Thread: Things my teacher didn't tell me!

Hi all,
I am putting together (finally) my teaching workshop templates. I have a question for those of you who have been dancing at least 3 years.

What do you wish your teacher had told you?

and please state if you are a student, dancer or teacher.

My answer:
I wish my teacher had explained about stage presence and projection and had explained to me about an Egyptian tableau.

thanks,
Marta

I wish my first teacher had gotten stuck into me from day one about my posture. She taught correct posture, but I could have used a lot more correction. It's taken a lot of hard work to unlearn!

I wish my first teacher didn't tell me to dance in a "yoga posture", legs far apart, knees bent. Though I am glad my first teacher really hammered it home about isolations.

I just wish she'd stayed teaching in my town...cr.:
I'd still go to regular classes instead of teaching!..g.:

I wish I was taught more about the rhythms used in Middle Eastern Dance and how to dance to them. But there is so much more info. & tools today for dancers than there was 16 years ago.
Tammy

PS: I was in concert band in Middle School and High school, so I did have some music knowledge in general.

I've had a number of different teachers but here's what I wish my first teachers had told me. I will say that they really got the idea of isolations into my head, and should be commended for introducing both zills and rhythms to beginner students.

1.) The origins of bellydance - that it's not from India, despite the frequent appearance of choli tops and Indian jewelry and the fact that some people use Indian hand mudras when dancing - and about the different styles. Not much - just an overview so that we'd be aware.

2.) that you shouldn't show up to classes & workshops in costume. It was fine for our class apparently but it made me look pretty dumb when I showed up for someone else's workshop. Of course, they never told us about other people's workshops so they might not have expected their students to show up for other people's workshops or events.

3.) that a costume doesn't consist of a sheer chiffon skirt (without harem pants or another skirt!!!), paired with a coin belt and an Indian choli top. I would have loved some education on what is a classy costume and how to tell the cheapie costumes from the nice ones. If I were to teach, I'd probably put this into some kind of class hand out.

And I'm a student of about 5 years.

Originally Posted by Nat242

I wish my first teacher had gotten stuck into me from day one about my posture. She taught correct posture, but I could have used a lot more correction. It's taken a lot of hard work to unlearn!

Amen to that! My subsequent teachers have all given correction, but I had no idea with the first teacher that my posture wasn't what it should be. That classroom didn't have mirrors, either, so I couldn't even see for myself that I was caved in and sway backed ,m::

Improv skills are another thing I would have liked from the start, and along with that more music education. Though come to think of it, I suppose most beginners want to move, not sit and listen, so I can see how music education might have to wait a level or two.

I'm still a student at the moment, also regularly dancing in public.

I wish our instructor taught us about the different rhythms. Although I am really loving learning it on my own b/c it makes me feel in some way more intellegent.
I know I'm weird.

Skills from mainstream dance technique: centering, mainstream dance technique's approach to posture and arm carriage and the reasons for it, etc.

History (I had been dancing for more than 10 years before I ever heard such names as Samia Gamal and Tahia Carioca)

Culture

In defense of your first teachers: you probably weren't interested in a lot of personal correction, or learning improv skills via dancing solo in front of everyone: I probably would have died of embarrassment for constant corrections. At the beginning I dint think Id be so involved 5 years later...

I WOULD have wanted to learn zills from the start tho...

How ot put together a set. How to break down a movement. The names of a move and any variations.

{{{HUGS}}}

I wish teachers would teach - from the get go - spatial awareness and being considerate in class to other's space. How many times have we all been whacked in the head while some moron is practicing her arm movements?

Geez, if these girls go on to become professionals they will have a hard time in small restaurants - they'll be stepping on patron's feet (tick: they do that to me in class), slapping them up the side of the head (tick: they've also done that to me) and spinning into waiters.

p.s. the fact that I've been hit and trampled on in no way reflects my spatial awareness

I wish my teacher had previewed the costumes we wore for our first student recital. In retrospect, mine was dreadful. Think big purple grape

I wish my first teacher taught zills from the get go. all my practice with them, workshops, classes i still have trouble with them. I am working on it.
Alrana

I wish my first teacher taught me that it wasn't ok to stick my butt out when I danced. I would have saved a few years of back pain had I known about proper posture.

