Thread: How do you instill a real love for dance in your students? :)

Hello!
I've been teaching on my own now forrr . . . four years I think, and off and on with my mom as a TA for quite a while. I love love love teaching, almost as much as I love dancing! Over the last year and a half I've been lucky to really cultivate a nice litter of intermediate/advanced dancers from scratch (yay for not having to teach the same beginner session over and over!) I'm super proud of my students and I'm happy to say that they really have an interest in the dance and performing and are extremely dedicated. We've been working on zills and performance technique and I've introduced little bits of language and culture into each class which is fun. But I'd like to push that a little further and really kind of light the fire of this dance within them. My dream is to guide students through the transformation from student to professional. I'd like to ask more experienced teachers your methods of teaching and most of all *inspiring* your students. Of course I realize not every student is going to go pro but I have a class of girls who are definitely on the road to choosing to perform on a semi professional level at some point. :) I feel as a teacher it is my duty to at the very least provide as much as I can to them in an accessible manner so they may choose what to take away from it.
So for those students who are willing to really grasp the more advanced information, what are the best ways of presenting that information in an exciting way that inspires those who are open to it? I am interested in this especially regarding musicality and language, two HUGE facets of this dance I feel are seriously overlooked. I think this often presents trouble for dancers who are told they are advanced (because they have learned advanced moves) and then get thrown into the deep ocean of the rest of the dance world.
I'm sure I have further elaborations on the subject but it's after 3am here and I'm finally crashing, I will add further notes and questions later if need be. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!! :)

You can't. Not in all of them. Not in many of them.

All you can do is share what you know and like, encourage them to explore widely on their own, learn as much as you can to pass on, express what you know and like with passion and preferably in more than one way, and... hope some of it sticks.

Originally Posted by nefabit

So for those students who are willing to really grasp the more advanced information, what are the best ways of presenting that information in an exciting way that inspires those who are open to it?

IMHO, to most students "advanced information" reads "how to make yourself look better while performing and how to market yourself more efficiently." The concept of reaching out to into other academic areas such as Middle Eastern dance history, music, language, and culture aren't terribly important to their mind set. Those are things that you don't need to do a lot of bellygrams, and you only need it for teaching if you're going to be in the rarified air at the tippy top. If you've ever taken a workshop with a BDSS dancer, lots of them aren't experts with this sort of wide, deep knowledge base. They're just really good dancers.

I am interested in this especially regarding musicality and language, two HUGE facets of this dance I feel are seriously overlooked. I think this often presents trouble for dancers who are told they are advanced (because they have learned advanced moves) and then get thrown into the deep ocean of the rest of the dance world.

Personally, I agree with you, but not everyone is academically minded, and you have to believe that hard, think-y learning is fun to volunteer to study these other areas. If your definition of fun starts and ends with the performance aspects, the idea of researching text and memorizing words isn't going to appeal to you. It's time-consuming, often expensive, mentally challenging work, and some students simply aren't in the dance for that.

Here's the problem: if you don't set the table, nobody's going to come to eat, and if you lay a pretty table, most people won't take the initiative to bring their own plate and silverware. I don't think there is a magic answer for how to inspire students to want to care beyond visibly caring yourself. If you've been dropping hints about all this great information out there and nobody is trying to learn already, that tells you where you stand. There will always be a few rare students who possess a self-generated desire to learn more, but in terms of the rest of them, if you keep feeding them help, they'll take it and continue to expect you'll do the work for them, and if you hold back, most of them will either devalue the importance of knowing or start coming to a place like here and finding someone else to get help from. Is there a chance that the ones who try the latter strategy will "convert"? Sure, but I wouldn't bet my life savings on it.

Passion is contagious!

(Yes, it's a cliché, but true nonetheless.)


Khalida

Inspire by example:show them the difference between 'just a move' and how a move works combined with music, intention and the lyrics. You can't teach people how to love, but you can teach them why you love belly dance. Let your love for the dance shine through when you teach,as often as possible.

