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Video Reflection - Traces Dance Ensemble

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Video Reflection - Traces Dance Ensemble

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The video I chose was the Traces Dance Ensemble, I chose this video as it melted my heart in regard to the fundamental joy that I felt just as a viewer. It is incredible that a group of people who are often viewed as vulnerable to society due to their disabilities can indeed perform an amazing routine of dance and challenge these perceptions and prejudice that society places on them. When watching the video, it also made me think of how could I use dance as a way to allow for self-expression and creativity when in practice? Dance is known to realise chemicals such as serotonin or dopamine, these help us feel happy and joyful, which is seen throughout the video and interviews with the dancers.

This video does show non-discriminatory practice as it includes people from all backgrounds of disabilities in their performance. You can feel the sense of inclusivity just from watching the video. You can see that inclusion is just one of the key aspects that Traces Dance Ensemble captures throughout their routines. Equity and belonging are another sense that can be seen throughout the work of the dancers as they all are seen as equal sharing their own thoughts on dances, they also feel a sense of belonging as they have so much joy being a part of the dance group. The choreographers do also include the beliefs and cultural practices of the people they are supporting in the dance group as they believe that each individual’s background and beliefs are important.

The dancers are not only the stars of the performance, but they also are included in the choreography. The Traces Dance Ensemble gives a great demonstration of strengths-based approach as they focus on the strengths of the dancers. The dancers are given the chance to express themselves throughout the dances using their strengths to do so. It allows them to show that dancing is a strength that each group member has. The dance teachers also empower the group using the strengths-based approach to fulfil their potential through dance as they tell us there is no disability just ability. Traces Dance Ensemble has been an organisation that has been changing lives of people with intellectual disabilities since 2010.

To represent this video, I made a collage of photos that really stood out to me that expresses the message behind Traces Dance Ensemble. Some of the photos include individual dancers to represent the individuals in the group that bring their own aspect to the group and then one photo of a collective group which represents the sense of belonging and inclusion. There are also photos that represent the people that Traces Dance Ensemble work with, those being people with intellectual disabilities. There are some photos that bring out the emotions that are felt by the dancers such as the joy they feel from dancing and being able to express themselves. Finally, there is photos that have a bit of a deeper meaning, these being the challenges that are set in place by society for those who have an intellectual disability and the prejudice that follows. But these dancers have shown everyone that no matter what challenges they may face, they can overcome these perceptions and change the view society has on them.

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Beige Aesthetic Pastel Collage Memories Moodboard Portrait Photo Collage (1)

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This project was carried out in teams where we had to construct anything we wanted but could only use spaghetti and marshmallows. For this we had to work as a group which was really fun as it allowed for multiple aspects of creativity as each member of the group has an individual look on creativity. We had started off by just throwing a few sticks of spaghetti through marshmallows and before we knew it we constructed ‘the bat mobile’ as we called it. It showed us that communicating and active listening are key concepts to this activity. Through my own self-awareness I was able to listen to my other group members and follow their advice on what piece went where as well as express my own thoughts.

This activity is a great example of how we can express creativity in services as well as how to improve communication and team work within the group of people being supported by the service. It allows for the group to use their imagination to come up with extraordinary things. There is no wrong way that this activity can be carried out as everyone’s creativity is different and on different levels. For example, I would not see myself as creative but once I was put in a group I felt that I that my creative side could be expressed even a little. I think this was due to the open space and non-judgemental atmosphere that was felt within the room.

This activity would work great for those who are seen to shy away from big groups but once put into smaller groups they excel as they are given the opportunity to show and express their creativity. It also allows for the practitioner to see a side of the people being supported that they might potentially miss in an everyday setting as it is believed that people express emotions and thoughts through the use of art and creativity.

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This wonderful piece of art was inspired by the emotion of anger. It was given to us in a facilitation class. We were given one emotion and two classmates, and I had to express anger through the use of paint. At first we were discussing how we were going to approach this and before we knew it we were painting. It brought up some very deep thoughts in me in regard to my personal reflection of what anger truly is. Anger to me is something I don’t really feel often which is a good thing in my own opinion. Therefore, I found it difficult to express anger through art. At first I used the red paint and started creating a round smudge, mixing it then with both orange and yellow. I then had the marvellous idea to put red paint on a paint brush and splat it around the canvas by flicking the brush, this to me demonstrated a way that anger could be expressed. Finally, I added the finger prints as it felt creative and just worked.

This activity can also be used to lead to bringing up conversations with the people within the service about what there understanding if of emotions and how they can express them in a healthy way. It can also be used to talk about serious topics such as depression and how to life with depression. During this exercise I began to reflet on my own understanding of anger and how do I express anger when I do feel anger towards things. It then made me reflect on how I cope when anger is all I feel in a moment. It leads then to the inner conversations I have with myself, and question do I express my anger in a healthy manner.

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This piece of work was made individually at first. Each student worked individually or in pairs to create a piece of art on a single piece of paper. I got to work on my own piece (piece indicated by arrow) for this exercise and it was a great experience. I got to express my own personal touch of creativity. At first I was cautious as I did not know what to draw as I don’t view myself as overly creative when it comes to art, but once I got my colour pallet I just went for it. I kind of just chose one colour first and then added another until I created a gradient from darker colours into more brighter colours. I then had a thought that this could resemble someone’s pathway in life in regard to their mental health and the process they are going through. They started in the dark and are on the way to the lighter side, hence why I added the curved line which resembled to me as no one has a straight-lined battle with mental health issues. The red dots represented as supports and pitstops along the journey of over coming mental health issues and knowing that there is always hope to come, even when in the dark.

Once everyone was finished we handed up all our creations and they were put together to create a beautiful mosaic like piece. This showed that yes even though everyone did their own piece of art that we are in fact all connected and interlink with each other, in other words we our art may be an individual piece but in a bigger picture they all combine to create a piece that symbolises community and inclusiveness.

This creative exercise has the potential to do amazing things for people in any sector of social care as it allows for individuals who like to work alone create an individual piece of art and then bring their art together with the rest of the group. I suppose this made me realise that I may not be able to create master pieces but what I do create always has a story behind it, though sometimes it may not be known to me when starting off. I found the overall experience enjoyable and found a sense of relaxation within myself once I started colouring.