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Dear New:
There's so much to know about teaching, it would take me weeks
to share everything I've learned from my own experience! Maybe
I should write a book...
I'm really glad you have already been dancing for several
years. That brings you a level of experience, knowledge, and
maturity that people who start teaching after only a year can
never have.
Anyway, here are a few ideas to help you get started. Be sure
to ask around other teachers you know for further suggestions:
- Use Videos. Buy a couple of beginner-level videos
that teach basic moves, to discover which moves other instructors
consider beginner-level and help you identify ways to explain
those moves. I especially like Delilah's Bellydance Workshop
Volume 1 for ideas on explaining moves. Michelle Morrison's Joyous
Laughter, Volume 1 is also good for this.
- Multiple Explanations for Each Move. For each move
you intend to teach, identify two or three different ways to
explain how to do that move. "Explanation A" might
not work for a particular student, whereas "Explanation
B" might be exactly the right way to help her understand
it.
- Paint Mental Pictures. Try to come up with vivid imagery
that helps students visualize a move. For example, Hilary Thacker
on her beginning video talks about wearing a hip scarf to practice,
and then using a mirror to ensure the scarf stays level/horizontal,
without tipping either direction when doing hip slides. I teach
forward-and-back hip sways such as you would do in a camel walk
by telling students to envision pushing in a silverware drawer.
If you choose good videos for #1, they will help with this.
- Choreography Helps. Create a short, simple, repetitive
choreography to help students learn how to put moves together.
But also force them to try improvising on their own so they don't
get too tied to pre-choreographed material.
- Avoid Injury! Emphasize correct posture and technique.
Include appropriate warm-up and cooldown. You don't want anybody
to get injured in your class! Suzanna Del Vecchio's Precision
Motion Workout is good for this. So is Baraka's Dancer's Toolkit.
Also Joyous Laughter, Volume 1 mentioned above.
- Handouts. Create written handouts that itemize the
moves you'll be teaching that students can use as a practice
guide at home. Students also appreciate handouts that identify
local shops, mail-order, or Internet sources for costumes and
supplies.
- Show Your Legs. Don't cover your legs with a skirt
or pantaloons. Wear either tights, unitard, or leggings. Students
will find it easier to learn moves if they can see what your
knees are doing, where you are putting your weight, etc.
- Music Choices. I like to use music that comes from
the Middle East, particularly well-known songs. As a teacher,
I feel I have a responsibility to educate students not only on
how to move, but also to train their ears to recognize well-known
Middle Eastern songs that a band is likely to play for them.
There is some wonderful music that was composed in the U.S. by
local bands, which I might use in a performance, but for the
classroom I feel it's important to expose students to the matching
music.
- Student Recital. Arrange periodic student recitals
so your students can show their friends and family what they
have learned. They can perform the choreography you taught along
with a short "group solo" piece where every dancer
improvises in her own way, and more experienced students can
try doing some solos. It can be as simple as an informal gathering
in your classroom on the final night of class, or you can take
over the private party room of a restaurant for an evening. You
too can perform, to show your students what a professional performer
looks like.
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