I wish my first teacher would have taught us that there are different rythms, and different names for each rythym, and that there is other music to dance to besides arabic pop and techno. For the first few years, I thought Alf Leyla Wa Leyla was an Arabic techno song.

I wish my first teacher would have encouraged us to learn what else was out there, to take other classes, and experience other styles, rather than tell us she was the best and the only, and threaten us if we strayed to other classes.

Ever since I have been a teacher, I try to be the exact opposite of my first teacher.

These responses are all merging together in my head into one big purple grape with it's butt sticking out dancing to techno Alf Leyla. Wrong.

Mine would be posture & arms, posture & arms, posture & arms.

Ditto on the zills, rhythms and cultural background. I had to learn all about that stuff on Bhuz!

Also I would like each song to be accompanied by...

"This music is from Lebanon/Egypt/Turkey/England (!) and they are singing about.... it features the X rhythm. See if you can spot it"

I can't imagine how much better I would be at music interpretation if I had begun learning the music styles and rhythms from day one. Also, knowing what the song is about REALLY helps with putting emotion into the dance!

Originally Posted by danielabellydance

I wish my first teacher would have encouraged us to learn what else was out there, to take other classes, and experience other styles, rather than tell us she was the best and the only, and threaten us if we strayed to other classes.

Ever since I have been a teacher, I try to be the exact opposite of my first teacher.

Ditt

Originally Posted by eshe

Ditt

You know what I wish she'd told me?

"Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!!!!!"

Originally Posted by Lauren_

These responses are all merging together in my head into one big purple grape with it's butt sticking out dancing to techno Alf Leyla.....

....playing lousy zills with chicken wing arms. In a too short chiffon skirt ..l;,

Personally, I am quite happy with what my teachers told me.

MEISSOUN

I think my first teachers did the best they could, given their skills and experience. And when I couldn't find the level of instruction I needed in the Baltimore-DC area and went to NYC for workshops, the wonderful wonderful Ibrahim Farrah taught me (kind of sotto voce in master classes) how and when to shift weight smoothly, how to turn, improve my posture etc. I will always be grateful....

Originally Posted by bintbeled

I think my first teachers did the best they could, given their skills and experience.

Absolutely true. AND the yardstick by which you might measure what an instructor should or shouldn't address would be different by 1970 standards than by 2007 standards.

I may wish that my first instructor had taught me/told me/exposed me to a lot of things -- but at the time much of the information/techniques/knowledge wasn't as readily available.

I've got absolutely nothing but gratitude for her -- without her classes, no matter what they may have been lacking by today's standards, I wouldn't be involved in the dance today.

Good point. My first teacher seemed to really enjoy my flailing attempts at dance. If she hadn't given me her warm encouragement I most certainly would be in a very different place today, regardless of what info or technique I'd gotten. So I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Originally Posted by sumayasaahir

In defense of your first teachers: you probably weren't interested in a lot of personal correction, or learning improv skills via dancing solo in front of everyone: I probably would have died of embarrassment for constant corrections. At the beginning I dint think Id be so involved 5 years later...

Posture is a health issue, though, and I think it ought to be constantly reinforced for students. A teacher who sees a student with potentially damaging posture and lets her continue on without saying anything isn't doing her any favors...

Originally Posted by meissoun

....

Personally, I am quite happy with what my teachers told me.

MEISSOUN

*Nods enthusiasitcally* Warning: Shameless plug coming... Both of my primary teachers "gently" drilled into us the importance of posture-posture-posture to protect and prevent injury to the back, knees, etc. From Day 1, N & Z stressed respect for the M.E. culture from whence raks sharqi came and would tell us synopses of songs meant (that we were dancing to), to the best of their capabilities, and why it was important to know ("You don't want to be grinning like a goon while you're dancing when it's a sad love song!"). And they always encouraged us to do research on our own here on Bhuz or other sites (Hi, Shira!) for the things we didn't know. I'm very pleased with the solid foundation I received in my belly dance education.

Originally Posted by sumayasaahir

In defense of your first teachers: you probably weren't interested in a lot of personal correction, or learning improv skills via dancing solo in front of everyone: I probably would have died of embarrassment for constant corrections. At the beginning I dint think Id be so involved 5 years later...

I started thinking along these same lines as soon as I read the first response.

I think one must consider at what level are the students in question. I use the word "beledi/masmoudi" (select from your choice of spellings!) to identify that particular rhythm and most people look at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. Ha! I guess I am speaking a foreign language! (I crack myself up. Sorry . . .)

