Well, did you ask YOUR teacher?

I am sorry to say this but just because your girls say that you are a good teacher, it may not be enough. Not saying that you are bad - but it's like those teenagers who turn up and say: "my friends all say I move better than Shakira!"...

Ask a professional dancer in your area for her honest opinion about your dance skills. Is your posture and technique right? You don't want to teach the basics wrong...

What about other teachers in your area? I just think it's no use to set up classes as a beginner when there are a lot of qualified teachers in your area already.

This is not about you or how good it makes you feel to teach. It's about offering new students the best possible introduction into this dance form - even it it means letting them go to take classes with somebody else who is more qualified than you.

I have refused to start teaching for many years (although many people asked me to) because I always thought that my teachers were so much better than me, so people should go and learn with them instead!

There a few "elders" [ all respect intended] in the dance world who are offering teacher training, Hadia, is the one I can think of off the top of my head, and she travels across North America offering these sessions throughout the year. I am pretty sure I have heard of others, but no names are coming to mind at the moment. www.hadia.com is her website.

When I started teaching( back in 98), I was doing it for some right reasons, and some wrong reasons - I was also asked to teach by a few friends and did start at their suggestion. It took me a few years to realize that some of what I was teaching was not as accurate as it should have been and I then had to go around trying to correct some moves that i had taught incorrectly - I could dance them well enough but not explain them properly!

At that time I realized I had to make sure that I was still increasing my own knowledge too - going to workshops given by more experienced teachers helps me still learn better ways to communicate. We are lucky enough to have regular workshops in my area so I have my pick.
And we have some fabulous teachers in the city as well as close by, so again, whenever I feel it is time to learn something more, I can take advantage.

You said you are a beginner, so I would suggest that you let yourself get to the point of becoming an intermediate at the very least before seeking out an official teaching position, and continue with your own education as a dancer while you are helping introduce others to this wonderful dance form.

Others may suggest you wait even longer, but the bottom line is that you will follow your heart, and that's cool - just remember that as a teacher, you have a big responsibility to your students....

I became a teacher because my teacher asked me to assist her. As soon as I realised that I wanted to do this for myself, not just as her assistant, I booked myself onto a Teacher Training course with two of the UK's most highly regarded teachers. (As it happened that was the only specific BD teacher training course at that time, but I would have gone to them anyway, even if I'd had a greater choice). I started teaching classes through Adult Education, which required me to be very methodical in my preparation for classes, and to clarify in my own mind exactly what I wanted to teach.

The main advice I would give to anyone at this stage in their dance development would be to learn more, lots more, so that you can find your own style.

Go visit all these sites:

www.shira.net/dearshira/newteacher.htm

www.gildedserpent.com/article...hing.htm

www.zilltech.com/FAQTeaching.html

www.afraalkahira.com/startteach.htm

They will give you a clearer idea of what teaching dance is about, and what you should be thinking about when you start teaching. There is far more to it than just breaking down moves.

First I appreciate your joy, enthusiasm and your desire to help others learn.

That said, I do feel the need to echo the "be sure you're ready" sentiment, as you mention that you're a beginner. It's a common trap--"young" (in experience) dancers hit this point where they start to get good for the level they are at, and they start hearing from friends that they're good and should be teaching/performing professionally/etc. and they start to believe their own hype. But, unfortunately at that stage you often simply don't know what you don't know yet. The intentions are all good, but the actual experience isn't there, and part of that experience is seeing/learning just how much you don't know yet, and having the humility to recognize where you are and where you are not. (I'll bet nearly every pro on these tribes, if she were truly honest with herself, remembers with deep chagrin something she thought or said or did at a time in her early days because she simply didn't know better.:-) I've seen some dancers start teaching or trying to perform professionally too soon and then end up feeling trapped--they're not strong/experienced enough to really succeed and offer a quality product long-term, but they feel like they can't go backwards either. It takes years of experience to really be ready, and even once you are, it is critical to keep studying and training yourself so that you continue to evolve and grow as a teacher and performer.

But, since you asked about how to become a teacher...lets go on the assumption you've taken some more time, been dancing several years, have very strong intermediate to advanced technique, and are continuing to get ongoing training yourself. And you're ready to start teaching.

