Ethnography Reflection

1.  Ethnography’s often include patterns of narration (story) or description.  You set the scene, but in many cases I couldn’t picture the place or surroundings.  Situate your reader.  In this space below, consider drawing a map of the place you describe to allow yourself to see it better.  Could you describe the scene to a blind person?

There are recreational and competition classes provided through this small studio, located in the back of a warehouse off Highway 169.  There are five rooms (also referred to as studios) total; Blue Room, Green Room, Yellow Room, Loft 1 and Loft 2.  Mondays are buzzing with kids and parents of all ages, the chaos starting at 3:45 and lasting well after 9:00. 

 

2. Incorporate research into your writing.  Use research to provide background, develop a larger sense of the group, its history and purpose. We have the observations and primary sources, but secondary sources need development in many cases.  Without background we don’t have perspective.  Find two online sources.  Take time to explore our databases at Normandale.  

• "Anorexia Linked to Child Dancers."BBC News Services. (2004): n. page. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4121221.stm>.
• "Glossary of Ballet." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia 10 October 2011. n. pag. Wikipedia. Web. 12 Oct 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_ballet>.

3.Provide a day in the life.  Put us right into a moment in time.  Describe the place, the people, their way of speaking.Here is an area of key weakness.  There just isn’t enough dialogue in these pieces.

Example:  The group prayed—should be:  Jack led the group in prayer.  When he bowed his head, his black hair fell in front of his eyes.  Everyone joined hands in a circle and some began to sway like trees in a forest when the wind moves among them. Jack was quiet for a long time before speaking. “Lord,” Jack began…After the prayer he read from Psalm 121, which begins….Find one key area where your paper needs work and expand it.

Camila smiles as she pushes the door open to see her instructor Kyle waiting for them patiently, going through steps in her head before the class starts.  She has a huge white binder perched atop her knees as she sits cross-legged on a stool, warmly welcoming her students into class as they slowly trickle in, most showing signs of fatigue from the tediousness of the previous class.  Not wasting any time, Kyle takes a visual attendance and jots down that there are no absences.  Every teacher loves when their entire class shows up, because they can then teach a good amount of their dance without having to repeat themselves the next week.  With already warm dancers in her midst, Kyle leads a short warm-up, delicately switching the young dancer’s brains from ballerina to contemporary....

4. Be self reflective.  What were you thinking and feeling while you were watching this moment? In many cases I wasn’t sure what compelled the writer to explore this area of research.  I didn’t know their preconceptions, what they thought would happen versus what actually did.  I didn’t know what most of you were feeling.

It’s such a joy to see someone do what he or she is passionate about, and be able to tell.  As I observe Camila in her element, a maternal instinct washes over me, and I beam with pride watching her beautiful movements.  

5. Make sure to incorporate observations of rituals, artifacts, and interpretations. Some of this you may need to supplement with research. Again, dialogue is a key because it shows insider language.  Always use specifics.

Dancers are sometimes forced to pull more than twelve-hour days at convention centers, high school gymnasiums, and auditoriums, at times dancing at 7 in the morning and 9 at night.  They are draining, full of made up faces, fake eyelashes, dance shoes galore, tights, spare tights in case the others run, costume changes, practicing, hair spray and lots of sugar to keep the little ones energetic.  For the passionate kids like Camila, competition weekends are a dream come true, she loves seeing her teammates and having the whole family cheer for her.  She insists that she likes the long days (probably because it means more sugar and caffeine for her).   

6.  What did your adventure teach you?  Why does such a group exist?  What does it say about our society?  Effective Conclusions:

• • include a brief summary of the paper's main points. 
• • ask a provocative question. 
• • use a quotation. 
• • evoke a vivid image.
• • call for some sort of action. 
• • end with a warning. • universalize (compare to other situations). 
• • suggest results or consequences

How will you wrap your paper up?

The subculture of dance is split up into so many different categories, two being solely in the competition dancer’s world.  Though some young dancers think it’s ok to dress and dance maturely, this culture should not be lost because of them.  There are intelligent, beautiful girls, the underdogs, who make dance what it was meant to be: a passion and art within a sport.  These girls will go on to do great things, and hopefully will enlighten our future competition dancers to be all they can be, regardless of talent and appearance.  What an interesting and fun journey I went on with Camila, she never stopped amazing me and I’m so proud to call her my little competition-dancing, athlete of a sister.  

Dance Subculture

1.     Narrative of Thought: When I first chose my subject, I thought I was going to go into the world of competition dance the way I saw it.  Being an ex-competition dancer myself I thought it would be interesting for others to be able to experience what I did.  I also was a modern dance student, so I was going to compare the two worlds and go that direction.  My subject has actually changed a lot since then, for two reasons; one that I can’t do a focus on a subculture that I am a part of, and two, following people through their endeavors is actually a lot different from my own experience.  I thought everyone had the same thoughts and opinions as myself, but it turns out there’s much more dynamic to this world of dancers.  I decided to steer away from my previous route and focus on young dancers, how they are seen in the outside community, as well as in their own subculture and research their opinions of the world of competition dance. 

