Thread: Mixed class?

Hi everyone,

I am teaching at a new studio, which I'm excited about! However, they want to start with beginner classes and I know some of my former students want to attend. How do you deal with a mixed class?

In my limited experience, it's very difficult to make the beginners work at beginner level and still keep the improvers/intermediates working at their own level. Inevitably the beginners want to do the same stuff as the improvers, despite not having got to grips with the basics. And if you do stick to more basic stuff the improvers are going to get bored mighty quickly.

A lot depends on where you and your students are at. How far along are the "returning" students you're talking about? Are we talking they've been studying a couple years, or are we talking people who've taken a session or two?

Several months ago I tweaked the description and curriculum for some of our classes and some of our level 1 classes went from being called "Beginning Belly Dance" to "Belly Dance Fundamentals". The point of this class is that we're going to go over the fundamental building blocks of belly dance in the class, but that students should expect to take multiple sessions before they're ready to go on to level 2 (where the material really builds on the fundamentals--involves more putting concepts together too.) The curriculm is structured in such a way that I have *necessary* items my teachers and I must teach/focus on each session in a "Fundamentals" class, but there are also optional items/variations we can add/show if the class is, on the whole, particularly adept at picking things up. We include finger cymbal time from the second or third week of class on. New beginners can expect a solid introduction, lots of encouragement, and to get at least exposed to/get the "gist of it" for each these elements/building blocks. Then the second, third time, what have you, they work on refining the dance elements--maybe picking up on moves they didn't quite get down the first time, doing more combinations/variations with those basics, getting better with their zills, improving their arms and posture while dancing, working with weight shifts more effectively and so on.

In situations where I have a number of returning students who've been at it less than a year and a group of beginners, I usually find ways to keep things going and find fresh things for the returners to work on/pay attention to, but still keep the beginners involved, engaged and learning. The flip side is, it actually *helps* the new beginners to have these repeaters in the room--they seem to catch on more quickly when some of the people around them already seem to have some skills in place. :-)

You do really have to think through your what your curriculum for the mixed class will be and how you teach, though. And...some instructors are better suited to this than others. Some find it easiest to keep new beginners in one place and all returning students in other classes.

Also, IMHO it *does* get very difficult to mix rank beginners with people who've been dancing for a few years. They've come to expect certain material, and to teach them anything really quite new you risk leaving the newbs behind.

Hi Mirah-

Thanks! I was at the Forum this weekend but you were teaching a workshop, so I missed you again. Next time hopefully!

The returning students have been with me for about a year and a half. I just don't want them to get bored or to have the beginners feel lost. This will take a bit of rethinking for my class structure.

I think it also depends on the format of the class. I take a beginners class every week because I know that we will drill, drill, drill. AND that the teacher will take the time to correct people. Which even I know I need from time to time.

It's also sometimes fun for the beginning students to see me do things such as belly rolls and flutters. They have told me that they are inspired to keep working. . .

{{{HUGS}}}

I taught a mixed class at a school mostly known for its contemporary dance curriculum. I could not control who came to my class on a weekly basis. I had everyone from pro to first time out.

I guided a very challenging, non-technique based warm up routine, then taught everyone the same thing but included layering options for the more experienced dancers.

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

I think it also depends on the format of the class. I take a beginners class every week because I know that we will drill, drill, drill. AND that the teacher will take the time to correct people. Which even I know I need from time to time.

It's also sometimes fun for the beginning students to see me do things such as belly rolls and flutters. They have told me that they are inspired to keep working. . .

{{{HUGS}}}

Drilling only works when your students have a basic understanding of the moves being drilled. If you have total noobs in your class, who maybe have never done a dance class ever, you have to do quite a lot of actual teaching- the posture, the moves- before you can drill them. For me the Drilling is more a function of the Improver/Intermediates class. But my Beginners are almost always true beginners.

This summer I cut my classes down to two mixed level classes while people were coming and going with holidays. I think it worked reasonably well. Far more work for me though! I mixed drilling basics with drills with several extension and combinations with various layers. So for each exercise I had prepared 4-6 versions. The beginners could get something out of each exercise but I had material to stretch people who have been dancing for over 10 years. (However, I did not have any walk off the street beginners, minimum experience was 10 hours of classes)

Most people who think they are intermediates really aren't! But if you must: while your teaching a shimmy to the beginners,make the intermediates do shimmies with figure 8s.

