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‘Sustainability’ Project Development Video Material Part 1 

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‘Sustainability’ Project Development Video Material Part 1 

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Introduction to Sustainability workshop ( it’s the same video from the Part 1 I’m just reposting the video as it somehow got cropped) 

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Introduction to Sustainability workshop ( it’s the same video from the Part 1 I’m just reposting the video as it somehow got cropped) 

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Health and Safety Reminders Workshop ( included in the Part 1 video material just reposting as it was accidentally cropped)

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‘Sustainability’ Project Development Part 2 

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‘Sustainability’ Project Development Part 2 

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Assisting & Presenting At The Double Twist Dance Showcase Video Material 

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Assisting & Presenting At The Double Twist Dance Showcase Video Material 

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In this personal development plan, I will evaluate the professional skills I have gained throughout this year and this term from the planning, development and delivery of my Dance Industry 2 final project. I will discuss the learning process and the project and how they aided my professional development and opportunities.  I will discuss the areas for improvement as a project manager and dance artist.

During the planning and development of my “Sustainability Project”, I had to research and take on different responsibilities to develop the project from scratch. I acquired knowledge of professional practices, policies and legal requirements to carry out a project. Understanding legal requirements on safety and safeguarding for working with children was necessary for my project as the sustainability workshop was aimed at primary school children. Getting a DBS check is a legal requirement before working with minors and it is useful to posses as it opens more professional opportunities. Other necessary legalities I am more familiar with as a result of the preparation for the project are public liability insurance and risk assessments. Public liability insurance is necessary in case of an accident or injury that might occur during a workshop or a lesson and it is also crucial for any business, employment or self-employment for incidents related to the business activity and to cover legal cost and compensation in an occasion of one. It would be particularly useful to me as a dance artist if I am looking to deliver dance workshop like my sustainability project. Prior to any workshop or lessons a risk assessment is a requirement to assess potential hazards and identify control measures. The project helped me get an insight on such guidelines and policies.

During the planning and preparation for the project in addition to having to research the relevant information for project development, I also had to research sustainability, ways to adapt the information and teach it to children and ways to educate through dance. Learning how to combine academic knowledge, dance technique and creativity all in the same workshop was a challenge but it could be useful in my professional development if I decide to become a teacher or educator. During this year we learned more about inclusive practice and the dance company who I assisted for the showcase is an inclusive company and working with them helped me gain an experience of working with special needs children and put my knowledge from the module in practice and gave me further ideas on how to develop my projects and workshops in the future to be inclusive as in my sustainability project I had not considered that initially. In the module we were shown a number of dance companies whose vision is that there should be more inclusiveness in the industry and they are making it possible. From the workshop with Parable Dance and during the showcase I saw how movement can be adapted to fit different bodies and taught me how regardless of health conditions there are no limits on the human mind and body and inspired me to make my future dance practice accessible to all abilities.

I gained a number of practical skills from the development of the sustainability project and my assistance in the showcase. I learned a lot about planning and managing a project and working with children.  Some of the practical skills included confidence, energy and public speaking. To teach a lesson or give a workshop it is important to be confident and have strong leadership skills, being a presenter at the showcase tested my confidence, my public speaking skills, energy and ability to lead an audience and helped me prepare for the delivery of my workshop. However, I identified my weakness both during the compèring and the video recording of the workshop material made me realise I need to further work on my confidence and public speaking, which could be improved by having a better preparation and becoming very familiar with the material. I displayed good energy levels during the showcase as the presenter but during the recording of my video evidence of the workshop material I could not keep the same energy and had to remind myself the workshop is aimed at children and would have needed a more energetic delivery if it was done in person to sustain the attention of the participants.

Through volunteering to assist at the showcase I got work experience and received  further opportunities. In addition to asking me to assist at future performances and competitions, I was offered to work as a teaching assistant and to perform a contemporary solo at their next showcase, giving me an opportunity to showcase my own choreography and dance skills helping me gain experience as both a performer and choreographer.

Overall, throughout the year, working on the sustainability project and assisting at the showcase I gained a lot of skills and learned a lot about project management, teaching and working with children. The project management helped me gain awareness on organisational skills needed to effectively manage a project, the legal policies and requirements required for a business or as an independent dance artist you need to be in the possession of. The sustainability workshop challenged me at researching and preparing a lesson plan for children and taught me how to combine academic and dance skills.  The assistance at the showcase tested my ability to take initiative, my confidence and public speaking skills, brought me further opportunities and gave me a chance to work with special needs children that gave me ideas on how to make my workshops suitable in the future. During the module and the final project I acquired a variety of useful skills that enriched my practice and could positively impact my future professional development.

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Mindtools (2014) Personal Development Plan. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/courses/lnV924x0/PersonalDevelopmentPlanning.pdf [Accessed: 4/5/2022].
Parable Dance UK (2022) Parable Dance Company Values. Available at: https://parabledance.co.uk [Accessed: 7/5/2022].