Possible topic "A study into different stratagies for intergrating boys of pre secondary school age into dance with a particular emphasis on hard to reach groups such as ethnic minoroties and white working class boys"

could i have your thoughts on this topic area please people!!

An Extraxt from my learning diary (25/02/2010)

After last week’s campus session I have been doing a lot of thinking about a possible topic and how I would research it.
The first idea that came to mind was something to do with different types of discipline when teaching. I then started to think would this hold my interest for a long time?, would I be able to cover such a huge area?
I then decided I wanted to do something I was more passionate about. I was watching a Tv show and there was a discussion about homosexuality and footballers, it was asking the question why is there a stigma surrounding gay man in the football industry and from that came a debate about homosexuality within the theatre. This led me to thinking about the stigma surrounding men in the industry, particularly in dance. I knew that this was something I was passionate about and began thinking of different topic ideas surrounding this theme.
As I am currently teaching in different schools, in after school clubs and PE, I began thinking of the boys I teach and there attitudes towards dance and felt this is something I could explore more.
The topic idea I am thinking of at the moment is “A research into effective stratagies for intergrating biys of pre secondary age into dance”. As I work with different ethnic minorities I wanted to incorporate something to do with this into my study so may add to the end of my title “ with particular emphasis on hard to reach groups such as ethnic minorities and white working class boys.”
Different ways I could research this
• Media research- Billy Elliot movie
• Media research – meet the Amish (coming on Tv soon)
• Interviewing young boys from my schools on there attitudes to dance

Notes on searching Journals
• Annotations – notes to yourself
• Include research books in bibliography
• Google scholar – cuts out commercial stuff
• G247-RESOURCES – library of journals- learning resources
-electronic database searching
-full text and citation
-Citation databases
-call / email librarians
Reflecting on what Ive written in this diary entry, I believe I have got a good basisto begin researching a topic area, my thought process and learning this week has gone well as it has made my objective a lot clearer to me. I now need to begin researching and collecting as many things as possible to do with my topic. I may begin by checking out a link that I saw on Danielle Stacey’s blog www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/brief.html-guidenceonresearch

An Extract from my learning diary (18/02/10)

Campus session one
I attended my first campus session, it was an introduction to the new module on research methods. I have bullet pointed an overview of my notes below.
• This module is the plan for the final project not the actual project itself.
What is Research?• Finding something new
• Advancing knowledge of professional practice in a systematic way
• Adding to what’s already been learnt
• Developing a deeper understanding of something
Ways into research
Dance performance phenomena
-director/choreographer
-music
-audience
-lighting
-performance time
The above are all variables (they can change at any time)
• A way into research would be to change one or more variable.
Other ways in• Curiosity
• Concepts/issues/contexts
• Problem/issue based
• Mind mapping
• Peers
• Employer/manager/director
Data Resources
• What am I interested in?
Plan something close to home
• What my topic area is
• Where am I getting my info from?
Literature Review
• Literature – searching for work-related content
• Where things come from – theories & concepts
• Finding out what you don’t know
• Finding literature that is against what you think
• Critical thinking

Overall the campus session went very well for me. It helped me to have a clearer picture in my mind of the task in hand and helped me focus on each bit of the module as a small step rather than trying to tackle the module as a whole. The session broke down the module into sections and set clear points of what we had to do and I feel the way I made my notes throughout was a clear and concise way to help me keep focussed on the task. I think, in future, even though I cannot attend all campus sessions I will try and bullet point different problems and issues that I come across throughout the duration of the semester as I believe this will focus my mind on the task at hand.

task d

Quadrophenia: How does the cult film compare with the stage version?