If your teaching maya to beginners,have the intermediates maya with a shimmy.

I've been dancing 10 years and I still go to beginner classes sometimes, keeps the ego in check and keeps us sharp.

As long as the intermediates know they're entering a beginner class, and that's a choice they're making, they can do beginner material. I'd group them together at one side of the room and have higher expectations of them in terms of arm carriage, posture, clean movement, etc.

After the first couple of weeks you can put together simple combos or even very simple choreographies for them. I find that even my most advanced students enjoy learning a new choreo/new song, even if it uses only the most basic beginner moves.

i teach mixed level once a week and each night tailor the class according to who attends.

one good trick is to give a basic move then ask the more advanced students to layer something else on top of the basic move

I have been dancing 2 years. joined a second year class as there wasn't anything else.

I feel like I'm practising on my own, no feedback, no one looking.

this teacher gives class feedback, or helps the people who oeverestimated their ability.

She will say let's practice x as some of you haven't quite got it.

I have thought of adding stuff when we dril, but this week was endless egyptian walk forward and back so there's not much you can add!!!

Respect to al of you who think about mixed ability

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Hi Mirah-

Thanks! I was at the Forum this weekend but you were teaching a workshop, so I missed you again. Next time hopefully!

Yeah, I had an engagement out of town this past weekend. We'll definitely connect one of these times!

Thanks for all the ideas! I will try doing layering for the intermediates. The whole class will start out with the basics again anyway.

Mirah - I'm performing at the Guild show in April, will you be there? We could get together beforehand if you're not too busy!

I've had success with having the "advanced beginners" playing finger cymbals (with little socks on them to keep it quiet) as another "layer" on top of the movements. Funny how it turns them back into total beginners again--pat the head and rub the tummy, you know.
You can buy packs of little baby socks and have people slip one sock over one zill on each hand--that will keep it from being loud, so you can talk.

Sabine - that's a great idea! The class was full already so I feel really good about it. Everyone seems to be very upbeat and excited!

As a student who has had beginners in an intermediate/advance class, I find it difficult at times. At one time, we had a beginner student who had not been dancing long and often times there were moves that they had no idea how to do. The instructor would take the time to teach the move which really wasn't fair to those of us who had taken the time to take several beginner sessions or who were already more advanced students. I enjoy drills and reviews but I do not feel that a full reteach of something that should have been learned in a beginner class is necessary. In the group I dance with there is no assessment for moving up nor are students told that they should be in a beginner class. It can be quite frustrating at times and the instructor does her best to guide them without now giving a full reteach of a move that a lot of the others know. Drills and reviews are great - I enjoy that but to watch a beginner student struggle and not practice proper posture or technique because they have had no beginner training is difficult. I do wish that the classes were geared to the individuals' level of dance.

Do you have a longtime student or colleague that would be willing to be a teacher's assistant? Sometimes in mixed classes I will break the class up into beginners and "continuing" students, demonstrate a basic version of a move, have the TA continue drilling that with the beginners and work on something more advanced with the continuing students.
I also have the TA lead the class for a while while I go around and give everyone individual feedback.
This has really helped me. All of my classes are mixed level and it can be challenge. I just "inherited" a mixed level/all drop in class from a friend of mine who is on maternity leave and OHHH my God, it is challenging to design that curriculum! I have completely new people showing up randomly all the time...

I do exactly the same thing as Sarakat and it works really well, I have a student from my Intermediate class who demonstrates for the beginners and i give 'extension activities' (sorry, work in a school!) for the Improvers. I'm not sure how well it would work with more advanced students though...
you can do it with choreography to some extent too, at least in class... eg: fwd and back step ( easy peasy) and for improvers add a 3/4 shimmy or hagalla ( not so easy...) :o)

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Hi everyone,

I am teaching at a new studio, which I'm excited about! However, they want to start with beginner classes and I know some of my former students want to attend. How do you deal with a mixed class?

I've been teaching mixed ability for years. Intermediates are usually quite happy to be taken back to basics for the first part of the class, whilst beginners are quite happy to dance along to the more advanced parts so long as they have had 'their' bit at the beginning. It's a case of being organic rather than too structured. Every week is different, I don't have a set structure. My MA class has been running successfully for over 13 years, so I know that I'm doing something right.

As it is, only a few of my former students are at this class (more will sign up for the next session). I'll look into the idea of having a teacher's assistant or assigning more difficult moves to the intermediates.