Thread: Help me re-invigorate my classes a little?

I am in the process of reshaping my classes and amallgamating some etc. Now seems as good a time as ever to shake things up for them a little bit too.

I can sense that things are getting a little stale for some. Some of these women and girls have been with me for up to 5 years, so it is only natural. In addition to that , 2008/2009 brought me a cartload of heartache and problems in my personal life, and I know last year at least I got a little stuck on autopilot in my teaching as the brain was elsewhere. I am also suffering from [totally unrelated to dancing] clinical depression at the moment, so it has been hard to be as up and peppy and innovative as I should be. Not that either are excuses- there is none for being lacklustre when teaching- but just so you know where i am coming from a bit.

Anyone got some advice or strategies they wouldn't mind sharing? It varies according to level, of course, but at the moment I run roughly with warmups-drills-prop drill-improv practice[at levels that can take it-chorography [if we are working on one-warmdowns. Dull city after a while, I appreciate, although I try to rotate props per term and throw in the odd game and such for variety.

So what I really would like is-

1] Suggestions of different ways to run a class or session that still gives them value. Perhaps if anyone doesn't mind sharing how they set up classes?

2] Suggestions of games, activities or excercises I can throw into the mix to challenge and excite without scaring the more timid.

3]How to spice up improv practice?

And anything else you are willing to share that might help jazz stuff up a bit.

This is clearly not for the fainthearted or the beginners, but have you tried a seminar approach where the group brainstormed on choreography, or took turns presenting small segments of choreography or improv and then discussed their efforts in group? The success of this depends on having students who aren't afraid to be vulnerable and who also possess an awareness of the difference between constructive criticism and insults, but if you have such a group, this can be a way to really push forward with the sort of idea exchange and feedback that is lacking in many post-beginner classes.

I hear you loud and clear!

Games - pick a card = write out little cards with different moves, travelling steps etc from your syllabus each person picks a random card (you can colour code them into travelling, shimmy, upper and lower body) . Get them into groups of 2 or 3 and have them create a combo - entrance - finale etc. Change up the grouping so that girls who dont know each other that well can dance together.

Pass the parcel = go into a circle - each dancer has to contribute a move which you all do together - as you go round the circle you add the next persons move and you have to remember everyones move. First person does a hip circle, next person does a hip circle and snake arms next person does hip circle, snake arms and head slide etc.

Change up your warm up, use a fun upbeat song then a slower one to stretch to.

Mini choreography - play a favorite piece of music and get 2 groups to creat a 12 count entrance etc to it which the present to the class and get feedback for. If the other students aren't comfortable with giving feedback you can yourself. One good and one not so good comment is fine.

Have them fill in a feedback form - ask them what they like most and what they dislike most. You could be focusing on stuff they arent that interested in. Yuo could also ask the what their expectations and goals are.

I'll be back if I think of anything else.

A

I second the vote for a feedback form that you can then use to help you formulate the classes in the way your students will find most valuable. Why use all that energy creating something that may or may not be what they want?

You could also have them play with expressing different emotions through their moves. Aziza does a really fun workshop with this. She assigns a move, then holds up cards with an emotion on them, and has everyone try to make the move express that emotion. She has teams guess what emotions other teams are portraying.

It might be kinda tricky, but one thing my first teacher did that I loved that I haven't seen since is partner-improv. We'd all be in a circle doing little rest moves or whatever and the teacher would pace the outside and pick two girls to dance in the center - but the idea was to improv with each other - mirror or compliment, figuring out who was leading who was following, all without planning or verbalization. Probably best for a group that's more comfortable with each other.

Hi Amira,

Because bellydance isn't as academic as ballet or ballroom, the quality of the class relies as much on the passion of the instructor as her technical knowledge. If you really can't give the class 100% it may be a good idea to take a break from teaching to recharge. You could use the downtime to refuel your inspiration by participating in other creative activties where you don't have to take the lead.

It may be a good idea to give the more experienced students some independence e.g. structure a class where the students develop a choreography to a piece of music pre-selected by you. Since students take much longer to choreograph than professional dancers, even a 1-minute choreography can take a few weeks to complete, giving you a break, keeping things interesting AND you'll be surprised how much watching them work will inspire and motivate you as well as bring the group together by working towards a common goal. I recommend you start them off with a WOW combo of your own, and keep a few easy ideas on hand for when they get stuck.

If it turns out to be a good dance, you can actually include it in the school/troupe repertoire and credit the choreographers, which will make them feel great, plus one less choreography for you to create. It's a win-win situation.