Choreo-teaching question.

gisela

Super Moderator
Since I am new to teaching bellydance I am thinking all the time about various methods and angles to teaching.
I'd love to hear you thoughts on this subject:


When teaching or learning a piece of the choreography, do you prefer to-

break up the moves and steps first and go through it slowly several times before putting it al together and trying it to music

or

let the students see the piece of choreo and try to follow, and then go back and break it up, going into depth with each movement?

I have had teachers do both of these methods and they both have pros and cons.
Last night was the first class where I began to teach the choreo and I did some kind of mix between the two. First practicing some of the combos involved and then showing the piece two times, then letting them follow along a few times, and after that we went into details.

I thought it worked quite nicely, I just need to be a bit more sure of myself but that will come in time ;)
 

Safran

New member
How about showing them the whole choreo at first, when you start teaching it? This way they get the whole picture of the dance and know what they are working towards. And then teach a portion every time, starting right from breaking down the movements and combos.
Just a thought...
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
How about showing them the whole choreo at first, when you start teaching it? This way they get the whole picture of the dance and know what they are working towards. And then teach a portion every time, starting right from breaking down the movements and combos.
Just a thought...

I agree. I had a teacher who would go through the footsteps first, because she said once you remember the feet, you can add the rest. Just knowing the steps without adding the layers was a very good start.

But don't get too discouraged if they don't remember or don't get it right if they don't practice. Because that is the students' responsibility, and many times they don't do that in between classes.
 

Daimona

Moderator
It depends on how your students are learning:
  • Some prefer to see the whole choreography before they start learning it, to get an overview. The choreography needs to be finished and you need to know it before they start learning it.
  • Some prefer to break it down into large chunks, following the bouncing butt and further break-down if necessary.
  • Some prefer to break it down piece by piece, drilling the pieces on their own and then puzzle the thing together.

Why don't you try the different versions to see what works best with your group?
 

Kashmir

New member
Really depends on the learning style of your students and their experience.

When I'm learning I like to be given a chunk and follow - if there is something not obvious go over the sticking point. When I'm teaching, I tend to teach the bits in isolation then stick them together. Say drill 16 counts over a few times then slot it in. With this method it is important that people have any transitions.

One thing though - teach it plain - without staging. For instance, you may intend to dance it in a circle or have people crossing lines and sides but teach the dance in lines facing the mirros first.
 

Darshiva

Moderator
I teach it backwards so that they are always coming up to something familiar. (I forget where I found that tip, but it's an excellent one). I demonstrate the segment first, then break it down building up layers from the feet up, then we play follow the bouncing butt.

I've found that:

*The ones that like then bouncing butt will copy you while you're demonstrating, get a little annoyed during the breakdown, and then are happy again while we're in drill phase.
*The ones that like the breakdown watch the demonstration & follow along cautiously during the breakdown and then are happy when we are in drill phase.
*The ones that like a description watch the demonstration impatiently, listen carefully during the breakdown and drill quite happily by the time we come to it.
*Everyone is weirded out by backwards learning at first but by the third segment are very grateful we're doing it that way (and I quote) "because (they) don't have to remember anything".

This way works for me. Find the way that suits you and play with it.
 
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Aniseteph

New member
I love the backwards idea!

We do it in chunks from the beginning. If there's a new move/combo in the next section it usually appears in the follow the bouncing butt warm up dance, then will be broken down, drilled a bit if necessary, then put into the choreography. Every week we add another chunk, and will practice both the section we are learning and the whole thing from the beginning, with and without the teacher. For new beginners who aren't going to be performing it maybe it's not necessary to make them do it alone, but personally it helps me focus if I don't have someone to follow.

I get a bit bored with the beginning after a while, but at least it makes me learn it.

A demo of the whole thing is nice to see what you are aiming for, but FTBB when it's completely new is not much help to me. Nowadays I can follow and fake it, but nothing sinks in as I'm too busy trying to keep up. As a new beginner without the necessary technique I'd have just fallen over my feet and got frustrated and discouraged.
 

Daimona

Moderator
I love the backwards idea myself, but it didn't work with my group.

One advantage - particularly if there will be a performance - is that the finale probably will be the strongest part vs times when you really don't get enough time to focus on the finale.
 

Darshiva

Moderator
That's the idea behind it. For a particularly long choreo I will sometimes teach it backward to the middle then teach it forward for the rest. Sometimes it really helps to change direction just to give the brain a bit of a reset.
 

Duvet

Member
It really depends on your students. One size won't fit all, and you tend to need a combination of different approaches within the one class.

More advanced classes I find prefer to see the whole piece first, as their own experience gives them an idea of how the dance is and will fit together. Beginners can get scared off by seeing it all at once, and feel expected to repeat it.

Break it down into small chunks, which you can then join together into increasingly longer sequences (this can help if in later classes you have choreographies with similar combos - you can use past examples to remind students that they have already done it).

Teach a segment without the music, so you can pace it to the class until they have got the moves, then repeat it with the music to see where confusion occurs.

Concentrate on foot work and direction before trying to layer it. Ending up on the wrong foot, or facing the wrong way, causes confusion for everyone and needs to be corrected from the outset before it becomes an issue or a habit.

