Thread: Spin-off - What do you do in private lessons?

I've given private lessons to a few of my students, and sometimes I struggle with coming up with things to do with them.

When a student comes to me for a private for help with a specific move or skill set, I am fine. But when they just want privates to "improve", I don't know where to begin!

I usually wind up structuring the lesson like a group class, but I don't like it. I want it to be different - more intense, I guess? - but I'm not sure how to structure it and what to cover.

What do you ladies do? Or when you take privates, what do you do?

My private students so far have all had specific things they wanted to cover--improving/developing choreography, fluidity, what have you...

A friend of mine had a private with Veena (or Neena? lol) and when they ran out of material, the twin just started teaching her the choreo she was performing that night...

I suppose that's one way to pinpoint areas of improvement in a private student: develop a combo or choreo that challenges various skill areas, and then focus and drill those elements that need practice...

Just a thought :)

When I have gone to private lessons, I usually request particular material. Past private lesson topics have included:
* sword balancing tips and techniques
* helping me with a competition choreography/performance
* zilling
* how to musically break down and dance to an Egyptian baladi progression

I was going to the same person for private lessons for a while, and usually she'd have me learn some new combos, and use that as an opportunity to focus on particular techniques.

I've told them what I want to do. My last lesson I wanted to learn some Turkish steps. I got a lesson on that. I've also asked for combos and stuff like that.

A lot of times, it's refinement. I think that's where things differ from a normal class, IMO. I may do a lot of the same moves that I would do in a normal, group class but the teacher is watching closely to make sure my posture is in check, that things are cristp, etc.

some of my dancers take a group class too.then if there is something that comes up in class, we go over it in their private.
2 of my dancers have MS so i modify stuff for them.."turn, not spin" stuff like that.

Thanks, ladies. I wish all of my privates would come to me with specific goals! I have new privates fill out a questionairre about what they hope to accomplish during the lessons, and so many times I just get "improve".

And then when I ask "What do you want to work on?" I get things like "being a better dancer" - I guess it's ok for me to structure it like a regular class if I get those responses then!

Daniela, I have my private/coaching students fill out a very detailed questionnaire--they can't just write 'improve', ultimately this forces them to tell me what 'improve' means to them.

Get specific. Find out where they see themselves as dancers in the next six months. Year? Five years? Who do they identify as an ideal in the dance form, who defines 'belly dancer' to them? What other dance forms do they study? Do they perform now? Where, and how often? In a group or as a soloist? Do they want to perform?

I should add that I don't usually work with beginner dancers in a one on one context, as I believe beginners should take group classes. I have made a few exceptions over the years, but am pretty strict about that. So some of my questions assume a certain level of familiarity with general belly dance.

The more you can tailor the lesson to what the student wants, the better it will be for them and for you! Privates are very different than group classes, and I just love working with dancers individually.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by danielabellydance

Thanks, ladies. I wish all of my privates would come to me with specific goals! I have new privates fill out a questionairre about what they hope to accomplish during the lessons, and so many times I just get "improve".

And then when I ask "What do you want to work on?" I get things like "being a better dancer" - I guess it's ok for me to structure it like a regular class if I get those responses then!

Also just throwing out a few ideas.

IMO, part of becoming a better better dancer means having some self awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses. Maybe you could help them start to develop this skill when they come in? If they say, "I want to improve", you could try to dig a little and ask, "What are two things you think you do well, and two things you think you don't do well?". If they've been in one of your recitals, maybe you could watch the footage and point out things from there,?

Another thing you can do is have the student show you a choreography that he/she created. Then, you can help them pick it apart and improve on their weaknesses---whatever those may be.

When i do a privates I am specific in what I need to improve or I need help tweeking a choreography I am working on. I always learn something when I do privates, an improvement of one thing, little did I know it was something else. And I do the homework they give to improve myself. And add to my dance vocabulary.And i get the one on one attention vs. a weekly class
I prefer privates.
Alrana

I guess I'm like most dancers. I'm there to work on specific things. IE a competition piece, Veil, zills and mutiple layering, or to drill at a higher level than what is offered in class. I usually say, "Just make it so hard that I cry ..cr.: " That usually does the trick...g.:

My instructor expects me to be specific about what I want to get out of a privates so I'm just brainstorming here...
What if you started teaching transitions; when I was a baby dancer and used the phrase "I just want to improve" what I really meant was that I wanted my transitions between basic movements to be more natural. Or for intermediate levels start working on basic rhythms, their geographic origins, appropriate interpretation, and costuming? Or use it as an opportunity to introduce some of the dance legends and the movements associatied with them... like the Suheir Zaki or the Mona Saiid?
Blessings,
Rach

I've had several different private situations.