In such a situation, a good way to gain entree into the world of teaching is through community ed programs. Some of the benefits of starting your teaching through community education are:
* They find you a location
* They help you market the class (through their catalogues, etc.) which helps ensure you get enough students to be financially viable.
* There's usually some kind of evaluation or feedback process
* The classes are arranged in sessions (which, if you are concientious, will force you to consider and plan your curriculum.)
* They set the prices and handle the money, venue contracts, and liability insurance etc. Many will also photocopy your handouts for you (if you have a hand out that you want to distribute at the start of the class session)

These things all lower your risk and cost of entry into teaching, and give you time to refine your teaching technique and build a good sized student base before you need to find a studio, negotiate a contract, get insurance, pay for advertising, etc. Eventually you may want to strike out on your own, but this is an excellent way to get started.

Some posters mentioned instructor training programs (like Hadia's, et al.) I can't speak to the value of particular training programs, (and I recognize many of these might be inconvenient to someone in Schaumburg anyway), but that's certainly one way to learn to teach.. Another is through conversation and observation. Find an instructor you know and trust--someone you think is good (or more than one, for that matter) and talk with her about teaching. Investigate other schools and instructors' curriculae (there are about a gadjillion ways to structure a beginning class). Attend a beginner class yourself again to remind yourself what it's like to be there. If you're going to become a formal teacher, think things through methodically--What warm ups will you use? What music do you want to use in class for teaching? What techniques will you teach each week of the session? How will you break them down? How will you teach isolations? What is your general philosophy and approach to teaching? The more structured and thorough your own thinking is in advance, and the more you've prepared yourself for the unexpected, the more you know that your class will be valuable to the students.

And of course, recognize that experience is also a great teacher--if you go to teaching formally, you will likely find that some things you do in the classroom will change over time as you continue to develop as a dancer, become more confident as a teacher, and learn what does and does not work in your classroom.

Best of luck to you.

I started teaching for my instructor when she asked if I was interested. It wasn't something I had set sights on as a beginner. I started teaching about a year and half of classes (that was about 6-8 hrs per week every week for 18 months). I've been teaching for just over 4 years and I still only teach Beg 1 and 2 - Like Meissoun said, anyone who wants to advance beyond that needs to go to MY teachers because they are so much better than I am!

I agree with what everyone has said here. My teacher offers a yearly teacher training which I took; she also has a "mentoring" approach, in that she came to some of my classes to give me feedback, and we have meetings (there are several of us who teach for her school) where we workshop teaching techniques and discuss other things involved in teaching.

I really strongly advise to keep up with your own dance education - I've seen many teachers stop taking classes once they start to teach and that IMHO is just wrong. Also understand that teaching is a big responsibility - its more than just breaking down moves. Its teaching the music, the rhythms, the history, the culture, and its undertanding physiology and the neuromuscular system. Its understanding the psychology of how people learn movement, its about safety AND - its also a business. Primarily, I think being a good teacher means educating yourself first.

I fully admit that when I started teaching, I made some huge mistakes because I didn't know any better. Fortunately I had my own teacher there to immediately correct me and help me along the way. I realize that in your area you may not have that advantage, but starting with your own teacher is a good place to begin.

Good luck! It sounds like you really have the enthusiasm and the desire to teach - it really is a rewarding experience and a lot of fun!

Hi B!
My teacher asked me if I was interested in teaching... she told me when she thought I was ready that I should start publicising and sending my CV to places I thought could use my skills and when she got contacted by other people who needed a BD teacher she started giving them my number... When we reach a certain level she also invites us to start attending didactics classes ... we do not teach beginners classes until we have gone trough beginners, intermediate and advanced levels...
That´s how it worked for me!
Salam
Marta

"You shouldn't be teaching until you can teach advanced students well." I don't wish to step on any toes here, but I think this needs to be said. I have been dancing for over six years, have worked as a regular dancer, and have had experience dancing with live musicians. Matter of fact, my other job is "teaching," just not dance. Although I consider myself a professional dancer, I have put off teaching. You wouldn't find a novice ballarina teaching a ballet class, and likewise, and the same is true for all art forms. For others to respect our art form, we need to honor and respect it ourselves. There's so much to learn, so much to practice... I would advice using your time to take workshops and classes from those who have fine tuned their craft and know that you have a gift for teaching in the future.

I do not want to rain on anyone's parade but if you are a beginner then it is actually a little early in my eyes to teach. Posture and safety is really important....often beginners are still learning those items and really need to get that down first.

I got into teaching after taking weekly lessons 2-3 times a week from 2 different teachers. I was also performing and became very experienced in stage presence and also restaurant entertainment first. My main teacher encouraged me to start teaching when I was approached by some people interested. She stated that she felt I was ready for that challenge. To me it was very important to feel that my mentor/teacher felt I was ready because we have a number of people in this area that really are not ready to teach and it shows -- I did not want to be one of those and also it was a respect for the community here too to ensure that I was qualified and ready.

