Thread: Unexpectly, I'd going to be teaching Belly Dancing

So, erm, yeah. I'm a new mom and thought hey, I'll offer to show my fellow new moms the basics!

Which has somehow turned into dancing in a studio and teaching it to not only the new moms but a fitness class one of the moms teaches.

Huh. I'm feeling really overwhelmed and, well, y'know, I'm worried that I won't be able to teach 'properly'. Like I said, I'm good at the basics but I've never taught a routine, heck., most of the time I improvise when I dance in my living room...

...and I'm fat and after a two year break from dancing, am having body issues as well as 'ye gods, what the heck was I thinking, I can barely do a chest lift these days!?!'

So...any advice...

Winter.w.:

Take a deep breath, and go talk to your own teacher, and get her to mentor you through this. Teachers need to know what they're doing, especially if they're doing it as part of a Fitness Class.

I would agree with the above. Get your teacher to mentor you and help you. I got into this unexpected as well. I moved into a new area which had no tribal instructors, and ended up one. However, before I began I sought out the advice of some long time dancers, and teachers I have known for years. I listened carefully to what they told me, and continued to be a student and a teacher.

Don't worry about your body shape. You probably know as well as anyone does that belly dancers come in all shapes and sizes!

For anyone who is thinking of going into teaching, there are a few articles online that I always recommend:

Preparing to Teach by Anthea for the Gilded Serpent
Dear Shira: Any Hints for Someone New to Teaching?
Starting to teach
Why become a teacher?
Aziza Sa'id's FAQ - Dance Styles

Originally Posted by Winter

Which has somehow turned into dancing in a studio and teaching it to not only the new moms but a fitness class one of the moms teaches.

Huh. I'm feeling really overwhelmed and, well, y'know, I'm worried that I won't be able to teach 'properly'. Like I said, I'm good at the basics but I've never taught a routine, heck., most of the time I improvise when I dance in my living room...

Can the fitness instructor hand over her outlines? That would be a start.

However, as much as I cringe when people who aren't ready start teaching belly dance, at least if they stick to basics they can do little physical damage. What exactly does a "fitness class" entail and what do you know about safe teaching of it? Are you aware of issues that will affect new mums as well - such as hyper-flexibility?

My advice would be to start with some research. What is safe, What should be avoided? Then ask yourself what do you want to teach? Break it down to core skills then work out how you will teach them. I suggest if your class is coming and going you'd get away with maybe 4 weeks of lessons which you could repeat. For those who stay, develop some extensions and layers.

I would suggest you steer clear of choreography - but if you are happy bopping do some follow the bouncing butt stuff (remmbering to keep the technique simple, repetitive and with few direction changes)

My question would be why are you putting yourself in this position? How much training do you have and how often did you take lessons. Do you hold a certification as a fitness instructor? Are you prepared for liability in case someone is injured. Do you have insurance or are you under the studio's insurance?

I am not so eager to say learn as you go along. What has your instructor said about this? Did you mention it to him/her?

Oh no, I'm not the fitness instructor!

I should have been more clear - it's not about teaching the basics so much as that this all started out as an 'oo, this'll be a fun get-together!' kind of thing and now I feel like I need to buy practice zills in bulk and choreograph routines and, and...y'know that's just it. I don't think of myself as a teacher but just as someone who wants to pass along what she knows, if that makes any sense?

I think what I'm going to do is play it by ear, see if people want to learn any kind of simple routine beyond the basics and go from there. And talk to the woman I danced with regularly two years ago!

Bea, thank you very much for the links!

ETA: Oh, reading those links have me feeling both very much better about this undertaking. I've been dancing for 9 years...maybe a bit more than 9 years and have taken classes where posture and the history of the dance were never discussed, and it always made me leery when other students would ask me for help when doing a move, becuase after all, I was just a student, too! But I've also taken workshops where posture and history were stressed, so I've experienced that part too. Personally, I fall along the lines of 'posture, posture, posture' as I have, back in the day, made myself hurt by doing things wrong and gods know I don't want to hurt anyone else.

Phew. I think this is going to turn out all right after all.

Winter

If you are set on teaching, which you seem to be.... I would say start with a list of the movements you want to teach in a session (ask yourself: Am I comfortable with this movement, have I mastered it? Think of 3 different ways to explain/break it down.)
Go on to write down how to put two or three of these movements in a combo, teach that.
These combos can then be used to do a routine. This helps in teaching as you have a PLAN, you know what you will teach, know that you have the skills to teach the movements, and gives students a chance to learn a well planned lesson that stretches from the single movemnt, to a combo, and finnally using those skills in a routine to showcase what they have learned.
I would very much aggree that you NEED to learn more on how to teach without hurting students! Not only to you need the knowledge base of HOW to do movements but how NOT to, to avoid injury.

The link from Gilded Serpent is actually an awesome guideline for a teacher. It will help you write everything out in front of you, and tweak what you are doing. It will also let you know if you are doing the right thing or not.

Posture and form is *so* important. Years ago, I ended up in the Emergency Room needing a muscle relaxer shot directly into my back, and was forced to lay down and recline for days. All of that was because I wasn't shown proper posture or form, and ended up hurting my back.

I'd recommend to get your teacher, and definitely have her mentor you. Also, have her work with you on proper form and posture. You're working with new Moms, and there's a lot going on in their bodies (and yours!). Maybe do some research on exercise, and what new Mothers can and can not do. Heck, if you know a doctor ask them for some advice on that.

Originally Posted by Winter

Oh no, I'm not the fitness instructor!

I should have been more clear - it's not about teaching the basics so much as that this all started out as an 'oo, this'll be a fun get-together!' kind of thing and now I feel like I need to buy practice zills in bulk and choreograph routines and, and...y'know that's just it. I don't think of myself as a teacher but just as someone who wants to pass along what she knows, if that makes any sense?

Actually you can be a good teacher without zills and choreography but not without knowledge of dance safety and lesson planning. If you are "passing along what your know" you are picking up the mantle of "teacher" - it is up to you to do it well.

Kashmir, you're absolutely right. I'm hitting my books again and listening to my music with new ears, writing down how I want to start and where I want to finish. There are a couple of big parades during the year and a free, monthly town-wide art thing that we could perform at, so I'm thinking of doing a simple choreography for the class to show off their skills (obviously for when it gets a good deal warmer out).

Besides, with help from you all, surely I can't go wrong! :)

Winter