Hi everyone! Thanks for the food for thought. :)
Of course I realize there is nothing I can do to insure my students develop an interest in the more academic aspects of the dance - can't shove it down their throats! What I mean is more to be inspiring, and to immerse students in the culture without distracting from the dancing.
For example, in ballet you don't just learn to dance, in fact you can't just learn to dance without the rest of the knowledge in a good school. You must learn the French words, most classes have reverence and standards of etiquette that just isn't seen in the non-dance world (curtseying to your teacher, being very quiet, etc). Or take martial arts for example. No dojo is going to let you enter without removing your shoes and bowing. You learn to count out in the language of the country the style came from, most schools have a pledge or motto. The pledge from my school we recited at every class was "Courtesy, servitude, perseverance, self control, abominable spirit sir! (still remember it 7 years later!)" Most schools will even require that you bow to the flags - American and the country of origin. None of this is offsetting to students. In fact, they expect it! So why wouldn't a student in a bellydance class expect to learn some Arabic words? Not as in reciting words at a certain point in class, but more like explaining lyrics here and there or calling out "Yalla" to get people moving instead of "come on". Or in saying that to really entrance your audience you must express the music from your soul, in a way that produces tarab. Or that when you are listening to a piece of Egyptian music you're not hearing scales, you're hearing maqamat.
These things are what will arm students to hold their own in a conversation at a hafla. And I think that students will feel more comfortable - knowledge is power!
I'm certainly not suggesting that everyone speak fluent Arabic in class, or that they should do tests every month on musicality. Just bits of information here and there, and gently asking questions once and a while ("Can anyone tell me what rhythm this is?). Luckily, my experience with this particular class is that they do seem to be interested in what else is out there. I think the key is to create a curiosity and to make things sound interesting . . . just musing to myself here. :)
Well got to run for now but thanks for the thoughts everyone! Definitely interested to hear more.

Nefabit

I think you can ignite the passion, but you can't force them into it. What I tend to do, is offer my students little bits of information - in class, but also by e-mail. And I let them choose for themselves, if they'll just listen, acknowledge, or ask further questions.

For example, at the beginning of each new topic, I send them an e-mail with a short history/description/links to youtube videos. I also mention it in class, but I keep it brief, so we can concentrate on dancing. I am glad to say, there are quite a few students who not only read my e-mail, and watch all the videos, but also go on searching for more similar videos.

People come to class for different reasons. You can't fully cater to all, but you can offer most of them options to get more out of the dance.

Originally Posted by nefabit

Hello!
I've been teaching on my own now forrr . . . four years I think, and off and on with my mom as a TA for quite a while. I love love love teaching, almost as much as I love dancing! Over the last year and a half I've been lucky to really cultivate a nice litter of intermediate/advanced dancers from scratch (yay for not having to teach the same beginner session over and over!) I'm super proud of my students and I'm happy to say that they really have an interest in the dance and performing and are extremely dedicated. We've been working on zills and performance technique and I've introduced little bits of language and culture into each class which is fun. But I'd like to push that a little further and really kind of light the fire of this dance within them. My dream is to guide students through the transformation from student to professional. I'd like to ask more experienced teachers your methods of teaching and most of all *inspiring* your students. Of course I realize not every student is going to go pro but I have a class of girls who are definitely on the road to choosing to perform on a semi professional level at some point. :) I feel as a teacher it is my duty to at the very least provide as much as I can to them in an accessible manner so they may choose what to take away from it.
So for those students who are willing to really grasp the more advanced information, what are the best ways of presenting that information in an exciting way that inspires those who are open to it? I am interested in this especially regarding musicality and language, two HUGE facets of this dance I feel are seriously overlooked. I think this often presents trouble for dancers who are told they are advanced (because they have learned advanced moves) and then get thrown into the deep ocean of the rest of the dance world.
I'm sure I have further elaborations on the subject but it's after 3am here and I'm finally crashing, I will add further notes and questions later if need be. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!! :)

another perspective from a student - music appreciation from the get go is what hooked me. if you can play music they fall in love with in class, that might help - regardless of the maqam, rhythm name, etc. a really intoxicating violin taqsim, a 'catchy' drum solo, sweeping melodies, etc. when I was new to middle eastern music and dance, natacha atlas's 'halim' was what got me. very accessible pop that got me more curious about the real thing, and how to communicate it with my body.