A classic album, then a cult film in 1979, Quadrophenia has now remerged as a musical. The move from vinyl to the big screen was a roaring success: but what of the transformation form big screen to stage?
The set for the musical is well constructed but the plot is clearly limited by the limitations of stage. With a band on stage each set has to be moved around: the street, a cafe, Jimmy’s home, and Brighton Dance Hall. The action becomes frenetic and distorts the watcher’s ability to place each scene in any particular location. Although Act 2, set in Brighton, is easier to follow than the London based scenes of Act 1, one has to read the programme notes to understand the action. In relying upon songs to relay the story the plot becomes confused.
Quadrophenia the movie deals with the sets and storyline in much more depth because of its ability to move around locations. The public baths, terraced houses motorbikes alleyways, London cafes and Dancehalls all create a setting which takes the viewer to the world of the sixites Mod. Clever shots of bikers arriving in Brighton enable the film watcher to sense the distance between rebellious teenager and home based parent. The street fights and beach scenes enable the film audience to visualize the youth phenomenon in a way that the stage with its gang attack on a lone rocker, does not.
When analyzing the themes within each there is a similar mismatch in terms of the depth that the musical achieves compared to the film. A major theme in both is the generation gap: a rebellious teenager whose parents do not understand his dreams and neither does he. The coming of age searching for identity is evident in both genres. However the musical, a revisiting of the themes in the film, is unable to deal with moral attitudes around in 1960s England, in a way that the film achieves.
Jimmy within the film is seeking an alternative to his hum drum life as part of a teenage gang, Jimmy within the musical is angry and confused but it isn’t evident why he feels this way. The musical is almost an exploration of his state of mind rather than the voice of a generation on the move, which he represents within the film. His issues within the large screen seem to be caused by his humdrum surroundings but in the musical the interpretation suggests that it is different character traits that cause his inner turmoil.
In the stage show the Face is clearly a snazzy dresser who also works as a Bell Boy but within the film we see a fuller, anti hero, who appears at work, in the dance hall, on the beach and within the court. The film buff sees several aspects of his character not just his ability to strut like a peacock straightening his cuffs and collar. The film offers the explanation for Jimmy and The Face’s behavior in terms of their escape from boring day jobs in ways which the musical because of its lack of narrative cannot achieve.
Perhaps the greatest difference between the two genres is this presentation of character. In the musical the characters work extremely hard to move the audience from their comfort zone into high energy world of The Mods on a weekend away. The film can cut to night club to house party, beach scenes, and support several characterizations and sub plots. Jimmy’s relationship with his parents and work colleagues is much more obvious within the film. His position within the pecking order of Mods is apparent. In the stage show it isn’t easy to determine if he is leader or led. This is not helped by the number of characters playing Jimmy in the stage show.
The musical may have gained more critical acclaim if it had been written in between the album and the film rather than after the latter. As a result of the limitations what is a great album, come cult film becomes poorer as a piece of musical theatre. It is popular because of its association with its predecessors, rather than in its own right.Quad

everybody check out my website at www.rebeccagagemusicaltheatre.co.uk

task d writing styles

Quadrophenia, the musical, is delivered through songs and a variety of scenes. There is no dialogue other than song lyrics. This means that the audience has to work hard to piece together the complexities of Jimmy’s character and the events of the Mods and Rockers conflict: knowing the plot from the 1970s movie helps. Fortunately the storyline in the musical is fairly simple. Boy from violent dysfunctional home is unhappy with his life and sets off seeking love, adventure and a different purpose to his life. Boy goes astray and dream gets broken. The result is disappointment, frustration and violence.
Quadrophenia, The Musical, tells us the story of Jimmy a young man full of the usual teenage anger. Jimmy is a rebel who feels his life should be better and he cannot settle to the nine to five routine of life. The story line is about Jimmy’s struggle to understand and be understood. His parents cannot help him and his relationship with his Dad descends into violence as Jimmy questions his parents’ loveless relationship. Jimmy is looking for companionship and this leads him to join the local Mod gang who are heading for Brighton. Jimmy throws himself into the scene and his overuse of drugs begins to change his character and outlook. The local Mod leader becomes Jimmy’s hero until he realises that he works in service as a Bell Boy. Jimmy’s fantasy of a completely different life for young people is shattered. In Brighton his life finds a violent tragic end. His trip ends in disappointment as he loses the girl and ends up involved in a violent stabbing of his fallen hero.
Jimmy character is played by four different characters that represent different parts of his character: lunatic, hypocrite, romantic and violent. This can get confusing especially during the first act and when they are all on stage together.
The set for the show is fairly basic. The musicians appear behind the action on a tiered scaffold and there is a central rotating climbing frame as well as a rotating part to the stage. The transition from one scene to the next is slick and the songs move you through each scenario as they tell the story of Jimmy’s troubles. The simplistic set means that the youthful cast have to put lots of energy into recreating the Mod scene of the early sixties. The young performers do this through dance, song and acrobatics as they recreate the energy and dangers of the era. Their costumes represent the fashions of the day. The energetic cast is well supported by the trumpets, guitars and drums at the rear, which at times makes you feel that you are at a pop concert rather than a musical production. During, in the first act, it takes time to get into the plot. The scenes appear a bit random and one bit of dramatic tension, a fight at home, is followed by another bit of dramatic action: a row at work, or the four elements of jimmy’s character wrestling for control. Initially it takes a while to realise that they are all Jimmy, despite the fact that they all wear the same clothes throughout the production. The lack of dialogue, loud music and fast pace of the action makes it hard to follow. Nevertheless it is an enjoyable experience particularly when the old Who classics are bashed out. At the show I went to the cast joined the audience in the bar for after show refreshments and were welcomed and praised by today’s youngsters and a small number of pot bellied Mods, whose parkas, Ben Shermans and mini skirts had seen better days.

