what makes a good instructor?

I was just wondering what do you think makes a good instructor...asides from personality and patience.

For the poeple here that teach, how long have you danced for? Do you do any other type of dance? Any tips...am now contemplating the idea of traveling a bit to get to a good teacher

knowing about the history of the dance is very important, you have to ask yourself if you are ready to represent the dance with dignity, and to safely teach it to others, ( without causing injury to the body ) knowing about other dance styles is helpfull but not really necesary, I will sugest not less than four years of intensive training before you start teaching, if all the dance you have seeing is in videos, is more likely you need to learn the dance from a real teacher before you conssider teaching. Marie

If you find a teacher who you would like to learn from but isn't in your area I would really encourage you to travel to the classes if at all possible. I've been doing this for the last few years and it really is worth it. Most teachers will let you trial a class (or at the very least watch one) to see if they are offering what you are after too, so shopping around a little before enrolling in classes is a good idea if you can.

Honesty, integrity, and dedication.

As I see it, someone can start to teach ONLY when fell the HUGE need to share the knowledge, the love, and the joy that he/she feels about the dance.
Teqnice is ofcourse important, and experience etc.
Now about the normal things lol (the first reason is more mental, and heart one)

Hard work, hard work hard work.
We have to find ways to explain things so students understand them.
Be patient, have a communication gift always help.
Not be focused at the money part, or at the fame part.
Having soul !!!

Or maybe its just me being romantic again lol

Maria Aya

Thanks for the tips

Just to clarify I am looking for a teacher, not wanting to teach :lol:

I think I know what I dont want

Its great so many of you are so dedicated to this dance...the enthusiasm is very infectious.

Maria_Aya said:

As I see it, someone can start to teach ONLY when fell the HUGE need to share the knowledge, the love, and the joy that he/she feels about the dance.
Teqnice is ofcourse important, and experience etc.
Now about the normal things lol (the first reason is more mental, and heart one)

Hard work, hard work hard work.
We have to find ways to explain things so students understand them.
Be patient, have a communication gift always help.
Not be focused at the money part, or at the fame part.
Having soul !!!

Or maybe its just me being romantic again lol

Maria Aya

Click to expand...

Ditto
Yasmine

Instructor

Dear Djmum,
Here are some things that make a good instructor.
* A strong working knowledge and a passionate love of what it is that you want to teach, and the knowledge that you, yourself must never stop leanring. Being a perpetual student keeps you in touch with your students, and their victories and frustrations!
* Being able to pass on a firm physical foundation in the dance style that you are teaching, and understanding where it goes and why.
* An awareness that each student who comes into the class is an individual with specific needs, specific learning style, and a specific reason for being in the class.
* Being able to step outside oneself to really try to look at what they student is doing in order to help that student perfect movement
* Patience and sense of humor
* The ability to critique and praise in such ways as to give the student genuine encouragement.

Re your other questions. I have been dancing for nearly 33 years. I have never studied any dance form but Middle Eastern/North African. There are certainly instructors out there who can make it worthwhile to travel!! I hope you find an ideal match.
Regards,
A'isha

I often wonder how you all stand it when you have to go over the same stuff ad nauseum - it's so embarrassing as a student when I feel I know she told us that a thousand times but I still don't get it *arrrgh*

Gabi said:

I often wonder how you all stand it when you have to go over the same stuff ad nauseum - it's so embarrassing as a student when I feel I know she told us that a thousand times but I still don't get it *arrrgh*

Click to expand...

