Does Your Teacher Have Your Best Interests at Heart?

Gilded Serpent posted a link to their article recently, and it was very timely. I have been working on a blog post about a very similar topic. I enjoyed this one very much. Some highlights include:

"Is your teacher qualified to give you a proper foundation for technique as well as cultural references?
When searching out a Belly Dance teacher, don’t be shy about asking for the teacher’s credentials. If you are going to spend time and money learning to Belly dance, make sure you start the journey off with the right teacher so you won’t have to back-track later."

and

"Are your teacher’s classes and troupe a positive and healthy environment?
Most teachers of Belly Dance truly love to teach so they can pass their knowledge on to others. However, teachers exist who thrive on belittling and controlling their students. This type of environment may not be apparent at first glance, which is why it is important to occasionally take the time to analyze your dance classes and troupe experience."

The only ones I don't entirely agree with are the "develop your own style"--for ATS dancers, it is important to concentrate on a collective style, so it doesn't always apply to all teachers of all styles--and the 'performance opportunities' segment. I don't feel performing is a forgone conclusion for everyone. I think dance is a performance art, yes, but many seek it for reasons other than performing, and those motivations should be honored.

In fact, I think some teachers stress performance much too much, rushing students through the basics and trying to get them into troupes and on stage quickly, to the detriment of strong technique. 

I believe students should feel they have been prepared to perform--groomed for success!--and when they do perform it is earned through hard work and proven skill.

So read this brief article and see what you think!
http://www.gildedserpent.com/cms/2013/02/18/does-your-teacher-have-your-best-interest-at-heart/#

FAQ Spotlight - taking "lower level" classes

When I was a new student, I was absolutely rabid for any new information on bellydance. I was always digging around for new details about the styles I was studying, the classes I was taking, and the teachers I was studying with (or hoped to one day study with). I know a lot of you reading this blog are the same way--you just love reading about the dance, and learning all you can in your time both in and outside of class!

It was in this spirit that I started my FAQ section on my website. I knew other dancers are just like me, and are eager to read up on various topics having to do with the dance. There is a lot to cover, but I tried to focus my questions and answers on the same questions I had when I was first learning. It makes for a long FAQ, though, and it can be hard to find time to dig through it all. So I am going to occasionally post a blog entry featuring one of the FAQ topics I think you may enjoy reading. I welcome any thoughts or feedback on these topics--I am still that same eager student who loves to study and discuss all the angles of this incredible dance form!

Our first featured topic is:

Once I have progressed to the next level in class, why would I want to continue taking the previous level class?

You can read the full FAQ response by clicking the link (the question) above. Sandi of FCBD put it in excellent perspective:

"For me, its kind of like going to yoga classes for a long time. You do the same poses and hear the same words, but you're always able to get better at the poses each time through that verbal guidance. That's what happens with constant practice too. I find that I'm not always successful doing yoga at home on my own because I don't have the guidance and the energy of the other students around me to push me to do it correctly or motivate me to keep the pose for longer.

With ATS, I would always go into a class to not only understand what the teacher is saying, but to get into my body more and try to work on my problem areas."

Right on, Sandi! Have a gander at the FAQ, and please feel free to share any further thoughts you may have!

Q&A: I'm not progressing like I thought I would...

Q."I took ATS from another local teacher for 6 months, and have been taking cabaret for about 2.5 years from Teacher X and Teacher Y, and also had workshops with Zoe, Rachel Brice, Ariellah, Suhaila Salimpour, and Caroleena (sic) in San Francisco. Though you would not believe it from watching me. I took a hiatus since feeling that I wasn't where I should be after 3 years. But I love bellydance, so I have turned to you because I have always been wowed by your troupes performances and thought it would be so great to be a part of that."

A. With regard to your frustrations with where you think you should be at any given time in your dance, we all hit plateaus in our dance life, and maybe you have been stuck at one for a time. Shaking things up can help push us through those barriers. If I may offer some perspective from my experiences? Truthfully, focusing on one style that really resonates with you can be a big help in seeing marked improvement over time. 

What are you moving toward?

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."
~M. Scott Peck, author, The Road Less Traveled

I often get e-mails from friends and colleagues who seek advice on various dance-life situations. Some have issues with their teachers or classroom environment that isn't feeling right--from lacking support to lacking information, from difficult fellow students and classroom relationships to downright abrasive teachers. Some have troupe issues where the dynamics seem to be running contrary to what they had hoped. Some are teachers in their own right and have issues with trouble students or disrespectful troupe members. Ultimately, they all have one thing in common: they all feel stuck in the middle of something they want to get out of or move past, and they are seeking a nudge to find a better path.

Is there some part of your dance life you feel stuck on or trapped in? Is there a situation or environment you feel powerless to move beyond? Or do you simply feel in a creative rut and find yourself asking, "How am I ever going to be *that good*/do *that skill*?"

What do you think you could or should be doing to move on to a happier place?

Whenever I get to feeling stuck, in any part of life, I ask myself, "If I were my own best friend, and I was hearing me tell me this issue, what would I advise her to do?" By stepping outside myself and passing on a little loving guidance, it is amazing how clear the solution can sometimes become. Then it is just a matter of going out and doing it!

Remember, “If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.”