Daimona
Moderator
A discussion started in another thread about the watch and copy method of learning was too good not to give its own thread in the proper sub-forum.
But now we're on topic again. Please go ahead and discuss further.
Maybe I'll ask a LOT more questions on technique when I don't know what we're meant to be doing. Possibly she will then start giving more verbal instructions alongside saying "Just copy me"
In my experience, a LOT of traditional dance styles are taught by the "watch and copy" method, with little or no explanation. I've come across it a lot in belly dance and frequently in flamenco, too.
My theory is that these are dances which are learnt from childhood in their countries of origin - and "watch and copy" works for children. They're not ready to intellectualise what they're doing anyway. Then, when your Middle Eastern teacher comes to the West and starts passing on her knowledge, she teaches it the way SHE was taught as a child.
I once had this conversation with a Turkish teacher, who told me she didn't start explaining about the correct use of the muscles (especially the abdominal muscles) until the students were in their third year. In the first two years she just wanted to get the students familiar with the movements.
That seemed completely back-to-front to me, because I always feel I do a movement better if I know the explanation beforehand. In fact, I found myself having to "unlearn" some steps where I was using my legs to drive hip movements, when it was finally explained!!
I also suspect this is the reason I see so many belly dancers in Australia with taught legs and saggy tummies - they use their legs. I once asked one Sydney belly dance teacher whether she'd ever been taught how to use the abdominal muscles in belly dance, other than for camels and undulations - and she actually said "you don't".
This seems illustrative of the importance of general physical awareness/proprioception in learning dance. I think that if someone had trained in *any* movement discipline that encouraged being mindful of muscle engagement and aware of the body (e.g. pilates), they would get a lot further with 'watch and follow' teaching. When I watch a dancer now, I can almost feel what muscles she is using (or isn't) - but this definitely wasn't the case as a beginner. I do find that I now find it easier to pick up non-bellydance dance movement by watching, too, having developed that set of skills.
The problem with 'watch and follow' for beginners in bellydance is that so many of our new dancers are not only adults, but do not have any previous relevant movement background, and so have not developed the motor skills to learn in this way. So as teachers, giving new students that toolkit of body awareness has to be a top priority in order for them to get anywhere.
Sorry to go totally off topic, but this is an interesting digression...
But now we're on topic again. Please go ahead and discuss further.