How to make the first lesson interesting?

goddessyasaman

goddessyasaman

New member
Kashmir said:
Have to agree - it'd be just the one class for me if the teacher presented me with ankle (or any) jewellery :D
ETA:


This forum really shows up the cultural differences. Again I cannot imagine this going down well. I have seen well established dancers being presented with names from teachers which they have earned but pick and mix seems almost insulting to te culture.
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what do you mean pick and mix?:think: , also it's not as if they would have to do this, I asked and they all wanted to do so, nothing is forced. as far as how the names are picked I make the names based on the person. Even the women of my troupe have asked me to help them pick thier names, I help them pick based on who they are and it seems to work well and sometimes I give them a place in which they could find a name. How you see it as insulting to the culture I can't understand after all which culture would that be there are many cultures when speaking about belly dance. This made it interesting for them even if they picked a name on thier own it still got them thinking:D
 
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goddessyasaman

goddessyasaman

New member
Shanazel said:
Ahem. As a child of the sixties, I feel obliged to point out that "hippy" refers to the width of a particular part of one's anatomy. "Hippie" refers to the flower child/back to the earth movement of forty years ago. ;)

Yasaman, feel free to present me with jewlery. I prefer jade and turquoise to diamonds and emeralds, but if the sparkly stuff is all you have, well, I guess I can force myself to accept. ;)
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Oh yea if you give me your address I will ship you some, really I will i have thousands of piece of jewelry and I give it away all the time :D

Oh I would do a lot of different things for my students. I Bought them all thier very own belly dance belts and I would buy all kinds of Jewelry for them each month just because.

When I gave my students thier first rectial I made all the bras for them I bought all the skirts the bodysuits and belts to match, I just got all the sizes and gave them thier first belly dance outfit(Our colors were Purple and black. They each did a solo and three group dances with me, it was awsome they loved it:D

here is a photo of the troupe -1 she could not make the photo shoot(they all have on the costumes I made/ bought for them. I helped each woman pick there names based on who they are each name is fitting may I say:D

The Infinity Sisters Troup
 
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Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
goddessyasaman said:
what do you mean pick and mix?:think: , also it's not as if they would have to do this, I asked and they all wanted to do so, nothing is forced. as far as how the names are picked I make the names based on the person. Even the women of my troupe have asked me to help them pick thier names, I help them pick based on who they are and it seems to work well and sometimes I give them a place in which they could find a name. How you see it as insulting to the culture I can't understand after all which culture would that be there are many cultures when speaking about belly dance. This made it interesting for them even if they picked a name on thier own it still got them thinking:D
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I must have misunderstood. I thought you asked a few questions then picked a word or two in a mix of Middle Eastern languages for every beginner.
 
goddessyasaman

goddessyasaman

New member
Kashmir said:
I must have misunderstood. I thought you asked a few questions then picked a word or two in a mix of Middle Eastern languages for every beginner.
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No I gave it more thought then that, plus I told them that thier name should have a meaning to them at least thats how I feel. My Belly dance name is Yasaman, but I believe that though I spell it Yasaman it still would be Yasmine which means "beautiful scent or pretty flower" it's persian. I have always loved that name so that was my pick:D
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
I think it is a nice gesture and certainly not one a person needs to be mortally offended by. If a person is appalled by any gift, all that is necessary is to gather one's good manners (aka "social hypocrisy"), thank the giver, and put the gift away until it can be decently and accidently lost. ;)
 
M

moppy

New member
Genmies said:
Hi, I was approached to teach a beginner's belly dance class in my local village hall. I have been belly dancing for 8 years and did several years of jazz before that.

I have been making preparations such as lessons plan, health and safety, music, warm up, cool down and choreograph ( finger crossed I've got everything covered ). The problem I am facing is ' how can I make the first lesson interesting?'

:think:
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I don't teach belly dancing, but I do teach ballroom, so just a few general tips on keeping all types of dance lessons fun -

- Always have music playing. Even when your class isn't using it play it low in the background. Lulls in momentum and awkward silences tend to be magnified by actual deafening silence, so alleviate awkwardness and liven the atmosphere with constant music.

- Show your personality and connect with people. People pay for lessons instead of DVDs because you get the human connection. Create and mold a teaching persona (I believe your teaching persona should just be a magnification of your normal personality) ; are you a clown, a diva, or something else?

