article stated: “The vision for the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science is that all top level dancers will have access to the high quality, comprehensive, dance specific healthcare and dance science support services they need, on a par with those enjoyed by elite athletes and dancers in the largest ballet companies.”

  Although this was written with a positive outlook in mind for those who read it, it did not have that effect on me.  Only top level dancers are to benefit from this cause, is this fair?  What about the dancers who are at the highest quality but have not yet been recognized? What about those who have just graduated from their vocational schools?  And what about those who have made a career out of dance but are not in the top companies?  In the last module this was something which I investigated as part of me enquiry, I wanted to know how many support groups/ charities were out there for injured dancers.  However, although this is a good cause, it only helps a minority of those who are suffering in the industry.

     Although this article continually states how the organisation can do a lot to help the “top dancers”, and have found evidence that their strategies and ideas will work, I cannot help but think of those that they are not helping.  Although one organisation alone can only do so much, are there organisations out there specifically helping dancers with no financial aid?

   This is something I am passionate about as I feel everyone should have the same rights.  If a dancer has done their sufficient training and is making a career out of dance alone then they should have the option of knowing that they will have support/ the right medical treatment if they should become injured.

http://www.danceuk.org/news/article/dance-uk-announces-30000-donation-harlequin-floors-towards-creation-national-institute-dance-medicin/

First Literature Review

First Literature Review:

Dancer says “Four injured contractors is not it strange,” Recovery “Spider-Man,” by Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times

AND

Arts Beat, The Culture at Large

“Injured Performer Heading Back to Spiderman Early” by Patrick Healy (April 21^st, 2011)

I first came across this story whilst I was searching on the internet.  This story immediately caught my attention, mainly because it had received so much media attention. 

   The first article I found which was written by “Jennifer S. Altman” was one of the earlier articles released on this subject, which included an interview with the person directly involved.  The article was about a man named Christopher Tierney who was a stuntman in the Broadway musical, “Spiderman”.  When a stunt went wrong during a performance, the actor fell 30ft from a ramp when the harness rope snapped.  He suffered extreme injuries including broken rips and three fractured vertebrae.

  This article focuses more on the stage of his current stage of injuries, his overall look on the incident and his aim for the future.

This second article was written to inform the public of the recent major event of the theatre world; however, it will appeal more to lovers of the arts.  The article was published in America and received heavy media attention over there.

    It is clear after studying the style of text that the writers intentions were to reassure the public of their doubts regarding the show, management, procedures and of course to reassure the readers of the injured performer’s stage of recovery.

  The section of the article regarding this man’s progress is what caught my intention when I first read this article.  Mr Tierney was an experienced Professional performer facing a traumatic injury which prevented him from continuing with his job, but did it stop him from continuing with his profession?

   The first article stated that Doctors were unsure as to whether it would take months or years for the actor to recover from his injuries, however, just weeks after the incident, Mr Tierney appeared on “Good morning America” promoting the show.  To me, that shows determination and the fact he was promoting the show that led to his accident shows how determined he was to get back into it.  It also stated in the article that it was his first injury in his 20 years’ experience of dance, he simply stated and I quote “all this good karma cannot last forever” and “You have a lot of time to think, when you are in the course of physical therapy, and all I can think about is my body, where it was, and returning to the show.”