The idea of using more modern, maybe somewhat Westernized music is an idea. Maybe it could help get people over the threshold.

I agree with Tourbeau too, many students love academics, most maybe don't, and too much High Seriousness can be a turnoff too, it really depends.

It is so hard to generalize; but I think getting people up and dancing and out and dancing keeps people fired up, although it also opens the door to other issues, such as the hard knocks of the performance world, and, that's totally not going to be right for other students who really aren't interested in performance.

I like the idea of contacting students via email. That way you can communicate with people as individuals.

I wonder what students feel about that? Maybe some would chime in?

Originally Posted by nefabit

Hi everyone! Thanks for the food for thought. :)
Or take martial arts for example. No dojo is going to let you enter without removing your shoes and bowing. You learn to count out in the language of the country the style came from, most schools have a pledge or motto.

I think you've answered your own question about how to make culture/information part of the experience.

A dojo starts with that on day one....not a year or two into it.

The best you can do is start, from day one, to try to find ways to structure your classes so you're bringing in that information, in bite sized bits, often without being didactic. Lead by example, be excited about what you're telling them, or what you're trying.

I know that most of my beginners are going to quickly forget the names of the rhythms we work and drill with and if the rhythms are Egyptian or Turkish or what not...but I'm still giving that information often knowing that in time they'll be able to hear the rhythm, will have a vague sense of it, and if they care enough to want to know more...will learn the name and ask questions down the road.

You'll always have to balance what they are there for with what you want them to be learning.

And, I know it's sematics, but I'd be creeped out if a teacher referred to me and my fellow students as a "litter." I prefer collective nouns used about me and my peers to be those used for humans.

As far as naming rhythms, I don't want to downplay the importance of knowing the names, because it is very useful to have that skill, especially when talking to musicians and other dancers, but it's really more important to be able to recognize the rhythmic pattern in the song, even if you don't know what it is called. Some students have difficulty identifying what's repeating. Unless a student has played an instrument and taken musical training somewhere else, maybe this is the first time they've had to think about multiple instruments playing different parts of a song since grade-school music class. I've met students who were sincerely challenged by the concept of finding the doums in the song and clapping along. Sometimes you have to crawl before you can walk.

I'd contend that the most important thing you can do as a teacher is to make sure everybody knows how to crawl, before worrying about "walking," "strolling," "sauntering," and "sashaying." What do you call it when one drummer is playing masmoudi kebir along with someone going in and out of masmoudi saghier and Saidi? What's the difference between fully filled ayyoub and fully filled fallahi when multiple drums are playing at once? So what? You can't stop the musicians and cogitate on nomenclature. Where are the doums? How many counts in a pattern? Where's the main "Count 1" of the pattern? If a student can't work at this level, then all the rhythm-name memorization in the world doesn't mean very much. If a student doesn't understand the basic principles behind even-count time signatures, then their minds are really going to be blown by the odd-count Turkish time signatures. Get the "feeling" part down first, and then put the academic structure on that foundation.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

it's really more important to be able to recognize the rhythmic pattern in the song, even if you don't know what it is called.

Thank you for pointing out this seemingly obvious fact, Tourbeau. Sometimes I get very discouraged by the attitudes of dancers who insist that unless you can name every rhythm, know all the songs in their translations, and remember the name, birthday, and favorite color of every artist you dance to, then you are not worthy enough to call yourself a real bellydancer. I'm a good dancer. Not necessarily great, but I can hold my own, even improvising to a piece I haven't heard before. It's taken me a long time to reach a point where I can say that. But no matter how long I continue to study (and I am actually very interested in the academic aspect of the dance) I will never memorize all that information. Why not? Because I just suck at recalling information, especially on demand. I can't even remember all the names or lyrics of rock songs I have loved my entire life, or the names of people who are in bands I love - hell, I can't even remember names of a lot of people I see in person on a regular basis. Sometimes I can name a rhythm, sometimes I forget what it is called, but I can always dance to it and to me that is what matters. I have a deep love of dance but I am not a scholar in the sense that I think the OP hopes to mold out of her students. Even though I soak up information, it doesn't necessarily get filed in a mental retrieval system that would help me pass a written bellydance test, which is kind of a pointless concept if it existed. Basically if I learn something that will actually make me a better dancer, it will show in my dancing. If it's not useful or at least emotionally meaningful to me, it will slip away, where to I am not sure because I could surprise myself by remembering it out of the blue. Or not. Perhaps if I encounter the same information enough times it will make an impression, but I am not going to try and memorize a bunch of information so I can prove to the bellydance community how knowledgeable I am. Yet, this doesn't mean I don't have a passion for the dance.