task d writing styles

Pork pie hats, Parkas, popping ‘blues’, chasing rockers on your Vespa! Remember the Mods? They’re back with a country wide tour of Quadrophenia the Musical. The new show is based on The Who’s famous album of the same name and will take in twenty venues across Great Britain during 2009. Live on stage for the first time Quadrophenia provides a fast moving insight into the changing lives of teenagers in sixties Britain.

Portraying the start of Youth Culture and rebellion Quadrophenia is set in Brighton and London but as a tour of British towns and cities ‘Quad’ reflects the countrywide explosion of the ‘Mods and Rocker’ phenomena. The musical features disaffected Jimmy, who is looking for a good time, a girlfriend and a place in society. In Jimmy’s world you don’t quite get anything right but when it all goes wrong you keep looking for the next piece of action.

Quadrophenia the musical is about the growing pains of teenagers at the start of the boom time sixties. Its backdrop is the lyrics and music of many previously unpublished songs by Pete Townsend lead guitarist and songwriter with The Who. Townsend’s original intention was to write a quadruple album but it never made the shops. ‘Quadrophenia The Musical’ contains several of the songs cut from his initial work.

Pete Townsend, now musical Creative Consultant to the show, will see its opening night in Plymouth and watch with anticipation as audiences around the country experience his interpretation of the movie, before the show’s last night in Coventry, home of ska band The Specials.

This is a musical for the young and describes the early days of ‘You’ve never had it so good Britain’ when young people had money, transport and freedom from the shackles of parents and post war regeneration. Of course, young people today can still relate to the issues Jimmy wrestles with. Today’s teenagers may have IPods, Student Loans, Unemployment and Asbos to deal with but they will quickly recognise, the Jimmy the Romantic, Jimmy The Tough Guy, Jimmy the Lunatic and the need to be different , to be part of the gang and to fit in, to know where the action is and move heaven and hell to get there.

This is the Sixties Generation and whether Jimmy represents the four members of The Who, or just the changeable moods of a young drug user, Quadrophenia will take you back to the days of your youth: gangs, girls, excitement the sounds of the crowd. You will remember the morning after, the comedown back at work and of course the battles with Mum and Dad.

Meet Ace Face, Jimmy, the mod girls and leave Dead End Street on your way to London, Brighton, and Beachy Head. Those were the days my friend and Quadrophenia the Musical gives you the chance to relive the swinging era of Mods and Rockers. And for followers of Quentin Tarantino , when you are at the show keep an eye out for Jack Roth, son of Tim Roth of Reservoir Dogs, Made in Britain and Lie To Me notoriety.
This is a night to see what Magistrate Dr George Simpson was talking about in 1964 when he described Mods and Rockers as ‘These long haired mentally unstable petty little hoodlums, these sawdust Caesars who can only find courage like rats in hunting in packs.’

Never heard your Grandparents described like that before – get down to the show and see for yourself. You won’t get fooled again.