Learning to belly dance??

[lizaj]

Most Egyptian women..the vast majority I assume do not intend to PERFORM bellydance and those who do will take lessons if they can afford it and intend joining a troupe (where they will be trained)or trying to reach the big time.
It's fruitless to compare women in the lands of dance to those of us who are trying to capture what they have done since they first tottered their first steps to OK or Amr Diab.
For most Egyptian women their dancing will be social and untutored except by family members and we will probably envy every step they take BUT don't tell me the likes of Randa and Camelia are untutored .
The Western experience is a late start in the culture and music and therefore we need guidance. That can be got from DVDs but whose DVD if you want to dance like an Egyptian...Sadie?? (sorry couldn't resist it)
If you haven't got a local teacher you can to make an effort to get to nearby towns and cities when they have visting good teacher THEN back up with DVDs. Otherwise you end up like the deluded souls wriggling in their bedrooms around on Youtube thinking they are bellydancing.
On another tack you'd consider 10$ an hour for a class expensive. A teacher will have to pay rent,PLI and get tuition and by music. We surely are not expected to do it just for the love!

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Most Egyptian women..the vast majority I assume do not intend to PERFORM bellydance and those who do will take lessons if they can afford it and intend joining a troupe (where they will be trained)or trying to reach the big time.

Exactly. Anybody can get out on the dance floor and move to music. But from the videos Caroline posts sometimes, it's quite obvious that not every Egyptian woman who gets out on the dance floor can actually DANCE with any degree of grace or skill. :shok: But they can all move their bodies to music, just like all babies, and all of us.

BUT don't tell me the likes of Randa and Camelia are untutored .

My teacher studied with the Reda Troupe first, before taking classes with Raqia. I think this is a pretty standard for scenario for serious Egyptian dancers. To say that Egyptian women don't go to dance class is really sort of ridiculous now. Sure there weren't classes 20, 30 years ago, but now they're quite common -- and not just for foreigners!

 

[Kashmir]

I guess I am stuck trying to pay that because it is more convenient to where I live and the other classes are at night in Minneapolis and a 1hr bus ride.

If the classes in Minneapolis are with Cassandra or Margot Abdo they'll be well worth the bus ride! Both great dancers and teachers;

I felt a little bummed out about classes and told my friend about it, who I just got off the phone with in Egypt, laughed when I told her about having to find a teacher to belly dance and she said why and I told her what people on the forum said and she really laughed! I was puzzled and she said, "I don't know why these Americans say this to you! If you have a mirror and imitate the teacher in the DVD as closely as you can, you can do this! If you feel you are doing something wrong or uncertain, then go to a class or two and ask the teacher to show you but to say you can't learn by DVD is ridiculous. Most women who belly dance here do not learn from teachers! They learn from watching dancers in person and getting a pointer or two from relatives who dance. Actual classes here are unheard of.

Yes, and they would have been watching - and doing the dance from an infant. The music is familar to them. They know what the lyrics mean and the gestures come naturally. And they only dance socially. Learning as an adult is completely different. Learning to perform in public is completely different. Compare it to learning a language. Children don't go to class - but learning a foreign language as an adult is very hard to do by just listening and copying - and can lead to some very odd results.

 

[moroccan_goddess]

Daimona: The classes for $140 are only an hour and the ones in Mlps for $80 are an hour and a half, so that one is the better bargain to me but more hassle. I would have to start out for class 3-4 hrs early by taking my kid to babysitter then getting on the bus and riding for 1hr then after I get off the bus, I have to walk another 15 min. to get to the studio. I would love to go but that is just too much hassle and too much time involved. I hate being ripped off especially, I kinda feel uncomfortable because this teacher (st. paul) I found out is only a beginner herself. Not that there is anything wrong with that, everyone has to start somewhere but I prefer to have someone with some experience behind her than someone who just completed level 1 few months prior and only knows basic moves. Does that sound bad? I hope not. I am trying to see if I can find another teacher somewhere that I can get to and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. This is becoming like a job! lol! But I figure if I can find the right one, it will be worth it.

lizaj: I don't consider $10 an hour expensive for a class but I do consider paying $140 for 7, 50-55 minute classes a bit on the pricey side. I know that teachers need rent and to eat, etc. but that's kinda nuts to me.

 

[Aniseteph]

... I prefer to have someone with some experience behind her than someone who just completed level 1 few months prior and only knows basic moves. Does that sound bad?

I'd say that sounds very sensible of you, unless this level 1 involves a good couple of years of serious study.

If it's just a few weeks she has no business teaching, IMHO.

 

[Afrit]

I would love to go but that is just too much hassle and too much time involved. I hate being ripped off especially, I kinda feel uncomfortable because this teacher (st. paul) I found out is only a beginner herself. Not that there is anything wrong with that, everyone has to start somewhere but I prefer to have someone with some experience behind her than someone who just completed level 1 few months prior and only knows basic moves. Does that sound bad? I hope not.

I'd say that was very sensible!The gall of some people. No, teachers should not be able to learn on the job with a few naive new students. Beginner students are the ones that need the most experienced teachers. (How should they learn? First get at least a few years experience in learning to dance from good teachers themselves, attend workshops and study how to teach dance)

 

[Daimona]

Daimona: The classes for $140 are only an hour and the ones in Mlps for $80 are an hour and a half, so that one is the better bargain to me but more hassle. I would have to start out for class 3-4 hrs early by taking my kid to babysitter then getting on the bus and riding for 1hr then after I get off the bus, I have to walk another 15 min. to get to the studio. I would love to go but that is just too much hassle and too much time involved. I hate being ripped off especially, I kinda feel uncomfortable because this teacher (st. paul) I found out is only a beginner herself.

I do understand your economically, dancewise and hasslewise concerns.

One thing is the hassle, but how would you say the babysitter and time to travel would increase the expense of going to the other teacher (Mlps) pr lesson?

Do this other teacher (Mlps) offer intensive courses (or private lessons)?
This way you could learn from the best, decrease the time spent on hassle and use DVDs in between.

I'm sure you'll find a way to learn that is suitable for you.

 

[moroccan_goddess]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that. The other teacher in Mlps. is actually a pretty good teacher and does give private lessons and I think for a little extra, she will come to me. so I have hope yet! I will not give up! I have completely nixed the St. Paul teacher since I found out how little experience she has; especially, now that I know from you all here that I was not being unreasonable about wanting someone with more experience. I am going to call the other one when I get better. Meaning, my 2 yr old accidentally pulled the muscles in my arm, so I can't even try belly dance now for at least 4 weeks. You know, those kid's leashes? I got one to teach him how to stop running away from mommy when not in the stroller. Only he thought ok, this is a game! So he kept running and jerking me to test the tether (and my patience) and thought it was hysterically funny when he got to the place where I was pulling and he was running in place. Didn't hurt at all the first day. Morning came and could not move and when I did, I screamed; went to the dr. and my shoulder, joint and muscles down to my elbow have been sprained. *sigh* not a good week for mommy.