Thread: Advice on taking over someone elses classes?

First off:I have never taught belly dance to a class. I have taught people here and there and I have been dancing for 8 years. My current teacher has encouraged me to teach my own classes. This is not about my ability to teach.

I'm graduating on Saturday and moving back home, away from my current teacher and other local dancers I respect and want to learn from. Back in my hometown the options are limited. VERY limited. There is the studio, about 30 min away, I danced with for 4 years that never got past the first step, regardless of my pushing, pulling, begging and pleading. That's the only open studio (though I heard rumors they would be closing).

I have been in contact with a girl who is currently teaching at the music and dance academy in the village, much closer to where I live. She is also graduating and moving to Argentina. We had coffee and talked about our styles and we seemed similar in that range, both leaning to Classic American. She currently has a beginner and an 'advanced' class. She said there aren't a lot of students that stay around for more than 2 sessions (usually 10 weeks) and that they move up from level 1 to level 2 after one session. Also she said she teaches a full choreography to each group in each session. I personally don't think full choreo belongs in a beginner class with people who don't know how to dance. There isn't enough time to teach them the the technique they need AND the choreo in 10 weeks.

So, how would you go about walking into a class and changing things to fit yourself OR would you stick with the previous teachers methods?

Also, shes is making 30% of each students tuition. They only do sessions, no drop ins. Am I crazy to think that's really, really low? Classes are 10$ an hour, and they do most of the advertising.

I'd go in doing things "my way."

30 per cent? 30 percent??

I've always heard of 50% splits at studios. Then again, I only know about my little world here in southern California . . .

Deborah

Why would you do it her way? You didn't seem overwhelmed with admiration for the current situation.

Re: money. How much per class would you be taking home? I know a thing or two about the costs associated with running and advertising a studio and they are usually more than folks realize. If their advertising is effective and you like the studio and the take-home pay works for you then what is the problem? (Before we had our own studio we always had to pay a flat fee rent-per-hour and for the first couple of years gross didn't always cover the rent.) However, if the take home is too low then the studio needs to either get more effective with their advertising (draw more students) or give you a bigger cut.

If you take over a class - it' s yours. But you could talk with the current batch of students and ask them about their goals, what they'd like to learn, etc.

Originally Posted by maurazebra

Re: money. How much per class would you be taking home? I know a thing or two about the costs associated with running and advertising a studio and they are usually more than folks realize. If their advertising is effective and you like the studio and the take-home pay works for you then what is the problem? (Before we had our own studio we always had to pay a flat fee rent-per-hour and for the first couple of years gross didn't always cover the rent.) However, if the take home is too low then the studio needs to either get more effective with their advertising (draw more students) or give you a bigger cut.

I went to her class tonight, it was the 'advanced' class. She only had one student tonight, but regualry she has two. Basically she got paid about $6 to teach for an hour.

You cannot have a class with only two students unless they are paying more or you are being paid a flat fee for the class regardless of whether you have two or 30. That's just unfair.

How many students do the classes usually get? Could you re-evaluate the "advanced" and merge it back into the level 2, while adding some extra challenge for them?

Perhaps you could make it so the sessions go level 1.1, level 1.2 (first choreo), THEN level 2.1, level 2.2 so they are progressing at a more suitable pace?

Apart from all the logistical issues, the one piece of advice I would give regarding taking over somebody's class is that you WILL lose some students. Don't take it personally.

Originally Posted by Glindella

I went to her class tonight, it was the 'advanced' class. She only had one student tonight, but regualry she has two. Basically she got paid about $6 to teach for an hour.

Good grief, this situation already has a galore of business issues. The organization's publicity is completely ineffective and/or the previous teacher just didn't know how to make it work.

Well, if you are still interested, you could work up a publicity plan (with sample text and pictures) and a new curriculum and decide what you want to negotiate with the organization. THen show them the plan, and if they bite, get a contract to retain you for x months, so that if you do build up the classes no one gets the bright idea of replacing you with someone cheaper.

Some places are just impossible to work for, though. My daughter taught at two YMCAs in our area. One was on top of it and could be counted on to make sure the publicity materials we prepared got to the right places in a timely fashion. The other was so disorganized that I don't know how they stayed open. Ruric taught at the first one for almost three years, until we opened our own studio. She quit the second one after four months. Same teacher, same teaching methodology, same publicity materials, different places, completely different outcomes.

Having been through this myself (taking over another teacher's class) I can only offer what I learned from experience:

Be yourself, and teach the way you believe is right. You may lose a couple students that were die-hard fans of the previous teacher, I just don't think there's any preventing that. But the ones who stay will be the committed core students on which you can build a new class.

30% is outrageously low - I hope you are able to negotiate better terms for yourself. You should be getting at least 50%, if not more, or a flat rate that's acceptable to you.

And I beg to differ on the choreography question. I started teaching a choreography to my beginner students after years of technique only, because the students were asking for it! Nothing overly complicated, with lots of repetition, using the moves they've been learning. It gives the students a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of the context in which the moves they've been learning live... In fact I've recently started a student showcase hafla that runs roughly every other month, (participation being optional of course), but it's always fun and heartwarming to see the divas emerge :-) That said, it's also a lot more work!

And this is just my opinion, at this point in time... I might be teaching differently a year from now!

I've found there is a student for every teacher and vice versa; different styles attract different students, and it's all good. I've never studied with anyone I didn't learn something from... even if it was how *not* to do or teach something! lol

Best of luck to you... keep us posted as to how it all goes!

I've taken over classes frm two other dancers in my area. Both times I lost people who didn't like the change. be prepared for some students to persistently tell you that 'Teacher X did/didn't do...'.

When another teacher took over the class where they gave me a hard time when I took it over, she told me that they acted the same way to her and I suddenly was the saint of belly dance!

Don't worry about being different from the other teachers. Being yourself is a good thing.

About the choreo question: in my last semester we did more technique and a half choreography. This semester I chose to teach a full choreography to the beginners and I get a very positive response, for all the reasons Maurazebra already mentioned. Students like to see the finished dance, the idea that they have completed and accomplished this in 15 weeks makes them happy. I'm not saying that it is the best option for everyone, but it worked for me. Get started and see what works best for you and your students.

30% could be fine is it is a FULL class and the studio does their part of the work (as in: filling it), but 30% of 2 students is ridiculous.

I get the feeling students don't really stay around, she mentioned that they usually take the beginner class and then the advanced class and then disappear.

I lean towards 'structured improv' in my dancing, I plan to teach a few shorter combos (16-32 counts) based on what they learn each week and then let the students mix it up with a 'free dance' section. That way they can do some real improv or just go back to the basic combos if they feel lost. That's basically how I perform now ..l;,

I have a meeting with the studio owner on Monday, if all goes well she wants me to come on Tuesday to get filmed for the studio commercial. I'm pretty stubborn and there are other options so I won't end up underselling myself