Blog Question #1- What did you learn from your first week at your internship? Did anything surprise you or make you excited? Were there any challenges? Did you make any connections with co-workers? Did you engage in any code switching?
When I entered Colorado Ballet the building held a odd silence. This was odd to me because this was where dance classes were constantly going on, however, the silence was something that was greatly appreciated and one of the first things that attracted me to the atmosphere as it allowed for a rare calmness that is desired in any work environment. After this wonderful first impression,I walked up the small flight of stairs that led to the offices above where I met my Supervisor Emily and her coworker Cassie. The first thing that surprised me about the both of them was their mastery at having an evenly distributed code switch system. The both of them are very professional while also being able to laugh and have fun with coworkers including myself when it’s appropriate. Another aspect of this internship that surprised me instantaneously was when I was briefed on my responsibilities there. I was expecting the internship to consist of more dance related activities, such as training in classes daily. I was stunned to find out that I would mostly be doing office work. This was a shock as well as a presumed challenge for me as I don’t have much office experience. As the week continued I found the tasks to become far less daunting as well as enjoyable. I was able to learn how to properly organize, which included organization of data, I also learned how to conduct a business meeting, and most importantly, I learned that the Dance world was far larger than I ever imagined and goes far beyond the studio.
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Interview questions:
- Did you study art after high school? Art or traditional college? Internship or apprenticeship?
- Yes. She received Bachelors Degree in College in Dance and Psychology. She also had an Apprenticeship with a Modern Dance Company, during college.
- How did you get your first job in the creative industries?
- Started assist teaching at sixteen. This helped build a resume and helped her make connections to continue teaching in college
- If you were in an intern in this field, where would you focus your learning during your internship? What is the most important learning one can do when beginning a career in this profession?
- She would be very Interested in Childhood development and trends in education. It is really important to 1. Learn how to partner with other organizations. 2. How to teach safely and effectively teach 3. To learn classroom management. 4. To learn about refining your administrative skills.
- (Time allowing) Is there anything interesting about you that is non-work related that you would like to tell me about? Hobbies or interests?
- Emily loves board games and popcorn. She is also interested in politics and the health field as it relates to athleticism. She started dance at five. Her favorite kind of dance style is Contemporary Ballet. She works here because she loves the mission of Colorado Ballet. She believes it is important to increase access to Art and Physical activity and dance has both of those things. Her goal is to be doing something that makes her happy and gives her a fulfilled purpose, she has reached that goal as well as the goal of being a professional dancer. She loves teaching Intermediate Ballet and teaching Creative Movement to kindergartners and Beginning Adults Ballet.
Blog Question # 2: What co-workers did you interview? Did your co-workers study art after high school either through higher education or internships/apprenticeships? What recommendations did they have for what you should try to learn as an intern in this field? Did they have any advice on how to begin your creative career? Did you learn anything interesting about your co-workers that was non-work related?
I Interviewed only one of the two lovely ladies I work with at Colorado Ballet, Emily Allbers who was very pleased to discuss with me her career as a Dancer and Educator. My co-worker did study Art after she left High School. She had an Apprenticeship at a Modern Dance Company and she received her Bachelors in Dance at the College she was attending as well as Psychology. Emily informed me that she thinks it is very important for Art and Physical Activity to be readily available for everyone and dance incorporates both of those things. I learned a lot about her as a person and dancer that I found very interesting. She loves Popcorn and Boards Games, she started dancing at the age of Five, and she feels like she has reached her goal of not only becoming a Professional Dancer but also of having a job that keeps her feeling fulfilled while also making her feel like she has purpose and can assist in the bettering of the dance world. Overall the experience was very fulfilling to me personally and made me realize that in dance there are so many paths one can walk down to fulfill what I think everyone in the arts dream is, to share its beauty with the rest of the world.
Blog Question #3 How do your actions affect your workplace? Are you able to be mindful and bring a good attitude when you come to your internship? Do you contribute positively?
Do you feel like you have a good work ethic so far? How do your co-workers actions affect your internship? Are you beginning to develop any work place friendships?