I'm sure you know all this, and that you'll find for yourself the best way to teach your own students. Students are a constant surprise and a challenge, in a good way.
You learn as much from them as they from you.
Best of luck.
 

gisela

Super Moderator
Thank you all for good suggestions and advice. Be assured that my absence from this thread is not because I don't value your input. I have been kind of swamped with stuff lately. I had the third class this tuesday and it is going better and better. I'm feeling much more secure now and I am really enjoying teaching.

This time I had them learn some combos after drilling the basics. Then at choreo-time I danced half of the song to show them how the new combos fitted in and then we danced it together a few times. Then we went into details again about weight shift and number of steps in turns etc.
It was a nice way of doing it I think. At least for now.
I absolutely realize that everyone learns best in a different way, that's why I asked about your preffered way, and you guys gave me lot's of good stuff to consider. :)

What I sometimes object to when being taught something in a very broken down way, is that it is really difficult to see the big picture. I can copy the teacher's movement, but until there is music and a flow in the movement, it doesn't make sense to me, so drilling it once or hundred times would be equally useless. I would like to give my students the sense of dance, instead of chopped up moves. Ok, of course we all want that :lol: but my experience as a student is that not all teachers succeed in this.
 
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Aniseteph

New member
What I sometimes object to when being taught something in a very broken down way, is that it is really difficult to see the big picture. I can copy the teacher's movement, but until there is music and a flow in the movement, it doesn't make sense to me, so drilling it once or hundred times would be equally useless.

I know what you mean - there's a bit in our latest one that I'm finding tricky, and I think it works better if I approach it by copying the whole thing then tweaking the resultant mess into shape, rather than having it broken down and slooower and slooooweeeerrrr...

Totally with you on the music - very frustrating. Just put the music on and I can probably HEAR what you are trying to explain.

Glad it's going well and you are enjoying it!
 

gisela

Super Moderator
thanks. I'm liking it way more than I thought I would. And I love to discover that I KNOW stuff :D
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
When you start teaching choreography remember that you are going to set an example of great dance for your students. So teach them with enthusiasm and passion. Your students would love your classes for sure.

Enthusiasm and passion are great, but I also prefer a teacher who gives me visual demonstrations, sectioned breakdowns and drills, and who will also give printed handouts of the choreography, as well as allowing me to video our classes for added practice at home.

I've never had anyone teach me backwards choreo. :think: Knowing me, that would probably mix me up more, since I'm so directionally challenged! :confused:
 

Darshiva

Moderator
It's not as 'backwards' as it sounds. It's just a learning device that cuts up the choreo into chunks and teaches each chunk leading onto the last instead of following the first. The idea is that instead of having to remember the new bit at the end of what you've already learned, you worry about the new bit first and then move on to the stuff you already know.
 

jenc

New member
I find it very helpful to take each chunk a little further than the breakdown on the final practice so that we have to try to follow a bit. Then when we start the breakdown we have an idea of how things are going. Not evry time tho.

Make sure that you go back to the beginning often enough. If I keep learning in chunks, my mind goes blank at the end of each combo.

Make sure that those who want it can have the music. I like to play the music in my car so that I know it by heart and can then visualise the routine.

when it is finished, let someonme video it from behnid for the students.

Whoops I didn't read everything. Being taught backwards would be great - my current teacher works out the choreo week by week as we come to a new bit - (I exaggerate slightly) but it is not uncommon for the choreo to be completed in week 6. This means that whatever we learn, we know there is a gaping void at the end - so remembering the whole thing is v diff - partic as we only get to dance whole thing on last night unless we are going to perform it!!
 
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Lara

New member
Love the learning backwards idea!

My suggestion probably won't help much since you are already in the midst of teaching the choreography, and it won't work for shorter class sessions where you only have a few weeks to work on something specific, but if you have the latitude of a full semester or, better yet, a full year, this is what I like to do.

I have the next class choreography worked out at least a full semester in advance. We start out focusing on drilling individual movements that will be used in the choreography in the midst of all the other cultural/contextual stuff we usually do in class. Then we drill combinations. Still no mention of a choreography. This gives us a chance to really break down and clean up different parts of what will later become part of the choreo, without the pressure of actually thinking about it *as* a choreography. This way, when we do start working the choreo, they already know exactly how I want a move delivered, where the weight shifts are, etc. All they have to do on the technical side is remember what order we are doing things in and we can start focusing on emotion and expression and musical interpretation much earlier. I get a lot of "your choreographies are so easy to learn" type comments. No they're not, you've been working on them all semester! Added bonus, I've usually got my lesson plans mapped out 6 months in advance, and since we worked on it for so long, along with other things, you not only know the choreo, you know the building blocks I used to create it and and their variations. We've had time to discuss the music and the cultural context and my various inspirations. Even tho my advanced students know this is how I work and appreciate it, I still feel like I'm in ninja-stealth mode as I slip in bits of choreography into class and slip bits of cultural notes into the choreography.

For my advanced class, we can do this process in a semester and there is a possibility of learning 2 choreos a year if we choose to do so. For my beginning intermediate class, we do one choreography a year and this process begins all the way back in the fall with an eye on the spring recital. When I was in troupe, we were learning a new choreo pretty much every month and an additional technique class was required for membership.
 
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