Thread: Funny Moments in your Class

Sometimes, teaching can be stressful. So let's look at the brighter side, just for fun! Any funny moments or stories from your classes you would like to share?

Here's mine:

The other night I was teaching a private lesson and started on the shoulder shimmy. Eventually my student asked, "So why do they say not to move the equipment?" I responded with a careful answer about boobie shaking, shoulder shaking, gravity, and why we should avoid this and try to focus on that, etc etc. My student just kind of stared at me for a moment before pointing to the mirror with a sign that said, "Please do not move equipment".

Gonna be hard to top that one.

LOL, thank you for the afternoon laugh

Not *my* class, but

....6 of us down on hands and knees doing our best 'squeal like pig" sounds to isolate the muscles for flutters. Boyfriend walks in....tiptoes back out.

Lying on my back in front of class leading a lower body stretch, gigantic fart.

My issue is often that my ability to quickly come up with visuals to imagine doesn't match my Japanese skills at times...so I teach in a mismash of English and Japanese and Gestures.

In a workshop teaching veils I was trying to get students to give their veil some space around their heads. I told them to imagine they had a fishbowl on their head (like a diving helmet) and "don't hit the fish bowl! Go around the Fishbowl!!!" in both languages somewhat and they tried...and then in a bit one student helped me translate better and I got a big OOOOOOOHHHH!!! from one or two of the students. So I had to ask them what I may have said or what they thought I was going on about.

They said, In Japanese, that they thought I was calling them fishheads, which hadn't made sense but they'd tried to imagine it.

Haha!! Those are great. Had another blast during my private lesson tonight. Wrote a combo to teach to my two students that was nothing but traveling steps that you could layer a move with, to help them practice moving across the floor in different ways while twisting, shimmying, etc. Well...after a while, we started getting goofy. We did a crab walk (grapevines, 3-step turns, chasses, etc) and downward facing dog. It was hilarious!!! I should have filmed it

Fun thread!
I had a student who eschewed normal "classwear" and always danced in baggy, ratty jeans tied on with a piece of jute. One day we created a big circle doing shimmy walk and I told everyone to put their arms up--whoops!--the rope-belt suddenly gave out and she was dancing in only her panties and a red face.

She was a good sport.

Thanks, guys. I have no funny stories to share on par with these, but I wanted to thank you all for the genuine belly laugh I just had.

Yea there's no way I could top some of those! Hilarious! The only thing funny that really happened to me is one class I kept getting tongue-tied. I was trying to explain a part in the choreo where some do some pretty arm movements and said, "If you have arms..do this". They all busted out laughing and have never let me forget that.

I was recently acting as "scribe" while our teacher explained a new choreography. She ran through a section of the music: "Okay, now do a step and a hip down and now WAIT and then step and hip up and a soft chest accent and a step two three leeeeeeeeean with the music and a three step turn finish! Okay?"

The dancers sort of half-heartedly nodded. She looked at me. "Okay?" Everybody looked at me.

"Uh," I said, "Well, there was a step and a hip down..."

Everybody cracked up.

I've written about this one before, so if you've heard it...

I was in a "Gypsy Style" workshop taught by Alexandra King. Lots of skirtwork. Anyway, she apparently liked my skirtwork, as she invited me to the head of the class to help her demonstrate a "2 dancer combo". As I walked up, she said "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you.". I reached down, hoisted my big Gypsy skirt up and spread it wide and said "Do I look like I can be embarrassed?!". Hilarity ensued...