I think my teacher is really really bad...?

Animallover

New member
I started bellydance lessons at the start of this year. My teacher is dedicated and passionate, but has some serious flaws that I'm starting to get sick of.
She is always at least 15 minutes late to class. Her bellydance style is extremely sexual and she is always waving her ass around. When we danced with another group, I saw the major difference between an art form and the sexualness of my teacher. She often plans to meet us for practices and doesn't turn up. She keeps raising class prices too. The room she booked us to practice in is too small. My biggest problem, however, is the fact we have a performance coming up soon, and she is so disorganised. I don't know the dance anywhere near enough, and she just doesn't bother to organise where we're going to stand or anything. She just vaguely goes over the dance a few times then expects us to do it. One example is we were doing a performance at this women's expo, and she turned up, we got on stage, and she put on this song we'd done once in class and started dancing - no one knew how to do it! It wasn't the song we'd practiced! But she loves the limelight and just danced away ignoring the fact none of us knew the dance well enough. She was very much late for this performance too, and didn't bother to help us with hair and make up, just turned up and danced. But anyway, with this upcoming performance, we only just started talking about what to wear, and she decided we will be wearing these fancy bellydance costumes that we will order from China - they cost a ton! Like I don't have $1000 just lying around for that type of thing. And we all have bellydance costumes at home that we could wear. I emailed her and refused to buy two costumes (she wanted one for each dance) and now I can't do that dance. I've been working so hard on that dance, but I can't afford two costumes! No one else is the class is very happy either, but most are just doing as she asks. I'm so sick of it! What can I do?
 

Shanazel

Moderator
My deepest sympathy to you, my dear. You are indeed in a hard spot.

A person who is always late, or who fails to turn up at all, plays the wrong music at performances, hogs the stage, doesn't have appropriate facilities, is disorganized, ignores her students' needs, and demands beginners buy $1000 costumes is a howlingly self-centered prima donna and not worth two cents as a teacher, even if she is the only person in town accepting beginning students.

Talk to the advanced teacher about the possibility of offering beginning classes taught by either herself or one of her advanced students. If you know enough other interested students and can present her with a ready made class it might be an easy sell. Personally, I wouldn't spend a second worrying about how Ms PD will react to a full-scale desertion of her class. The only way to deal with people this oblivious of their responsibilities is to leave.
 

Mosaic

Super Moderator
WOW! I agree with Shanazel, do talk to the other teacher, and soon! As for the Chinese costumes, What a load of rubbish they do not cost $500 each, you could get one for around $60, skirt, bra & belt! Check out ebay, you will probably see the ones she is buying on there and you can see the prices show the other girls and rebel!

Recently one of our beginner classes got together ordered a lovely Chinese costume each, and most had to have the bra top made as the Chinese ones run small, they ordered a total of 6 costumes and it worked out with postage AUD$63

below are some pics of the costume style they wore and they come in many colours there are many ebay stores from China selling these costumes, & some Australian ebay stores that bring the stuff in.
eBay Seller: twirlingburning: Clothing, Shoes, Accessories items on eBay Australia
eBay Seller: ems andy1li: Women's Dancewear, jazz shoes items on eBay Australia
~Mosaic

This is the bra style they chose


This is the skirt & hip belt style below the skirt



 

Shara

New member
unreasonable teacher!

Can you try to make a matching costume???? Can you modify her "butt moves" to where they are posturally correct? If so, you may come off looking like the better dancer!!!!
 

Mosaic

Super Moderator
Take a look at the costumes on this page, AUD$63 posted to you. Scroll down for a better look at the costume.

belly dance 4 pics costume bra&skirt armbands BY EMS (eBay item 220706750467 end time 05-Jan-11 01:08:04 AEDST) : Clothing, Shoes, Accessories

This one would cost AUD$76 including post
belly dance 3 pics costume bra&skirt &belt Rose BY EMS (eBay item 220710187631 end time 11-Jan-11 20:56:08 AEDST) : Clothing, Shoes, Accessories

As you can see the teacher is making a HUGE profit, she is ripping you girls off bigtime, what a horrible person!
~Mosaic
 

Darshiva

Moderator
I don't know what they are like to buy from but the couple who run twirlingburning are very sweet (I met them at TASMED). Did your friends get the costumes made through them? If so, what were they like as vendors?

Back to the OP - I'm very sorry your teacher is like that. My baby belly classes had a teacher like that too, so I can understand your pain. I third the recommendation to seek out the good teacher. If nothing else, you may be able to organise private classes with her.
 

