FINAL SCORE: 44/50

Constructing Kaleidoscope
Cassidy Kelly
Period 3
October 14, 2016

Table of Contents
I. Part One: Description.......................................Pages 2-3

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II. Part Two: Research.......................................Pages 4-8

III. Part Three: Reflection.......................................Pages 9-10
IV. Part Four: Works Cited.......................................Page 11
V. Part Five: Annotated Bibliography.......................................Pages 12-16

Description
For my senior project, I am co-directing one of Santa Sus dance concerts. This concert is
called Kaleidoscope. We have a very large number of students in our dance department at

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Santa Su. Some dancers are very committed and dance is their everything, while others do it only
for fun or even for PE credits. No matter what you are doing it for, we all get the chance to
perform onstage at some point throughout the school year in the dance concerts. The shows are
honestly so much fun and definitely my favorite part of going to our school. The bond that is
created between everyone at the shows is a once in a lifetime experience at each new show. All
the hard work that is put into all the shows is insane and it is so great that we can showcase that
to our friends and family a few times throughout the year. I have been in multiple pieces in many
of the shows in my time at Santa Su. I have learned dances and also choreographed a few pieces.
I am familiar with all of the hard work that this entails, and I love it. I also know that there is a
lot of other hard work put into it with casting, creating show order, programs, tech rehearsals,
and more. That is work that most of us dance students dont put a lot of work into, but I am
interested in doing just that.
As a co-director, I will be able to assist Ms. Lewis with all of the odds and ends of putting
a dance show together. I will help a lot with creating a show order after everything is cast, which
is always difficult because it is hard to make sure dancers dont have any pieces that are back to
back! I know that a lot of work goes into the behind the scenes of dance shows and I am so
excited to be involved in every aspect of putting this show together, not just the creative and
performing parts. Some of this work includes assisting at rehearsals the week of the show. I will
help Ms. Lewis keep things running smoothly and help anyone who might be having any kind of
problem, like injuries or absences, for example. This will be a learning stretch of seeing how well
I cope with directing responsibilities and how much I enjoy it. I am interested in pursuing a
career in dance and I think it is important to get exposed to different levels of work that go into
the process of creating a successful show. If I do have a career in dance I will always need back

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up work, especially for when I get too old to be dancing as much. Directing dance productions
would be a really great job because it still involves dance and I think it could be a good role for
me. This will be great for me to explore a possible career interest of mine. Being co-director of
one of the dance shows will be a fun and educational experience, perfect for my senior project.

Research
For my senior project I am co-directing the spring dance show at Santa Su. I am
researching information about what directing a show entails, as well as benefits of collaboration
and dance injury prevention. It is important to learn about all the work that is a part of the

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directing process. I am researching collaboration because this project will be done with another
director. I will also be dealing with everyone in the show so plenty of collaboration will be
necessary. I believed it was also important to do some research on dance injury prevention and
treatment because it is important to make sure all performers are at their best when putting
together a show. The first step to that is stopping injuries before they even happen, but it is also
good to know how to address and handle any injuries that may occur before or during the show.
One article that I found helpful to my research was entitled Directing Function of
Management. Reading this informed me all about the importance of a director and what
directing entails. The main function of a director is to instruct and lead the people that they are in
charge of to get a particular job done. Some key attributes of directing that are listed in the article
are continuous activity, human factor, creativity, executive function, delegate function, and
pervasive function. It is extremely important for a director to be able to be powerful over people
but also to be able to communicate and take input from who they are directing. Having someone
as a director figure of a process is important for integrating efforts, providing stability, and for
basically just pulling all aspects of everyones work together. A director also motivates people,
copes with any changes or problems, and uses what theyre given to pull together the best
possible outcome of their work ("MSG Management Study Guide"). This article helped me to
understand what exactly my function is in my senior project and why my job is so important. I
now know that it is important for me to be able to work well with others. When I assist Ms.
Lewis in keeping order during the dance shows, I need to make sure that I am not weak so people
feel like they dont have to listen, but also not be bossy so people feel that they can communicate
any problems with me effectively during the rehearsals and shows. If there are any problems
during the show whether it is stolen costumes, injured dancers, or disagreements, I need to be

