Ethnographic Research Paper for Intercultural Communication

This text is a good reference point. This text is used to understanding communication within culture. This source also gave a better understanding

You know that feeling of home whether it’s with family members or even your loved ones? I don’t think that home is something that is automatically there, I believe that it is something that’s created. I learned that lesson through the eyes of one of my older friends who came from India with his brother when he was 16 in order to make a living. My friend Vikas, told me everything he had to do and the struggles he conquered in order to make his own successful business here in the U.S. Some things he told be reminded me of interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and intracultural communication. He had to have a lot of communication with his friend who also happened to be from India and some new friends and colleagues he met through his journey. Of course there was homesickness and the occasional depression, but that didn’t stop him from creating his now successful business.

Today, we live in a culturally diverse society due to globalization. As our world grows, expands and become increasingly more interconnected, the need for effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has become apparent. When people from different cultures interact with one another there is intercultural communication because different cultures create different interpretation and expectations about what is seen as competent behaviors that will enable the construction of shared meanings.

said dancing. She then tried by starting to teach a group of dancers and choreographing their

Most of the dancers came from a voluntary background as in they like to do it for fun, but, for some they use this as a professional aspect for their dance careers. The environment is a mixture of voluntarily and professional backgrounds. Although some may just do it for fun, the coach has a strict regime way of getting stuff done to prepare for performances. In the other hand, the coach can be laid back with a nice sense of humor from what I can tell. I asked the dancer named Karen Delgado where and how she gains her knowledge and ability for dance, she quotes “During the summer, we head to Santa Barbara to compete with different schools all around the world, this is where I take away the different cultures in dance that are divergent and this is how I prepared for the dance team ” (Karen Delgado). According to the dancer she felt like she’s not gaining much from the dance team, she says “ I feel like the coach does not have the knowledge for dance because she is a cheer coach not much of a dance coach, she does have the ability to teach us but sometimes it is difficult” (Karen Delgado). From my perspective, the coach seems to have more knowledge about cheer and is well known for it. Overall, the dancers were well focused, their excitement for it was great, there was a lot of enthusiasm. In the end, Coach Tiffany say “Go home and practice, and get it together”

Silva Laukannen is a mixed abilities dance teacher who works at a company called Dance Ability. She grew up trained in dance, but was really seeking a career in community dance. She was able to study a community dance program in college and even worked in a mixed ability dance company while in South Africa. Besides working at Dance Ability, she teaches classes for children with special needs, incarcerated women, senior citizens, children with a history of trauma, and parent child dance classes. Tanya Winters is a dancer with cerebral palsy who met Silva through Dance Ability. Tanya has been involved in many dances and theatre projects, including a dance piece she wrote herself.

Sarah Fryman Smolinski with 24 years of dance experience, began dance training in 1994 in Phoenix, Arizona. Joined the Greater Phoenix Swing Dance Club (GPSDC) 1995 and fell in love with West Coast Swing Dance. Competed in the GPSDC Jack & Jill contests 1996 and began formal dance teachers training under Atlas Griffith Phoenix, AZ. Entered the Novice couple's division competition's in United Country Western Dance Council (UCWDC) doing all the ballroom dances during 1997. Winner of the 1997 “Marlboro Country Nights Dance Showdown” Phoenix, AZ, dancing the Waltz, West Coast Swing and 2-Step. Placed 2nd in Novice division West Coast Swing Jack & Jill “World Expo” Las Vegas, NV 1998. Won a 1st place in West Coast Swing and a 2nd place in Progressive

I soon heard about competitive dancing where judges can score your talent and give you critiques to better your performance quality. I knew exactly what I wanted; I entered a whole new dance world way out of my comfort zone. In this world, I have learned so many lessons, so many things about myself, but most importantly I learned the art of dance. For fourteen years of my life, I have had the most amazing opportunity to study the gift of dance. Not only has my studying impacted myself as a technician but also as a person. I believe that dance has shaped me to the person I am today. I will always feel connected, safe, and grounded when I dance. Dance is one of the most amazing gifts created because it is a way you can communicate and express who you are through movement instead of

