Thread: Bellydance teaching book: What info?

So, I've *finally* moved past the planning stages and I'm actually writing a book about teaching bellydance.

My working title is 'So You Want To Be A Bellydance Teacher?' but I'm not wild about it so I'm open to suggestions!

My focus is:
1) How to run the business end of the classes: attracting and retaining students, bookkeeping, insurance, etc.

2) How to be an effective teacher: different learning styles, creating lesson plans, teaching improv, etc.

3) Growing the business: Ushering students into performance, adding classes, whether to open a studio of your own, sponsor events, etc.

What I won't try to do in this book:
Cover the history and cultural context of bellydance OR moves, styles, and other 'how to dance' info. (there is a self-assessment to see if you're ready to teach and a reference section for furthering your own studies, but moving beyond the basics as a student is another whole book ..g.:)

So.. if there's anything you wish such a book would cover, let me know. No detail is too small to get poked into my outline still. Something you wish you'd known as a noob teacher? Something you'd like to know more about as a potential teacher? Something that would be helpful to you as an ongoing teacher?

gimme some basic drill style choreo's cause I cant seem to get it together to do that for myself!

Safe Warming Up & Cooling Down.

a bit on trouble shooting and common difficult situations which may arrise. Ex conflicts with students . . Injuries , . Etc

info about using copyrighted music in class--is it legal, what are alternatives?

The how to's on hosting a workshop from your studio or somewhere else?

*Go Lauren, Go Lauren*

Wow, I knew Bhuzzers would have great ideas! Keep this stuff coming.

Originally Posted by aasiyah

a bit on trouble shooting and common difficult situations which may arrise. Ex conflicts with students . . Injuries , . Etc

Excellent, I'll put this in there.

Originally Posted by Hechicera

info about using copyrighted music in class--is it legal, what are alternatives?

oooh, I'd forgotten this in my outline, it's really important. Also the copyright implications of copying music for students and creating a lending library for students.

Originally Posted by Michelle75

The how to's on hosting a workshop from your studio or somewhere else?

*Go Lauren, Go Lauren*

I'm going to include some very basic info on this, like how to get started. Jenee has a book or e-book on the subject that I think I'll refer people to for more depth.

What a great idea, Lauren! Best wishes for many happy sales!

Being certified; the positive results it can bring. ????

Originally Posted by beafarhana

Safe Warming Up & Cooling Down.

Excellent, I'll put it in there.

Originally Posted by anala

gimme some basic drill style choreo's cause I cant seem to get it together to do that for myself!

Hmmmm... not sure I can communicate a choreo effectively in a book. But I *can* give you a formula to easily come up with your own, and with practice doing it the 'formulaic' way you'll hopefully get comfortable with doing it on your own!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Hmmmm... not sure I can communicate a choreo effectively in a book. But I *can* give you a formula to easily come up with your own, and with practice doing it the 'formulaic' way you'll hopefully get comfortable with doing it on your own!

Oooh Lauren, i need this...!! if you wouldn't mind posting this up on Bhuz or something... pretty please? ^^

Originally Posted by Michelle75

Being certified; the positive results it can bring. ????

I'm giving a short discussion of certification in my section on assessing your readiness.

Originally Posted by Kathiya

Oooh Lauren, i need this...!! if you wouldn't mind posting this up on Bhuz or something... pretty please? ^^

I haven't written it yet, Kathiya, just made a note of it in my outline. I have a system, though, and I think I can make it easy for people to create student 'learning choreos.'

But if I give all my info away, who will buy my book? ..g.:

I'd buy this. What is the due date?

Yay Lauren! This sounds like a great book.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

So.. if there's anything you wish such a book would cover, let me know. No detail is too small to get poked into my outline still. Something you wish you'd known as a noob teacher? Something you'd like to know more about as a potential teacher? Something that would be helpful to you as an ongoing teacher?

suggestions for marketing materials; special considerations for subbing, one-time and traveling classes/workshops; some guidance in the area of taxes/write-offs; how to structure levels for ongoing classes; the responsibilities and importance of your position as a role model. :)

Originally Posted by Lauren_

But if I give all my info away, who will buy my book? ..g.:

knowing part of the info that's in a book wouldn't stop me from buying it if the book was good but yeah, i see your point, was kinda expecting it anyways ^^

how about a bit of info on how and where to advertise for your classes? (example of posters/ads, examples of places to put them up with good chances of getting results...)

