Thread: What workshop topics are popular in your area?

I've been teaching workshops for about 10 years. While I do travel frequently to teach, most of my classes are actually here in Zurich, often short 2 hours workshops.
I also do some workshop series, like 2 hours of shimmy every month, from level 1 (introduction) to 5 (drills, layering etc.). This topic is so popular, I have run it twice a year for at least the last 5 years! There are always new students who want to learn how to shimmy. ..l;,

On the other hand, I never get more than a handful of students for "Veil 1" and "Veil 2 - 4" never even take place because hardly anybody books these workshops. Hm.... I don't know if everybody learns enough veil dancing in their regular classes?

Other popular topics: Arms, expression, accents
Hardly anyone is interested in: Lebanese style (although when I travel to OTHER places, they are well booked!), balancing in dance, sword dance

I did have a full veil dance workshop in Stockholm, so maybe they just like it better in Sweden? ,r:; And the Californians are more interested in Lebanese style?

So tell me: what are the workshop topics in your area that are sure to fill the classrooms? And what don't people like?
And we'll not talk about WHO is teaching but WHAT.

MEISSOUN

I'm not usually aware of what topics/options were presented to a sponsor, so I can't comment on what didn't get picked, but I can say that it looks like attendance for everything is down. Even workshops that draw a good crowd don't have the headcount that they would have had a couple of years ago.

In my area, it seems that if the teacher has a good reputation, people will come out to see what's being taught. Big names or unusual topics get more buzz than lesser-known dancers or mundane subjects. You can probably get some ideas of what subjects are hot from what comes up in discussions here. It seemed like about a year ago, it was melaya leff, and then after Ranya Renee's DVD came out, everybody wanted beledi. I'm not getting a big sense that anything is really rumbling on the horizon right now, but that's always subject to change. Certainly, one thought would be for you to develop something new and unique and pitch that idea to potential sponsors. The important thing is not to jump on a bandwagon just for the sake of getting on it. Being able to consistently deliver a high-quality product on the workshop circuit is one way to make sure other dancers continue wanting to seek you out.

Even though I have not advertised a lot, we will see how the turn out will be for my Turkish Romani workshop this Sunday...:)
Next month I am teaching Turkish/Greek Chiftetelli, taksim, floorwork...I dont think it has ever been thaught as far as I remember.

Around here (Phoenix) it seems to be more the "who" that the "what" that gets them through the door.

I've seen really unique topics - on styles that aren't taught here locally on a regular basis - get passed up, while a mundane topic like "combos" by a Big Name gets packed.

Personally, I go for the topic rather than the name. I've been disappointed by a few Big Names and their lackluster class material and teaching technique. I've also been wowed by instructors I'd never heard of and fresh material :-)

Mahin
Bellydance with Mahin - Homepage

I noticed it was the "who" in Chicago a lot of times... Sometimes it just wasn't the who but the who was sponsoring them.

Looking at local teachers and their workshops, prop workshops were the most popular that I recall. Danielle's arms workshop was very full, IIRC.

Well, the "name" thing doesn't count in this case because I have been teaching workshops locally for 10 years, I have a "fan base" and am pretty well known all over (I also get students who travel 3 hours to take a class sometimes!).

One topic I forgot is what I will teach next May/June: 4x 4 hours of "how to be a performing solo dancer" (all the tips and tricks about how to handle your audience, negotiate prices, check lists, what music to choose etc.).
It's half a year away and I already have 3 inscriptions. So apparently it's something that people have been waiting for.

So I am looking for other topics that draw a crowd of course

MEISSOUN

It seems like we've had a LOT of Egyptian workshops in my region, mostly choreography. I've actually stopped going to workshops because I find that there's so much overlap in material.

On the other hand, I'd drop everything to go to a Lebanese, Turkish or even Cabaret workshop if it came to my area! Seems like it's been forever since we've had a good workshop in any of those topics.

In Georgia we have a huge concentration of Tribal dancers - I think in part because of the popularity of troupes like Awalim (Atlanta) and Alchemy (Augusta) who've been around for ages. We do have a good bit of Egyptian and "Egyptian" dancers, Aya teaches Turkish in Atlanta and then we have people like Diane Adams who have been in dance for a long time and can teach many things. With that kind of spread, the majority of dance in the state is still very Atlanta-centered and if you are having a non-tribal workshop, it needs to be on a topic that appeals to everyone.

In my events as a sponsor I have noticed that drum solo/shimmy technique and props (particularly veil and sword) are topics you can count on bringing students (of all styles). So I know that when I sponsor something, I always include one of these topics if offered and then add other topics that I feel are of value and are usually very well received after the fact, but wouldn't have been a draw on their own.

Fashions will always come and go and 'big names' are always a draw, though my experience is that apart from Rachel Brice, a large number of beginner dancers simply wont of heard of most of them; its the improvers upwards who tend to be more drawn by names.

Over here, any medium to large festival will always have workshops on arms; veil; drum solo; and shimmies and these will always be booked out, no matter what.

Other very popular workshop topics are Tribal soloist stuff and fusion.