Preparing for Class
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
:: For the beginner and above belly dancer...
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© Copyright 2012 Move Your Belly LLC. All rights reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: Is belly dance for me?
A: Absolutely. Below is an eloquent answer to this question by one of my inspirations, Tamalyn Dallal.
"You never know until you try. It is a dance for women of all ages. Some start as children, others as middle-aged or older women. There is no age limit nor is there a special body type. Belly dancers are tall, short, heavy or thin. There is such a myriad of movements and ways to express yourself that everyone can discover her own niche.
Belly Dance is about accepting your natural body type. If you are rounded and soft, why waste your precious life force trying to get buns of steel? Appreciate the fact that you have something to shimmy, and enjoy it.
Use your individuality and don't try to be like models, athletes or even popular Egyptian dancers. Be yourself. Accept yourself. Find the beauty in your individuality, and make the most of it!"
-Excerpt from 'Belly Dancing For Fitness' by Tamalyn Dallal
Q: How should I choose a teacher?
A: Finding a teacher that fits your learning style and character is essential. As significant, is someone that will inspire you...
Research a potential instructor's teaching approach, training, and experience in belly dance and other dance forms. Knowledge of human anatomy and physiology as well as facilitating adult learning are vital. Unfortunately, just because someone is a good performer doesn't mean that they understand the intricacies of planning a curriculum or the art of breaking information down for adults, youth or children. However, this doesn't mean that if a teacher has not obtained A-Z certifications or has 3 university degrees, she doesn't have the skill to teach. Other things to look for include the number of years the instructor has been dancing and teaching, continual plans for professional development, historical and cultural knowledge of belly dance including the origins and development of the dance form, and lastly, recommendations from other students and area instructors. And...if you hear through the grapevine that so-and-so is not a good teacher, don't limit yourself from experiencing the myriad of qualities that diverse teachers offer. If you are interested, just try a teacher out. Most will let you sit-in or sample a class before you enroll. This can always tell you a lot, and most importantly you get to see the styles and capacities in your area.
Understanding what you hope to get out of a student-teacher relationship is key. Be clear on a teaching approach and style that works for you. Be aware of your goals. As long as you feel that you are in a safe learning environment that continues to challenge and support you and your individual growth, you should be set.
Q: How should I choose a class?
A: Remember that belly dance is a demanding art form—whether you love tribal, hip-hop fusion, ATS®, or any other style, it is essential that you begin with a solid Oriental dance foundation as that is the heart of this art. Once you have that, any other style or fusion will make better sense and you can move forward confidently.
Begin by learning the fundamentals of posture, body mechanics, technique, movement, etc., continually practicing them for *at least* 2 years. Musicality and expression are *integral* parts of this dance form that take a while to understand and internalize. You may be able to do technical wonders with your body, but if you can't interpret an Om Kolsoum song or a taqsim, you are not fully ready to move on to advanced levels or the stage. Breathe and take your time learning...your first few years in this dance form should be joyful and engaging, ultimately helping you find your individual voice.
Beginner classes often cover the fundamentals of musicality, posture/technique/balance, conditioning, learning and understanding 'movements' and combinations, improvisation and choreography, finger cymbals, props (veil, sword, cane), and cultural/historical context and development as well as the distinctions among varied styles. All of these elements are critical in the evolution of a rounded dancer.
If you learn best by also challenging yourself, continue to focus on fundamentals and add a class or take a workshop where you can learn something new. However, always go back to basics. I purposefully remained in "beginner" levels for almost 3 years, challenging myself by pairing them with higher level classes (when my teacher felt I was ready). I also began studying other types of movement classes such as flamenco, yoga, ballet barre and turns, modern dance, Afro-Latino dances, tango, etc., as they enhanced my belly dance training, performance and teaching.
Q: What should I wear to class?
A: Comfortable, yoga type pant and top, not too baggy as I need to see your body to determine correct posture, muscle usage and overall movement. Bare feet are encouraged, leg warmers, or soft soled dance shoes can also work. If you bring a skirt, please put it on after the warm-up. Any small/medium hip scarf that can be comfortably tied around your waist will be perfect except those with glass beading (if beads fall to the ground they can hurt other students' feet).
Q: What should I bring to class?
A: Bring a water bottle, 3-yard veil and finger cymbals, if you own them. A dance journal is always useful and can be integral to your practice. It works best if you put together a belly dance class bag that is always ready to go.
If you need to purchase a veil and finger cymbals...
Though I know that my following recommendations are a little more costly, please know that it will be made up by the higher quality, ease of use, and longevity of the items you will own.
:: Veils :: My favorite practice veils are Flying Skirts' silk veils. They flow beautifully and come in rich colors.
