Having made a start on the Reader, and following Rosemary’s link to read Marks blog on ‘Reflection IN and ON Action’ it has really got my thinking about the idea of reflection in action and out of action reflection.
I agree that as a dancer we have to be reflecting in action as we dance in order to stay on top of our performance with delivering precise steps, energy levels, balance, musicality, performance and spacing. But I began to wonder, what is the difference between reflecting in action and just reacting to what is happening? Do we really have time to reflect mid performance?
For example what if during the middle of a performance a fellow cast member does not make it on stage and you have to adapt to the change of situation: say you have to change spacing, cover their steps or even leave the stage as you are partnered with them. Is this reflection in action or is it just reacting to the changes you are presented with.
After giving it some thought I have come to believe that reflection in action is a learnt skill. Without realising it as dancer’s reflection in action is something we have learnt and improved on perhaps since the day we started dancing. It can happen so quickly that sometimes we probably don’t even recognise the process. This brings me to the conclusion that reflection in action is the thought process which in turn leads to a physical reaction where by you change something as you are doing it. You need reflection in action in order to prompt the reaction.
Could it also be said that you can do both reflection in action and reflection on action for the same event/experience. When reflecting in action decisions need to be made quickly and spontaneously whereas afterwards you may have more time to reflect on the situation and go through the different options available to you. Would you still of followed the same path? Would this then become a learning experience and the next time you would know what to do having ‘learnt from experience’.
Let’s take the above example again, say your opposite does not make it on stage during a dance number, you have to make the decision very quickly about what to do and you decide to leave the stage in order to make the overall spacing look better. That was you reflection in action. But perhaps after the performance you start to reflect on action and go through the other options you had, you come to the conclusion that actually it would have been better to stay on stage and just take up a central position in order to even out the spacing.
If you were to find yourself in this situation again you would know what to do as you would have ‘learnt from experience’. It also shows that your reflection on action could affect your future reflection in action.
Perhaps reflection can also take the form of 'gut feel'. You know when you can see the faces of the people and you realise they aren't getting it or enjoying it?
ReplyDeleteSchön (the dude who advocates reflection-in-action) said...
'The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation. (Schön 1983: 68)
The words I like there are experiment, surprise, puzzlement, and confusion. These are not rational, logical words, they are the in some ways the core of reflection for me. Reflection can help the process of sense making, seeing and understanding why did something occur in the chaos and identify what can be improved or done differently.
A performance is a complex, unique and creative occurrence. Reflection on parts might be quite systematic and logical (steps, choreography, marks, lines) but other parts might be about intuition, feel, mood, atmosphere and these are not explained well in rational terms
I enjoyed reading your observations, keep them up
You made some great points Cerys.
ReplyDeleteIt got me thinking... when I first started working professionally I would react very quickly but not reflect well... so most of the time I would leave the stage if my partner left, or let someone else fill the space left by someone leaving, almost just "react" like you mentioned. However as I've leant more and progressed professionally, now I would be thinking where would it look best for me to go to cover the person that left stage.
I think taking those extra seconds to have reflective thoughts create a much better professional. However like Peter said, it could also be referred to as almost a gut feeling. Essentially it is you doing what your gut is telling you to do, but where do we get that from? I think we get it from reflection on action!!! Because in my experience the only reason I know how to react is because I've seen or had it happen before. I may have previously done nothing and reflected what would have been the right thing to do, or I might have reflected on something someone else did. So it is important to reflect on your practice in both ways if you want to be better at what you do.
Great reading your post! Like I said, it sparked many thoughts! =)
I've been thinking more about this and I really agree with what Melissa is saying at the end of her comment about reflection on action.
ReplyDeleteI think over time as performers we do acquire the skill of reflecting in action that enables us to make better choices in the moment (for example staying on stage instead of going off). However I think we are able to make these decisions because of things we have learned through reflection on action. Looking back and thinking what worked and what didn't allows us to make better choices the next time we are in the moment.
Thinking about myself personally I'm not sure I am ever aware of learning something new until after the event when I have had time to digest the information.