Thread: Preparing to Teach

I know this has been discussed sooooo many times, but hey why not one more time?! ..g.:

I've been dancing for about 4 years and would like to test the waters for teaching sometime in the next year or so. I think I am getting to the point where I would feel comfortable instructing people (I've taught some classmates a choreo, and have helped them with certain moves they didn't understand), but am wondering about how to get started.

I've thought about offering to teach a few of my nondance friends - just a small "teaser" workshop, 1/2 hour or so. I want to see if I can identify and correct problems with posture, execution, etc. If this goes well, I want to start contacting places offering my services. But I'm a little afraid of how to market myself, since I would have no experience. Do places like gyms, dance studios, colleges, etc. interview you to see how much experience you have teaching? Or does experience just not matter? Maybe these places hire whoever will pay the rental fee (if applicable)...

What is the best place to start? I would like to eventually get into teaching at colleges/universities, especially my alma mater since I know physical ed. classes are required to graduate.

Again, I don't exactly plan on teaching classes any time soon, but am working on a plan of action with goals, etc.

Safiyah, I think it's a great idea to use your friends as guinea pigs! They'll be forgiving of your inexperience.

Here are some more ideas...

Create a syllabus. By this, I mean figure out whether you would want to teach in "sessions" (ie, a group of weeks that have a beginning, middle, and end) or "ongoing" (ie, meaning that a new student can join at any time. I personally like to teach in 7-week sessions, but I know other teachers like to do ongoing. Then, once you've made that decision, make a plan for which moves you would teach, how you would teach students to put them together (ie, combinations or choreography), etc. This planning stage not only helps you organize your thoughts, but also helps you identify areas where you may feel you have gaps that you need to fill.

Create a beginner choreography. Whether or not you actually end up using it in your classes, the exercise of creating it will teach you a lot about how to choose moves that are beginner friendly, how to create a choreography that is fun to do but not too hard, etc.

Think about getting a group fitness class certification from one of the organizations that offers it such as ACE (American Council on Exercise) or AFAA. The knowledge will be beneficial, and many gyms won't hire you without it. Bonus: having an ACE certification should qualify you to buy affordable liability insurance to insure yourself against a student being injured in your class.

Get at least 3-4 beginner level instructional videos taught by instructors that are highly praised by the dance community. (I'm sure fellow Bhuzzards will offer you their favorites if you start a thread about it.) Study the craft of teaching as exemplified by these master instructors. What words do they use to explain common moves? How do they describe correct posture? Which moves do they teach, and what guidance do they give students in putting the moves together into a dance? Which of their methods do you agree with? Which do you disagree with?

Cross-train in a dance class that teaches classical technique - ballet, modern dance, or jazz. Study how those instructors approach such dance fundamentals as posture, centering, arm carriage, etc. Again, give it some thought and ask yourself which of their techniques feel "right" to incorporate into teaching belly dance, versus which don't?

Actually, these are all things that I've been working on. I have an "intro to bellydance" sheet that describes the history, styles, etc. Also, I have an 8-week syllabus that I really haven't worked too much on. I want to start working on a very basic choreography...I've also considered getting certified for group fitness (ACE). This is all really important to me, as I don't want to be that unorganized, uninformed instructor!

I will look through my beginner DVDs for ideas about descriptions. I've been searching for adult ballet classes but can't find any right now that fit my schedule :( I really want to take ballet and may eventually enlist the help of a ballet instructor for a few private sessions to go over things like posture, arms, turning.

Thank you for your help, Shira! Your site is really helpful, too. I've consulted it hundreds of times!

Safiyah, it sounds like you have a great head start!

Regarding your marketing questions, it's a sad fact that many of the city-run recreation programs, school-run adult education programs, and gyms really don't give a damn whether the instructor knows anything about belly dance or not. If she approaches them and says, "I want to teach belly dance," they might take her on, no further questions asked.

Regarding marketing, I suggest you start by teaching a class offered by an institution that will do some of the marketing for you - a city-owned rec program, a gym, or an adult ed program. This way, you can initially focus your attention on the classroom experience, without spreading yourself too thin learning business details at the same time. This approach also cultivates relationships with people who can later serve as references on your behalf when you're ready to look for the college-level teaching job that you aspire to.