Occupational Idenity and satisfaction through Dance

Christiansen (1999) first recognised the concept of occupations and identity, “Occupations are key not just to being a person, but to being a particular person, and thus creating and maintaining an identity” (p. 576).

Although as a beginner dancer, it may be difficult to identify yourself as a 'dancer', when you only know basic steps and moves, through further participation in this activity it can become ones identity, as could be seen through the dancers I met while attending social dancing.  Through engaging in dance, Individuals can obtain an identity as a Lindy-Hop dancer, a Blues, Ceroc.. Salsa Dancer. When you ask them the question what do you do..? Not only do they mention their love and involvement of dance, but they clarify what type of dance they do, and how long they'd being involved for, & how much they just LOVE IT!

Occupational identity is linked with occupational satisfaction, which is the ability to engage in meaningful and purposeful activity or as defined by Christiansen and Townsend, (2010) as “contentment with occupations” (p. 421). Although individuals will engage in differing occupations depending on their culture and society,  the meaning  and purpose of these various occupations will be subjective for each individual (Wilcock, 1998). All people are occupational beings, all who have unique occupational needs. When individuals are engaged in occupations that develop potential, creativity and a balanced use of capabilities this enables them to experience support, satisfaction, meaning and purpose, and is also beneficial to an individual’s health and occupational well-being (Wilcock, 1998).  Although, I wouldn't say that I am a Swing Dancer, just yet, I can definitely see why other participants who engage in this dance do. I think through further dancing and LOTS more practice, that one day, I too may call myself a 'Swing dancer' or another dancer of some sorts.. Scottish perhaps..? Through participation and contentment of dancing, it can form ones identity and satisfaction. So what are you waiting for... LET's DANCE!!!

References

Christiansen, C. (1999). Defining lives: Occupation as identity: An essay on competence, coherence and the creation of meaning. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53, 547-558.

Christensen, C., & Townsend, E. (Eds.), (2010). An introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Wilcock, A. A. (1998). Occupation for health. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61(8), 340-345.

Basic online tips of Rock steps & triple steps.. The Basics..!

Been learning online.. as one does.. So this is the virtual environment, in which "communication occurs through technological means, in the absence of physical contact" (American Occupation Therapy Association, 2002, p. 623). This consists of such sites as: blogs, facebook pages and youtube. There is a wealth of information that can be obtained online such as online lessons, the ability to view dance moves, & competitions. There are a number of online dance communities, on places such as facebook. I currently belong to Swing Riot.

 Yes, there's heaps of Swing & Lindy Hop related stuff online.. kinda hard to decide where to start, & some are more user friendly then others.

Below are two that I found helpful for Lindy Basics and hopefully you will too!

I really like the next one (it's a longer lesson ~30mins) 

Swing - Lindy Hop Dance Lessons. Level One

So that one day.. you might just look like this!!! 

American Occupation Therapy Association, (2002). Occupational therapy practice framework: domain and process. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 56(6):609-39.

SO Im back for more...!

SO Im back again..! It seems like an age since I did any swing & I feel as though what I did learn (which seems like hardly anything at all.. has all been lost in my gappy memory..).

What am I learning (for those that don't want to scroll through my other posts..)

Lindy Hop

 (Granddaddy of Swing)

 Lindy Hop brings back the lively, entertaining, and energetic Swing of the ‘30s and ‘40s. It mixes 6-count with 8-count moves and tandem Charleston steps.

 So this class is a repeat and a blend of the other two beginners classes that I've learnt before, so instead of going over that again I'm going to talking about learning the Occupation. 

Today this was taken place in a Dance studio, at OUSA recreation centre. The main safety concerns are where the fire exists are.. otherwise in regards to learning Lindy Hop.. other safety and risks include stepping on toes (hard to avoid for some..!!) and the other main concern is to do with hands and their positioning, when to hold, release.. esp when doing particular turns.. as no one wants a dislocated or wrenched shoulder, broken fingers.. or bruises on display..! These are such things as: making sure the follow doesn't monkey claw on the lead's shoulder, no holding hands with the thumbs, being careful not to wrench hands for moves or spins, and when doing the invisible chair, ensuring that you give the right amount of tension.. otherwise one might hit the floor..
As I have been to several different lessons now, our teacher J, cautions us about the risk of particular holds as we go along, to ensure that no one during our next five lessons will be making visits to the emergency department & question their choice of pursuing this occupation pursuit.. Our Teacher J is very enthusiastic & even if I am hearing her recount a story I have heard for the third time now, her enthusiasm for learning Swing comes through in her story telling. The story is about her being so keen after first lesson that she wanted to triple step all the way home.. which would have been quite a sight to see! Also about her mum's reaction to her learning Swing, & getting it mixed with Swingers.. hehe.. quite a different occupation altogether!!!

