BIG conflict with studio owner

Farasha Hanem

New member
First of all, welcome to the forum, Gypsy Lilah, we're very glad to have you here! :D

Oh, my, what a terrible situation! :( I don't have any experience as a bellydance teacher, because I'm still a student (recently started my 4th year). However, it does sound like to me that you're a very responsible teacher who cares that her students do well. My teacher is the same way. Last year, she watched a performance of a dancer who had bellydanced for years, and yet couldn't execute proper snake arms (or any other move). A responsible teacher not only makes sure her students are learning the moves properly for the sake of doing them right, she also makes sure they do them the right way so they don't suffer a serious injury. Doing a move wrong can result in injury! Imagine your studio owner trying to teach your students how to do a backbend! :shok:

Learning choreo after only 5 weeks of lessons, especially when your students aren't ready, is asking too much of your students. Of course, I wouldn't doubt that some of them may be anxious to start on choreo, and some may even be bored of the drills and repetition. But I can't stress enough how important it is to get those basic moves right, and to layer them properly, before moving on.

Last year, I was given the opportunity to move out of the beginner-immediate class into the regular immediate class. However, I didn't feel ready, because I knew I hadn't gotten the hang of some important moves. I'm very glad of the decision I made to stay back in beginner-immediate.

I wish I had some really good advice as to how to go about solving your problem, but you seem to be a lady who truly loves both bellydance, and your students, and I can't see you letting them be deluded. Hopefully, the teachers on the forum can give you some advice. I wish you all the best. :)
 

Kashmir

New member
I think your approach is spot on. I use it myself. However, it doesn't pay much more than expenses (although that does include some nice workshops :) ) - in my city there is a teacher of a different dance style who pulls in 100-200 students a night, six nights a week. The "dance" they learn is minimal (timing, technique, musicality and correction are non-existent) - but enough drop in and out for "fun" that at $15 a head she makes a nice earner. Sometimes I wonder if I should offer to teach for her. :(
 

Belly Love

New member
I say keep doing what your doing. Even if someone wants to learn for fun, don't they want to do it correctly???

Maybe your students will go to the new class and realize that they are not ready...

Sometimes when people are really eager to learn something, they want to know everything right away (I'm guilty of this too sometimes).

Isn't it the teachers job to be correcting you? That's the whole point of having a teacher. If students just wanted to copy stuff without knowing if they were doing it right, they could just look at Youtube videos for free!

If I went to a class where I felt that the teacher was teaching us quantity over quality, I would find another teacher. So while you may be losing some students, you also most likely will be gaining some- who will stick with you longer as well.
 

Aniseteph

New member
So you have one week left before your teacher is back, and the studio owner has a) got the regular class down to 2 students (viable?) and b) probably upset the balance of the second class by moving up students who aren't ready. Wow. What is your teacher going to say? I would be absolutely fuming, although from the sound of it she might not be too surprised that the owner has interfered...

I don't think there's anything you can do apart from having a private word with the students and suggesting they run it past the regular teacher about moving classes because it's not up to you to OK this. It does rather dump it on the regular teacher, but unless you are teaching there regularly, handling the owner's behaviour is her problem, not yours. If you try to put them off the other class and they aren't aware of the owner's ignorance or their own limited abilities it could look like you are the upstart trying to keep them down. <sigh :rolleyes:>

It might be interesting to ask them what they felt about doing things in more depth and with feedback and correction, just for some feedback for your teaching practice. Some might appreciate it, even if they are just doing this for a bit of fun.
 

Nejmeh

New member
Just a side question as an student, isn`t their a lot of circulation in the students? For me it would have been so demotivating to be in a class where I cannot follow. So I think I would eventually give up. Perhaps if that is the case, you could use the financial argument, no teacher will want her students to leave..
 

Gypsy Lilah

New member
I think your approach is spot on. I use it myself. However, it doesn't pay much more than expenses (although that does include some nice workshops :) ) - in my city there is a teacher of a different dance style who pulls in 100-200 students a night, six nights a week. The "dance" they learn is minimal (timing, technique, musicality and correction are non-existent) - but enough drop in and out for "fun" that at $15 a head she makes a nice earner. Sometimes I wonder if I should offer to teach for her. :(

OMG how does she pull so many students???? There must be a mad love for belly dance in NZ. WOW!! You gotta get in on that....hahahaha. It sounds like she is teaching more of a belly exercise class than an actual dance class, which is fine as long as the class KNOWS this....
 

Gypsy Lilah

New member
Just a side question as an student, isn`t their a lot of circulation in the students? For me it would have been so demotivating to be in a class where I cannot follow. So I think I would eventually give up. Perhaps if that is the case, you could use the financial argument, no teacher will want her students to leave..

It IS demotivating- I know this from when I take workshops of classes at a higher level-- you feel like you don't know Jack...hahahhaha and it can really take the fun out of it.
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
Rebel yell here - I would've probably challenged her and asked her what she based her reasoning on and stood my ground. You have been doing this for years, she has not. I would've politely pointed this out to her as well as telling her that I simply cannot teach this way. It isn't like you are pulling a heavy salary from this b@#$! so if I got tossed, no loss, as this BS is not worth her abuse. In addition, I would've asked her to stop yelling at me as you are not something that sticks to her shoe. If she wants the students to take choreo, let HER teach them and see how long they last. They might even start telling HER that they can't do it.

