Thread: What a fun class!!!

I just wanted to share this with other instructors who might be looking for ideas.

My level IV class just finished a 6-week 'solo skills' session. I wanted to cover a LOT of material (styles of dance, choosing music, analyzing music, what to do with different instruments, creating entrances, traveling steps, 'wow' moves, etc etc etc) AND it was the first time I've taught a session that was more classroom than activity.

To encourage the students to take notes, I told them there would be a game-show style quiz on the last night, with Fabulous Prizes. Open notes!

That was tonight. I rounded up a basketful of stuff, mostly free gifts I've gotten with e-bay purchases (jewelry, bindis) some re-gifts, lightly used CDs, bindis, and candy. But also a few choice items like student zills and a caftan!

The students worked in 4 randomly assigned teams and answered questions like "Show me four steps you might use for Saidi music" "Show me five travelling steps you might use for entrances" etc.

The first team to get 25 points (at 5 points per question) got to select their Fabulous Prizes while the others kept going. So we went on until everyone got a prize, but the ones who got the right answers fastest got first pick.

Then we did improv practice, including taking turns in the center of the circle & other fun activities we like.

After class we had spontaneous show-and-tell. We saw two costumes, a new hip scarf, pictures of a puppy, a new sword, and the dance the Alternative class has been working on.

What a fun class -- I don't think I've ever had a better time! We'll definitely do this again.

wow it sounds like a really fun and educational slumber party without the ice cream, jammies, and sleeping bags. i wanna take your classes!

WOW! That does sound like a fun class! I wonder if I could talk my teacher into something like that...

I'll bet if you offered to help her organize it she'd consider it! It *was* a little overwhelming when I planned it, but it came together pretty smoothly once we got going.

Lauren, what great ideas! I might have to try some of these with my advanced students! Thanks for sharing. :thumbs_up:

Those are great ideas. I'd love to do something like that when I start teaching. (hopefully in the next few years). Thanks!!!

Thanks. I didn't mean to sound like I was blowing my own horn, I just came home from class really excited - and I was so proud of how well they did!

I may do something similar with rhythms -- the fear of a 'quiz' seems to motivate the memory.

I think we'll schedule an informal, voluntary 'show & tell' time for the last week of every session, that was a lot of fun.

Great ideas Lauren! Thanks for sharing them. Do you think this type of class could be done in a workshop format?

Once again, I wish I could move to your town just to be one of your students, Lauren. I hope your students know how lucky they are!

Lauren, I love your concept of a 6-week session on "solo skills" - let's face it, a one-time workshop doesn't even come close to addressing all the different aspects of soloing! This is awesome and something that we don't see much of nowadaysl; people learn troupe choreos and don't think they will ever need or be able to use "solo skills" but then they are aske to "dance" at a party and freeze up because, well, it's not troupe choreo. I think even if a student has no plans to "go pro in a nightclub or restaurant" or even dance solo at a festival, your class is valuable for better understanding music, entrances, exits and in such a fun format. Kudos to you!

OT: See you tomorrow in Dallas! I'm the dancer with curly brown ponytail (like that will stand out.......).

Honest, I wasn't fishing for compliments, just wanted to share ideas!

Yes, I think it would make a FANTASTIC workshop actually! I covered the material over 6 weeks, including:
- Choosing music
- Overall style (sharki, beledi, amcab, tribal, etc) and mood of the music
- Putting movements to the music (texture of the music, instruments)
- Entrances
- Traveling steps (solos require so much more traveling than group work!) and turns
- Wow moments (thanks to you guys for a big chunk of that list!)

By popular request, one whole session was unexpectedly given over to getting comfortable with being onstage -- depending on your starting point, that's overcoming stage fright OR developing your stage presence.

Originally Posted by Nisima

Lauren, I love your concept of a 6-week session on "solo skills" - let's face it, a one-time workshop doesn't even come close to addressing all the different aspects of soloing! This is awesome and something that we don't see much of nowadaysl; people learn troupe choreos and don't think they will ever need or be able to use "solo skills" but then they are aske to "dance" at a party and freeze up because, well, it's not troupe choreo. I think even if a student has no plans to "go pro in a nightclub or restaurant" or even dance solo at a festival, your class is valuable for better understanding music, entrances, exits and in such a fun format. Kudos to you!

