Thread: Introducing Bellydance to a Country

Long post... sorry! Part one...

In this tiny African country "entertainment" is local sports, or weddings (a lot of weddings!). Wives (embassies/UN) will run a class of something like yoga or taibo while assigned here, when they leave the class stops. Facilities are very 3rd-world, with frequent power cuts and little infrastructure. Floors can be dirty old carpet or plain concrete. Cost of living is very high, general income very low. A liter of long-life milk costs $4, but you can get a local meal (beans, goat, rice) for $1 - if you can stomach the food and subsequent diarrhea. The average person earns about $350 per year and cannot afford $3 to buy an umbrella in the rainy season.

In 2009 some of the girls at work discovered my Bellydance hobby and persuaded me to share my scant dance knowledge. We worked out in my home one night a week, had great fun and even put on a little "show". There were 7 of us, which dropped to 3 by the end of the 6th month. I showed them two basic dances, one with "veil" - more of a scarf, actually. ;) I did not charge a fee because I am not a qualified instructor and explicitly advised so. The class told others that I am an excellent teacher, nobody has been injured or hurt in any class and I am careful to stress posture and no-strain dancing.

My history: I've had approximately 18 months of instructor-training in a class environment with 2 different instructors, and spent about 4 months dancing restaurants and stuff with a troupe. Then DH was assigned to this little spot and we moved here. The last 2 years I've been working with DVDs: Jenna, Autumn Ward, Neon, Luscious and Love Potion, Sarah Skinner, and Rachel Brice, to name a few. I try to spend about 3 hours a week learning and practicing in front of the DVD, then in front of a mirror. Finally, I video myself about 3 - 4 times so that I can pick up any errors. The last 10 months my dance time has been sporadic due to a neck operation, but I've picked it up again this year.

Now I have been asked to start up a Bellydance class. This time the request has come from a larger group and I'm being pressured by women outside of work who want to take classes, as well as restaurants willing to offer us performance venues. I cannot do something of this scale in my home and will have to find a training venue with costs involved which I will have to pass on. Plus, I do not think I should have to give my time for free in this instance, it's way past the doing-it-for-love requirement.
I've spent the past few weeks reading as much of Bhuz that I can, paying attention to threads that seem to cover issues I've identified and several I hadn't considered. However, I think my situation is unique enough to actually ask for specific input.

Long post, sorry… Part 2:
Concerns (the ones I can think of right now):
1. I'm not a qualified instructor, and consider myself Intermediate at best. I do love to teach and have been told on many occasions (other subjects, not only dance) that I teach well. I am continuing with my home-based personal learning and will attend classes any time I can get to one (none in the past 3 years, but who knows?)
2. Once classes start and money changes hands, this will be considered an income-generator and students will open their own studios, with even less training than I have.
3. Classes are difficult to hold due to facilities and power - the electricity cuts out with monotonous regularity and my humming is likely to get me shot! Unique challenges here!
4. Although predominantly Catholic, the GP has a "covered" mentality. Women are generally clothed neck to ankle, although shoulders and arms may be bare. Even sports attire is below the knee. It may be difficult to keep BD viewed as anything other than "stripper/prostitute" status. Surprisingly, this has had absolutely zero impact on the enthusiasm of ladies to join the classes!
5. I'm pretty much the only "supplier" for BD stuff: belts, music, etc. but am not allowed to ship in via my usual channels for public consumption. I will have to bring the stuff in by courier, which is going to make the costs horrendous.
6. I need choreographies!!!

Questions:
I have about a million of them! At this point, I'm thinking I would be better off asking for input and advice, and to formulate questions from there. As mentioned, I've been reading all the forums trying to get as many answers as possible on my own, so there's a lot you've already answered for me (thank you, much appreciated!).