I learned choreo at the same time I learned bellydance but it was from a video. It took me six weeks of doing it everyday. How are they supposed to learn in one hour?
 

Daimona

Moderator
Also, because the studio owner has decided to run 5 week only sessions, I have a higher amount of new students, which means the existing ones have no choice but to move into Fridays class or to repeat the basic material covered in 5 weeks over and over and over.....and that will get boring for them.

Actually, to focus on the possibilities instead of the frustrations, a 5 week only class isn't as bad as it might seem to.

When the flamenco school in my hometown had been running for a couple of years, they started having trouble recrouting new students.
The teacher/owner aired her frustrations to me and I suggested to run shorter classes, as 12-15 weeks would be too much for someone who just wanted to try it out. Since then, they have divided the beginners curriculum and the beginners choreography in 3 parts and at each part the students learn basic moves and a couple of combinations to either a verse or refrain of a song at each part.
All in all it became been a huge success.
If some of the students miss one or two parts (class i fully booked, they didn't see the ad in time, didn't make it of personal reasons etc), it is ok.
The students attending all 3 parts (one part is either a 4 week course or an intensive weekend workshop) will learn both the basics and the whole choreography for one song. In addition to this, those students who want to attend the student recital each semester also need to sign up for an extra class (app. 4 weeks) after the ordinary classes have ended where the various parts will be sewn together and who performs what part in the beginners group will be decided.

If you continue to teach the 5 weeks courses, perhaps this could be an idea for you? After 2 x 5 or 3 x 5 weeks, they have been through most of the basic curriculum and learnt enough combinations to combine into a simple and complete choreography. This way, they'll both learn the basics quite well and have a goal (the combinations/choreography) as drilling technique only could be quite boring. The students will also know that participating in 3 different beginners classes will give them new challenges and that they'll probably be fit for the next level after these classes. If you also cooperate with your teacher, this choreography could be one of the choreographies the choreography class (or whatever class is the next level) could be reviewed once in a while, particularly just after the 3 x 5 week classes have ended and some of the students would like to move up.
 

adiemus

New member
I think your approach is spot on. I use it myself. However, it doesn't pay much more than expenses (although that does include some nice workshops :) ) - in my city there is a teacher of a different dance style who pulls in 100-200 students a night, six nights a week. The "dance" they learn is minimal (timing, technique, musicality and correction are non-existent) - but enough drop in and out for "fun" that at $15 a head she makes a nice earner. Sometimes I wonder if I should offer to teach for her. :(

NOOOooooooo! don't do it!!
 

Aniseteph

New member
If you continue to teach the 5 weeks courses, perhaps this could be an idea for you? After 2 x 5 or 3 x 5 weeks, they have been through most of the basic curriculum and learnt enough combinations to combine into a simple and complete choreography. This way, they'll both learn the basics quite well and have a goal (the combinations/choreography) as drilling technique only could be quite boring.

My teacher does beginner classes as several courses with different content that can be done in any order, and I think it works really well.

New students can join all through the year and existing ones get new material but are still getting the basics reinforced. It sends a really good message IMO, that you can't just say OK, done hip circles now, what's next?

:naghty: What's next is you do it again and do it better than you did in the last course!
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Your teacher never corrects anyone ever? Seriously?

I am going right out and hugging the director of activities at the rec center where I teach- she has never said a single word to me about how I should teach my classes. Why on earth would a studio owner hire experienced dance teachers then tell them how to teach?

My deepest sympathies to you, along with my admiration re: your self-control. Better living through chemistry, hmm?
 

Kashmir

New member
OMG how does she pull so many students???? There must be a mad love for belly dance in NZ. WOW!! You gotta get in on that....hahahaha. It sounds like she is teaching more of a belly exercise class than an actual dance class, which is fine as long as the class KNOWS this....
No, it isn't a belly dance class - more's the pity.
 

teela

New member
I think you are right to be teaching the way you are doing it. the first place I took belly dance had it set up so we got class from an advanced student of the owner. We performed set choreographies the owner had on video tape so you could buy the tape and practice. then once you performed the choreography you could move up a group. The advanced student taught us a variety of moves but we worked on teh choreography. Honestly I think at the time, I felt I was getting the moves instantly and felt I could move this fast but looking back at it from my perspective of time, it wasn't a good way to learn at the beginning because it took me such a long time to learn to dance to music freely and I had to work hard to become fluid with my moves. I kind of wish she had only given us a few moves and worked on teaching us combinations with these moves, just as you are doing.
 

Gypsy Lilah

New member
I think you are right to be teaching the way you are doing it. the first place I took belly dance had it set up so we got class from an advanced student of the owner. We performed set choreographies the owner had on video tape so you could buy the tape and practice. then once you performed the choreography you could move up a group. The advanced student taught us a variety of moves but we worked on teh choreography. Honestly I think at the time, I felt I was getting the moves instantly and felt I could move this fast but looking back at it from my perspective of time, it wasn't a good way to learn at the beginning because it took me such a long time to learn to dance to music freely and I had to work hard to become fluid with my moves. I kind of wish she had only given us a few moves and worked on teaching us combinations with these moves, just as you are doing.

Thanks for your input and opinion.
 
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