The session was run by Emma Smith and Nicola Forshaw, dance research assistants from York St John University. As part of their project, they had interviewed two artists involved with Contemporary African Dance with the aim to have an article published.
They identified that by leaving them to their own devices and ideas, the tutor actually allowed them to make their own mistakes and therefore learn from their experiences. They now know that whilst it may be better to conduct interviews with specific areas/questions in mind, sometimes one must start out quite broadly. In this case their interview may have benefited from a few introductory questions, with the artist providing them with details of his background and influences since information about him was scarce.
Opinions arising from this session by participants were:
-Students should be involved in genuine research to advance discipline knowledge
- We need to learn that we make mistakes but must move on from them
-Let students have a go at finding things out for themselves before ’stuffing’ them full of theory
The session, though only having 6 participants, was excellently run. Instead of having small group discussions, we simply shouted out ideas on how they could improve their research. The opportunity to actually partake in some African dance moves was enjoyable. I hope the session has aided both Emma and Nicola in their work.
Source: SSC2009