Let them see your passion!
I agree with much of what has already been said, and it does sound like you are on a good road already.

Some other practical things you can do to help them find the joy in just dancing (and things I wish I could do WAY more often!) Provide live music to work with whenever possible- after years of dancing, that was like magic for me and took dancing to a whole different level. Provide casual dance experiences for them- host a real kick-back hafla (as in don't schedule performances but just let folks social dance. There are so many definitions of hafla these days!) or a drum & dance circle.

& most of all don't get discouraged yourself and be patient with your students. It can take years, even decades before a dancer figures out they really passionately want to be involved at a deeper level. Just because someone can't or won't commit now doesn't mean they never will.

..it is a calling..you are born with it . you can guide , but unless they have it as the core of their being, they will never get it to the extent we do.

Originally Posted by zamora

..it is a calling..you are born with it . you can guide , but unless they have it as the core of their being, they will never get it to the extent we do.

I think, fundamentally, this is true and we jump through hoops trying to beguile people into loving something; well, some do, some don't - most, probably won't stick with it.

It's tempting to beat ourselves up as teachers but why?

That's not the same thing as always trying to improve - but - when it comes down to it what Cory says is right. Lots of people dabble in the arts, few will make it their lives.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

As far as naming rhythms, I don't want to downplay the importance of knowing the names, because it is very useful to have that skill, especially when talking to musicians and other dancers, but it's really more important to be able to recognize the rhythmic pattern in the song, even if you don't know what it is called.

I agree. I drill with different rhythms not just so that I can say the name, but that so we can clap it...drill with the rhythm with our bodies...drill any movements typical to the rhythm...drill with the downbeat of the time signature and I also enunciate the dums and tecs at times.

I'm dealing with a language barrier as well, so I have to constantly be presenting physical examples so they can feel what I want to be explaining. I can't rely on words.

I just tossed out the "naming rhythms and where they are from" as an example of the many bits of info teachers can be integrating constantly into any level of learning from the start.

I really do appreciate the knowledge imparted by some of the excellent teachers I've been lucky enough to have, and learning the names of rhythms and the origins of certain moves has without a doubt expanded my entire understanding of and relationship with the music and the dance. I do think different people have different ways of absorbing and then expressing what they have learned. In my case it seems I can remember names and stories for only so long, but once the moves are in my body they are there for good. I think Cory also made a good point. It seems like most people who sign up for a class or a series tend to peak early in their interest, and then move on to other pursuits, but then there are the rest of us for whom dance resonates so strongly that it becomes an integral part of our lives. My favorite teachers have offered a good balance of intellectual stimulation and movement. I get turned off if the class becomes overly pedantic. A good teacher IMO is one who can seamlessly interweave information with movement in a practical lesson that engages all my senses, making it more likely to stay with me.

First and foremost, let your own passion shine through. Over the years, when I've chatted with other people at belly dance events, I'll ask them why they stayed with belly dance, or why they chose the style they did, and usually it comes down to the instructor's enthusiasm for what she was teaching.

For my brand-new beginners, I usually use a light touch on correcting errors. I'll correct technique that might cause risk of injury, but I don't pressure them too hard if it just looks bad. That's what Level 2 is for....

For drilling, instead of repeating a given building block such as hip drops over and over, I'll build a combination that uses a few different building blocks and have my students drill the combination instead of individual moves. This makes them feel more as if they're *dancing* rather than doing a repetitive exercise.

I spend a little time in each class on improvisation. The first couple of weeks of class, the students often hate it, but as the session proceeds they start to relax and enjoy it. I encourage them to play with it when they go out clubbing.