Pidge loved to preform. But one thing she loved more than that was the ability to dance. Lucky for her, she was good at it, but, to some people, she wasn't good enough. In most championships, she came in fourth, at the highest. Her dream? Come in first at at least one competition, and to have her idols recognize her as a dancer. Her Idols.... Keith Kogane, Lance McClain, and Takashi Shirogane. They each inspired her to take that huge leap into the amazing realm of dance, and, she found, that she had fallen in love. When Pidge wasn't competing in competitions, she would either be working at her local Starbucks, or doing street dance with a few kids from the neighborhood. Some who were interested in dance would often ask for inspiration or some

Kenya is a former preschool teacher who started dancing at a young age. Throughout Middle School and High School, She performed at many community events. During the summer she worked as a counselor, at a sports and dance camp for 4 years, where she was soon promoted to dance choreographer. Now Kenya is furthering her education in Physical Therapy, and is ecstatic to take part in Starz mission of providing physical enrichment's to the

This woman has shows her love for dance and music with her sly moves. Stephen Rogers says, “she has truly grown as a dancer throughout her years at KUA”. Mr. Rogers is always around the theater and always watching even when you think he is not. Before this concert happened, we had a talk about our favorite performances. He mentioned how she is becoming such a great dancer and that she really loves the art of dance. This proves how much practice she puts in to being marvelous at what she does and it really did pay off for her during the final performance. Kylie Shields, a senior at the Academy put on delightful performance. She amazed the audience with her outstanding performance. Kylie danced all around the stage making sure everyone had a view of her. She matched her instantaneous movements with the beats of the song. She started in the back left of the stage, and then moved her way to the front near the crowed all while having a spot light on her. The use of different color lights complemented her dance extremely well. At one point in the dance her body was silhouette and the background was a different color. This made her moves look smother and better blended together. Even though during the dress rehearsal Kylie has some trouble with finding her spotlight, once she learned where it was her dance was

As I dropped my bag on the folded seat, our instructor appeared.Most dancers can tell when we enter a room if the teacher is going to be the fun teacher fresh out of college, the ancient used-to-be-Russian-ballerina with grey hair, or somewhere in between. Just looking at our teacher, she didn’t seem to be anything special. She was simply a dance teacher, with her hair in a ponytail, her arms crossed, and her voice filling the entire

Intercultural communication is commonly explained as an interaction between people of 'different cultures whether defined in terms of racial, ethnic or socioeconomic differences.' Human communication consists of verbal and nonverbal messages (language and gestures) which are shaped by gender, social class or culture. Thus, what perimeters define the intercultural exchange and what primary messages do we need or try to convey?

Intercultural communication competence refers to the ability of an individual to adapt and communicate appropriately and effectively across a wide array of cultural contexts. That is to say, for an individual to be considered an intercultural communicator they must understand other’s cultures as well as they understand their own, and apply this understanding to communication (Chen 1-2). With the increasing diversity at the workplace, school and other social settings, it has become increasingly important to learn how to communicate with people from a diverse array of cultures. More importantly, adapting to a more effective intercultural communication competence model provides us with learning opportunities occasioned by the interaction with people from other backgrounds. The intercultural communication competence model comes with some key components including tolerance for uncertainty, self-knowledge, and motivation. The greatest and most important of these aspects is motivation. An individual must be willing to foster relationships with people from a different cultural background. If an individual lacks the willingness to promote intercultural relationships, then other aspects of the intercultural communication model become moot.

Bryan is a free spirit type‒all smiles and full of life. Despite his teaching position, he was one of the youngest of the guys there at 21 years old. Having danced for nearly 6 years and teaching for 3, he has found his place in dance more than anywhere else. “It’s a really great outlet for self-expression, and its something you can do when you grow older,” he laughed. “I just love the stylization and personality you can infuse into your dancing.” Chairs lining the entryway were quickly filled with personal belongings. Although it served as an informal changing area, the most well-prepared students came already dressed with the necessary dance items in their bags. The dark-colored outfits were especially important. Not only did the class looked unified, but it also gave each student an expressive and distinguishable style. Despite the routine of bringing these items, sweat towels, yoga mats, and other items were available for the students to borrow from if they forgot their own. One student, in particular, Anna, seemed to struggle with the simple weekly ritual of remembering her belongings. As the students unrolled their yoga mats on the dance floor, Anna ran off to the bathroom to change and scoured the designated lockbox in search of a mat she liked. Although Anna did not comply with the standard behavior of the subculture, Bryan did not expect all of the students to be equally familiar with the pre-class routine. Anna was obviously the most recent addition to the class,