Thread: Review of Hadia’s Teacher Training Levels I & II: Feb/Mar 2008, Montreal, QC

I guess I'll have to dig out the 4-dvd set again. I bought it last summer but frankly, the material didn't appeal to me much at the time (she also does a choreography to a song I can't stand at the moment!). Seemed so clinical (right, duh), unlike her earlier series. Which I went back to recently, and um, have been practicing her tick-tock hip move. Which she probably doesn't teach anymore!

I have a series of dvds by another well-known dancer and instructor and while I like her style, I must say even this non-Hadia-trained dancer recognized some pretty harmful technique.

I am an aerobics trainer and had to learn at a 2 year course at the Medical University Sports Faculty in Hungary , where I live, to be able to teach, and then took up jazz ballet. and in jazz the pelvis is always straigth up which means yeah, it is tucked in. However harmful they say it is - in jazz it works and everyone has a good posture, no crunch, no back-aches...so what I learn at jazz classes I try to apply at my bellydance classes. Some students can stand and work with heels togehter feet apart (like ballet positions of the feet but a bit more loose) , some have to use parallel legs. Some can do things with bent knees, some prefer soft straight knees. What I do is try to avoid exaggerating anything, I try to do everything safely and ask for feedback if something feels bad. I first teach mayas heel down and when breakdown is OK and they start to dance with it we go up heels.
It would be wonderful to go to Hadia's course, but, for me it is a bit far...very much far:) Although I have been teaching various tnings from pilates to dance for 8 or 9 years now, I myself face backache and very rarely knee.ache.... So it was very good to read what you all wrote, thank you. I will listen to my body much more, to find out what feels good and keep on asking for feedback from my students. BUt all I know is without the jazz ballet training I would not call myself a dancer. ( unfortunately I took it up 2 years ago. little time... I wish I had had the possibility earlier but I didn't) Jazz for bellydance is necessary, crucial, important, significant, and so on:)
Dance art changes, what was said to be correct in the past might be incorrect now - I hope I will learn as long as I teach to avoid causing damages to anyone.

Originally Posted by Adishakti

As for posture, I hate to post an example, particularly since this girl is so adorable, but it's important. Here she talks about protecting the lower back, but this is a very popular posture in belly dance that is detrimental to your body. (The tuck harms, not helps).

It's interesting that while she verbalizes the tucked posture once she lifts through her rib cage her knees straighten out and her pelvis sits more neutral rather than tucked...

I thought the emphasis on over tucking was easing off? no?
I need to "tuck" quite bit to get my pelvis into neutral because of my lordosis but as a teacher I need to be aware that my students will have different postural peculiarities and require individual instruction on how to achieve safe dance posture.

Much of Hadia's course sounds like our 'safe dance' programs over here... though of course she has all the extra ME focussed goodies...

Originally Posted by Adishakti

Here's an old video of me... at 1:34, I do some of those tick-tock things. Bad, bad.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8TOi_MBlHU]YouTube - Adishakti - El Fen[/ame]
And you know, if I remember right... I was having lower back issues when I was working on that piece which makes total sense to me now.

As for posture, I hate to post an example, particularly since this girl is so adorable, but it's important. Here she talks about protecting the lower back, but this is a very popular posture in belly dance that is detrimental to your body. (The tuck harms, not helps).
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQj3zB5Iyp0]YouTube - The Art of Belly Dancing: Video Lessons for Beginners : Posture in Belly Dancing[/ame]

Most hip movement, within a comfortable range of motion does not harm the back at all. I'm not saying you can't bend the knees or tuck the pelvis... it's just not a posture you should apply as a standard or neutral in dance. Besides that, try tucking like this and bending the knees... hold it... now walk. Does it look pretty? ;-)

Anyhow, I think that's about all I should share... There's tons more, but this will give you an idea. For more info, you've got to take the course. ;-) Hadia does a much better job at describing these things than I do, anyway! And better still, she clearly illustrates and proves her findings.

I just completed Hadia's Pro Intensive Training Course in Jakarta and I can attest to how fantastic she is. I put in bold the above paragraph because that is exactly what Hadia said to us while demonstrating!LOL

I would love to take her teacher training course one of these days. What she says makes so much sense. Also, I notice that even after a week of training with her, my body doesn't ache AT ALL. Has anyone else who's studied with her noticed that?