Colorado Ballet is an amazing facility where the work done is commended and the work that is not done is analyzed and scheduled according to what a person is able to accomplish depending on the task. Something I have personally found the most difficult with this internship is time management. It has been difficult to manage the time I have in a day and even in a week to meet the demands of my internship as well as the other internship tasks along with school work. This is something that has, while being a challenge, also been a fantastic learning experience for me and taught me that at times one has to just buckle down and do the work and the reward of sleep is worth that small effort. My coworkers have been incredibly kind while also being very thorough in their instruction and quick with the demand for a task to be started and completed in a reasonable time span. I have found all the relationships developed there to be very positive and able to blossom into even closer friendships than what they have already become. Overall I have felt very fortunate to have had this experience because it has helped me to become more organized in terms of time management as well as in other areas which is something I have found quite a bit of value in as I prepare myself to enter the realm of college.
Blog Question #4: Freestyle blog week. Write your own blog prompt about your internship, then answer it in 200-250 words
My Internship has taught me a lot thus far. I never would have imagines that I would find love in the dance industry outside of a studio. I entered into this internship because I had expected it to be a more training based experience. I am a Hip Hop and Modern dancer and I have ballet experience, however, I found myself wanting more as I am growing closer to College life where I expect traditional Ballet training to be an aspect. This is why I chose Colorado Ballet. I was very surprised when I walked in to discuss my tasks as i found that I would very rarely be dancing but rather doing office work. I was even more surprised to find myself thoroughly enjoying the tasks I was given and gaining more and more knowledge that I needed in order to allow for an expansion of my business as a dancer and therefore entrepreneur. In addition to office work I have also been able to see the world that I love so much from a much more intimate point of view that I never thought I would have the opportunity to do. I am able to watch dancers in rehearsal thus giving me an opportunity to see shows come to life and it is as magical as I could have ever imagined it to be. In conclusion, my internship has taught me more than I could have ever expected and thus far I have enjoyed it more than I could have ever expected to enjoy it.
Blog Question #5 How do you feel like your internship is going so far? What are the highlights? What are the challenges? Do you feel like you are making connections with your co-workers? Are you using your internship inspired project as a creative connection between you and your supervisor? What can you do to improve your experience?
I have had amazing experiences at my internship thus far. I have gotten a backstage pass to shows, I have gained a plethora of knowledge about what it is like to work in an office that I think will be valuable in any field that I decide to step into after High School, and I have had multiple opportunities to witness rehearsals for the Ballerinas that are training there. Overall, I do feel like my internship is going well so far, and above are most if not all of the highlights of working there. Some challenges that I have met while interning have been time management as well as transportation. I have not been able to balance school and this internship with the ease that I was hoping for when I started. My coworkers are amazing people that I am very lucky to be working with and am saddened by the fact that my internship is only temporary and I won’t get more chances to work with them on a weekly basis. I have not made it a goal of mine to connect with my supervisors in terms of my project except for basic discussions of ideas for it and how to carry those out which has helped me a lot in the process of doing so. I think the thing/s that I have found that need the most improvement on my part are organization as well as time management. I have had the most trouble in this department not only with my internship but school as well and the pressures of graduating have made this an even harder goal to accomplish. Despite this I look forward to accomplishing this goal as well as finishing out this wonderful internship.
Blog Question #6 End of the quarter check- in. OK to do 150 words this week. Please do an inventory of your hours completed up until now and make sure your electronic time card is updated coming into the end of the quarter. How are you doing so far on completing your hours? Do you have the amount of hours complete that you should have at this point in the internship? If you are behind on your hours, what is your plan to make up the hours you are missing? How are you doing with the challenge of maintaining your intern work schedule? Are you using your google calendar to keep track of your intern schedule and homework assignments? Is there any other challenge you feel the Internship Program Director should be aware of at the end of the first half of your internship?
I am doing well completing my hours, I have had to make up hours but myself and Emily have done a good job of keeping track of this and calculating make-up time. I am behind on my hours by one hour and thirty minutes, despite this I have completed all the hours necessary. The only challenges I have faced with work hours have been trying to make it so that make-up hours fall into a time period where both my schedule as well as my co-workers is taken care of. I have been using my calendar on the days where I have had to do make-up work and it helped me keep track of what I was supposed to be doing for the week/s. The only other challenge I have had is being able to use my time card electronically, I am unaware of the location of it and have had a hard time finding and the manual ones were easier to keep track of for me, personally.