Mosaic

Super Moderator
I don't know what they are like to buy from but the couple who run twirlingburning are very sweet (I met them at TASMED). Did your friends get the costumes made through them? If so, what were they like as vendors?
No the girls went direct to one of the Chinese suppliers. I have heard that twirlingburning, here in Oz are very good to deal with. A couple of the beginners have bought items from them. Also a couple of girls in my group have bought skirts through them, they were happy with them, the quality was pretty reasonable, I personally buy from Egypt or bellydancestore. Just saw some skirts from a Chinese seller that look really nice and cheap also.They have the curly hems like I have purchased in Egypt.
belly dance Costume Three layers pink skirts dress hot (eBay item 220710126661 end time 11-Jan-11 14:46:37 AEDST) : Clothing, Shoes, Accessories
~Mosaic
 

gypsy

New member
You're teacher sounds like an ass.
She wants to be the star of the show and make money from her students without doing much work at all.
If she is the only beginner's teacher in your area, I guess you could stick it out until you get to the next level and better teacher, but you are getting a very negative experience out of this, which can't be helping you learn.
Good luck to you and the rest of your classmates, and I hope you get a new teacher before you give up on the dance altogether!
 

Yame

New member
Get a new teacher. That's it. From what you described, there are a thousand things wrong with this teacher before you even got to the price of the costumes she wants you to buy. Do you REALLY think it's a good idea to try to appease her--make a similar costume, buy a similar but cheaper costume, etc, and then go through the same thing all over again?

Sign up for online classes (a lot of belly dancers are offering them now), get some DVDs, and practice on your own until you find a suitable class. Check out the other teacher and ask her what you need to work on to be able to get into her class. Maybe she--or another teacher in your area--has a beginner's class waiting to get started once enough interested people sign up. It doesn't hurt to ask.
 

Imeera

New member
Get a new teacher. That's it. From what you described, there are a thousand things wrong with this teacher before you even got to the price of the costumes she wants you to buy. Do you REALLY think it's a good idea to try to appease her--make a similar costume, buy a similar but cheaper costume, etc, and then go through the same thing all over again?

Sign up for online classes (a lot of belly dancers are offering them now), get some DVDs, and practice on your own until you find a suitable class. Check out the other teacher and ask her what you need to work on to be able to get into her class. Maybe she--or another teacher in your area--has a beginner's class waiting to get started once enough interested people sign up. It doesn't hurt to ask.

I agree totally. I wouldn't stand a teacher like that! I would deffinatly quit learn on my own until a new better teacher is found. It isn't the best to learn your own as a beginner, but its even worse having a teacher like that or not doing it at all =] Goodluck!!
 

~Diana~

AFK Moderator
1. That does not sound like a professional teacher at all.

2. It sounds like the teacher does not really know bellydance or the style she is supposed to be teaching. I'm not suprised anymore how many "Teachers" are out there who have only taken a few classes themselves and danced for a year or even less. Or have learned though youtube and now teach. *shutters*

3. Definatly get a new teacher.
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
Ugh! I had a teacher like that and all of her students quit on her except maybe one or two. She vowed to be a better teacher but the same stuff happened again. I would quit this one for sure. Hopefully, another beginner teacher will show up in your area but in the meantime try to learn something from DVDs. But I wouldn't give this diva one more cent or one more minute of anything. What a nightmare!
 

Shakti

New member
I would talk to the other teacher about some private lessons, you will learn faster and a style more appealing to you.
 

Animallover

New member
I'll talk to the other teachers at our group rehersal in a few weeks (ugh, we get one practice before we perform on stage for hundreds of people).
I might get some bellydance DVDs too so I can actually get better. I love those bellydance costumes, by the way, and they're so cheap! I'll attach a photo of what we have ordered from China (if it works, i cant figure out how to work this). I think the main problem with my teacher is she is very much a business person and just wants to promote her business by making us wear fancy costumes and just be her back up dancers while she shakes her booty on the stage.
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Business person, ha. I suppose that's a politer term than any I can come up with, though not nearly as accurate. ;)
 

seona

New member
I'll talk to the other teachers at our group rehersal in a few weeks (ugh, we get one practice before we perform on stage for hundreds of people).
I might get some bellydance DVDs too so I can actually get better. I love those bellydance costumes, by the way, and they're so cheap! I'll attach a photo of what we have ordered from China (if it works, i cant figure out how to work this). I think the main problem with my teacher is she is very much a business person and just wants to promote her business by making us wear fancy costumes and just be her back up dancers while she shakes her booty on the stage.




In your original post I read the word's - China,costume,$1000 and my alarm bell rang! Wow, not sure exactly what your $ is in english pounds, but I can't imagine 2 costumes from China would ever cost $1000. If it's the one in your photo - no way! And now you mention she's a business woman, to me it seem's apparent she's trying to make money out of you all. Didn't it cross her mind that you or others may see these cotumes on websites like ebay and discover the true cost?! I agree with others - save your money and invest in another teacher, this one dosen't sound like a very nice lady, to me it seems she's driven by money and ego. good luck with your new teacher!
 
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