I encourage them to join me in attending belly dance events in the area. I feel that seeing performances will show them other people feeling passionate about this dance, and help boost their enthusiasm. Attending events together is also a great way to offer the social benefit of belly dancing to students who are looking for that.

Other informal social things can be fun for students - having a sewing party to make costume pieces, or having a video party.

Ok, I consider myself a perpetual student, so I'm sort of coming from the other side but I'm not a teacher, so if I put myself in my student shoes these are things I would have loved if my first teacher had done the following (note: fell in love with the music and dance so there wasn't that much she needed to do as I was desperate to know more anyway):

• bought in a teacher to learn how to play the drum and learn rhythms - after almost 20 years in the dance, I barely remember any drum rhythms, probably because I'm not an auditory learner, rather I like to learn by doing and would have probably learned the names of the rhythms by playing them and not listening to them
• had a live band in the class or put on mini haflas with musicians, as nothing beats dancing to live music IMHO
• maybe have a mini Arabic lesson with a native speaker, learning a few words, or singing along using the new words, that's a hard one, I did a workshop singing lama bada yatathanna and I'm a bad singer which became very apparent so may be a little bit difficult
• Do you have any Arabic areas where you live? For those really willing, a night out at an Arabic place seeing the locals dance and even better to live music is always great fun
• Shira's suggestion of going to performances is spot on, it can be very inspiring (though at times depressing if the performances are exceptionally good or bad)

It's interesting when I was learning Kathak (classical Indian dance) it was expected we would spend another year or two learning to sing, we would need to also learn how to play the tabla and at some point, if I really had stuck with it, I would have had to learn Hindi as well.

The point I'm trying to make is that at some point, a student hits a tipping point - do they go all out, and essentially devote their life to the dance? Or do they enjoy where they are at enjoy their journey, but understand they have other important things in their life and are more interested in having many loves and not just one? I suspect the majority of us end up in this situation, because unless you're going to make a lot of money from all this knowledge, or teaching at a high level, or performing at a high level, what's the point of learning it?

Good luck anyway, if you've come this far to have a base of intermediate/advanced students then you're doing very well. Unless you're in a hurry, I think real love in this dance comes over time and that's something that can't be rushed.

Originally Posted by ozma

I think you've answered your own question about how to make culture/information part of the experience.

A dojo starts with that on day one....not a year or two into it.

The best you can do is start, from day one, to try to find ways to structure your classes so you're bringing in that information, in bite sized bits, often without being didactic. Lead by example, be excited about what you're telling them, or what you're trying.

I think you're right, and luckily I have started from day one. And while most of the girls can't name the rhythms yet, they can hear them, dance them and play them on zills. It's funny how sometimes just vocalizing your thoughts is enough to spark an aha moment. Everyone's input has been so helpful, and there's so much I couldn't possibly respond to everyone! Input from other students has been extremely helpful as well, thank you.
I do think it's all about immersion. I have always had respect for people who can count in Arabic, I think that may be one thing I start soon. My martial arts class didn't count in Korean, and I always wished it did. Just details that create a culture and a feeling that regular life doesn't have I think is what inspired people.
Oh, and I'm sorry you found "litter" disrespectful somehow, I just think words like litter, gaggle, flock are amusing sounding and use them a lot in daily life. People around me know this and just find it quirky. I guess I don't find animals a step down from humans and therefore don't find words associated with them to be lesser. Shrug.

I really would have to caution teachers who don't speak Arabic to be conservative about attempting to teach it. Even when teaching it informally a few vocabulary words at a time, Arabic is not a trivial language, and there are multiple correct pronunciations and transliterations for many words. Personally, I wouldn't recommend going too far down the road of teaching vocabulary without a minimum set of skills including:

• Understanding the letters of the Arabic alphabet (For example, can you explain not just that "albi" means "heart," but why "qalbi," "galbi," and "2lby" might, too?)

• Decent pronunciation skills (Before asking students to imitate what you're saying, are you confident your pronunciation is fairly accurate?)

• Some familiarity with the major differences of the various dialects (Can you make reasonable guesses at what dialect a singer is using?)

