MA Professional Practice, Dance- Jesse Milligan

The beginning of something can take many forms. Some would argue that it is purely subjective- is it the point at which a person makes a conscious decision to perform a task or is it the point at which one puts pen to paper or foot to floor? I liken the beginning of the MAPP to ordering a flat-pack chest of draws from the internet. Fully expecting to receive a box in the post with all the required boards, screws and instructions to construct the drawers, instead I receive a box of clay with minmal/no instructions. It is now my task to mould my own set of drawers, with no interpretation being wrong, it is merely my own perception of what drawers should be from my interaction with others, research and past experiences. Adesola Akinleye theorises beginnings as having three distinct points- The Official Beginning , the Energetic Beginning and the Effective Beginning (Adesola MA Professional Practice, Beginnings, 28th Jan 2019, Adesola Akinleye, http://adesolamapp.blogspot.com/) In h...

So as this year starts, I embark on the MA Professional Practice (Dance) at Middlesex University, London. This seems like a huge step but one I feel will enable me to further my understanding of the skills and knowledge I have gained throughout my varied career and my current practice. Starting this blog is necessary to allow me to voice the concerns and opinions I will have throughout my time on the course and will also allow me to join the large network of Dance Professionals and Teachers on the wider MAPP courses, pooling our opinions, questions and resources together in order to better understand our professional practice. Our welcome week was preceded by a Skype session conducted by Helen Kindred which included new and current student across the whole of the MAPP programme (Dance Pedagogy, Somatic Studies and Dance). During the Skype session, Helen introduced key members of staff on the programme and laid out the structure of the courses along with giving a guided tour of MyUni...