So I went to Little Egypt's Chicago workshop and it was awesome. Not only was I inspired but I danced pain free. I fully participated in 4 of the 6 workshops. I can't even describe how good it made me feel.
Now I am back home and back on schedule. Shimmy Mob is this week-end. I only learned the choreography last week but I learned it and I am ready to go. I am back on track with my lessons and feeling on top of the world.
So how was the workshop? Awesome. First, Aida Nour. She is everything you have heard. She is a great dancer and a great teacher. All 3 of the instructors did an excellent job explaining things and making sure we understood.
I went to the workshop not really knowing much about Asmahan. What a firecracker! I loved, loved, loved her style and had a blast even though I looked like I had been hosed down I was so sweaty after he classes. She is funny and very kind. Plus with her accent Shimmy sounds like Jimmy so now when I practice I hear her in my head saying "Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy."
I only participated in the first hour of Kazafy's Shamadan workshop and then set out and took notes for the rest. I loved the choreography. Shamadan is one of my favorite things so this will definitely be a piece I work on. I did not participate in his Saidi workshop at all. My back was very sore and I knew I couldn't do both of Sunday's workshops so I sat out of his in order to be able to participate in Aida Nour's oriental workshop.
There were shows both nights with Asmahan doing a 4 costume change show in Saturday. I am so sorry I didn't force my husband to go to that show. Since he is a trooper and will go to any show I want him to if he says he would rather not then I never try to convince him otherwise. I should have.
Aida and Kazafy performed on Friday both solo and with each other. Here is the awesome thing, they didn't rehearse together. Since they were both in the Reda Troupe they were able to just hop on stage and do Reda combos together. INSANE! I have study with Reda himself and from several instructors who teach his combos/style so it made perfect sense to me but the dancers who hadn't studied Reda were bowled over by this concept. Study your Reda people!
I loved the workshop so much I am putting more Little Egypt events on my calendar. I hope to get to go to Ahlan Cairo Nights in Dallas this year.
Now that I am better all I want to do is dance. I am trying very hard to overdo it and am including a lot of walking in my fitness routine. Getting ready for Shimmy Mob has kept me on my toes and I am looking forward to a full dance season.
Showing posts with label my two cents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my two cents. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Cost of a Good Education
I read a lot about performance undercutters on various message boards and online groups. Performers then often discuss the hidden costs of performing. Costumes, lessons, make-up, music, travel time and many other factors affect the cost of hiring a professional performer.
Here a few articles on Bellydance Performer's rates:
Shems: Behind the Rates
Mary: The High Cost of Rates
Shira: Why do you charge so much for only 15 minutes of dancing?
But today I am talking about the true cost of teaching a bellydance class and how I set my rates.
So students want to know why Bellydance classes aren't as low cost as other fitness classes, or don't come free with gym membership.
Well, for one bellydance is just that, dance. It is not a fitness class where an instructor can do the same basic steps over and over for the advantage of caloric burn (there are classes like this but they should supplement a regular dance regime). Being a bellydance instructor means a lot more than just showing up to class and leading a session of follow the bouncing butt.
An instructor spend on average 3 hours outside of class time for every hour of teaching. This time is spent selecting music, choreographing, writing notes, watching videos, making videos and training.
There is also a financial and time commitment of the instructors own continuing education. Bellydance does not have a finite end point. There isn't a book, that when you get to the end you know every thing there is to know about bellydance. There are countless books, dvds and workshops to be studied. I find it easy to attend at least one major workshop per month within driving distance. Because this dance comes from a historical and geographical context, it is important that good instructors study dance history, world history and keep up with how the geopolitical factors of today affect bellydance.
Even if you are only teaching one specific style, you owe it to your students to know enough about other styles that you can recommend good instructors and give them some sort of context of how your style differs and relates.
Aside from these exhaustive costs and time commitments, there are the direct costs of studio rent, liability insurance and advertising. For those instructors lucky enough to own their own studio then they pay more in utilities and higher rates on business and liability insurance.
All this goes into what an instructor charges for his/her classes.
Now I am not trying to make you say," oh 'Azraa, how committed you are to your students." The thing is, I love teaching. Nothing makes me happier than when I see a student execute something I thought them, or recite a bit of history that I know they learned from me.
I just want people to understand that we, the dance teachers, aren't in it for the money. We can't be. To do all this, and to really work hard to be the best you can be and to make your students the best they can be well, you have to really be committed and practically commit-able.
It would also be a lot easier for me to say, "well, I make enough at my day job that I can teach for free." Sure I would have people lined up outside to take my classes, but that devalues the product we are trying to sell. A good quality dance education is worth something, until you make it worthless. I must also consider my fellow artists and instructors who do make their living from performing and teaching. Charging business sustainable rates means that all instructors whether part-time or full-time can support their business. So not only am I giving value to my classes which are definitely worth value but setting a standard so that other artists/performers/instructors can compete.