2.     Look at strands on the web:

a.     Shared language: “Merde,” facials, makeup, hair, platinum, high gold, gold, silver, studio (two meanings), conditioning, jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, kick, lyrical

b.     Shared artifacts: costumes, makeup, hair gel, hair pins, hair binders, bobby pins (different from hair pins), bun forms, hair spray, hair nets, earrings, rhinestones, warm-ups, shoes, trophies, crowns, ribbons

c.      Common rituals and traditions: crazy dance moms, praying, stretching, going through dances, chants

d.     Shared beliefs and attitudes: Superstition of telling a dancer to “break a leg” and “good luck”, watching the dance before yours before going on stage, split between “holier than thou” and modest

3.     Shared beliefs and attitudes:

a.     “Break a leg”/”Good luck”: To a dancer, the usual good luck saying of “break a leg” can be considered an omen.  Most of the dance world is very superstitious and telling a dancer to “break a leg” can be taken very seriously.  Because legs are very important to the dancer, a broken leg can mean sitting out the rest of the season or even problems for the rest of their lives as dancers.  Saying the phrase, “merde” is usually preferred.  Loosely translated, “merde” means, “shit” in French.  The reasoning that “good luck” isn’t said to dancers is because of their superstition that wishing good luck would bring bad luck.  According to an online dance forum, dancers believe that saying something negative will bring positivity to performances.

b.     Watching the dance before: Many competition coaches tell their dancers not to watch the dancers backstage before they go on for fear that they will forget their dance and start performing the dance they just saw.  This is another superstition, because in all reality, dances can’t be picked up that quickly.  It’s a way of keeping the dancers focused and bringing down anxiety before their turn on stage.  There is also an aspect of comparing one’s dance to the ones in the same category, at times psyching the dancer out to the point of compromising the best performance a dancer can have. 

c.      “Holier than thou” vs. Modest: There is a split in the competition dance world between having a “holier than thou” ego and modest.  It all comes down to what is important within the studio.  This is actually more prevalent between the younger dancers than with the older ones.  Some of the girls believe that acting rudely to competition is a way of showing confidence and poise, while other studios coach their teams to always be respectful and kind to everyone competing against them.  You see a lot of both at competitions, but those who are rude are notorious for acting this way and that way of acting is not tolerated in the general community.  

Dance Subculture

Dance Shoes: Dance shoes are pertinent to any dancer, especially competition dancers.  Everyone has to have the same shoes, otherwise you could get marked off points by the judges.  It is also important not to lose them, seeing as they are very expensive.  At first glance, if someone were to hear this reasoning, they would probably think that people were overreacting and it's not as big of a deal as it's coming off as.  On the contrary, if a team has registered one of their dances for a certain style, the shoes must correlate, and it could seriously hurt their chances of winning if the rules weren't followed.  Dance can be a very expensive sport, and shoes are no exception.  People may think you have to be well off to dance, but there are some shortcuts.  There are a lot of used dance shoe stores, and a lot of studios sell used dance shoes, cutting down prices sometimes up to 95%.  The three most important things this artifact tells me about this subculture are of the art of it, the price, and the precision.

Caboodles/Makeup: Caboodles are plastic makeup cases that are now mostly only seen at dance competitions and other places where heavy makeup is used.  They were a huge fad in the 80's and 90's, but died out as other makeup cases arose.  Almost every dancer has one of these, because they are perfect for carrying large amounts of makeup and come with a mirror inside.  I chose this artifact because it's every dancer's best friend, they can organize their makeup and be able to touch-up or change quickly if needed.    It's just another thing to add on the price list, and some may have a problem with that after seeing the end bill.  But it's all part of the complete package to having a successful competition.  Along with dance shoes, a seemingly flawless face that isn't washed out is a must.  It is counted towards the final score and can be the deciding factor when it comes to points.  This is a big part of the subculture and how it is defined because it is widely controversial.  Many people would fight that children as young as four don't need makeup and they should dance the way they are.  In all reality, it has nothing to do with trying to objectify girls or make them seem older than they are, it simply has to do with the fact that they are on stage, and the lights wash their faces out.  There is a little glam factor in it, because it completes the package, but it's all part of the competition.  The three most important things this artifact tells me about the subculture are that it's controversial, it's important to scoring, and that it's perfectly normal to the dancers.

Rhinestones/Costumes: Rhinestones and costumes are probably the most important part of competition minus the actual dance.  The costumes have to correlate with the dance itself and be appropriate with the music.  Whether it's appropriate for the age group is a different story.  This is why people misinterpret dance competitions so much.  Costuming can be risque, and some critics can't get past that.  I myself have mixed feelings about the subject, because I grew up at a studio that was modest in costuming, a rule actually being that no costumes can show stomach.  People think that it's degrading towards girls and giving them the wrong idea young in life.  It's connected to my other artifacts to make the complete package of a perfect competitor.  The three most important things this artifact tells me about the subculture are that it's, again, controversial, can be risque and is widely misinterpreted.