Thread: bd 4 exercise? questions questions questions!

i have some beginner students who like my class for exercise but dont ever want to perform or become more advanced. i also have some more ambitious intermediate students who want to drill drill drill.

so i thought id offer a 1 hr bd 4 exercise class that is organized like a workout. ie

warm up with traveling steps and go over steps used later in the workout
do slow moves like 8s and circles and undulations
speed up with staccato stuff like hip lifts drops etc
do saidi stuff for cardio
back to staccato stuff
cool down with slow stuff

so my question is how much correction should i do? of course ill correct stuff that could hurt people like bad posture. but if the class is described as 4 exercise should i ignore stuff like droopy arms or chicken wing arms that i would normally fix in a technique class? should i correct those who also take technique classes but not those who are just htere 4 exercise? i dont want to interrupt the workout to stop and fix people unless it looks like they could hurt themselves.

do i need to build in time for water breaks? if so how often? or do i just tell people to grab water when they need it and not stop for it?

i plan to offer modifications like letting ppl do just step touch instead of step hop in the saidi part but how do i tell those who need the lowimpact version they can do that while telling those who want more energetic workout to do step hop? will everyone do what i demonstrate regardless of which energy level they wnat 4 themselves? do i vary which i demonstrate and try to tell them to copy the version at whatever energy level suits them best?

I started all of this with a for exercise purpose. I wouldn't build in water breaks, let them stop and get water when needed. I would correct arms but not by stopping and doing a correction. Correct more in the technique class but just not in the for exercise group. Think aerobics class "get those arms up ladies!" Keeping their arms up is part of the workout. I think that the structure you have lined out is great.

Somewhat rambling but hope that it helped.

Originally Posted by Linnyg

I started all of this with a for exercise purpose. I wouldn't build in water breaks, let them stop and get water when needed. I would correct arms but not by stopping and doing a correction. Correct more in the technique class but just not in the for exercise group. Think aerobics class "get those arms up ladies!" Keeping their arms up is part of the workout. I think that the structure you have lined out is great.

I agree totally.

Also, the corrections are helpful especially if people are doing things which could potentially cause them harm. Seen too many backs get screwed up because a teacher wouldn't correct.

{{{HUGS}}}

You can build in short shimmy drills to keep heart rates up. And do demo low impact or workarounds for people with knee problems. Explaining which muscle drive a movement (like using abs and psoas for hip work) can improve the workout quotient. Also drilling moves in slow mo, moving through molasses helps with strength building. Add some flamenco style arm drills in slow motion to build endurance. Remember that any time you hold arms above shoulder level you increase the difficulty and raise heart rate. So that is a possible way to keep things moving for the workout crowd while building endurance for those who are in it for hte dance.

Souzan

i used to take a belly dance exercise class called arabics instead of aerobics. it was great fun. our teacher never stopped us for corrections just kept us moving and would jump in next to someone till they got it right to keep them from injury. it was like a party during that class. it became so popular we made the local morning news. the mirrors would fog up and you couldn't see yourself and you didn't care. so show them the saidii hop and then the touch. don't skip a beat. tell them "if you can hop, hop. if you can't, step touch. keep them out of their heads and into their bodies and everyone even the more serious dancers will get a lot out of it. Even once i began taking the advance clases i still made time for arabics. hope this helps.