OT: See you tomorrow in Dallas! I'm the dancer with curly brown ponytail (like that will stand out.......).

I agree! I think my favorite part of the class was when we talked about how the music will tell you how to move, and after we broke that down & talked about it, I put on a song with lots of changes (mashaal, maybe?) and we followed the changes as a group. "does this part say to shimmy? No? What does it say to do? yes, smooth figure 8s or snake arms or undulations. Hear the music going up? How can you interpret that with your body?"

I could watch the students discovering that they already knew what to do, they just needed to trust themselves!

OT -- I've got layered blonde hair just above shoulder length and I *think* I'll be wearing my red 'bellydancer' tank tops and black flared jazz pants or yoga pants. I'm SO excited to meet everyone!

Hey Lauren, this is slightly off topic but I think you must be the teacher my student Liz met up with for a lesson while she was visiting family in Illinois??? Sounds like she had a blast and is ready to come back for more!

Oh, yes! I had so much fun with Liz! So she's your student? She spoke very highly of you!

How's her choreography coming along? We only had time to create a really rough sort of structure.

I want to be in your class too Lauren.I wish my teacher did stuff like this.

Actually, I just got back from Cairo and haven't had a chance to do anything more than have a brief chat on the phone with Liz. She sounded very enthused when I talked to her and she felt the time with you was very worthwhile so I am expecting great things :-) Her biggest stumbling block is not being able to stay on the beat and I got some great input from one of my teachers in Cairo on what to look for for that particular problem. I told Liz she should ask for your perspective on that issue also but don't know if she did or not...she is planning to book more classes with you when she returns to visit family. I'm really happy for her to be able to study with someone else, even briefly, since we live in an isolated area--students do better when they are exposed to different teaching methods (in my opinion).

Lauren- you're totally the bomb. :)

Raks On!

Originally Posted by banatsusan

not being able to stay on the beat and I got some great input from one of my teachers in Cairo on what to look for for that particular problem. I told Liz she should ask for your perspective on that issue also but don't know if she did or not.

Liz & I didn't get into that issue, but I'd love to hear what you learned in Cairo about it!!! I'm rhythm challenged myself, the only thing that helped me at ALL was learning to drum. Not that I'm a great drummer, but TRYING to learn helped me immensely. Still, I have to stay conscious or I'll drift off, it's maddening.

I totally agree with you about having more than one teacher. I've learned something from every teacher I've ever had. I've also noticed my own students will sometimes take constructive criticism better from another teacher even when I've pointed out the same thing to them & had it go in one ear & out the other.

What I learned in Cairo is that it is more about making the weight transitions with the feet rather than not hearing the beat with the ear. Two different teachers voiced this same thought in different ways. Mona Said had one of the ladies practicing the movements while standing facing (and hands on) an outward corner so that she would learn to make the transition from making the movement on the left side of her body (to the outside of the right corner) to making the movement on the right side of the body with the right hip to the outside of the left corner. I don't know if that makes sense but it is using the diagonal body positions and using the corner helps to give the dancer a sense of where she should be (centering?) without having to count steps or worry about left foot or right foot. The student in question was having a very hard time with being on the right foot at the right time and by using this exercise was making the correct transition within a short time and she considers herself to be rhythmically challenged! I doubt that I have adequately explained this but you can experiment with some movements and get a feel for how it could/would/should work ..g.: Both Mona and Diane Tarkan stressed that the problem is in not listening to the music but trying to think your way through the piece. Both said don't count, don't think, just listen to the music and let it tell you what to do. Diane stressed that being off the rhythm is in the transitions in that the dancer is not fully committing to/completing the step. Her advice was to use a step (always) to begin a new movement and follow it through until you need to step to begin another movement so you would take a step (or transfer of weight) to begin a hip circle--complete the hip circle (including the necessary weight changes or steps)--then a step to initiate the next movement like a verticle hip 8 for example...this is a very basic idea but I have been noticing that some of my students tend to anticipate the music and either do not complete the movement or rush through it to be prepared for transitioning into the next and is more than likely why they are on the wrong foot and have a hard time getting the direction of turns and other movements right and not so much because they are not hearing the beat. These were the ideas I picked up and now I'm working on ways (other than the corner exercise) to utilize these in the class room...my students can all walk to the beat and clap to the beat but when some start to dance they get lost in the simplest of transitions so....I'm thinking that if I can get them to be more conscious of this idea (each movement begins with a step) maybe it will help. So, no magic answers here but just a different way of thinking about the problem!

