Do you teach 'posturing'?

bellybaby

New member
As a teacher i find that although the choreographies that we teach are very important, i find that not many teachers teach you how to use and move your body correctly. by this i mean posturing. For those that a) dont know what it is, or b) call it something else and therfor aint got a clue what im talking about, let me explain.
Posturing is manouvering the body correctly for dance so that we are at less risk from injuries etc. it is achieved by bringing the head up,bringing the chest up, opening out the shoulders. tucking the tummy muscles in and back, and tucking the lower back muscles and bottom under. I know it sounds difficult (and long winded to explain!) but it really helps in not only building a good core, but also achiving a solid base meaning we are less...wobbly? whilst dancing certain steps.
I devote large sections of my classes to achieving this and then regularly shout 'are we posturing' to make them remember to do it. But after a teacher mix up session lately (we invite each other to attend our classes to pick up teaching techniques) where i attended 6 other classes, i was horrified to see that no one else taught posturing and that none of the students were holding themselves correctly, even though the were attempting deep backbends and the like.
So i was wondering do any of you teach posturing? Do you find it valuble? Or do you think im a nutter for yammering on!
Your thoughts/questions please

Bellybaby x
 

Lydia

New member
yes i do teach that....i dont trouble them to much yet in the very beginners class but soon after like 2 months when they go to level 2 i start to,, push and tuk,, on this ..if the posture is not correct dancers just do not look the same it helps a lot to make it all perfect ,the costume will look better aswell ,beside that your body gets a better work out ....so i think it is inportant...beside that even if students just coming for fun and never want to be dancers that perform ...they always tell me that their posture has improved sinds coming to my class specialy for people that work in a office they always are very tensed in the schoulders and now they know how to drop them and relax them ,and how to cary the body overal better so yes i think it is inportant...
 

Chandra

New member
OMG! yes

I start teaching proper posture from word one!
It is the foundation of every movement or pose. If you don't (or don't teach till later) then bad habits form and it is much harder to overcome bad habits/posture than to learn from the start.

But I also teach proper form/technique whether drilling moves or instructing choreos (using the proper muscle or muscle group to drive the movement and taking care not to torque the ankle/knee/back/etc when moving) This is as much to make the dance look fab as to prevent injury.
Sooo many teachers don't...
 

Aniseteph

New member
Posturing sounds like striking strange poses! But yes, we are taught about posture from the start. Things won't look right or move right if the underlying posture isn't there.

I don't have to think about my hips so much these days, but I need to remind myself about the top half. Ribcage lifted - dancer! Ribcage down - ordinary person...
 

Daimona

Moderator
I have never given (or attended) classes or workshops were correct posturing haven't been emphasized - even on advanced level (everybody need reminders now and then).
 

jenc

New member
I was told that beginner dancers don't want to be taught technique - and though this same teacher teaches lots of very difficult technique she has nver mentioned or corrected posture as such. I taught myself this aspect and can usually find that when I am having difficulty getting anything it will have something to do either with posture itself - or with the need to push through with the buttocks etc
 

Aniseteph

New member
I was told that beginner dancers don't want to be taught technique...

:rolleyes:

Technique is just the How To Do It bit, so how can you teach a hip drop without teaching the technique of how to do a hip drop (and the posture)?

Beginners want to learn belly dance, but they don't want to learn how to belly dance? :confused:
 

Shanazel

Moderator
I have run into my share of beginning students who want to dance but who don't wish to work at learning how. it gets 'em in the end, and they either get a clue or they disappear all together.

One student I have had for a couple of years persistently tries something a time or two, then goes back to watching her personal ego-stroking gyrations in the mirror. I am fond of this woman, have spoken to her about it, and she just keeps on doing her own thing. When we prepared for the choreographed dance for the program earlier this month, she found she simply could not keep up because she hadn't learned the basics everyone else has been learning over the last couple of years. She didn't turn up for the performance, the only student to fail to do so. Even my first semester students came and did a very creditable job. Makes me sad. I expect her back in January, and I hope she will turn up for the beginning class and learn what she already should know instead of trying to keep up with the other continuing students. I can talk myself blue in the face, but I can't force her to listen.
 

LunaXJJ

New member
I learned from youtube videos from bellydanceboulevard.com, and even they made sure to explain the correct posture. The show I watch (Shimmy on FitTV) also brings it up in each episode, constantly reminding the viewer to maintain the correct posture.
 

Kharis

New member
It is also the first thing I teach. The ringing reminder cry in my class is, "I see duck butts!"

That's an interesting description. Duck butts. I have a problem with the postural anomaly of The Queen Anne Chair... a stance I perpetually try to correct with certain students.
 

karena

New member
Yep was taught it from day 1. Not the term posturing though, I would associate that with posing.
 

Eve

New member
:rolleyes:

Technique is just the How To Do It bit, so how can you teach a hip drop without teaching the technique of how to do a hip drop (and the posture)?

Beginners want to learn belly dance, but they don't want to learn how to belly dance? :confused:

I have a lady in my class who used to do ballroom, who seemed quite surprised that after two lessons she hadn't quite 'got it'... 'it's more difficult than you'd think isn't it?'

:cool:
 

Prusilusken

New member
Yup; both my (long term) BD teachers teach posture - one of them I find more or less obsessed with it sometimes :lol: and I was "brought up" in BD from the very beginning to mind my posture.

I really appreciate it, since I was - and am, in part due to a medical condition called Morbus Scheuermann (spelling :confused: ) - pretty vulnerable when it comes to that very important part of dancing, and along with some hypermobility in certain joints this condition could have easily made BD into more or less a physical menace to me.

Instead, BD has pretty much "saved" me.
I used to have borderline pains and aches in sooo many joints, especially my knees, all the way back to childhood but as soon as I started dancing a few times a week it got all better, so I know what a difference it can make not "just" regarding to the aesthetic side of dancing but to a body in particular.

Long story short: Yes - when I used to teach, I was very "annoyingly" into teaching about posture, and when (hopefully) I go back to teaching sometime, I will definately continue that train of thought.
 

His_Einna

New member
I don't teach, and have never been taught, but I have to say, I find it impressive just how few instructional websites and DVD's (both beginner and proffessional alike) forgo the posturing advice. I've even seen certain moves described and taught on some sites, such as the Turkish drop, with no safety warnings or information at all, as well as ideas for workouts "for beginners" with no advice or recommendations or even mentions about stretching, warm-ups or cool-downs.
 

Aniseteph

New member
...I've even seen certain moves described and taught on some sites, such as the Turkish drop, with no safety warnings or information at all...

:shok:

I'd be wary of a DVD/site that was trying to teach this even WITH all the safety info and warnings. If I was learning extreme stuff I'd want a teacher there to correct me (and call the paramedics when I put my back out).
 
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