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Teacher's Features
I publish a monthly email newsletter for my belly dance students and these articles have appeared in previous newsletters under my column with the same name.....hope you enjoy reading them and find them useful.
"Basic Class Etiquette for Students" "Use Your Mental Skills When Dancing" "1001 Things You Need in Your Bag for a Show"
How to Get the Most from Your Belly Dance Classes
1. Keep a Belly Dance Class Notebook - Write down all steps, combinations, etc. before too much time passes so that your memory is at its best. Note special things such as foot & hand placement, etc. Use notes to refresh your memory when practicing. Transfer notes to your computer for a lasting record which can be used for years after ..who knows....perhaps one day you will be teaching belly dance classes! When in search of new material, refer to your notes.
2. Code Class Handouts & Choreographies - write out the step name, description or draw diagrams in your own "code". Organize in a binder or computer file by subject. It's easy to re-create dance routines and remember steps when you have it written in "your" format.
3. Practice Regularly - try to devote at least 15 minutes per day, 5 days per week to practicing your belly dancing movements. Your practice will reinforce the material you learned in class. If you can't set aside a specific time to practice, then find ways to get some extra practice time, i.e., perform head slides or shoulder movements while sitting at a traffic light, hip shimmies and vibrations while you cook or brush your teeth or Egyptian hip shimmy walk your way through your house. Be creative!
4. Isolation Practice - Work each body part individually for an entire song. Start with head, then shoulders, arms, rib cage, stomach, hips in succession to each song which follows. Dance all movements you know how to do for each body part as this will reinforce those movements in your mind as well as give equal practice time to each area.
5. Ask Questions - if you do not understand a dance movement being taught, do not be embarrassed to ask your teacher or seminar instructor for further clarification and breakdown. After all, if you knew how to do the movement, you wouldn't need to take classes and it's better to learn how to execute a movement correctly the first time around than to practice it incorrectly and have to go back and undo it.
6. Watch the Movement without Dancing- closely watch as the instructor performs the movement without trying to copy the movement at the same time. By focusing your mind on one thing only you will be better able to analyze and understand how the movement is being made which translates into you being able to execute the step more precisely.
©Arabian Nights - Belly Dancer 2006