What about some suggestions or words of encouragement on some of the difficult issues we gripe about most on Bhuz, such as:

- Ensuring that, as a teacher, you continue to develop your own skills (including some resources for when your students ask questions you can't answer!)

- Being a generous teacher; not witholding knowledge; allowing your students to learn elsewhere

- Educating your students about not performing in public/teaching before they're ready

Ethics and etiquette of performing and of being an audience or workshop member.

This sounds like a great idea. I can't wait for it to be finished.

I don't have anything particular but for others who might be interested in opening their own studio. I think it would be good to cover things such as how to find good locations. Ease of access, close or on major bus lines to attract foot traffic and so forth.

Oh, maybe spread sheets to cover expenses that a business has so they can estimate what their cost of doing business is might be helpful.

Common student errors to watch for and how to correct them - remember all the questions you used to ask on bhuz about lordosis?

Something about EMOTIONAL readiness to teach - in other words, Ms. Prospective Teacher, how will it make you feel when the day comes that one of your students is better than you? Will you celebrate her achievement or will you try to suppress her because, after all, how dare she?

Professional behavior for teachers - show up early enough to get the door unlocked before students start to arrive, come to class prepared with a plan on what you'll teach that day, have the correct music with you, etc.

Importance of continuing education

This sounds like an awesome book in the making. Let me know when we can start pre-ordering:) If you need help I would love to help. Not trying to be intrusive, just helpful:) I teach English at the college level so I am good at editting and revising stuff. Good luck and I can't wait to read it:)

Reminder to do evaluations for your students to fill out, basic bookkeeping, insurance,liability release forms, etc.

How about calling it something more like "professional standards for belly dance teachers" or something that indicates the importance and seriousness of being a QUALIFIED instructor?

I'd like to see maybe a little bit on dealing with inter-personal disputes in class (maybe even just some book recommendations?) Or even a supplemental reading list for teachers who teach adults?

One thing I'd love to see addressed is this: I feel that teachers need to be encouraging their students to practice DAILY (or almost daily) if they want to perform for the public. I'm not seeing a lot of teachers do this, and I think it's because it harshes the mellow of those fun, interpretive, ya-ya sisterhood classes. Anyway, tips on getting students to practice, tips on how to help them create practice sessions, etc would be nice. This book may not be the forum for that, but you might consider bringing it up.

I SO want to buy this! Thank you for taking the time to do this.

You guys are amazing.

Aziyade, I like your title suggestion, but I think it might intimidate some of the teachers -- or potential teachers -- who could benefit most from the book.

The book is written in a casual, conversational 'voice' rather than an authoritative one. (same voice I use on Bhuz, my natural one).

I don't like my original title idea because the book is for people who are already teaching as well as noobs. I'm leaning now toward:

Bellydance: The Teacher's Manual

What do you think?

Originally Posted by AmiraStar

This sounds like an awesome book in the making. Let me know when we can start pre-ordering:) If you need help I would love to help. Not trying to be intrusive, just helpful:) I teach English at the college level so I am good at editting and revising stuff. Good luck and I can't wait to read it:)

Not intrusive at all, very very helpful! Editing is a big job and I can use all the help I can get. PMing you.

I don't want to clog up this thread by acknowledging each post, but I'm reading them all and so far every one has been helpful, either in opening up a new area of my outline or reinforcing that I'm on the right track with what I had.

I've got about 30 pages written, I'm estimating the book will be 150 - 200 pages. My plan is to self-publish and the book will be available directly from me or through Amazon, etc online (not in bookstores, but what would be the point?) I might also see if it's practical to have some of the major BD vendors stock it.

I'm shooting for a Spring release -- I know that's kind of vague, but this is my first experience with this kind of self-publishing, and the first book I've written without a partner.

There's a very strong possibility of a UK edition in the works, too. I'm really excited about that!

Good for you girl!

I would suggest a section about networking-within the bellydance community and successful integration into the larger community-tips for fostering a dance community if your area has none
Nikki

GREAT idea, Lauren! And it sounds like you're already on your way with the publishing, but ebooks can be really great for generating a profit with low overhead and making some easy sales... Just a suggestion.

I would love a blank lesson plan worksheet in an Appendix or something. Also, advice on teaching students with different goals (and how to assess them) / leading mixed level classes that are easy enough for new students and challenging enough for the more advanced people.

Good luck!

- Sections on teaching the elderly, children and the disabled.

- Tips on how to pursue specialist knowledge (like when you researched Turkish Rom)

- Handling different sizes of class... there were some great tips on a recent thread on how to work a very large class