"But 'Azraa," you say. "why would you want competition?" Well, in truth, I don't. But I also don't want to drive competition away because I am the cheapest in town. That works for big box stores and corporate conglomerates but I am an artist and an educator. If I am going to drive the competition away it will be by being the best. And as long as the market is not over-saturated, a little competition is healthy. In this business , it is great to have other instructors and dancers who you can work with to put on events, have as guest artists, refer gigs to if you are booked up....there are plenty of reasons to be thankful for a bellydance community of more than just one. Granted, this only counts if you community is made up of reputable and well educated dancers, but that's a blog post for another day.
Here a few articles on Bellydance Performer's rates:
Shems: Behind the Rates
Mary: The High Cost of Rates
Shira: Why do you charge so much for only 15 minutes of dancing?
But today I am talking about the true cost of teaching a bellydance class and how I set my rates.
So students want to know why Bellydance classes aren't as low cost as other fitness classes, or don't come free with gym membership.
Well, for one bellydance is just that, dance. It is not a fitness class where an instructor can do the same basic steps over and over for the advantage of caloric burn (there are classes like this but they should supplement a regular dance regime). Being a bellydance instructor means a lot more than just showing up to class and leading a session of follow the bouncing butt.
An instructor spend on average 3 hours outside of class time for every hour of teaching. This time is spent selecting music, choreographing, writing notes, watching videos, making videos and training.
There is also a financial and time commitment of the instructors own continuing education. Bellydance does not have a finite end point. There isn't a book, that when you get to the end you know every thing there is to know about bellydance. There are countless books, dvds and workshops to be studied. I find it easy to attend at least one major workshop per month within driving distance. Because this dance comes from a historical and geographical context, it is important that good instructors study dance history, world history and keep up with how the geopolitical factors of today affect bellydance.
Even if you are only teaching one specific style, you owe it to your students to know enough about other styles that you can recommend good instructors and give them some sort of context of how your style differs and relates.
Aside from these exhaustive costs and time commitments, there are the direct costs of studio rent, liability insurance and advertising. For those instructors lucky enough to own their own studio then they pay more in utilities and higher rates on business and liability insurance.
All this goes into what an instructor charges for his/her classes.
Now I am not trying to make you say," oh 'Azraa, how committed you are to your students." The thing is, I love teaching. Nothing makes me happier than when I see a student execute something I thought them, or recite a bit of history that I know they learned from me.
I just want people to understand that we, the dance teachers, aren't in it for the money. We can't be. To do all this, and to really work hard to be the best you can be and to make your students the best they can be well, you have to really be committed and practically commit-able.
It would also be a lot easier for me to say, "well, I make enough at my day job that I can teach for free." Sure I would have people lined up outside to take my classes, but that devalues the product we are trying to sell. A good quality dance education is worth something, until you make it worthless. I must also consider my fellow artists and instructors who do make their living from performing and teaching. Charging business sustainable rates means that all instructors whether part-time or full-time can support their business. So not only am I giving value to my classes which are definitely worth value but setting a standard so that other artists/performers/instructors can compete.
"But 'Azraa," you say. "why would you want competition?" Well, in truth, I don't. But I also don't want to drive competition away because I am the cheapest in town. That works for big box stores and corporate conglomerates but I am an artist and an educator. If I am going to drive the competition away it will be by being the best. And as long as the market is not over-saturated, a little competition is healthy. In this business , it is great to have other instructors and dancers who you can work with to put on events, have as guest artists, refer gigs to if you are booked up....there are plenty of reasons to be thankful for a bellydance community of more than just one. Granted, this only counts if you community is made up of reputable and well educated dancers, but that's a blog post for another day.
Friday, September 23, 2011
What you get out of a workshop
I often tell of how as a beginning dancer I only wanted workshop with choreography. Not combos but full out choreography, because then I felt I had something I can use. This is extra funny since I don't think I ever once used one of these choreographies until I pulled out two 4 year old workshop notes recently.
Now I find it is the opposite. Unless I am studying with someone who is truly a master of choreography like Yousry Sharif then I am not interested in it. I want technique, history, methodology, and anything else that will advance my dancing be it improv or choreography.
But then the question becomes, when do we use this? Is it a waste if you spend $200 and two days of your time on a workshop and don't come home dancing like the instructor or growing your own dancing in leaps and bounds.
I think of each class, each workshop, each instructor, and each topic like a drop in a bucket. The bucket is all the things you have at your disposal when you dance. Each workshop may only add one new drop or it may add a spoonful, either way every drop is worth something. As our buckets fill so we grow as dancers, teachers and performers.
I never feel like I need to remember or assimilate everything I learn, just add a few drops here and there. It makes learning more fun and it makes me want to travel around and get splash or new ideas from here, there and everywhere.
Now I find it is the opposite. Unless I am studying with someone who is truly a master of choreography like Yousry Sharif then I am not interested in it. I want technique, history, methodology, and anything else that will advance my dancing be it improv or choreography.
But then the question becomes, when do we use this? Is it a waste if you spend $200 and two days of your time on a workshop and don't come home dancing like the instructor or growing your own dancing in leaps and bounds.
I think of each class, each workshop, each instructor, and each topic like a drop in a bucket. The bucket is all the things you have at your disposal when you dance. Each workshop may only add one new drop or it may add a spoonful, either way every drop is worth something. As our buckets fill so we grow as dancers, teachers and performers.