Hi Gabi, this is where the patience comes in. I realize that even I as a person needs someone to explain things differently and repeatedly before I understand what is being said. As a teacher it's important to use multiple technqiues and analogies before a student "gets it". I realize its embarrassing for the student at times, which is why it's important not to overcorrect.
Yasmine

Teaching

Dear Yasmine and Gabi,
I call these movements that are difficult to get, "Nemesis Movements". We all have that one movement that we just can not learn for ages. I believe that this is because a lot of belly dance movements are not based on having physical strength but on building neurological connections, and sometimes it just takes longer for the body and brain to agree that the person can do the movement. Somtimes it just never happens. I have a Soheir Zaki lock with the ribcage that I have been trying to perfect for about 10 years and it still looks awful. There are also movements that, after trying to learn them for a long time, it's like magic and one day you can just wake up and DO them!! This has
happened for me over and over again and it is the reason that I think the way I do about learning the dance.
Sometimes you can go to a different instructor and that person can explain it in just the right way to help a student make the connection. Feiruz Aram taught the upward body undulation in just such a way that, after having tried to master it for about 5 years, her technique for teaching it was like a miracle for me. The same instructor might not be able to help someone else do the same movement.
Anyway, the Nemesis Movements happen to everyone and I agree with Yasmine that there is no positive result in getting too intense about teaching a movement to a student who just needs more time with it. Also, if a student never does get the movement, there are plenty of others to choose from as long as the student has firm basics.
REgards,
A'isha

Gabi said:

I often wonder how you all stand it when you have to go over the same stuff ad nauseum - it's so embarrassing as a student when I feel I know she told us that a thousand times but I still don't get it *arrrgh*

Click to expand...

That's actually one of the more interesting challenges of being a teacher. How many ways can I think of to say or demonstrate essentially the same thing before I hit on the magic formula for a student who is struggling? Sometimes, though, it just ain't gonna get got, and that is not a tragedy of Greek proportions. God knows, I have learned to work around my share of weak points and still be able to put on an acceptable performance. No reason students can't learn to do the same thing. That's a valuable lesson, too.

A'isha Azar said:

Dear Yasmine and Gabi,
I call these movements that are difficult to get, "Nemesis Movements". ..........I have a Soheir Zaki lock with the ribcage that I have been trying to perfect for about 10 years and it still looks awful. There are also movements that, after trying to learn them for a long time, it's like magic and one day you can just wake up and DO them!! ........REgards,
A'isha

Click to expand...

Ahhhh thanks for the encouragement and hope for "Aha moments". At my age I have only so much time to get better before I'm going to be fighting getting more limited :lol:

Teaching, etc.

Dear Gabi,
I consider myself to be a better dancer now than I have ever been. Somewhere along the line I have learned that the physical limitations of my age and body are not the mark of what makes me a dancer. It is the ability to transmitt what the music is saying and what I am feeling within the boundaries of authetic movement and spirit that make me a good dancer. Fortunately for me, belly dance is not very externally athletic, but is instead about utilizing certain types of movement to the fullest within cultural boundaries that do not require me be able to do splits, backbends, jump through hoops or any other very strenuous movement. That, I think is part of why the dance is ageless. Each time of a dancer's life can be a vehicle for bringing out special characterisrics of the dance itself.
Regards,
A'isha

Gabi said:

Ahhhh thanks for the encouragement and hope for "Aha moments". At my age I have only so much time to get better before I'm going to be fighting getting more limited :lol:

Click to expand...

Being able to break down the move so it's seems so basic even though it really isn't! My teacher was telling me that in Egypt you basically follow the teacher and learn by watching and copying. I would have quit ages ago hahaha. Other factors which i think are important include:
*being passionate and living and breathing the dance and therefore needing to pass it on
*Not corrupting the art with moves that belong in a jazz class!
*Knowing the history.
*not teaching a choregraphed piece for a term
*Patience
*Respect for the art
*Being able to positively critique students and give them appropriate feedback
*The ability to dance gracefully that people are swept off their feet when they see and just need to learn!

In addition to this i think that there are many people who take lessons for 2 years and think they can start teaching. This is unfair to students as the teacher is really a student themselves!!

I agree with Wildfire. Looking at the list I really appreciate my teacher! (well I did anyway, but these lists confirm it).

Also I'd add
* letting students know about other belly dance events and encouraging them to go to workshops etc.
* helping students who want to do it to perform, eg. having class recitals, or taking the class to perform at other events.

IMO the teaching after 2 years thing is like thinking you've conquered the mountain when you're only in the foothills. Well done for finding this little hill easy, but that's the mountain over there...