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able to calm people down and assist them in fixing the problem. I will make sure I have a
positive attitude from the beginning so that all dancers and tech students will be motivated to put
their all into the show and make it a great experience.
The next source that I found during my research to help me with my senior project was
an article called The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker
Results. This article talked about why collaboration can make things worse instead of better. It
then gives steps to how to make collaboration a success. The point is basically to tell the reader
that working with more people on something doesnt mean the workload will be any easier. It
brings up how collaboration can often bring about false confidence because people think so
much will get done with so many people working on a task, but this illusion actually blinds
people from seeing that they need to still work extra hard to make something a success.
Collaboration can cause conformity where people arent able to put their good ideas to use
because they just go along with what the majority thinks instead of speaking their mind. A key
problem is that collaboration promotes laziness. People tend to think that because there are
multiple people working towards the same goal, they can kick back and put their feet up because
they know there has to be someone who is going to actually do their work. The issue here is that
if everyone starts to do that, no work will ever be accomplished. There are some tips given to
make collaboration rewarding. It is important to work with people who can do things that you
cannot do. If everyone has the same skill sets, there will be more competitions, but if everyone
has something different to bring to the table, you will have a wide variety of tools to work with.
Another idea to make things run smoothly is assigning roles so that everyone knows their job and
there arent people doing the same task while another task is never completed. One more tip for
collaboration that was given is that everyone on the collaborative team should be doing their

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homework. Ideas for whatever the project may be should be thought out on each persons own
time so that when the collaborative work is in session, everyone can present their ideas, be
actively present, make a decision, and carry out the decided plans sufficiently ("The
Collaboration Paradox). This article was really interesting and not exactly something youd
expect to be helpful for my senior project at first glance. When I first opened it I almost went
right back to searching but then I realized that maybe if I read into what makes collaboration
ineffective, I could learn from all that it said and make sure I was proactive and avoiding the
problems discussed. It helped me to make sure that I am not afraid to speak my mind on ideas
that may be solutions to any problems or areas lacking creativity within the show. It also taught
me to not sit back and expect Ms. Lewis to do all the work herself or assume that we dont need
to work hard because we balance each other out. We need to be coming up with everything on
our own time, putting our ideas together, and knowing our jobs during the show so that we can
get things done quickly and easily. Ms. Lewis and I have different experiences in the dance
program since she is a teacher and director and I am a student dancer and choreographer. I am
glad that we meet the tip for collaboration of having different skillsets so that she can help me to
understand how to manage everyone during the show and I can help her to understand any
problems between dancers from their perspective. I will now consistently be checking to make
sure I am not starting to gain some of the qualities of an unsuccessful collaboration process
throughout my project. I will make sure that the our collaboration yields only the good results.
Another article that I found that will be beneficial to my project is called What You
Should Know About Dance Injuries. This was an informative article from a book on dance
injuries. This included the cause of overuse injuries, common dance injuries, and treatment
options. The two main types of dance injuries are overuse and traumatic. Overuse injuries

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happen because of dancers spending long hours putting physical strain on their bodies and are
most common in the ankles and feet. These injuries can also be sparked by starting dance at a
young age, unhealthy nutritional status, strength and flexibility issues, biochemical imbalances,
improper shoes, hard flooring, and non-healed injuries. Traumatic injuries happen because of a
specific time a dancer hurts themselves. The main idea of treating dance injuries should always
begin with prevention. If a dancer is educated on how to properly move and use their body as
their tool, there is less chance of an injury. It is important to be healthy and smart when dancing
because you only have one body for the rest of your life. If a dancer is injured, it is key for them
to not try to dance through the pain but to instead begin a rehabilitation process early on. This
can include, physical therapy, massages, anti-inflammatory medication, homeopathic injection
therapy, improving nutrition, revising rehearsal schedule, strengthening weak areas, and
especially RICE. RICE is an acronym for rest, ice, compression, and elevation (Schoene, Lisa
M.). All this information is key to the safety of the dancers involved in my senior project. The
main goal will be to prevent anyone from getting hurt and now that I have researched this, I
know what to tell other dancers if I see them training wrong or if they are doing something that
could lead to a traumatic injury. It is so important to make sure people take care of their bodies in
a sport, especially before a big performance. If someone does get injured, I am now
knowledgeable, to some extent, about the proper care for them and I can help give them possible
solutions to a fast recovery. I can help remind all the dancers to keep their nutrition up and make
sure they are always in the proper footwear during rehearsals so that there is less risk of anyone
being harmed. I gained many valuable facts that will not only help my senior project run
smoother, but also will protect those who are a part of it.

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If I were to continue this project, I would further research ways to make people listen to
their peers or an authoritative figure respectfully. I am a pretty soft-spoken person and I am
afraid of coming off as mean to anyone. It is hard for me to find a way to get people, especially
my peers to listen to me and respect me when I am addressing them as a leader because I am not
stern enough. I plan to continue being in a leader position in dance for choreographing and
directing in the future, so I am going to continue my research on effective methods of teaching
without being overpowering or degrading. Another topic I might put more focus on would be all
the work that the tech crew does for a show. I would like to be more educated about their
responsibilities so that I can better understand and appreciate their work. If anyone in tech has
any problems, I will be I will be able to help them as well as the dancers. I am happy with all that
I found during my research because it made me feel more prepared for what my project entails.
Overall, I found a ton of information that was extremely beneficial towards my senior project.