To browse veils...
:: Finger Cymbals :: Just because these say "tribal" it does not mean that Oriental dancers should overlook them. I love their weight, mellow sound, and unique design.
To browse cymbals...
Q: How do I begin practicing at home?
A: Regular, focused home practice is key to your dance development. If you only rely on class time to understand the intricacies of music and rhythms while assimilating movements, feeling, and context, it will take a long while to fully master the fundamentals. Home practice takes a lot of discipline and often we only have a bathroom or closet that can serve as a private dance space. Don't worry, you know you are a dancer at heart when even the bathtub provides you the space to drill an isolation or two.
Begin slowly and think of it as steadily developing a ritual. I first began by listening to music as often as possible, both while working/completing house chores, and while taking a break—when I could close my eyes and pay attention to the elements, layers, pauses, and connect to the feeling that the music carried for me. As I found more time and understood technique more, I began to drill while walking to work, while cooking, while sitting in front of the computer, or while watching a movie. From there, I woke-up 30 minutes earlier, and went to sleep 30 minutes later every day so that I could have the time to stretch, do a mini-drilling session, shower, and keep going with my day. I then began watching movies and YouTube clips, as well as reading on-line magazines (such as Gilded Serpent), researching articles, reading books and perusing websites. I also found practice DVD's a huge resource that supplemented my learning (but had to make sure I developed the habit of practicing with them, or they could gather dust for years). From there, I realized that my commitment to dancing professionally and teaching meant that I would need to practice 3+ hours per day. This was when the idea of creating a ritual really took hold, especially after reading Twyla Tharp's book, "The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use It For Life." I soon found myself needing to go through my preparation ritual (lighting candles, lighting incense, centering myself and my intentions) so that my dedicated practice could begin. Lastly, integral to all of this was my dance journal, where I kept my class and workshop notes, handouts and my own records of what I drilled, learned, or accomplished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frequently Asked Questions
:: Other important details to think about...
*DETAILS COMING SOON*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: How many teachers should I learn from?
A:
Q: When can I move to the next level?
A:
Q: When can I start performing?
A:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frequently Asked Questions
:: Particular questions about Marta's classes and teaching style...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
:: For the beginner and above belly dancer...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Copyright 2012 Move Your Belly LLC. All rights reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: Is belly dance for me?
A: Absolutely. Below is an eloquent answer to this question by one of my inspirations, Tamalyn Dallal.
"You never know until you try. It is a dance for women of all ages. Some start as children, others as middle-aged or older women. There is no age limit nor is there a special body type. Belly dancers are tall, short, heavy or thin. There is such a myriad of movements and ways to express yourself that everyone can discover her own niche.
Belly Dance is about accepting your natural body type. If you are rounded and soft, why waste your precious life force trying to get buns of steel? Appreciate the fact that you have something to shimmy, and enjoy it.
Use your individuality and don't try to be like models, athletes or even popular Egyptian dancers. Be yourself. Accept yourself. Find the beauty in your individuality, and make the most of it!"
-Excerpt from 'Belly Dancing For Fitness' by Tamalyn Dallal
Q: How should I choose a teacher?
A: Finding a teacher that fits your learning style and character is essential. As significant, is someone that will inspire you...
Research a potential instructor's teaching approach, training, and experience in belly dance and other dance forms. Knowledge of human anatomy and physiology as well as facilitating adult learning are vital. Unfortunately, just because someone is a good performer doesn't mean that they understand the intricacies of planning a curriculum or the art of breaking information down for adults, youth or children. However, this doesn't mean that if a teacher has not obtained A-Z certifications or has 3 university degrees, she doesn't have the skill to teach. Other things to look for include the number of years the instructor has been dancing and teaching, continual plans for professional development, historical and cultural knowledge of belly dance including the origins and development of the dance form, and lastly, recommendations from other students and area instructors. And...if you hear through the grapevine that so-and-so is not a good teacher, don't limit yourself from experiencing the myriad of qualities that diverse teachers offer. If you are interested, just try a teacher out. Most will let you sit-in or sample a class before you enroll. This can always tell you a lot, and most importantly you get to see the styles and capacities in your area.
Understanding what you hope to get out of a student-teacher relationship is key. Be clear on a teaching approach and style that works for you. Be aware of your goals. As long as you feel that you are in a safe learning environment that continues to challenge and support you and your individual growth, you should be set.
Q: How should I choose a class?
A: Remember that belly dance is a demanding art form—whether you love tribal, hip-hop fusion, ATS®, or any other style, it is essential that you begin with a solid Oriental dance foundation as that is the heart of this art. Once you have that, any other style or fusion will make better sense and you can move forward confidently.