The Other main things one needs to really learn in regards to Lindy Hop can be found here: The Fundamental Moves of Lindy Hop if you are wishing to view video clips etc otherwise the list below is the stuff that I think are the things you really need to know:

•  Basic Hand Positions in closed (men/lead, on the left, with hand on the girls back, & girl with hand flat on below leads/mans shoulder, with elbows connecting. This results in a three-point connection with the elbow connection being the most important ) & open -holding hands.
• 8 Count music & where the triple steps fits into this
• The importance of Pulse. They really stressed it this time, as the core to dancing. Pulsing is bobbing up and down to the music. Click on this blog post for more: Pulse in Lindy.
• Basic Dance etiquette (thus establishing the cultural environment). Introducing yourself and thanking each partner as you go. We currently rotate around partners, this is good as each person has their own distinct style and stops you getting used to only one. Also some leads give more direction (& pulse) which makes it easier to follow them.

One thing that we started to learn, that is different from the other classes is this..
The SHIM SHAM...

Some Social Swing (& Ceroc) on a Friday night

We (my two other enthusiastic dancing flatmates & me) headed to Manny's bar last night as  'King Leo' was going to be playing, & they play suitable tunes for Swing, Ceroc & a wee bit of an improvise.. There were a few of the usual Swing crowd there and a few extras, that I have meet through my dance lessons, social dance lessons when held at King Edward Court and through my flatmate S, kindly introductions.

Manny's has an area ample of dancing and eating and drinking, which meets the needs of  both dancing and non dancing patrons. I tried some Swing that night, started to get the hang of it.. & began enjoying myself. I also learnt some Ceroc.. Quite fun too! & it seemed easier to me than Swing.. Ironic! Perhaps it was cos I danced with a more experienced lead, therefore made it easier for me to follow.. The other aspect which i thought was easier.. was the footwork. None of those triple steps, that more often then not confuse me & trip me up! I also like Ceroc cos you get span around a lot!! Yes, maybe a wee bit dizzy by the end- but it sure was fun!!!






Poster of King Leo Group. They have a Ball at Long Beach every year. Image from: http://www.kingleo.co.nz/gallery/album14

Scottish rig, gig & reels..

My friend, C who is a keen Scottish dancer participant, invited me along to one of her Social Scottish nights which several local clubs (as far away as Palmerston) were going to be attending. C invited me, on the assumption that now I am learning to dance, that i must have some natural talent and ability at dancing.. or like all dancing.. Anyways,  despite C, misplaced faith in my dancing ability, it was a good night.

It was $5 and a plate for a shared supper afterwards. Pretty affordable i thought. I was expecting to perhaps see a range of ages, but I must admit that there were very few participants representing the under 40's age group. Just a sprinkle of us in our 20s.. & a majority of the members from these clubs being 60 plus.. numerous grey heads dotted the hall that we were at (they hired a local church hall for the occasion) and there was probably at least 50 people present. Not everyone was dancing, there were a few members due to health and age, who were no longer capable of dancing, but still went along to soicalise. Their were a few members who still participated, but walked the steps rather than danced them, thus adjusting their occupation to suit their physical abilities. I found people to be pretty friendly, and willing to mix and mingle and ask for dancing, despite my lack of knowledge regarding sequences or steps. They gave out instructions before the beginning of each dance, what the sequence was, and we stepped through it, which certainly helped me to learn it. Also, while I was dancing, other members in the group also helped me, by taping on their shoulders or pointing, where I had to go next. Therefore, by their help, they facilitated my ability to engage in Scottish dancing and also made it an enjoyable experience for me!

What I like about Scottish dancing, is that it is soicable: you dance with a partner in a group, so you end up meeting and interacting with a range of people, people are willing to dance with you, even if you are unknown to them. It is also quite tiring.. so I felt like i got some good exercise, all while I was having some fun!! I think this is definitely something I might like to pursue in the future..  :)

End of a Swing era..?

So it was my last 'Beginners Swing' class tonight.. & I came away after tonight, actually feeling like I managed to achieve something! I can't say that Im a very good dancer, but i feel as though i've grasped some of the basics.. enough at least to do a wee bit of social dancing!!

On Thursday, as is the tradition, a group of swing and ceroc dancers head over to Robbies Pub (The Original Robert Burns Pub) on George street, for a wee bit of a drink, chat and a dance together. Often they head for some sushi first, before they go out dancing. Robbies is a cute wee pub with wooden floors.. & unfortunately.. two poles in the middle of the space, that on Thursdays transforms into a dance studio! Quite a lot of people attend and are pretty friendly. I ended up doing a mixture of swing, ceroc.. & something else..? Kinda fun, apart from the constant awareness of those poles! A wee bit of a physical barrier you could say, to engaging in the occupation, as it restricts your movements somewhat.. one doesn't want to be knocked out, whilst dancing. Crikey.. that would be so embarrassing. So why Social dance on Thursdays.. & at Robbies.. well it's partly to do with the Calder Prescott Jazz Quartet band which plays there every Thursday night. A bunch of 'Old Boys' who have  some awesome tunes, ideal for Swing style dance moves and rhythms.. Nothing quite like live music to dance to. You should check it out for yourself!