Mafling in Berlin

Thursday, March 29, 2007

The stress factor

Having had two months preparation time for this interview for a job as a choreography lecturer I was probably the most prepared I have ever been for anything. Now having been through the four hour ordeal I realise that perhaps I need two years for the next one to be able to understand what's going on here........and that is not because of my language skills.
I felt like I had travelled back to the 1930s as an alien. There were only 5 students in the class. "What is this contemporary dance thing"I kept expecting them to say. With 10 people on the panel watching me teach everything felt decidedly unbalanced. No real introduction to anyone, no directions to the changing room or toilets so I had to ask a student and no offer of a drink or anything for that matter. Am I being demanding here or is this the way it's done? I am trying to fit in honest.
So, I started teaching and struggled with getting the cd player to work. Luckily I'd taken some music just incase the musician was ill. After all I was supposed to have a musician, and later while they were quizzing me about my choice of music I had nothing to say beyond.............."well, you said in the brief that I would have a musician so the choice of music was totally random"..........'there was a musician', they said. Am I totally mad or did that piano have an invisible pianist sitting at?
Anyway, the whole experience got decidely more confusing as I was meant to give feedback on one of the students dance works which consisted of her and her notebook telling me about what she planned to do but with no dance or dancers in sight. "Well it all sounds very clear to me" was all I could manage to stutter infront of the panel of ten, "but usually I would give feedback on something that exists". After four hours I was desperate to get out and hobbled away with a bad foot which later discovered was a stress fracture.......how appropriate.
So that was my interview and even though I haven't heard yet, I definately didn't get the job, if there was actually a job going and I'm hobbling about with blue crutches thinking it's definately time for me to open my own place and find my own imaginary musician.

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