Begin by learning the fundamentals of posture, body mechanics, technique, movement, etc., continually practicing them for *at least* 2 years. Musicality and expression are *integral* parts of this dance form that take a while to understand and internalize. You may be able to do technical wonders with your body, but if you can't interpret an Om Kolsoum song or a taqsim, you are not fully ready to move on to advanced levels or the stage. Breathe and take your time learning...your first few years in this dance form should be joyful and engaging, ultimately helping you find your individual voice.
Beginner classes often cover the fundamentals of musicality, posture/technique/balance, conditioning, learning and understanding 'movements' and combinations, improvisation and choreography, finger cymbals, props (veil, sword, cane), and cultural/historical context and development as well as the distinctions among varied styles. All of these elements are critical in the evolution of a rounded dancer.
If you learn best by also challenging yourself, continue to focus on fundamentals and add a class or take a workshop where you can learn something new. However, always go back to basics. I purposefully remained in "beginner" levels for almost 3 years, challenging myself by pairing them with higher level classes (when my teacher felt I was ready). I also began studying other types of movement classes such as flamenco, yoga, ballet barre and turns, modern dance, Afro-Latino dances, tango, etc., as they enhanced my belly dance training, performance and teaching.
Q: What should I wear to class?
A: Comfortable, yoga type pant and top, not too baggy as I need to see your body to determine correct posture, muscle usage and overall movement. Bare feet are encouraged, leg warmers, or soft soled dance shoes can also work. If you bring a skirt, please put it on after the warm-up. Any small/medium hip scarf that can be comfortably tied around your waist will be perfect except those with glass beading (if beads fall to the ground they can hurt other students' feet).
Q: What should I bring to class?
A: Bring a water bottle, 3-yard veil and finger cymbals, if you own them. A dance journal is always useful and can be integral to your practice. It works best if you put together a belly dance class bag that is always ready to go.
If you need to purchase a veil and finger cymbals...
Though I know that my following recommendations are a little more costly, please know that it will be made up by the higher quality, ease of use, and longevity of the items you will own.
:: Veils :: My favorite practice veils are Flying Skirts' silk veils. They flow beautifully and come in rich colors.
To browse veils...
:: Finger Cymbals :: Just because these say "tribal" it does not mean that Oriental dancers should overlook them. I love their weight, mellow sound, and unique design.
To browse cymbals...
Q: How do I begin practicing at home?
A: Regular, focused home practice is key to your dance development. If you only rely on class time to understand the intricacies of music and rhythms while assimilating movements, feeling, and context, it will take a long while to fully master the fundamentals. Home practice takes a lot of discipline and often we only have a bathroom or closet that can serve as a private dance space. Don't worry, you know you are a dancer at heart when even the bathtub provides you the space to drill an isolation or two.
Begin slowly and think of it as steadily developing a ritual. I first began by listening to music as often as possible, both while working/completing house chores, and while taking a break—when I could close my eyes and pay attention to the elements, layers, pauses, and connect to the feeling that the music carried for me. As I found more time and understood technique more, I began to drill while walking to work, while cooking, while sitting in front of the computer, or while watching a movie. From there, I woke-up 30 minutes earlier, and went to sleep 30 minutes later every day so that I could have the time to stretch, do a mini-drilling session, shower, and keep going with my day. I then began watching movies and YouTube clips, as well as reading on-line magazines (such as Gilded Serpent), researching articles, reading books and perusing websites. I also found practice DVD's a huge resource that supplemented my learning (but had to make sure I developed the habit of practicing with them, or they could gather dust for years). From there, I realized that my commitment to dancing professionally and teaching meant that I would need to practice 3+ hours per day. This was when the idea of creating a ritual really took hold, especially after reading Twyla Tharp's book, "The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use It For Life." I soon found myself needing to go through my preparation ritual (lighting candles, lighting incense, centering myself and my intentions) so that my dedicated practice could begin. Lastly, integral to all of this was my dance journal, where I kept my class and workshop notes, handouts and my own records of what I drilled, learned, or accomplished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frequently Asked Questions
:: Other important details to think about...
*DETAILS COMING SOON*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: How many teachers should I learn from?
A:
Q: When can I move to the next level?
A:
Q: When can I start performing?
A:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frequently Asked Questions
:: Particular questions about Marta's classes and teaching style...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
'Preparing for Class' has been developed by Marta/Move Your Belly LLC.
Please note this is copyrighted and/or trademarked material.
© Copyright 2012 Move Your Belly LLC. All rights reserved.
Please note this is copyrighted and/or trademarked material.
© Copyright 2012 Move Your Belly LLC. All rights reserved.