Final points for you to consider:
Firstly:
based on what I've read and my previous experience in 2009, I've compiled a tentative class outline as follows:
1. Warm up, about 5 mins.
2. Posture, arms: review of posture, weight positioning, arm placement. 1- 2 mins.
3. About 10 mins review of previous lessons, drills
4. About 10 mins teaching 3 - 4 new moves
5. About 15 mins working on a choreography, incorporating previous lessons and new moves, and covering transitions between moves (correct weight placement, change...)
6. About 10 mins improv, music appreciation
7. Cool down and stretches.
Total class one hour.

2ndly: this is a huge undertaking and, while willing, I'm going to be trying to cover as many bases as I can up front. I am unutterably grateful that I have such an incredible resource upon which to draw and profoundly thank all of you for your input, negative and positive, in advance.

Ok... deep breath... open to the floor...

It sounds like your concerns break down into a couple of specific areas:

1. Whether you are qualified to teach
Lots of teachers have started out in your predicament (technically not enough training, a set of potential students, no existing local resources, etc.). Sometimes this works out; sometimes it doesn't. The good news is that you are aware of your limitations, and doing your best to address them. The bad news is that this doesn't change your predicament in terms of getting the in-person instruction you need yourself. Videos are great, but they don't correct you. Have you looked into online private lessons? Some teachers are starting to offer them. Obviously you've got some Internet connection issues, but maybe someone would be willing to help you work around them.

2. The logistics of teaching
Undercutting is partially determined by the local going rate, and where you are, that's very low. People aren't going to be able to pay the rates for classes that they would elsewhere. Finding a safe, suitable place to hold classes that won't make the tuition prohibitively expensive is a legitimate concern.

3. In six months will you be asking, "What have I wrought?"
Will starting a class open a can of worms with lots of people who don't know what they're doing flooding a nearly nonexistent market? There's always a social risk to "coming out of the closet" in an area where the population doesn't understand the dance. How would you deal with that? I suspect that the lack of an existing BD culture also means there is a higher likelihood for fusion, since people who don't know better often don't see a problem with fusing in lots of other stuff (e.g., whatever indigenous African dance they have), either intentionally or unintentionally. What sorts of battles will you be fighting to preserve the integrity of the dance? If you undertake a bigger endeavor, will it play out in a way that has a positive effect on the perceptions of belly dance and yourself, or will you wish you had stayed with your little group of three students in your house?

My feeling is that if you are presenting yourself as a teacher, you should be charging something for your services, but you do have the choice to stay small and hand-pick your students. Just because people say they want something, you don't have to go out on a limb to give it to them. This is not a small step, and you should be prepared to see the same kind of attrition in your student body (lots of enthusiastic students trying it and then dropping out), at least initially. Otherwise, this is one of the situations where getting too big for your britches sometimes works out okay.

As usual, I agree with how Tourbeau has summed things up. I did video reviews and traveled whenever possible when I didn't have access to classes, so it can be done. I really liked doing the video reviews- I taped myself dancing, sent it to an instructor I trusted, and got back my homework assignments for the next couple months. If you have a stable enough connection, you could do this via skype these days!

Music/power outage wise- if your humming is lethal, try using cymbals or recruiting a drummer.

If folks are pressuring you to start teaching, recruit their help to find an adequate space. Make sure your requirements are understood so you have a safe place, but I figure if someone wants it badly enough, *they* will make it happen. You might end up with a space that is not too expensive, or even free while you get your feet under you.

Belly Dancing does not have to bare any skin whatsoever if you choose to play it that way to accommodate local custom. Don't let that become a hinderance if you decide you are ready to start teaching. There are *so many* options for more modest costuming. Honestly, for class you don't need much more than something comfortable and a simple scarf or band of fabric for the hips to help delineate.

Lots of great points upthread.
If the local culture might look down on belly dancing (for what ever reason), and you don't feel you are a qualified teacher yet, perhaps you might open weekly "ladies dance parties" where ladies can get some exercise and share their favorite dance moves.

Also, make sure you go through proper channels if you will be opening for-pay classes. You don't want to get caught running an illegal business in a country where you are unfamiliar with the regulations.