I do feel that posture and technique must be really good before teaching but also zills (being able to play and also understand not just just do patterns) is important. Along with zills....experience with performance. Most come into belly dancing thinking it is just for fun but then want to perform....part of the dance is the presentation so performance experience is important.

I do feel that belly dancing is not regarded as tough as ballet or tap often....but it is really is. I do not think that anyone would consider teaching ballet until they were very experienced. I am not sure why belly dance is often looked at as easy -- like I said we have a lot here that take a year or so of class then begin to teach.....it really shows in the posture and technique of their students when I see them at haflas and such. I do really hate to rain on anyones parade but I do feel that this is important not only for the dance but for safety and preventing injury.

I ended up teaching when my teacher (the ONLY teacher in this town) moved to a different state. There are a few other teacers in the state but theyre hours away...This is North Dakota, you won't see too many of us BellyDance Teacher types. But how it went was, she moved and had I not trained with her to take over her classes, then there would be no Belly Dance in this town - at all. And being a passionate belly dance student, I felt that I had to. I had to keep it alive so that I, myself could dance. I'm not thrilled about teaching and I know for a fact there are better teachers out there than me but I keep my class more focused on basic beginner moves and I try to push it towards the fitness/exercise aspect of it. Once again, its North Dakota, I havent been able to keep enough interest to get beyond a beginner class anyways.

But if you are not pushed into this like me, if there are other teachers near you that you can still learn from, then continue learning. You can't teach what you don't know and if you teach beginners and they want to excel and you dont know more than beginner level movements, what can you do? Dancing (ie performing) is not the same as teaching. Some do one better than the other. Not all can do both. I think you should just feel this out and all said above, talk with your teacher about this.

Hi Basinah- I do think that help from a mentor teacher is invaluable, but on the off chance you found yourself in a situation like mine (isolated from any other dancers, say nothing of instructors!) here are a few things that got me going- first off, know that *your* education never ends. I was able to visit home for the summers and work with dancers there, but I also studied videos (I honestly got more out of performance vids than instructional) and danced my butt off at home.
I started ordering books that were recommended to me for anatomy, dance physiology, stretching technique, etc. I wanted to get my CPR training & ended up an EMT1, but that is another story ;) I read as much as possible on the known (& disputed) history & culture of the dance. I found out who online was knowledgeable and willing to answer my questions. (I love you Kawakib, Morocco, Aisha, Lucy!)

I had the good fortune of having experience making lesson plans from teaching preschool & tutoring Spanish, & I think this is a good place to start your planning. Decide what you consider level 1 movements, techniques & concepts. lay it out in terms of goals to be accomplished each month (if you are not ready to lay it out day by day, which takes some experience) This helps you solidify what you will be teaching & gives you a chance to personally review before entering class. Make sure you know multiple ways of explaining and breaking down these movements & concepts & take different learning styles into account.

As far as location- every town is different. in one town I was able to use the school. In another we ended up in an unused trailer whose owner was a former dancer. I have been in rec centers, University classrooms, corporate recreation/lunch rooms, gyms & dance studios. Out of my home did not work so well (controlling the kids' marbles was too much for me...)

I hope that's enough to get you started & I wish you the best of luck! If you can make it to a teacher training, it can be a wonderful thing (& I would be jealous!) Hadia has been mentioned, Taaj has a distance program, Suhaila certifies in her style, of course & I know there are others.

I have JUST started teaching a beginner class at the studio where I have been taking classes for the last few years. Leading up to this I took Levels 1 & 2 of Hadia's teacher training, and apprenticed with the director at our studio. Hadia's teacher training was very informative and I would highly recommend it, even for people who already are instructors. She has a lot of knowledge to share with respect to body awareness, alignment, and injury prevention.

Our studio has a set repertoire for what specific moves are to be taught at each level but one thing I'm finding challenging is trying to find the right balance between conducting the "follow the bouncing butt" drills and stopping to break down moves in more detail, talk about music and style, etc. Pretty well all my students had said they were taking the classes for fun & fitness, which would seem to call for a greater ratio of movement vs talk, but I'm sure you've all had students that started off just looking for exercise but then went on to pursue it as an art form. Teaching a beginner level holds a lot of responsibility (probably more so than teaching a more advanced class), since you're setting the foundations that the students are to build upon.

By no means do I consider my own dance education complete -- I still take regular classes and workshops. There's always so much to more to learn!