workshop for a bachelorette party

H

Hajar

New member
Hi everyone,

This is my first 2 hour workshop that i am hosting and have no idea what and how i can teach the basics.

Can anyone tell me how a workshop looks like ?

I was thinking ( i am hosting this with a friend of mine)
by first
Telling bout bellydance
the posture of a bellydancer
warming up
learning moves like hipe ups, hip drops, hip circle..travelling with this movements
10 minute break with moroccan tea and cookies
we line up in a circle and everyone danses one by one in the middle

and here i was thinking about creating a little choreograpghy the bride can learn
but on what song ?

do you sweet bellydancers have any tips and suggestions for me ??

The workshop is this SATURDAY!
thanxxx

love Hajar
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
You are teaching a two hour workshop day after tomorrow and don't have a clue what that entails? And you also want to create a choreography to a song you haven't chosen yet? Are you serious?

Maybe you can stretch the cookie break out to an hour or so and serve really good wine instead of tea.
 
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Gia al Qamar

Gia al Qamar

New member
Shanazel said:
You are teaching a two hour workshop day after tomorrow and don't have a clue what that entails? And you also want to create a choreography to a song you haven't chosen yet? Are you serious?

Maybe you can stretch the cookie break out to an hour or so and serve really good wine instead of tea.
Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
Daimona

Daimona

Moderator
:shok: Are you serious?
First of all, you'll know what to teach when you are ready for teaching workshops like this. Ask your teacher for advice.
Secondly, I guess you are hosting this workshop because you or your friend knows the bride and knows you are interested in bd and are doing this for fun?


But to be a bit more helpful:
What would you like to do and learn if you were attending a 2h workshop in a dance style you didn't know as part of a bachelorette party?
In my experience with bachelorette parties: First of all, they want to have fun and get to know each other if they already don't. Secondly, they want to get a touch of what belly dance can be.

When you plan - be realistic of what they have the possibility to learn in this short time frame. Yes, I know it is your first time, but do you remember what you learnt during the two first classes you attended?
You might have the time to teach them some basic movements and perhaps a couple of combinations if you are lucky and they are quick learners, but there's not a chance to learn a full choreography.

I would never plan a dance circle, unless I knew that the participants knew each other very well. Dancing for strangers could be very scary. Even repeating one of the movements just learnt in a small dance circle could be very scary, despite everybody encouraging you and you have had a some wine prior the class.

If you don't know what movements to teach them, go off to youtube, find some basic movements and make a couple of easy combinations that you work with. You might even be able to find some combinations on youtube that are doable for them if you are lucky.
 
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Reen.Blom

Reen.Blom

New member
Hajar said:
Hi everyone,

This is my first 2 hour workshop that i am hosting and have no idea what and how i can teach the basics.

Can anyone tell me how a workshop looks like ?

I was thinking ( i am hosting this with a friend of mine)
by first
Telling bout bellydance
the posture of a bellydancer
warming up
learning moves like hipe ups, hip drops, hip circle..travelling with this movements
10 minute break with moroccan tea and cookies
we line up in a circle and everyone danses one by one in the middle

and here i was thinking about creating a little choreograpghy the bride can learn
but on what song ?

do you sweet bellydancers have any tips and suggestions for me ??

The workshop is this SATURDAY!
thanxxx

love Hajar
Click to expand...


Well sounds about right, some gals might not want to dance one by one in a middle, but depends on the girls.

As for the song just choose smth pop with good rythm, it is hard for newbies to have a complicated song, it must be a 'FUN' one I dunnu just Shik Shak Shok comes to my mind, its not all that simple but its got that fun element.

And I really dont know what you ladies are so suprised about, should not take more than 30 min to make a up a couple of combos to a song, it is not some advanced blooming workshop?????

Whatever you make it fun, bring in some jingly bits and maybe a veil for the bride-to-be to dance with. (a couple simple veil moves always impresive!)

Best of luck!
 
Amulya

Amulya

Moderator
If you have DVDs you can fill in a bit of time with some examples of different styles, but keep it simple. That also gives them a chance to rest a bit. It can be very tiring for people who never did any belly dancing before, and you might have people in the group who never do any sports, so they get exhausted quickly.
You also need music for the entire 2 hours, because that will give them the atmosphere and will help with teaching them the movements. Of course the music you chose has to be suitable for those movements (and preferably not too fast)
 
Pleasant dancer

Pleasant dancer

New member
I usually only do 1 hour of dancing at these sort of events as the ladies can find it tiring if they are not used to dancing. Putting a couple of short breaks in is a good idea. Dancing solo in a circle can be difficult and very daunting unless they all know each other very well, and maybe you could tell them they can do any type of dancing (not just belly dancing) - this has worked for me. If not, try doing traveling movements (e.g. thrust and step) in a circle, if there is room. It can turn into a belly dance Conga and you can do a follow-the leader-sort of thing. This usually raises quite a few laughs.:D

Maybe a shimmy contest - who can shimmy the longest time, even if they are not very good at all, all they have to do is try to keep going!

Best of luck, just keep it fun (and safe - no backbends, etc:shok:!)
 