It isn't particularly appropriate to go into long-winded lectures on any particular subject with new students. Even the ones that are interested in history, musicality and all that other good stuff simply can't absorb it all.

I have a hard enough time getting people to even hear phrases in a piece of music . . . heck, forget about phrases . . . most people can't hear changes in music at all, even at full volume with me screaming, "hear the difference in the music now? Hear how it has a smoother feel to it?" (I know, mixed metaphor: it's kinda hard to feel smoothness when one is hearing something . . . ) Additionally, I don't just say there's a change, I demonstrate a way to dance the change; occasionally I get someone with a look on her face that tells me she understands what I'm saying. Mostly, I just get "huh?"

In virtually every class of every session, I bring up musicality and dancing to the music, and posture and all that good stuff. For those who are interested and are able to catch on, this repetition can eventually find their way into the inner recesses of their minds; then, when they go to a workshop and hear the exact same ideas expressed in virtually the same way, a little lightbulb will go off and they might suddenly "get it." Then, I get a report about how fabululous the workshop teacher was and how he/she told them about this and that . . . the identical this and that they've been hearing in my classes for months or years.

Ummmmm . . .

Sorry.

I think I went off into a bit of a rant.

:Aembarassed:

Deep breath.

Okay.



on to the next page, as this is 'way too long winded for a single post!

Deborah

Sorry this is taking so long, but this is something about which I am very passionate.

In my opinion, students starting out need to know a few things about this beautiful dance art:

1) that it is based on a social dance done by men, women and children of all ages at gatherings, celebrations, just about any ol' time; 2) that not everybody who is from the ME knows how to (social) belly dance anymore than everybody in the USA knows how to waltz; 3) what we teach in our classes is a theatrical version of the social dance and it can be extremely complex; 4) that even with the potential complexity of the dance, everyone can enjoy BD in a social setting; 5) that we don't really know the origins of BD, but we know these movements have been in use for over 100 years thanks to film records. Most ideas earlier than the 18th century are, by their nature, a fair amount of speculation; 6) that I never thought, not once, during 26 hours of labor, about doing BD to shorten the birthing of my children.

I say all this upfront in the first class of a new session and continue to reiterate small bits of it in every class of that session. (well, maybe not that part about the childbirth ..g.: )

Additionally, I believe instructors must absolutely focus on posture and how that posture relates to safe and correct dance technique, but without beating up that lovely social dancer whose bottom sometimes shifts a bit to the back.

On a related topic, we must make it clear that belly dancing is a wonderful thing for its social aspects, but those who wish to perform for an audience of folks other than their families and closest friends will need to commit to a higher level of practice and instruction. I make it very clear in my beginning beginner classes that although students are learning foundational movements, everything they are learning and practicing is essential for their development as dancers should they wish to continue to upper levels; this is why I try to bring up musicality, a bit about staging, stage presence, etc.

I guess I try to get the folks to a place where they are excited about the dance, and the possibility of performing for those who desire it, while learning correct technique and differences in style.

And for all you teachers out there who teach finger cymbals from practically day one . . . I would've lasted 10 minutes in your classes! I would not have been able to learn to dance and learn to play those blasted things (which I love and play very well, actually) . . . I admire those who can! :thumbs_up:

Deborah
the long-winded

Originally Posted by casbahdance

In virtually every class of every session, I bring up musicality and dancing to the music, and posture and all that good stuff. For those who are interested and are able to catch on, this repetition can eventually find their way into the inner recesses of their minds; then, when they go to a workshop and hear the exact same ideas expressed in virtually the same way, a little lightbulb will go off and they might suddenly "get it." Then, I get a report about how fabululous the workshop teacher was and how he/she told them about this and that . . . the identical this and that they've been hearing in my classes for months or years.

Deborah, I'm so sure that happens because I have had stuff go off like a lightbulb in a workshop and then my teacher, standing next to me, said "I taught you that in class already!"

Sometimes you just need to hear it another way.
At the same time, if your students weren't getting the information from you in class, they would be staring at that workshop teacher with the same blank stare they gave you.

Deb, I'm laughing so hard. Not at your poor uncomprehending students (haven't we all been there?) but at the image of you all crazed in front of the classroom waving a wire hanger & yelling 'Can you hear it NOW????'