Reflection
I expect that my project will go very well. The dance shows at school can occasionally
have bumps along the road, but usually run smoothly for the most part. I believe that everyone
respects themselves enough to try their hardest so that they feel good about their performance. If
all the dancers do this for themselves, then things will go well for the show too. A very strong

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point of my project is the amount of people involved. Having so many performers, as well as
tech and the audience making the show possible, makes the whole project worthwhile. The
concert would not go on if it werent for the dancers onstage or the tech crew backstage. Tech
does so much to give us our music, our fancy lighting, and the efficient running of the show. I
think the more people involved in a project the better because there is an aspect of teamwork
instead of just individual efforts. Having an audience brings strength to my project because I am
able to get feedback and observe the response of everyone to my project. This is so beneficial
because I can learn so much more from my project and get outside input on what I should and
shouldnt do if I were to direct in the future.
No task is ever done perfectly and there is always room to improve. Some downfalls of
my project that may occur are that I could be behind on putting the show order and program
together because I am extremely busy. I could also skip over a responsibility that a director has
because I am new to directing. Another problem could be that not everyone involved is on the
same level of commitment to the show. This could cause a variety of issues such as,
miscommunication, disconnection onstage, and people missing rehearsals or even shows. A huge
possible issue during my senior project could be injured dancers. If someone gets hurt, not only
is that bad because we could lose performers, but it is a huge liability and we dont want anyone
being in pain or unable to dance. Luckily, there are solutions for each viable problem I have
come up with. To keep myself in line so that I stay on track with my responsibilities as a director
and am timely with my work, I will keep a calendar of what I am doing and allot times to each
task I need to accomplish. I will make my senior project a priority. To help everyone be
committed, I can talk to everyone at rehearsal and remind them that this project means a lot to
me and that everyone should have a ton of fun but also take things seriously when they are

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performing so the show feels great to them and looks great to our audience! If everyone is
committed to their involvement in the show, we can all get along and communicate effectively.
During my research I read information about dance injuries. If someone is hurt during my senior
project, I will alert an adult so we can get them proper care. I will also be able to advise them
with some of the facts I read about, such as RICE, rest, ice, compression and elevation. I feel
very educated on dance injury prevention now, so I will also remind dancers to be staying
healthy and having nutritious snacks, to warm-up correctly, and to only be dancing in their
proper dancewear.
Overall, I feel prepared for my project and I am extremely excited for it. The dance
concerts are my favorite part about going to Santa Susana High School and the fact that I get to
be in this concert as well as being a co-director of it is an honor. I think everything during my
show will go wonderfully for the most part because I am ready for anything! If things go wrong,
it will be okay because I will find a solution and I will learn even more and grow from my
project. Ive had a blast working on this project and I hope everyone else has just as much fun
being a part of it.

Works Cited
"MSG Management Study Guide." Directing Function of Management. Management Study
Guide, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.managementstudyguide.com/directing_function.htm>.

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Schoene, Lisa M. "What You Should Know About Dance Injuries ". Podiatry Today Volume 18.
Issue 1 (2005) Print.
@99u. "The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker Results." 99U.
N.p., 08 Mar. 2016. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.
<http://99u.com/articles/27941/the-collaboration-paradox-why-working-together-often-yi
elds-weaker-results>.

Annotated Bibliography
"Dance Injuries." DANCE INJURIES (n.d.): n. pag. Stop Sports Injuries. Sports Medicine. Web.
<http://www.sportsmed.org/aossmimis/stop/downloads/Dance.pdf>.
This website talks about dance injury prevention. It starts off saying how many
people dont view dance as a sport, but the physical strain on a dancers body makes them
just as likely to get injured as a football player. The most commonly injured parts of a

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dancer are the lower back, the hips, and all parts of the legs, ankles, and feet. Injuries are
caused mostly by the frequency and duration of training, environment, equipment used,
body alignment, and nutritional deficiencies.
The writers address the key to preventing injuries among dancers. A dancer
should always wear the proper dance shoes and clothing, and drink plenty of fluids. It is
also very important to pay attention to doing technique correctly. Dancers need to know
their bodies limits and be sure to not continue to dance through pain. A proper warm-up
and cool-down should also be performed before and after beginning to dance. Parents and
instructors play a large role in dance injury prevention. It is the parents job to make sure
their child is continuing healthy habits in their eating and daily life as well as making sure
their child isnt progressing to advanced classes that their body isnt ready for. It is an
instructors job to teach all technique and stretches correctly and check dancers for
mistakes that could harm their bodies. Dance injury prevention is crucial to dancers,
especially ones that start young and plan to dance for the rest of their lives.

