Task 3a: current networks

Almost everybody networks every single day in one way or another. from a simple chat with a friend, to news broadcasts, to Twitter posts. We are a networking generation. I know in my chosen profession that professional networking is vital and can have a major impact towards having a successful career or not. Previous teachers at college have made it clear to me that networking is important for us as performers to get known.

Here are a few of my existing networks that I use

Social Network sites
I believe that tools like Facebook and Twitter are the best way to network currently. Facebook currently has nearly a billion active users and with 7 billion people living on this planet, i think its safe to say that with so many active users online it is more than possible to access and share information about myself to the people i wouldn't necessarily gain contact with. I teach Zumba fitness as an extra job on the side and to advertise with flyers, posters and business cards would cost me an arm and a leg to have continual advertisement for my classes, not to mention the distributing of flyers etc. So i set up my own Zumba Facebook page which is open to users to find if they search for 'Zumba'. There you can find all information about the classes and a contact number and email address to me. I have gained so many clients and still continue to, thanks to the accessibility of Facebook.

Friends
The majority of my friends are all in the same circle as me. We're all performers, either dancers, actors or singers and most of us a combination of all three, which is really good for all of us to stay in the know. Although this industry is a competitive one and competition can turn the best of us ugly, i'm lucky to have an amazing close group of friends. We all fill each other in on auditions we have heard about and talk about new information the might come about in the industry. Its important to stay updated with one another because all of us have different experiences and sometimes each of our experiences could help one another. for example one of my friends was in a panto last year that i was auditioning for this year, so she filled me in with the audition process and gave me advice on how i should perform in there.

Class & Auditioning
Going to dance classes are a great way to network. I always seem to get chatting to other girls there who i may or may not know already and we talk about our previous training, previous work or future work and auditions coming up. Places like the Pineapple have notice boards up to promote all different kinds of things that could benefit us performers, like photographers, auditions and other classes. Also building up a good relationship with teachers in class could lead to bigger things. Usually they have either worked in the business themselvs or know someone who could get you work. Auditions are also a great place to get chatting to other girls in the same circles. I have once been chatting to a group of girls at one audition and they told me they were going to another bigger audition after that i had no idea was going on, so ended up at that audition too.

Agent
i am lucky to have a good relationship with my agent and i feel i can talk to her openly with my veiws about what direction i want my career to go in. I think this is important for her to understand my personal goals on my level so she can work for me in the way i want to go. I always fill her in with what i have been doing, theatre i have seen and my views on it, who i like on tv etc. She is a great agent and has given me great advice to boost my career.


They say in this industry that its not what you know, its who you know. I agree with that statement entirely as i have been in many situations in the past where i have witnessed somebody actually bag a job just by being in the room and having worked with that choreographer before. This isn't fair at all, seeing as everybody else in the room, including myself, had to spend the next 2 hours trying our hardest to be seen, pick up choreography and using every bit of energy we have to try and bag that same job. The industry is fickle, unfair and biased and sometimes feels completely impossible, but this only drives the hunger in our belly's even more. It is important that we network and stay in the know, so that we build a name for ourself and others can begin to recognise us. it is also even more important that the name we create for ourselves is a good one and we let others know that we are reliable professionals.