One thing that I always tell students right from the start is that if they are not practicing in between lessons then they will be needing to take the same lessons for a much longer time before their body will react on command. Emphasize that this is a natural process where you are developing muscle memory so that lots of thinking isn't required to get each part going as you like. This could be compared to layering moves as you shimmy. It also helps if you remind them to smile as they practice both in class and at home so that they don't have to add the smile when it comes time to perform.

When I have encountered students who feel that they are better than I think they are I find it is better not to verbally challenge them but to give them the opportunity to demonstrate their ability. The first "test" is to ask them to improvise to a piece of music in front of the rest of the class. This is not to embarrass the person but to point out that performing must come naturally and be available to them with little or no preparation. If you are not teaching improv techniques the alternative is to offer a combination of no less than four step patterns combining traveling steps with syncopated (1 & 2 &, etc.) and regular timing, interspersed with isolations such as hip bumps and snake arms. If they are able to succeed then perhaps they are naturals. Most new dancers, and some who have been at it for quite a while, will struggle with either of these assignments.

Sadly, as many of the reality shows are demonstrating, some people are just convinced of their ability and will continue to feel that way regardless of the evidence to the contrary. All you can do is be polite and hope they decide to test the waters somewhere else and not cause trouble with the rest of the class.

Once in 18 years of teaching. She was a well trained dancer in Western art forms and worked her butt off inbetween classes. The only way it worked was that she was a teenager and sweet as a button - genuinely so! The others would sigh and wish they could do that too, but took her progress really well. She was with me for a year before she went to college to major in dance. She is currently performing with a local instructor at college.

Halleyah

I've had two. One had taken a 6 week session from another instructor before taking my class about a year later. She practiced everyday in between.

And my latest natural dancer took 2 classes from me, as in 2 ONE hour classes, NOT 2 sessions, and performed locally at a hafla and blew us all away. She had been working with DVDs before starting my classes and practices EVERY day at lunch and in the evenings. Since starting her second session with me she has gone out and RENTED studio space to practice in!!!!!!!!!!
I absolutely love her and admire her dedication, but really can't take any credit for it because she's done it all on her own. Practice makes perfect. :)

I would chalk this up to the 5 - 15 hours of extra practice per week rather than natural talent. As mentioned above, students with previous movement training (not just dance, but martial arts, sports, etc.) are likely to be much more in tune with their body and in a more "collaberative" state with it, not to mention more understanding of the need to just go for it and make those mistakes and put in the hours, whereas women who have been having body image issues for 30 years, worked at a desk, and are self-conscious about their skills are more likely to feel stiff and awkward or need more encouragement from a teacher. Plus, people are so often told they can't, that dancing is just for special people who are "real dancers", and women especially may have been told quite often that it isn't something they should put their time and money towards.

Instead of saying that a student will have to work a lot harder than a person with natural talent (which could be misinterpreted by the student), I would try to phrase it in a way to encourage the student to not compare themselves to another person and remember that everyone learns in their own way, at their own pace. Some people get it mentally, then physically. Some people have to try and try physically until they feel the right movement, and then their brain says "a ha!" It's a pretty common reminder in yoga, too... respect where you're at. Encourage your students to uncover their own particular learning style, and encourage them to ask you to help them with it - if they learn by counting something out, let them know it's ok to ask you for the counts again. If they learn by watching, let them know it's ok to ask you to do a move so they can watch. Discovering what one's learning style is can be really helpful!

I do believe in natural talent. I just think dedication is often mistaken for it, and dedication deserves praise! I think a lot of talent comes out of love, a love of something that drives a person to do it as often as possible and to feel free while doing it.

Not to come across sounding arrogant, but...Me. I had studied other forms of dance and theater all my life, and when I came to bellydance, though it was very very different in many ways, it came very naturally. Teachers were pushing me through class levels and encouraging me to perform very early. I studied videos to some degree at home, and danced with friends in SCA and other open dance stuff in my off time, but all-in-all it wasn't that I was studying *so much* outside of class, but more that I honestly took to bellydance movement more naturally than any other form of movement I ever took. I can't say I was by any stretch "pro" in such a short time (and you have made it clear you are not claiming this student is), but I breezed through beginner level classes and was heartily embraced and encouraged by my teachers and mentors early on due to my enthusiasm and natural skills in the dance. Paulette was mentoring me to teach after only 2 years of dancing from seeing me dance in her workshops, which I considered a great honor and still do.

It can be hard sometimes to get across to students that there are all different abilities, propensities, natural abilities, and physical strengths and limitations which make up a dancer's ability to advance. Funny enough, it can sometimes be the most skilled dancers that are hard to get to move forward forward, where the struggling dancers are sometimes so overeager to move forward faster than is appropriate. We are all not always the best judges of our own strengths and weaknesses, ya know?

To this day I adore beginner classes because I love the chance to dig into the nuances of even the most basic skills. It thrills me on artistic, philosophical, physiological, and even mathematical levels. I think sometimes it is more our ability to see/visualize the dance and its base components on deep and subtle levels that make us better dancers and choreographers. It's the students who can't wait to get away from the beginner classes and consider them "boring" who invariably need them the most...

I had two 20 something dancers with extensive classical dance background come to my class last week & after class they both seemed very enthuised to come back & learn more.

They came to my open adv.beg/inter level drop in class but since there were more intermeadiate students in class, I kept the class at our usual pace and they were suprised by the intensity of the class. They had trouble w/ the different kinds of shimmys (I kinda had the feeling they thought it was going to be super easy). I fear the layering may have scared them away. I did advise them to take a beginning series so they would learn the foundation...

They didnt show up last night & have not registered for the beginner class & that was a little dissapointing as I do think with practice they could develop quickly. I hope to see them again either in my classes or with another good instuctor in the area but who knows. I have had trained dancers before who have done very well & another who didnt come back as she realised it was more work she had anticipated (cause she wanted to perform & teach dance classes right away)

Anyway - I hope they find a love for this dance in the future

One. A good friend who has a rough life. Called her Jewel, she's precious to us. We were doing a choreography for a show. She might have attended a half dozen practices in six months. A little concerned, but we put her in the middle and did it anyway. She blew us away!

There are the rare Jewels and then there is the rest of us who work ourselves silly and aren't near as good. Life is funny like that.

I always have a sbiel at the start of my beginners sessions about the fact that they shouldn't compare themselves one against the other. Some moves will be more natural for some than for others and that's all dependent on the body you have (i.e., your physical properties), what activities you have done in the past, what activities you are doing now, etc. I always point out that shimmies were far from a natural thing for me and now they're pretty good, after much practice. I also warn them against comparing themselves against me b/c I've been doing this for years so my moves are bigger now than theirs might be. I tell them that technique and control albeit it makes the movements small is much preferable to bigger moves done sloppily.

I do run into students who get discouraged when they don't get moves on the first try. I tell them that patience and practice will help them improve. My favorite story is Rachel Brice who said that she couldn't move anything when she started dancing. After much practice, she started moving like everyone else... and, well, see what constant, regular practice does? ;)

That level of dedication to the dance that your student is displaying is very rare indeed. I've encountered very few examples of this (none of them were my students). Unfortunately, those ladies have stopped dancing... the fire burnt bright but the flames died about as quickly. Those ladies are reknowned for doing something extremely well and focusing a lot of time and energy but then moving on quickly to another challenge... which translates to another activity...

I'm so glad, though, that Shay kept on dancin'! ;)