 Gilded
Serpent presents...
Preparing
to Teach
by Anthea
Poole
This questionnaire is presented here to help you clarify your goals
and ideas about teaching. If any of the questions really stump you,
perhaps it is a clue about an area you need to work on before you
"open your doors" to students or sign up to teach through
your local Parks & Recreation Department!
1. Identify and define the style/genre(s) of Mid-Eastern Dance you
wish to teach.
2. What particular strengths/skills (relating to the dance) can you
offer students?
3. List all the reasons why you believe that you want become an instructor.
(Be candid.)
4. List several reasons a student might have for wanting to learn
to belly dance.
5. Outline a 1-hour lesson plan from start to finish, including:
a. Specific material you
intend to teach, background information, and warm-ups/stretches
that pertain to your chosen material.
b. Describe or "teach"
the material in two different ways, relating the material to each
of the reasons you listed in Question Four.
c. Give an example of
possible mistakes a student is likely to make, and how you would
correct the error.
d. List accessories and
teaching aids you will need to bring to class.
e. Prepare an estimated
time allotment of each part of the 60-minute class.
6. Outline a 4-week lesson plan, and explain why you chose the particular
material and how it relates to the dance as a whole.
7. What are your 6-month goals for your instruction? (Please answer
in terms of yourself, then in terms of your students.)
8. What are your long-term (chose 1, 3, or 5-year term) instructional
goals as they relate to both yourself and your students?
I hope this has given you some ideas about the necessary background
research and course development that you should have in place before
you start teaching. Use your answers to develop a syllabus you can
offer prospective employers along with your resume when you approach
your local dance studio or community education program about teaching
Mid-eastern Dance.
Recommended course material: "Guide to Teaching Mid-eastern
Dance" (Kawakib's Dance Tips)
Have
a comment? Send us a letter!
Check the "Letters to the Editor"
for other possible viewpoints!
Ready
for more?
4-29-04
Dynamic Relationships
In the Dance Community by Anthea Poole (Kawakib)
Conflicts
happen. People take sides. Learning and growing get lost in the
shuffle, particularly when conflicts overshadow the classroom.
4-9-04
Who Died and Made
You Queen of Dance? by Najia Marlyz
This
lack of background basic performing experience would be unheard
of and un-tolerated in any other dance form.
7-5-04
Cabaret: Is it a dirty
word? by Piper Reid Hunt, PhD
American
Cabaret, the original fusion belly dance, is accessible and fun
for everyone, regardless of one’s dance education.
8-12-00 Dancing
on the Edge by Amina
I learned from
the first evening chasing Fatma around the stage that in order to
have a serious dance company in the Egyptian style, I had to seriously
play with the appearance of disorder.
7-10-01 Dance
Or Career: Which To Choose? by Shira
You
can still stay involved in dance no matter where you choose to live.
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