Current Networks

It has been interesting reading everyones thoughts and ideas about networking that came out at the campus session. Thanks for sharing!

When thinking about my own networking I have realised that in the last year my networks have been steadily changing and re organising themselves. Having been doing less performing and more teaching work I have made a whole new set of networks, my old ones are still there but priorities have changed and certain networks have now became more relevant than others.

Looking back on it now it has made me realise just how interlinked some of these networks are and how I have found work from some networks that I would not have ever expected too.

My first permanent teaching job that I started last September came from a choreographer I met when performing in a show a number of years ago. We had kept in touch and she now had her own theatre school and offered me employment. Since then we have become very close friends and she is someone I look up to, admire and can turn to for advice and support. As someone who has been down a similar path to me she has been a great help in passing on contact details, forwarding me job vacancies and offering great references to other employers.

For a while this was the only job I had, I found it hard having been away from the area for so long to know what opportunities were available and where the teaching jobs were. It took time for me to build up new networks or re-establish old ones as well as building up my reputation in the area.

Slowly I began to make more contacts and as people got to know me and see my work they would recommend me to others. For example at the theatre school I work at, my colleges there in the singing and drama departments have both passed my details on to friends or other organisations that I have then gone on to work for.

On two separate occasions this year I have got teaching work though my family network, which has been an eye opener to me as it is not an area I would have expected to find work opportunities. One opportunity arose after a conversation my gran had with a younger cousin of mine whose dance school was looking for a tap teacher and another through a family friend who knew of a company looking for dance practitioners in my area, I had never even heard of the company and now I do a lot of great work with them. I got both jobs through my own merits but would never have heard of them had it not been for these people in my family network as they were not advertised positions.

Another important networking tool for me is going to see regular performances in my area. Here I get to meet up with like-minded people in the industry and keep up to date on what is going on. It is also a place where I get to meet up with old teachers, friends or dance associates who I am not in regular contact with but seeing them at such events keeps them in my network.

The internet has always been a very useful tool to me in networking over the years. When performing it was a great way to find out about auditions, keep in touch with teachers and friends from college and email employers, agents and casting directors with CV and Photos. I have used it more recently to research dance schools and organisations in my area, it’s been a great way to increase my knowledge of dance in my area and get in touch with prospective employers. I have been able to get in touch with organisations and people I have never met, provide them with all my details and experience, let them know I am in the area and ask that if there are any current or future work opportunities that they keep me in mind. I have done this a lot and it has paid off! Often I have found that people aren’t necessarily looking for dance teachers but if you make contact and they like what they see then they are more often than not willing to have a meeting and take you on as a cover teacher which can often then lead to a more permanent position. You have to be proactive in making new contacts and networks.

Social networking sites have also provided some work opportunities for me, I have seen people post last minute requests for dance teacher cover on Facebook which is actually a really affective way of communicating with a large number of people probably across a number of different networks. I myself have used it as a tool recently when I needed an extra dancer at short notice for a show I was choreographing. It just goes to show again how networks can overlap and you never know where an opportunity may arise!

I liked Joanna's theory that within your networks there are those people that you receive from, those that you give to and those that who you equally give and receive from. I started to divide my networks up like this but then prompted with the question “can you think about the motives of others to be in the network and what values and purpose they have in mind?” from the module handbook it made me think that at some point could all networks work both ways? Could both parties benefit from being in each other’s network or are there just some networks where they will always be a hierarchy? 

For example I work a theatre school, initially it was obvious to me that they are in the ’giver’ position as i gain from them as they are giving me work and I look to my employer for advice and support too. However when I started to think about it further I realised that I could also be seen as the ‘giver’ here, I have a lot of experience and knowledge to bring to their school and on occasions when I am asked by youngster or parents looking to sending their children to dance/drama/singing classes I would recommend this theatre school to them, so I am bringing in extra students to them also.

Another example could be if you have an agent you would initially put that into the category of people you receive from. But actually by you being on their books you are adding to their agency and making them money and again you may recommend them to other people thereby increasing their reputation. I couldn’t help thinking of the saying ‘it takes two to tango’!! Surely there must be some benefit for all parties that are in the network otherwise why bother? It may not be apparent straight away and it may not be a material benefit like money or gaining a job, it could be the satisfaction of passing on knowledge or doing a friend a favour. You may not reap the benefits straight away but at some point in their existence a network will run both ways.

Now don’t get me wrong I am all for helping people out, I don’t give to receive but often just because it feels like it is the rights thing to do or you can help someone out. I still keep an eye on what is happening in the performing world and often tell friends of jobs I’ve seen that I think they would be suitable for, if I can’t take a teaching job I would always try to recommend someone else instead. More recently I have been in the position where I was able to offer a friend a performing job in a show I was choreographing; great for her as she was out of work, but now thinking about it great for me too as I get to work with a friend!

My ideal network would be a balance of giving and taking in equal measures. I enjoy helping others and passing on my knowledge but I still like to have those people to look up to, learn from and be supported by. I think it’s important to always keep your network growing, as you develop and change your networks will too. Some networks will always remain solid and then others you may grow out of and form new ones more relevant to your current circumstances. Once having been in a network I don’t think it would ever totally go away, it may fade and you may not use it for a long time, but then twenty years down the line you could have a chance encounter and meet up with someone from that network and a new opportunity may arise!