Lauren you are so cool. :)

Good idea. :)

Originally Posted by banatsusan

What I learned in Cairo is that it is more about making the weight transitions with the feet rather than not hearing the beat with the ear. Two different teachers voiced this same thought in different ways. [B]Mona Said had one of the ladies practicing the movements while standing facing (and hands on) an outward corner so that she would learn to make the transition from making the movement on the left side of her body (to the outside of the right corner) to making the movement on the right side of the body with the right hip to the outside of the left corner. Her advice was to use a step (always) to begin a new movement and follow it through until you need to step to begin another movement so you would take a step (or transfer of weight) to begin a hip circle--complete the hip circle (including the necessary weight changes or steps)--then a step to initiate the next movement like a verticle hip 8 for example...this is a very basic idea but I have been noticing that some of my students tend to anticipate the music and either do not complete the movement or rush through it to be prepared for transitioning into the next and is more than likely why they are on the wrong foot and have a hard time getting the direction of turns and other movements right and not so much because they are not hearing the beat. These were the ideas I picked up and now I'm working on ways (other than the corner exercise) to utilize these in the class room...my students can all walk to the beat and clap to the beat but when some start to dance they get lost in the simplest of transitions so....I'm thinking that if I can get them to be more conscious of this idea (each movement begins with a step) maybe it will help. So, no magic answers here but just a different way of thinking about the problem!

Thanks a lot for posting all this good advice.
the corner - This is a VERY good tip - I think it probably works because it gives the dancers something concrete ( no pun intended) to relate to, and markers to works around - fresh air in the middle of a class just isn't the same.
Feet are so important - many teachers don't mention them a lot but I always advise students to watch a teachers feet when I recommend a workshop.
Incidentally - it took me years to realise that most Egyptian dancers (I had learned from british dancers) put a step in before many moves, in practise as well as performance, actually I was wondering how they managed to cover so much more distance in their dancing - and this is the reason I came up with purely from observation. In fact one Egyptian teacher I know will say step 1,2,3,and 4, the reason I was always late was cos there was a preparatory step not mentioned - I think in Egypt it is just taken for granted!

Aaah, that's interesting! I'll have to play with that, and watch some feet with that in mind!

Originally Posted by banatsusan

this is a very basic idea but I have been noticing that some of my students tend to anticipate the music and either do not complete the movement or rush through it to be prepared for transitioning into the next and is more than likely why they are on the wrong foot and have a hard time getting the direction of turns and other movements right and not so much because they are not hearing the beat. These were the ideas I picked up and now I'm working on ways (other than the corner exercise) to utilize these in the class room...my students can all walk to the beat and clap to the beat but when some start to dance they get lost in the simplest of transitions so....I'm thinking that if I can get them to be more conscious of this idea (each movement begins with a step) maybe it will help. So, no magic answers here but just a different way of thinking about the problem!

This is great advice, my Instructor is always saying I "think too much" so I lose it when transitioning or don't complete a move because I need to "catch up" for the next step etc" ... I get so frustrated with myself. I listen to music all the time to try to attune my ear to rhythms/beats etc, I am so challenged in the tone department, ,f:: I just don't seem to hear changes no matter how often I practice, listen to a piece of music . I am getting better but feel like I am still in my first weeks of instruction sometimes ( nearly 4 yrs later).

Our instructor has arranged drumming classes for those of us who are interested starting this week, as she said that having drumming lessons helped her no end to know the music and to understand it. Hopefully I will begin to "get it" with drumming lessons as well.

Thanks everyone so much Of the advice here really is a big help.

You should blow your own horn! What great ideas and it sounds like a fun and informative session. ..g.:

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Thanks. I didn't mean to sound like I was blowing my own horn, I just came home from class really excited - and I was so proud of how well they did!

I may do something similar with rhythms -- the fear of a 'quiz' seems to motivate the memory.

I think we'll schedule an informal, voluntary 'show & tell' time for the last week of every session, that was a lot of fun.

Bravo Lauren !!!!!
Great idea very motivating for students ..g.:

and thanks for all the Cairo advice also Banatsuzan ..g.:

Maria Aya :)