A couple were fairly beginner level students. In those situations, I mostly taught the same material I would've taught to a group, but at THAT student's pace, spending more time on her trouble areas & sliding through the material she already grasped. These lessons always felt weird to me... I felt like those students were spending quite a bit of money and not getting much more than they would have gotten out of a group class. I just wasn't comfortable, and I won't teach privates to beginners any more.

With intermediate/advanced students, I've worked on their solo skills. Had them bring a piece of music, or helped them select one during our lesson, and guided them through the processes of creating a dance, or part of a dance. As opportunities arose I'd teach a new move or create a combination, and correct technique (and practicing the technique correction was homework!) Those classes felt very productive to me.

With just-want-to-improve students I pick a few areas of technique and work through more complex layers and variations that I don't cover in class. This is easy with students I know, but with students I don't know I end up preparing about twice as much material as I need, just in case they turn out to be really advanced!

I'm guilty of going into a private lesson and saying "make me better!" myself. In that case the teacher showed me some step combinations and corrected anything that needed correcting - technique, posture, stagecraft. It was a good lesson.

The ones that say they 'just want to improve' are usually the less experienced students. First of all, I ask them if there's anything they have particular trouble with in class (there's usually something) and I make sure we spend time on whatever that is.

I then run briefly through the main moves we've been doing in whichever class they attend. It's easy then to see what they need to work on.

In a one-to-one situation I'm able to observe closely and work out what's going on with the moves they aren't doing well in a way I can't easily in a class situation. It might be something not very obvious like some tension in the shoulders or whatever. But often that little thing can make a major difference.

Students often have real 'lightbulb' moments in private lessons but so do I. I sometimes think I should be paying them because when I'm concentrating on the difficulty a student has with a move I often find I come up with a solution which is really useful for class teaching.

Thank you for all these suggestions, they are really helpful!

addressing the "I don't know, I want to be a better dancer" responses:

I always ask my students to bring their own music, so we can work with stuff they are familiar with. with a first timer, I will ask them to put on a song they know well and just noodle around the studio. no pressure, no worries about what they're doing or if they make any mistakes. if they have a choreo they're working on, I might have them do that. you can tell in the first two minutes of what they're doing what their strengths are and what areas they need to improve.

from there, I'll gush over their strengths, and then get cracking on the improvements. :) my favorite and most effective way of getting down to business is to take a piece of music they like (which sometimes is by my suggestion or a choreo I already have) and develop a dance for them out of it. besides the specific stuff you're working on together, you can pack SO much more material in while you're at it: combinations, transitions, music interpretation, stage craft, stage presence, flow, breathing, footwork, how to develop a routine, how to incorporate the best variety of your dance vocabulary... and at the end they have a dance ready to perform.

One of the best privates I ever took (besides with Elisa ;), was with Maleeha of Iowa. I really didn't have anything in particular to focus on since I wasn't working on a piece, and I couldn't think of anything in particular to direct her to, so I brought a few recordings of performances. I learned so much just sitting and talking with her about those performances. It may seem counter intuitive to sit through a private rather than get up and dance, but I learned in that session that sometimes the sitting, listening, and thinking are where the most action happens.

Originally Posted by Mirabai

One of the best privates I ever took (besides with Elisa ;), was with Maleeha of Iowa. I really didn't have anything in particular to focus on since I wasn't working on a piece, and I couldn't think of anything in particular to direct her to, so I brought a few recordings of performances. I learned so much just sitting and talking with her about those performances. It may seem counter intuitive to sit through a private rather than get up and dance, but I learned in that session that sometimes the sitting, listening, and thinking are where the most action happens.

You're lucky to have access to Maleeha. She's a wonderful dancer, trained by Ibrahim Farrah.

She is quite fabulous!! Unfortunately, it was a special deal where MEAI brought her out to the Northwest for a "summer school" session. If we were in the same town, that private of sitting and watching and talking about my dance would have turned into who knows how many more privates, addressing each element of our discussion.

I usually have something I'm working on and want feedback and guidance. However, I have a private scheduled with a "very hard to please" teacher who I want to put me through my paces and tell me "where I am".

Hopefully I won't end up crying...