Aniseteph

Aniseteph

New member
Reen.Blom said:
And I really dont know what you ladies are so suprised about, should not take more than 30 min to make a up a couple of combos to a song, it is not some advanced blooming workshop?????
Click to expand...

No, but that wasn't the question. Maybe it is 30 minutes work, IF you have a feel for what the average bachelorette party are going to be capable of (or even interested in) and a clue how to teach the basic moves you choose.

A couple of friends and I did a mini-workshop, less than an hour, for a non-BD group, and we spent quite a while planning because we wanted to pitch it right. Who wants to spend a party/fun event concentrating madly and/or feeling they are failing or not getting it?

If it helps: we did a short performance, lent out hipscarves, warm up, then one move at a time we did horizontal 8's, hip drops, shoulder hits, and hip shimmies, all to cheesy Western Xmas pop (yeah, I know, but the organiser wanted this, I was outvoted, and it did mean they felt more boppy straight away). We did these at different speeds, showed them a few variations, travelling etc, but no expectations to try any of that or even do the faster speeds.

Then we put it together in a "choreography" to a short and repetitive piece of more ME sounding music :)dance:) so we could feel like proper belly dancers ;), but nothing to learn - just stringing those moves together on the spot with us shouting out what came next. And then we pointed everyone in the direction of our teacher if they were interested in doing some more!

It wasn't a party - if it had been, or a longer session, maybe put in a couple of short performances, maybe one with a props if there's space, have a CD of ME pop for everyone to try out their new moves to, and I like the DVD idea, maybe while you have the teabreak.

PS. Shimmy contest sounds fun!
 
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Greek Bonfire

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
If they've never done bellydance before, I doubt you will have enough time to teach them a choreography, which is just as well since you are not prepared for that anyway. :clap:
 
Reen.Blom

Reen.Blom

New member
Well depending on what is considered a choreography... LOL I mean a newbie choreo is just a couple of combos.

You just get a song with verses and repetitive chorus. Then you do some travelling steps to the verses, if they grasp it with some hip bumps, if not just walking.

On the chorus a little combo: for example some hip drops to the beat, hip circles or slides, shimmy. Oh sometimes sticking in a clapping hands part makes it so much fun, as the ladies feel they do it all in sync... LOL

Of course giving voice cues the whole time, and emphasising the options of doing a simple step for example or layering other simple moves on the steps (hip bumps or shoulder shimmy).

I agree proper planning is the key, yet 'Are you mad? plan a workshop in 2 days? attitude' is not what the young lady is asking about. Just a little friendly advice, and not 'you should not be doing it if you dont have it planned already'.... ;)

Glad there are many friendly suggestions in this thread though, maybe someone will be looking for the info in the future?
 
H

Hajar

New member
For all the wisenoses here, the girl who planned this bacheloretteparty asked on wednesday if i could help her out because she doesnt have a high budget to hire a professional bellydancer. It is all short notice. next time don't judge this fast.

For all of you who DID help me out, thank you very much! i truly appreciate it and i am almost done with filling the programme, music etc. :)
I'll definetly will let you know how it went!

Much love
Hajar
 
Aniseteph

Aniseteph

New member
...asked on wednesday if i could help her out because she doesnt have a high budget to hire a professional bellydancer.
Click to expand...

This would go down great on Bhuz. :rolleyes:

As a card carrying wisenose I admit I should have shut up, but probably not for the reasons you think Hajar.
 
Daimona

Daimona

Moderator
Hajar said:
For all the wisenoses here, the girl who planned this bacheloretteparty asked on wednesday if i could help her out because she doesnt have a high budget to hire a professional bellydancer. It is all short notice. next time don't judge this fast.
Click to expand...

Context are always appreciated.

:) I might be one of the "wisenoses", and it might be a languange thing, but somehow these sentences (and partly sentences) made me react the way I did (particularly the first one):
Hajar said:
... have no idea what and how i can teach the basics. (my emphasis)
Can anyone tell me how a workshop looks like ?
....
and here i was thinking about creating a little choreograpghy the bride can learn
but on what song ?

do you sweet bellydancers have any tips and suggestions for me ??

The workshop is this SATURDAY!
Click to expand...

And hopefully, you understand why you got the wisenosed answers ...

Communicating could be difficult, even if one speaks the same language.. ;)
Good luck!
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
Wisenose Shanazel here.

After thirty-some years of teaching, I'm pretty good at judging what goes into planning classes and workshops. Sorry you didn't like what you read, but a day and a half is not enough time to plan an efficient two hour workshop especially if you have to ask what is involved.

My advice still stands, though I will add to it since you were put on the spot by a friend's last minute request: stretch out the cookies and socializing and keep the belly dance lesson to twenty or thirty minutes of simple movements to music without long explanations of history, styles, or other detailed information. If you are not used to teaching, thirty minutes can seem an eternity, especially when your students are giggling and talking amongst themselves as is usually the case in these situations.

Good Luck.
 
Gia al Qamar

Gia al Qamar

New member
I am ALWAYS awed when I hear that a client doesn't have the money for entertainment, but there always seems to be enough $$$ for food, drinks, gifts and other assorted 'things'.
Professional dancers and teachers will NEVER be able to make a living and our community as a whole will never gain respect when non-pros offer to step in and do last minute, low paying or NO paying jobs.
 
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