This is the third post in the Reflection and Readiness series. In this series I explore how reflective practice can help prepare us to navigate life’s challenges and opportunities.
Every Saturday from the age of about seven, I would join other young dancers to stand at the barre to practice pliés and tendus – foundations for strong and elegant sautés we built up to when we left our barre practice for our work in the centre.
My favourite centre work was port de bras – graceful arm work – where I could slow down, focus on creating beautiful shapes with my arms and gaze dreamily at the tips of my fingers as they traced shapes at the edges of my personal space.
Every week we would return to build from basics to more complex choreographies – and the importance of this practice, as well as repetitive rehearsal of choreographies – was reinforced from a young age.
Rehearsal allowed our bodies to remember the movement without excessive thought – it became part of procedural memory – allowing us cognitive space to allocate to numerous requirements of performance, such as adjusting to a different space, performing with feeling and expression, overcoming nerves and responding to the audience – whether in their joyous support or critical scrutiny.
Through rehearsal and reflection we can improve performance. While we can never control or predict all the variables that come with performance, rehearsal is a way to reduce the unknown variables, try things out, and work out what works and what doesn’t before we hit the stage, lecture theatre, boardroom, or whatever the setting.
On the other hand, the saying “life is not a rehearsal” encourages us to embrace the present and try not to dwell on mistakes. Real life doesn’t always allow us space to try out things and reflect in controlled environments.
Donald Schön’s Reflective Model is a framework to support instinctive application of skills honed through training, practice and reflection over time. Schön’s model outlines two processes:
Reflection on action: looking back on an action, considering the range of factors that influenced it, and reflecting on the outcomes that were observed or might have resulted.
Reflection in action: thinking about what is happening in the moment, drawing on experience and knowledge, and adapting one’s actions in response to changing circumstances.
Both rehearsal and reflective practice are important approaches for creative practitioners – discover opportunities to join reflective practice groups with other practitioners.