This is not saying a dance teacher needs Arabic skills that would allow her to pass as a native speaker. Those three points are Arabic 101 level understanding, which is nowhere near proficiency. However, if you're going to make vocabulary part of your curriculum beyond the typical handful of words like "baladi" and "habibi" that all dancers know, you're going beyond the norm and presenting yourself as a qualified source of additional information...and if you aren't, you shouldn't.

I guess I'm a perpetual student too, esp. with languages. LOL.

So besides Arabic, what about Turkish, Amazigh, Hebrew, Spanish, Ladino, Greek, Armenian, Farsi, various languages from Central Asia, India (including Rom people), Africa etc?

LOL. It's a LOT. Ditto, the study of history and also, religions and other art forms associated with the region which, if you include the Mediterranean as a whole and also Central Asia and North India, really is a huge and complex region but it all bears on our subject. One can also include the many religions that have impacted the area.

None of these are trivial languages OR studies - and all these people and then some have contributed to Middle Eastern culture, music, and therefore dance.

So, I think this is a long range, lifetime study, and all of us have various talents - maybe one has a talent for languages, this would not include myself, sadly! another has a perfect ear for music, somebody else has a great sense of rhythm, etc.

For a dancer, languages are not as important as music imo; and thankfully, there are good translations available!

Naming things can help though, because names serve as memory triggers, but, they can also be misleading or only tell part of the story about a rhythm for example, because some are transnational - therefore, just because something is called something in Arabic doesn't mean it necessarily originated there.

People underestimate both the age and complexity of the Middle East and also the degree of cross-cultural influences. I attended a lecture about Oum Koulthoum recently and the teacher, Felicia Elias, pointed out that "there has always been fusion," a statement with which I totally concur. This goes for dance as well as musical styles of course.

Studying language to the best of one's ability, definitely delving into translations is really helpful though - for example I was listening to a beautiful mushwasha, classical piece of Al-Andalus, very sombre and elegant; so I looked into it; and it turned out to be about drinking.

Who knew? That was a surprise! It shows also that we can't have preconceptions either about people or about cultures, we're all incredibly textured and nuanced and frequently surprising.

Other good points above: making things fun, not being too pedantic, going to performances - now this is important, and I was talking to a friend the other day, younger dancer, well that would be most dancers, and she told me that she'd never performed for a Middle Eastern audience ever.

That really hit me. It explains a lot, really - she felt it explained a reliance on props, what she called "tricks," which we are seeing a lot of; the plethora of dances we see now not even using ME music - so here's a whole different aspect to our challenge, that particularly applies to teachers who are trying to teach old school or traditional oriental dance, which is totally dependent on the music and which comes out of certain culltures.

My city is big enough that one could scrabble up a Middle Eastern audience, and musicians, it hadn't occurred to me though that this would be an issue (like, duh!) because lots of cities are smaller, or more remote, or, people are content to perform within their own community.

Maybe it doesn't matter?

I think it does matter though. Part of the fun, back in the Dark Ages, was meeting and getting to know and performing for and within the communities of people from the Middle East. It was really an adventure, plus, we were able to start performing with live music in an ethnographic setting, right from the beginning and that definitely kept us interested. And when we went to see a performance it was in an ethnographic setting, with musicians, and that was a real joy and an inspiration.

Now, it's kind of academic and it's gotten mixed up with fitness; people think Shakira invented the belly dance, there is all kinds of non-belly-dance belly dance; technique has changed a lot to accommodate modern styles, etc. It's confusing for teachers let alone for students!

Plus, frequently we are performing for each other and that gets a little inbred - how can we generate more interest "out there"? More interest "out there" would help students stay enthusiastic; so would the possibility of making a living as a dancer.

Times are hard too so it's a challenge all round!

A fellow 20 year dancer reminded me a while ago---"Dance for them. show them what they are shooting for as performance."

I actually remembered to do this for both the beginners and intermediates this session.

Hopefully--this will keep some of the beginners around. I have lots of turnover.

I also am having a carpool to the restaurant where i work. The Tuesday in between the sessions( next week) ---we will go and see the Tuesday night dancer( i am there on Thursdays). We'll eat( made up some special menus w/ the owners), watch her and i'll get up and do a song or two. Maybe this will keep the excitement going till the signup for next session.