My Internship Experience with *SCAPEdance
I am currently a final year student in the Diploma of Arts and Theatre Management programme at Republic Polytechnic. In our third year, we are to complete an internship in a field relevant to our course. Being an active youth street dancer, I have always been curious of the work that goes on behind the scenes of dance programmes, workshops and competitions. Fortunately, I saw an internship opening for *SCAPEdance and pounced on it.
My Experience
Working with the *SCAPEdance team meant that I had to manage and execute dance programmes conceptualised within the team, assist in administrative work, propose new ideas to improve programme plannings and implementation processes, and monitor youth dance industry changes and trends. As someone who thoroughly enjoys planning and organising, I was over the moon when I got the opportunity to prepare and execute a four-weeklong beginner Contemporary dance programme independently. Additionally, I was asked to help with duties that were out of my daily job scopes. For instance, I moderated two virtual dialogue sessions that were part of *SCAPE Dance Dance Hallyu! 2020, a virtual K-Pop festival, and I modelled for a TikTok mall campaign. The latter was out of my comfort zone, but I had fun. To add on, I also got the opportunity to write articles. This was euphoric for a huge geek like me!
Challenges
Due to COVID-19, I spent a large percentage of my internship period working from home. This meant that most discussions were held via digital mediums such as Zoom calls, WhatsApp messages and emails. Personally, this made it slightly difficult for me, an introvert, to get comfortable with my colleagues and communicate with them. Aside from that, replies were bound to be delayed, when compared to a physical conversation. To overcome this, I simply had to adapt to their working and communication styles, and push myself to converse more. In this light, I was grateful that my colleagues were friendly and amiable.
My Advice To Future Interns
- Be proactive and take initiative.
- Make the effort to converse with the people around you.
- Be open-minded to learning new skills and taking up projects with fresh concepts and ideas.
In a nutshell, the internship benefitted me in many ways. I now have a clear understanding of the youth dance industry in Singapore and the gaps within it. Despite the pandemic, many online classes and events were held and attended. Being a youth dancer myself, I am grateful that I was given the luxurious opportunity to observe and work for the community from a different perspective. It certainly opened my eyes to the corporate aspect of the local dance industry. In addition, I will cherish and hone the many skills I have picked up along the way which includes project management, communication, administrative skills and positive introspection. I will also treasure the professional and supportive relationships I have built with my lovely colleagues.
The internship journey was a pleasant one. I will bring forward the knowledge and proficiency gained as I embark on another chapter of my life.
Special thanks to Republic Polytechnic and Youth Corps Singapore for arranging the internship programme, and the *SCAPEdance team for their invaluable guidance and patience.
Chanel Roberts, signing out.
To find out more about ongoing dance events: https://www.scape.sg/whats-on/?category=dance
You can get in touch with our dance team at dance@scape.sg.
