Browsing by Author "Wilson, Lisa"

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    A South African perspective on professional ballet dancers' career transitions (2018 - 2021)
    (2023) Dean, Amy Denise; Samuel, Gerard M; Wilson, Lisa
    The discourse of dancers' and career transitions has significantly increased since the 1980s, and much of the literature views the topic of dancers and career transitions from European, American and Australian perspectives. No literature from a South African perspective was found, and this research dissertation aims to fill this gap. This research explores the phenomenon of a dancer's career transition from a South African perspective through a microcosm - four interviews conducted with former professional ballet dancers from a single ballet company. The aim was to answer the main research question; What is the experience of South African ballet dancers transitioning from a full-time professional stage performing career to alternative careers or roles? A Phenomenological case study was applied to explore and identify the former dancer's transition experiences. Qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviews with four former dancers who had been employed full-time by a single company in the Western Cape, South Africa. The transcripts of the data collected were analysed using thematic analysis, and four themes emerged: 1. Loss, grief and coping processes. 2. Preparation for an exit. 3. Support systems. 4. South African experience versus outside South Africa experience. Several established theories and models were used to underpin the interpretations and understandings of the experiences of these former dancers. These include Irina Roncaglia's Career Transition Model for Ballet Dancers (Roncaglia, 2006), Colin Murray Parkes' Psychosocial Transition Theory (1998), Margret Stroebe and Henk Schut's Dual-process Model of Coping and Bereavement (1995), Britton Brewer, Judy Van Raalte and Darwyn Linder's Athletic Identity (1993), and Carolyn Cutrona and Daniel Russell's ideas on types of Social Support (1990) along with an exploration on the profile of South African dancers. The research demonstrates that even though South African ballet dancers find themselves in different training and performing environments compared to their European, American and Australian counterparts, the experiences of dancers' transitioning out of a professional stage performing career have similar themes yet are unique for each individual. The research also comments on suggestions to improve South African dancers' experiences while considering the socio-economic climate of Dance in South Africa. Recommendations for further study are made, borne from the limitations and findings of this research. In closing, although zoomed into experiences from a single ballet company, the four themes provide an answer to the research question, which allows for a new perspective (South African) to be added to the already established dialogue of dancers and career transitions.
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    The Four Roses Project
    (2023) Nkomo, Reitumetse; Wilson, Lisa
    The Four Roses Project is an embodied exploration of the untold stories of women who were part of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) during the anti-apartheid movement, in relation to the lives and experiences of post-apartheid South African women today.It is an intergenerational work inspired by the real and untold stories and contributions of women who were MK veterans of the Four Roses platoon, one of the few all-female platoons in existence during South Africa's liberation struggle in the 1960s. As a young Black South African woman, I am interested in what the seeds of activism sowed by these MK women in the past can reap for post-apartheid South African women in the present and future. Utilizing African philosophies, autoethnographic and arts-based research methodologies to embody and respond to the interview narratives of three female MK veterans of the Four Roses platoon, this creative research sought to explore the following questions with eight participant dancers between the ages of twenty and thirty-seven: 1. How do the struggle narratives of women of uMkhonto we Sizwe find resonance in my present lived experiences as a post-apartheid woman?; 2. What is my modern-day battlefield and what is my chosen weapon of resistance?; and 3. What alternative futures and possibilities may be generated by the post-apartheid South African woman through the excavation and exploration of this previously unrevealed knowledge? Though primarily explored through dance-based methods of movement improvisation, dance making and performance, the research methodology also included participant observation, written reflections and previously recorded interviews with MK women. Thematic analysis of the MK veterans' narratives along with participants' reflections on their own lived experiences as women in postapartheid South Africa and their embodiment of the MK narratives generated these dominant themes: ‘A culture of silence'; ‘Strength, courage and determination to act'; and ‘Gender challenges and adaptations'. These findings will be disseminated aesthetically through a live audio-visual dance performance experience and witnessed by audiences. This research has illuminated that excavating the untold stories of women's participation in resistance movements in South Africa not only breaks the culture of silence and erasure around women's contributions to nationhood but, when embodied, can evoke meaningful, inspiring and transformative work in present and perhaps future generations of women. This research in centering the voices and experiences of women of South Africa may appeal to feminist, decolonial and critical scholars and practitioners.
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    The role of professional artistic practice in the pedagogy of artist-teachers in Cape Town
    (2023) Langeveldt, Bernadette Ann; Wilson, Lisa
    This qualitative study examined the artist-teacher identity experiences of six artist-teachers (specialist arts teachers) teaching music (n=1), dance (n=2), drama (n=2) and visual art and design (n=1) to primary and secondary learners in schools in Cape Town. The study explored two closely related questions: (a) What roles do the professional artistic practices and experiences of artist-teachers in public schools play in their arts teaching? and (b) How do artist-teachers in schools remain professionally connected to their craft outside the classroom? Data was generated via six individual interviews and a focus group discussion and was later transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data was then inductively analysed by creating codes and categories based on recurring ideas and patterns in the data using a thematic analysis approach. Data analysis yielded the following themes: 1) Artistic practice as a stimulant for arts teaching and learning; 2) Artistic practice as a source of cultural and local industry knowledge; 3) Challenges and constraints to teachers' hybrid identity; 4) Strategies for maintaining teachers' artistic identity; and 5) Recommendations emerging from participants. The findings revealed that the participant artist-teachers define and experience the dual identities of artistteacher as intertwined and symbiotic rather than distanced or separated. The findings also revealed that artistteachers' creative practices and professional experiences were critical and central to their classroom arts pedagogy. They were sources of motivation, inspiration, local cultural knowledge and pedagogical skills development. Their artistic practices were also critical to their holistic sense of self and well-being. Personal, school related, arts industry, and curriculum factors, however, created tensions that adversely affected the teachers' abilities to consistently engage in artistic practice, resulting in felt experiences of failure, disappointment and stagnation amidst feelings of teacher satisfaction. Lack of time and energy were the dominant challenges artist-teachers faced in their attempts to balance their artist-teacher selves. Other constraints were family responsibilities, harsh arts industry realities, minimal school administration support and rigid curriculum content and delivery. This thesis asserts that artist-teachers (specialist arts teachers) working with primary and secondary learners in Cape Town schools significantly value their artistic practices and identities. Despite myriad challenges and constraints, they strongly desire to carve out personal art making space and time and employ networking, collaboration, and flexible approaches to their practice as strategies to maintain their artist identity. This study will be of interest to artists, arts educators, specialist arts teachers, school administrators, university lecturers involved in pre-service arts training and other stakeholders in education.