The Art of Teaching

Teaching is an art - a talent - and a learned skill. We all can remember one amazing teacher that touched our lives and changed how we viewed a subject. We got it - the light bulb came on and we were excited! That is a good teacher.

Anyone can hang out a shingle and begin teaching anything they want. They can ask folks to pay them money and there it is. Academic teachers usually have to prove they know how to do this and have been trained if they choose to teach through a school or organized institution - however, if they choose to offer their services as a tutor or private teacher there isn't any governing organization that requires that they be trained or licensed - although the potential employer can do so.

Dance teachers have even less requirements placed on them. There is no organized state or government board that licenses the average dance teacher (for those teaching in the academic world there is a certification process, but most dance teachers don't go that route). The average dance teacher has taken lessons and achieved a certain skill level and then begins to teach. Each dance discipline handles this in a different way. Belly Dance has very little structure for this process.

Many belly dance teachers take lessons and start getting requests from friends and audience members to "teach them". And so they begin teaching. Many belly dancers consider the question of whether they are qualified to teach, but many more don't. They are flattered and see a need and start teaching. Some of them are naturals. They luck out and work at it and become even better and all is good. Many are not naturals and they don't luck out and woe be it to the student who ends up in their class. Being a talented performer or a knowledgeable dancer does not make one a good teacher.

The old adage of "those who can do and those who can't teach" is a bunch of malarkey! Teachers in any subject need training and skills and to be great they need passion and talent, just like any other field or occupation. That old adage is one of the reasons that classroom teachers make so little money and have so little respect, but I digress.

I've set in and lurked through many online discussions on what the qualifications of a good teacher should be. What skills should they know? How many years of experience as a dancer should they have? What makes a really talented teacher? The varied opinions on this cut a pretty wide path.

Some people think that no one should teach unless they have been performing professionally in the restaurant trade for X number of years. Hmm - that one leaves me out. I don't perform in restaurants - not my cup of tea. Don't enjoy it and have no intention of doing it. So I'm not a big proponent of that one.

Some people think that no one should teach unless their teacher says they can/or are ready. Now this one has some merit. Your own teacher is a really good judge of your strengths and weaknesses. She/He will know whether or not you can break down moves well, can perform moves and choreography with excellent technique, are well versed in the culture and history of the dance form, and whether or not you have good performance skills. This is an age old method of deciding whether someone is ready to teach in many other occupations and I think a valid consideration for belly dance. Many of those bad teachers skip this step because they know their teacher wouldn't "sign-off" on them so to speak. So they drop out of class and suddenly the teacher hears that their student has started teaching across town. It's disappointing and fools no one. People in the community will ask the teacher, "Did you know X has started teaching?" And the teacher always answers "Yes, but without my blessings." This does nothing for the new teacher's reputation and causes much ill will in the community. Now here's where I disagree with many folks. I don't think it's the experienced teacher's job to go to her now ex-student and say, "You can't teach" or some other version of that sentiment. There is no regulatory board and the student already knows her teacher wouldn't approve or she wouldn't have been so sneaky about it. Many folks feel it is the experienced teacher's job to police her students. While I wish that the original teacher had some authority in this matter that just isn't the case.

Some people think that a dancer should have learned specific technique/styles/etc before they should teach. Belly dance has grown beyond a one style dance. There are a variety of styles that any good teacher should be familiar with and know who the experts are so as to be able to refer students to the experts in other styles. However, I don't necessarily believe that all belly dancers should be experts in all styles. For one, some of them just aren't every one's cup-of-tea. I like certain traditional styles, but I choose to perform and teach in the tribal genre'. Even in ballet there is the Russian School and the American or Western School. Ballet teachers don't usually cross schools as teachers - they know the difference and know who the good teachers are in the other discipline, but they teach in one or the other. I see no reason for belly dance to be any different. Now I'm not saying that a teacher couldn't do it all - but I don't think it should be a requirement for her/him to do it all.

All of this leads me to the following. My own list of what makes a good belly dance teacher. Consider all of this as you look around for someone to study with. . . .

1. Good Solid Technique in their chosen style and knowledge of technique in other styles.
2. A curriculum that is thought out and constantly being revised. Goals and objectives. A time line for accomplishing the curriculum. Organization in presentation. Thought to how the movements build upon one another and consideration for learning styles or modalities.
3. Solid knowledge in the cultural history, current culture, and community of belly dance. Learning this art form goes beyond just the moves.
4. Costuming knowledge and skill. This needs to go beyond - "you can find it at www.costume.com".
5. A relationship with the local belly dance community. The teacher should be able to recommend other instructors in other styles and know where/when upcoming events are happening.
6. Patience, passion, and purpose. Consideration of the student's needs and what is best for them even if that conflicts with what they want today.
7. Health and safety. A knowledge of anatomy and basic injury risks is necessary. Good warm ups and cool downs, how to protect the student while they learn and when to not attempt something.
8. Performance skills and experience. Belly Dance is a performance art. The good instructor takes the student beyond technique and into performance. Choreography, Improvisation, stage work, and restaurant work. It all has it's own set of dos and don'ts and it's own set of needs. Performance opportunities for students should be provided. How often and where can vary, but they should happen regularly and be appropriate for the students level. Choreography should be designed for the student performer - not a professional unless the student is a professional.
9. Time and Ethics skills. Teachers should manage their classroom time to benefit all the class. Spending a bit of extra time on something, but not getting sidetracked. Being prepared for each class and not just "winging it" (this goes back to number 2). Creating an environment where everyone is welcome, not just the really talented people, or prettiest or youngest, etc. Not tolerating behavior that works against any of this. Teachers should be in charge of their class. This is class - not girls night out at the local pub. While friendships will and should develop between students, that shouldn't be the basis of attending class, but a fringe benefit.
10. Fun. Teachers should try to make sure that students enjoy and have fun in class and with their performances. The teacher is only half of this - the student has to put forth effort on this as well.

These are my top ten. I could go on and on about this topic. Outside of belly dance I hold a Masters of Education and I've taught many subjects including dance for almost 18 years. I could turn each of those numbers in the list into individual papers on that subtopic! But I think you can get the drift from the short version. ;)