Third, I offer distance learning via Skype and video review. We can work together on this project to advance your knowledge and teaching skills, and bring belly dance to your new community if you like :)
Belly Dance Video Coaching - Bellydance Internet Classes by Sabrina Belly Dancer
just email me if you want to talk about it: sabrinabellydancer at gmail dot com

One totally random thought--you mentioned the high cost of having hip scarves, etc flown in. Are there any local artisans or craftspeople who could make some hip scarves up for you? That way you save money while you contribute to the local economy. They might not look exactly like what you'd get imported from the Middle East (or these days often as not China), but perhaps there are local materials that could be used, beads, netting, shells, metal disks, or whatever other design items might be imported like sequins. If there's an Indian population, maybe you could find binti bells to produce some jingle to your scarves.

You're in much the same position as NZ teachers in the 70s/80s. Teach what you know, adapt to the local aesthetic and ethos for costuming, be prepared for your costliest outlay to be DVDs and music. Learn to MAKE costumes.

Thanks for your comprehensive replies, ladies. I appreciate your input.

My apologies for taking so long to get back to you, I've had very sporadic internet access and wanted to have the time available to work through your guidance and advice.

You have all made some excellent points and I'm very grateful for the input.

Unfortunately, my internet connection is regularly so bad I cannot even hold a skype call without video (to my daughter's frustration). We are in the process of researching a satellite connection and, if this works out, I will definitely look into this. Thanks. Sabrina, I'll drop you an email once I'm connected!

I also love your idea of creating costumes. I'll investigate this option with the local seamstresses and beaders. There are several self-help groups that do beading. Maybe I can introduce some fantastic African-inspired bedlahs? LOL

At this point, I think I'm going to keep the classes to the small, hand-picked group while I investigate the options you have suggested.

A new question did pop up this week though - teaching children. Now, I know that kids in ME learn this practically from the womb, and it is not a sexual dance by nature, but the idea of a group of 11-year olds in BD outfits just doesn't appeal to me. I'm not really sure why. I'm also not sure how to change the dance style and/or my teaching style for children, or if I should.

Any thoughts on this? Do any of you teach children? And if (and it's a really big IF) I do take on a kiddie class, what would be the age limits?

Thanks again for your help.

Originally Posted by Ndi-mi

A new question did pop up this week though - teaching children. Now, I know that kids in ME learn this practically from the womb, and it is not a sexual dance by nature, but the idea of a group of 11-year olds in BD outfits just doesn't appeal to me.

There's no law that says they have to wear adult, "sexy" costumes. There are more modest options, like tunics with sashes over harem pants.

I'm not really sure why. I'm also not sure how to change the dance style and/or my teaching style for children, or if I should.

Children often pick up moves faster than adults. They can also get distracted more easily or become bored with drills faster. You'll have to call that one based on the kids you have to work with. When you start talking about tweens, some are more ahead of their peers in the maturity department than others. Otherwise, I'd say just don't reference adult matters in your descriptions. (Not saying that you do, but some teachers use more "mature" descriptions than others--things involving childbirth or sex, which hopefully wouldn't make sense to a kid.)

I agree, there is no reason you have to stick with skimpy costumes- leotards with skirts, or a beledi style dress would be more appropriate for young girls, in my opinion. My daughter is certainly not going to be seen in a bedlah until she is MUCH older!

I've found that 8 years is the youngest kids will actually pay attention long enough for a full class- even a short class! I've done demonstrations for school groups, formally taught preschool and had my own kids go through dance lessons- under 8s are seriously more 'creative movement' classes, no matter what brand they may be labeled with. At 13, I actually like having a mixed class with adults- seems to help with teen attitudes if you let them know you expect them to behave like responsible adults. Assuming the adults are acting like responsible adults!

Thanks for your input. I like the idea of the harem pants. But I don't think I'm ready to teach young 'uns. I'll have to wait to see how many folks ask for it and then give it some consideration. At the moment I have only had one request for an 11-year old, so I think I'll just stick to "no-under 16" for now.