- Make people laugh. Tell a funny story about a performance or use a funny analogy. It's disarming and let's them see a less intimidating side of you.

- Try different types of music to keep it fresh - Hip drop to a rap song and shimmy to Britney!

Have fun! :dance:
 
gisela

gisela

Super Moderator
:lol: I'm sorry to say that goes for me too. I go to classes to learn to respond to middle eastern music. An occasional shimmy drill to something else is ok, but for 99,9% of the time I want ME music ;)

One teacher I had, but quit, played way too much Loreena mcKennit. Couldn't stand it.
 
Darshiva

Darshiva

Moderator
I think a more relevant example would be to go with something different but within genre - so if you're using a lot of classics, mix it up with some egyptian pop, etc.
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
Britney in a BD class would definitely send me screaming to the nearest exit! I'd expect a long yellow snake to appear forthwith, for one thing...
 
G

Genmies

New member
moppy said:
I don't teach belly dancing, but I do teach ballroom, so just a few general tips on keeping all types of dance lessons fun -

- Always have music playing. Even when your class isn't using it play it low in the background. Lulls in momentum and awkward silences tend to be magnified by actual deafening silence, so alleviate awkwardness and liven the atmosphere with constant music.

- Show your personality and connect with people. People pay for lessons instead of DVDs because you get the human connection. Create and mold a teaching persona (I believe your teaching persona should just be a magnification of your normal personality) ; are you a clown, a diva, or something else?

- Make people laugh. Tell a funny story about a performance or use a funny analogy. It's disarming and let's them see a less intimidating side of you.

- Try different types of music to keep it fresh - Hip drop to a rap song and shimmy to Britney!

Have fun! :dance:
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Thanks Moppy, my class is coming up and what you suggest is worth a try. I do like using different music to dance but would leaned more towards music with middle eastern or oriental beat. Shakira's good but not Britney or rap music.
 
M

moppy

New member
Genmies said:
Thanks Moppy, my class is coming up and what you suggest is worth a try. I do like using different music to dance but would leaned more towards music with middle eastern or oriental beat. Shakira's good but not Britney or rap music.
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No probs! One mans trash as they say! Any version of that Kiss, Kiss song would probably work.

I think if you're happy, comfortable with and enthusiastic about what you're teaching then confidence and a fun atmosphere will materialize.
 
Safran

Safran

New member
Moppy - I like the idea of having music on all the time. I usually turn it down when I explain things in more detail (i.e. it is a longer talk)... I'll try to keep the music on the whole time in tomorrow's class :)
 
jenc

jenc

New member
Genmies said:
Thanks Moppy, my class is coming up and what you suggest is worth a try. I do like using different music to dance but would leaned more towards music with middle eastern or oriental beat. Shakira's good but not Britney or rap music.
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I really can't see why Shakira is supposed to be good to BD to - I have to give up and sit in a corner whenever Shakira is played. i don't find the rythmns similar at all
 
goddessyasaman

goddessyasaman

New member
Yes I have my music on for the whole class, I really want my students to learn more about the music that they will be dancing to, yes mixing the music up a bit would keep it fun and fresh, I stick to most all belly dance based music, Fast pace, slow, drum based, I use Raqs Baladi, Raqs Sharqi, Turkish, Hindi music, tribal ect. I tell them what kind of music we are listening to as well. Good luck with your class let us know how it went:D
 
G

Genmies

New member
Taught my first lesson... and it went pretty well. All the advice and tips I got from everyone here helps, Thanks!!!::clap:

I did lots of preparation and was focus. The mood in the class was relaxed though I could see a few struggling at times. The feedback I get after that was quite positive. From now onwards, I believe it will be adjusting teaching method to the capability of the students, keep the class interesting and fun. It's still a steep learning curve for me.
 
Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
Shanazel said:
Keeping the music on all the time would make me nuts- guess I'm too easily distracted! :D
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... and also hard for those with hearing difficulties as trying to hear speech over background noise is a frequent problem.

I turn my music off when speaking (except when doing a tour around the class - even then if I need to talk to a number of people the music is turned off).

I guess I consider my studio a place for work not partying. :cool:
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
That's a good point, K. I have a hearing disorder that is made worse back background noise (speech discrimination deafness). It can be very frustrating to try and hear what is being said over the sounds of music and other people talking.
 
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