A'isha Azar said:

Dear Gabi,
I consider myself to be a better dancer now than I have ever been. Somewhere along the line I have learned that the physical limitations of my age and body are not the mark of what makes me a dancer. It is the ability to transmitt what the music is saying and what I am feeling within the boundaries of authetic movement and spirit that make me a good dancer. Fortunately for me, belly dance is not very externally athletic, but is instead about utilizing certain types of movement to the fullest within cultural boundaries that do not require me be able to do splits, backbends, jump through hoops or any other very strenuous movement. That, I think is part of why the dance is ageless. Each time of a dancer's life can be a vehicle for bringing out special characterisrics of the dance itself.
Regards,
A'isha

Click to expand...

I've been thinking and thinking about this and I wonder .... do you think this can also apply to people who learn the dance at an already *cough cough* advanced age? I can see that the moves can be almost as gentle as we care to make them but still it is a surprise to see how much some parts have gone to pot i.e., posture :shok: and the isolation can be really weird if you aren't used to the movements. Being pretty athletic already I find I have more trouble with some of the refinements than anything strenuous also, moves that are quite opposite from the movement I've been used to and WoW those posture muscles, I've been slowly sinking into the olde lady posture of neck out, shoulders slumped forward, chest in stomach out .... you get the idea.

Instructor, etc.

Dear Gabi,
The first thing to have is AWARENESS that you can change your posture, unless you have terrible arthritis in your spine or some similar ailment. Every day, start out by standing up straight and feeling what that feels like. Each time during the day that you think about your posture, if possible, go to a mirror and straighten up, being aware of what that feels and looks like.

I have had students as old as 80 and I believe they saw some improvement in their physical selves due to the dance. We should have reasonable expectations for ouselves. For example, I have recently decided to put a lot of energy into learning Turkish Rom dance. I expect I will never be a truly great Turkish dancer because I do not have the lifetime left to really experience the dance and and its essence in the way that I have with Egyptian dance. But, I have an awareness of my limitations here, and can still work to my fullest potential in the dance form. I do not yhave to be an expert at everything, but I do have to be real about my limitations and not lead anyone on about my skill and knowledge level.

Regards,
A'isha

Gabi said:

I've been thinking and thinking about this and I wonder .... do you think this can also apply to people who learn the dance at an already *cough cough* advanced age? I can see that the moves can be almost as gentle as we care to make them but still it is a surprise to see how much some parts have gone to pot i.e., posture :shok: and the isolation can be really weird if you aren't used to the movements. Being pretty athletic already I find I have more trouble with some of the refinements than anything strenuous also, moves that are quite opposite from the movement I've been used to and WoW those posture muscles, I've been slowly sinking into the olde lady posture of neck out, shoulders slumped forward, chest in stomach out .... you get the idea.

Click to expand...

A'isha Azar said:

Dear Gabi,
The first thing to have is AWARENESS that you can change your posture, unless you have terrible arthritis in your spine or some similar ailment. Every day, start out by standing up straight and feeling what that feels like. Each time during the day that you think about your posture, if possible, go to a mirror and straighten up, being aware of what that feels and looks like.

I have had students as old as 80 and I believe they saw some improvement in their physical selves due to the dance. We should have reasonable expectations for ouselves. For example, I have recently decided to put a lot of energy into learning Turkish Rom dance. I expect I will never be a truly great Turkish dancer because I do not have the lifetime left to really experience the dance and and its essence in the way that I have with Egyptian dance. But, I have an awareness of my limitations here, and can still work to my fullest potential in the dance form. I do not yhave to be an expert at everything, but I do have to be real about my limitations and not lead anyone on about my skill and knowledge level.

Regards,
A'isha

Click to expand...

Thanks, that makes sense. Yes, there is comfort in realistic expectations; you can learn just for fun .

The posture thingie LOL - I am just around now getting aware that it's not sticking my chest out, it's standing straight.

Enjoy the Rom, it looks like great fun