   In the second article it shows the difference to what was originally stated about his future to how he has progressed: “Mr Tierney, who managed to be up and walking two weeks after sustaining four broken ribs and three fractured vertebrae, had the pins taken out two weeks ago and is healthy enough to return to rehearsals for “Spider-Man” on Monday, his father, Tim, said in an interview on Thursday.
“The doctors originally thought he’d have the pins in for another three months, but his physical comeback has gone well and they gave him the O.K. early this week to go back into the cast,”
   From the way Mr Tierney was talking in the first article, it shows he was planning to achieve this right from the start.  Not only did he work hard physically to get his body back into shape but he worked hard mentally too to stay positive and achieve his goal.  This man did not let this injury stop him from continuing with his profession, mainly because of his incredible passion and strictness to staying in a forward thinking state of mind.  However, the Broadway show has a history of accidents/ injuries, so is returning to the show an option for everyone?
   In the second article, it states “A third cast member, Natalie Mendoza, suffered a concussion at the show’s first performance on Nov. 28 when she was struck by a rope backstage; Ms Mendoza, who had played the spider villainess Arachne, quit the show weeks later.”  Upon reading this I became intrigued in knowing the exact reason for why she left the show.  I researched this and found her first comments after the incident, as she refused interviews at first.  She stated “It has been a difficult decision to make, but I regret that I am unable to continue on 'Spider-Man' as I recover from my injury."  I found it interesting that one person was able to return to the stage whilst another could not.
   However, this makes me wonder, was this purely because she was not well enough to return to work, or did her mentality towards the situation affect this outcome.  I also found out she was left rather traumatized not only after her accident but after Mr. Tierney’s too.  Could the shock and distress of the situations cause her to have a negative outlook on the situation?  Her accident alone was traumatic, but to of witnessed yet another accident could of put up a barrier in her mind, that this was not the path for her.  Plus, her head injury left her suffering with headaches and other symptoms, could this of triggered her final decision?
   In the previous module whilst planning my Inquiry, I investigated the possibility that by having a positive outlook on the subject of an injury, this could increase the recovery process.  In this situation, Mr. Tierney’s positive outlook derived from the fact he was determined to get back to work and to continue working in this show.  However, Miss Mendoza did not show any sign of seeking treatment in order to recover for the show, she was given a number of weeks of rest but from that, still decided not to return to the show.  If she had had a positive outlook and a set goal/ recovery plan in mind, could she of returned to the show?  Was she given the support needed?  These two people had very different injuries, 1 more extreme than the other, yet it was the individual who suffered the more traumatic injuries that returned to their job.  In the article, Mr Tierney was pictured with his father “Tim” outside the theatre, his father also gave an interview regarding his sons progress.  This shows he has support around him at this difficult time, he was strong enough to begin walking after 2 weeks to appear on a television show and to go and see the show itself.  He faced his fears head on and because of this positive mentality, was able to conquer his injuries too.
   Although there were different outcomes to the situations, only 1 out of the several who suffered injuries from the show did not return to the production.  In conclusion to this review, I feel that it is good that the media focused so much attention on the recovery of Mr Tierney and his return to the show as it is important for readers, particularly those involved in theatre, to be reminded that anything is possible.  The articles only focused a small amount of attention on Miss Mendoza’s situation; I believe this was done intentionally as it immediately draws negative attention to the show and the theatre industry.  The writers intention was to not only promote the show, but to promote the fact that Performers can continue with their profession, no matter what may come their way and that Mr Tierney is an inspiration to performers everywhere.

http://elec-doll.info/four-injured-contractors-is-not-it-strange-recovery-spider-man-dancer-says/

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/injured-spider-man-performer-heading-back-to-the-show-early/

Tackling Module 3 WBS 3760

At first when I recieved all the new information for the new module of this course, I reacted the usual way which was by panicking.  After working abroad for the entire summer, returning to what seemed like "the impossible" was very daunting.
However, what this course has taught me to do is to stay calm, sit back, rationalise the situation and then proceed a bit at a time and by making a set plan/ timescale for the completion of my work.

After reviewing my feedback from the previous module I became more at ease with the module in hand and was able to look back over my work and familiarise myself with what I need to focus on the most.  Once I had read through Reader 7, I was able to get a better understanding of what I hoped to gain from this literature review.  In the last module I came across many artciles, publishings of work, journals etc, which all related to the topic of my Inquiry.  What I have to ask myself now is should I use one of those pieces of literature which I am already familiar with?  Should I use a new source of literature altogether?  Or shall I use the names of the Authors/ Publishers I have already found to research more articles or their own?

At present I am currently discussing dates with the guest speaker for my "Discussion Workshop".  This is something that will require organisation and consideration for both mine and their own daily schedule.

I am looking forward to carrying out my workshop, talking to more people and by expanding my networking unit both professionally and socially throughout this module.