"MSG Management Study Guide." Directing Function of Management. Management Study

Guide, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.managementstudyguide.com/directing_function.htm>.
This website talks about the importance of a director and what directing entails. It
reminds us that without direction, nothing else would ever get done. Directors instruct
and lead whomever they are in charge of to get a job done. Some attributes of directing
include continuous activity, human factor, creativity, executive function, delegate
function, and pervasive function. The directors job isnt done until whatever they are
directing is complete. They have to be powerful but yet be able to work with others and

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take input. Directing function is the heart of a managing process. It is so important

because it initiates actions, integrates efforts, and provides stability. It basically pulls all
aspects of getting a job done together. Directing also brings a means of motivation, copes
with changes, and can efficiently use resources. Direction brings everything together to
produce a team of people working well in whatever it is that they are doing.

MyMajors.com. "Dance Director Career." What Should I Major In? Create Your College and
Career Plan. My Majors, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
<https://www.mymajors.com/career/dance-director/>.
This website talks about dance directors, but more specifically, dance
choreographers. It basically just lists what choreographers do and what work activities
are most important. Some of the things that choreographers do include auditioning
performers, coordinating music with a music director, direct and stage dances for
performance, and direct rehearsals. They may also seek influences from other art forms,
train dancers, instruct classes, choose music, and develop ideas for creating pieces. Some
key work abilities to have as a choreographer or director are being able to think
creatively, guide and direct people, coordinate activities of others, perform general
physical activities, and organize, plan and prioritize work. They should also be able to
establish and maintain interpersonal relationships, make decisions, solve problems,
communicate with supervisors and peers, and resolve conflicts. There is a lot of work put
into the professions of choreographers and directors.

Schoene, Lisa M. "What You Should Know About Dance Injuries ". Podiatry Today Volume 18.
Issue 1 (2005) Print.

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This was an informative article about dance injuries. It talks about the cause of
overuse injuries, common dance injuries, and treatment options. It has recently become
more apparent that the dance world needs its own dance medicine specialists. Dancers
and their instructors need to be more educated on how to have proper technique to avoid
injuries. They also need to know to stop and get treatment for an injury so that they dont
hurt themselves further and threaten a possible dance career. There are two main types of
injuries: overuse and traumatic. Among dancers, the more common one is overuse
injuries. This is because of the repetitive movement and stress of certain body parts in
frequent rehearsals. The overuse injury for dancers is usually in the ankles or feet. All the
overuse injuries of dancers can be sparked by leading factors such as starting at a young
age, unhealthy nutritional status, strength and flexibility issues, biochemical imbalances,
improper shoes, hard flooring, and non-healed injuries. Some common injuries that
dancers suffer from are stress fractures, shin pain, tendonitis, sesamoiditis, and neuroma.
Treatment for dance injury should always begin with prevention. It is also
important to get medical treatment for an injury early on. Rehabilitation can include
physical therapy and massages. Other things to do are RICE (rest, ice, compression,
elevation), anti-inflammatory medication, homeopathic injection therapy, improve
nutrition, revise rehearsal schedule, and strengthen weak areas. Surgery is the last
possible option for dancers who have a pressing dance schedule. Early intervention as
well as care for dance injuries is key.

@99u. "The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker Results." 99U.
N.p., 08
Mar. 2016. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

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<http://99u.com/articles/27941/the-collaboration-paradox-why-working-together-often-yi
elds-weaker-results>.
The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker
Results, is an article telling about the pros and cons of collaboration. It informs the
reader that collaboration is often not beneficial. It gives examples of places where
collaboration worked out like with The Beatles, who together became a talented and
successful band. However, it doesnt always go that nicely. Collaboration can often bring
about false confidence that so much will be accomplished with so much teamwork, but
that actually clouds judgement. It can also cause conformity, where people just go along
with what the majority wants when in reality they know it isnt the best choice. Another
main concern with collaboration is that it promotes laziness. When a group of people are
working together to accomplish something, everyone tends to think they dont need to do
anything because someone else will do it for them. Less things tend to get done when
everyone in charge is so busy trying to collaborate.
Collaboration can still be a success and this article gave tips on how to make it
one. First of all, you should collaborate with people who can do what you cannot do.
Everyones abilities should complement each others because replicated abilities will
cause conflict with power struggles. Next, you should differentiate between roles.
Making sure everyone knows what work exactly is assigned to them keeps work from
getting duplicated and other work from never getting done. Lastly, in a collaborative
group, everyone should have homework. This means that during the time that is given
for the collaboration to occur, plans should be discussed and carried out. The ideas should
be developed at home to bring to the table for discussion, that way everyone is involved

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and actively present. This will help to prevent laziness and accomplish tasks more
efficiently. Collaboration can be a negative way of doing things, but only if that is what
you let it be.