Is it fair?

[jjj]

I went to my third class last week and loved it. My question is, since I'm about two months behind from the rest of the class I feel I'm not catching up as fast. I don't want them to fall behind but I'm paying myself. I can't afford to take private lessons and the worst part is I don't have time to practice the choreography (which I really can't even remember) at home.

I knew when I pick the class that was the only time I had to practice but I wasn't ready to learn choreography. I though they were just teaching movements. I pick this class because it was close to school. I don't want to drop it because I still have alot of yrs left in school. So it's not like I can say I'll pick it up in a few more months. Is one day a week not going to cut it? I wanted to do this for fun, not to become a professional belly dancer.

 

[Kashmir]

Is this your thre class ever? In which case it'll be near impossible to pick up the choreography as you won't have the technique. Worse, you might end up doing something cludgy. Can you wait and rejoin a new class at the same place next term?

One class a week plus practice at home is fine for a hobbist if you have good instruction in technique. Thrashing around at home with a choreography you don't know and new technique which may be incorrect is setting yourself up to engrain bad habits which will take time to break.

 

[Darshiva]

Don't worry about the choreo. Just follow the bouncing butt in class and when you get home drill your moves and just faff about in the lounge to your own music (aka work on your musicality & improv skills!)

You will have plenty of time as you advance to learn & perform choreos, so don't stress about this one. Just enjoy your classes for what they are - an opportunity for you to learn!

 

[Birdlight]

Don't worry too much. Focus on learning the moves, practise these at home and forget about getting the choreo perfect.

Could you ask your teacher if she would mind you filming it? (emphasise you will not post it online and its just for your personal use and stick to this) Or take notes- I write down new choreos cos my memory is awful! And I've been dancing 2 years!:lol:

It's only your 3rd class- you won't be able to catch up immedietely and no-one will expect you too. Just keep going until it clicks. Make sure your tacher notices if you do a move wrong e.g. posture, but don't worry about following the choreo for now.

Can you do a beginners dvd at home to learn the basics and get them into your muscle memory also? Then you will know the moves and also have 9hopefully) a teacher that can check on you in class.

One note- if you are in a group and new, make sure the teacher is checking on everyone including you, not just the established ladies. I'm sure if she has let you join in 'late' so as to speak she will be keeping an eye but you don't want to learn bad habits!

 

[Starmouth]

Carry on with the classes, but don't worry too much about learning the choreo. Just being there will help keep you focused and help you to put some of the moves you learn in to practice. Then, buy a good technique DVD (there are some great recommendations on a thread in this forum, can't remember exactly where now) and try and do a little bit at home. I know you said you don't have time to practice, but it doesn't take much. You can practice basic moves whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, standing in the queue at the supermarket or waiting for the bath to fill.

I don't think its unfair to anyone to continue attending the class.

 

[Yame]

You need to practice at home. You'd need to practice anyway, but especially being that you are already behind the rest of the class, you absolutely need to practice.

If you don't have time, make time. Wake up 20 minutes earlier and practice. Practice when you get a break during the day. Take short practices until you are able to set aside longer chunks of time for practicing. You can't improve if you never practice.

 

[Jane]

Give yourself permission to be a beginner. Practice and don't beat yourself up about not learning fast enough. Belly dance isn't going anywhere. You have plenty of time, just enjoy the process. Anything worth doing takes time

 

[Aniseteph]

You can fit little practices all over the place - check your posture, run through a few hip moves, shimmy in the shower... it all counts.

And don't worry about choreographies - use it as a chance to practice your technique and following-the-bouncing-butt skills. If they are only 2 months in then they should all be still going over those basic techniques plenty rather than zooming ahead. IMHO.

 

[jjj]

Thank you so much for your responses. I practice my abdominal exercise like pushing in and out and even figure eights but not the choreography itself. I wake up early take kids to school, take a morning class myself, go to work, pick up kids from school and take an evening class. I take a belly dancing class on Wed because my class lets out early so I rush over there. It's actually a nice breath of relief since it's like having a me time. If I don't work on weekends I'm planning activity with family.

I will stick with it and just stay on the corner so I won't mess up the crew. I did ask the instructor if it was ok to join late and she said it was perfectly fine. A good vid is a great idea.

 

[khanjar]

That was one of the reasons I held myself back and so for a while I lost complete interest in learning this dance, I knew my weaknesses and the advanced class was a class that did choreos for performance and I could just not see myself in there what with my sequential memory and other issues, I saw myself as more of a hindrance than a help, so I kept out and stayed with the beginners, although I was being urged to move up.

But beginners is fine, it is a place to learn the basics until one is completely au fait with what they are learning, when the basics are there, it is a strong foundation from which to progress. No point doing advanced stuff, if the foundations are weak.

If you are hobby dancer like me, what's the rush, take your time and learn what there is to learn, keep practising until the dance becomes first nature, then see if your hobby might change to other aspirations, for often it is hobbies become professions, not that professions are often all that they are made out to be, that being if hobby is it, then why not hobby, it does not make a dancer any less of a dancer, and those that practice this dance for the fun of it in the originating countries, do so because they enjoy it, and if they can do it for fun, then so can I or anyone else.

 

[jjj]

Thank you Khanjar for understanding. And you are so right, there's no rush with me. I just want to learn the dance. I keep it a secret in my household, not that I'm ashame and I know nobody will put me down. But it's my own little secret for now.

 

[jjj]

Update

I only did a couple of months of classes. I truly enjoy it and will continue to take classes after the summer. I started really late in her classes and they mainly concentrated on choreography. I didn't mind choreography but they were really concentrating on that and come to figure they plan to do a little show. Since I was really behind the teacher would slow down to keep me up. I felt I should drop so the girls could really work on their choreography. Everyone (teacher and students) told me it was no big issue but I felt bad for the girls since they paid for the time and I could see their excitement for the show.

I can't afford private classes so I will wait when they start a new semester. I just thought I would update you

For now, I will keep reading and learning from you all.

P. S. Following their bouncy butts was fun.