I never feel like I need to remember or assimilate everything I learn, just add a few drops here and there. It makes learning more fun and it makes me want to travel around and get splash or new ideas from here, there and everywhere.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Things that are on my mind
I know I am not good about keeping up this blog and maybe if I wrote more about the things that are on my mind I would. This might be considered a rant or it might be mindless drivel but it is what I want to share.
I started teaching full time when I moved. I moved from a town with 5+ full time bellydance teachers to a town with none. Now I could have just went to workshops and practiced and performed, but I had a good feeling that if I taught I could find companions who loved this dance as much as I do. I wasn't sure that I felt super ready to teach even though my mentor encouraged me to. While I was moving, I spent countless hours on Bhuz reading threads of common teacher concerns, reading articles both about bellydance, teaching styles, adult education and brushing up on my bellydance history. I developed a syllabus for my first session and practiced teaching imaginary students in the mirror. I created my own beginner choreography. Why did I do all this? Because I love this dance. I love it so much that I am appalled to think that someone could be misinformed by an instructor. I recall overcoming my own bad habits as a beginner. They were bad habits I taught myself. How awful to think that a beginning students would pick up bad habits from me as their instructor.
This brings me to my complaint. It is a complaint as old as time, but I want my opinion on the record.
I believe a dancer needs to be at a certain level herself before she can ever be an instructor. Why do so many beginners go on to teaching? The same reason I wanted to teach. They are eager to share this dance with others. However, in that eagerness they lose sight of how important it is to be a master of the thing you are teaching. Many dancers think if they are one step past the beginner level then they can teach beginners. This is absolutely not the case. To teach beginners you need to be able to execute the move with near perfection and explain it at least 3 different ways. You need to be able to present combinations and choreographies that challenge beginners so that they will grow. How is this possible if you are barely past that level yourself?
All that being said, I think since I departed on this journey as a teacher I was forced to grow to that point. I wanted to do it right and every time I felt not good enough, I took a harder workshop, read another book, choreographed a more challenging dance. I pushed and pushed my own skills so as not to let my students down.
That is the level of dancing and instruction that I want my community to be exposed too. It hurts my heart and soul to see students and my community exposed to poor quality dancing and mis-information.
If a better dancer/instructor came along, I would take her classes and encourage my more advanced students to do so as well. Luckily for me, I have a day job so if that made my classes dry up I would be happy to share the dance with my new instructor and her other students.
Honestly, I am not sure I am ready to mentor someone to the point where they are ready to teach but if I ever had a friend or student who I felt was ready, I like to think I would be nothing but encouraging. If I thought the person wasn't ready but they had made up their mind I think I would play devil's advocate and try to make them see all the training and concepts they are missing or haven't thought of.
Anyway, that's my two cents on this topic.
I started teaching full time when I moved. I moved from a town with 5+ full time bellydance teachers to a town with none. Now I could have just went to workshops and practiced and performed, but I had a good feeling that if I taught I could find companions who loved this dance as much as I do. I wasn't sure that I felt super ready to teach even though my mentor encouraged me to. While I was moving, I spent countless hours on Bhuz reading threads of common teacher concerns, reading articles both about bellydance, teaching styles, adult education and brushing up on my bellydance history. I developed a syllabus for my first session and practiced teaching imaginary students in the mirror. I created my own beginner choreography. Why did I do all this? Because I love this dance. I love it so much that I am appalled to think that someone could be misinformed by an instructor. I recall overcoming my own bad habits as a beginner. They were bad habits I taught myself. How awful to think that a beginning students would pick up bad habits from me as their instructor.
This brings me to my complaint. It is a complaint as old as time, but I want my opinion on the record.
I believe a dancer needs to be at a certain level herself before she can ever be an instructor. Why do so many beginners go on to teaching? The same reason I wanted to teach. They are eager to share this dance with others. However, in that eagerness they lose sight of how important it is to be a master of the thing you are teaching. Many dancers think if they are one step past the beginner level then they can teach beginners. This is absolutely not the case. To teach beginners you need to be able to execute the move with near perfection and explain it at least 3 different ways. You need to be able to present combinations and choreographies that challenge beginners so that they will grow. How is this possible if you are barely past that level yourself?
All that being said, I think since I departed on this journey as a teacher I was forced to grow to that point. I wanted to do it right and every time I felt not good enough, I took a harder workshop, read another book, choreographed a more challenging dance. I pushed and pushed my own skills so as not to let my students down.
That is the level of dancing and instruction that I want my community to be exposed too. It hurts my heart and soul to see students and my community exposed to poor quality dancing and mis-information.
If a better dancer/instructor came along, I would take her classes and encourage my more advanced students to do so as well. Luckily for me, I have a day job so if that made my classes dry up I would be happy to share the dance with my new instructor and her other students.
Honestly, I am not sure I am ready to mentor someone to the point where they are ready to teach but if I ever had a friend or student who I felt was ready, I like to think I would be nothing but encouraging. If I thought the person wasn't ready but they had made up their mind I think I would play devil's advocate and try to make them see all the training and concepts they are missing or haven't thought of.
Anyway, that's my two cents on this topic.
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