As someone who has been teaching dance for over 8 years now, I have seen several different types of students -- from the dedicated to the flippant, from those who struggle to connect with their own bodies to those who seem to have an inborn grace and rhythm. And I welcome each and every one of them to my classes, because I see no reason to keep anyone out. If someone needs longer to learn, I don't view that as a weakness in the student. To me, it is simply an opportunity for me to try and be a better teacher.
But there is one type of student whom I must admit, I welcome less than enthusiastically to my classroom. The student who believes they know more than the teacher.
My fellow dance teachers will know what I mean. Every now and then, we meet a student who has watched a few YouTube videos, or attended a workshop before, and now believes they're the cat's whiskers. For example, I (very) often have a student who, in a beginners' session, will want to start doing a 'maya', the move made popular by Shakira.
Now to clarify, this is NOT a Day 01 move. It takes some loosening and strengthening of the hips and abdominal muscles before moving to this step. But like I said, there's always the student who will try and sneak this into a routine, while making sure the teacher notices.
This is wrong for multiple reasons.
Firstly, you're disrespecting the class. When you're dancing with beginners, you too, are a beginner. Knowing one move that the rest of the class doesn't, does not make you a more advanced student. And behaving as though you are one, simply impacts everyone else's morale. Dance classes are a difficult thing for a lot of novices to handle. There's nervousness, body image issues, and a fear of falling behind the rest of the class and not being good enough. And showing off in a setting like this, is insensitive.
Secondly, you might hurt yourself. While there are several great tutorial videos available on the internet, nothing can match having a live instructor watching your body, making sure you're performing a move correctly. And all dance forms require a deep understanding of the human body's joints and muscle groups, and how best to use them so as to prevent injury. This is a huge part of what dance teachers do. We aren't simply asking you to point your toes or roll your hips a certain way because it looks better, we're doing it because the correct form will make you stronger and more flexible, while reducing your chances of hurting yourself.
Thirdly, you're disrespecting the teacher. Your instructor has created a teaching format after much experience and deliberation. For you to disrupt the flow of their class is rather rude and disrespectful. Respect the fact that they're teaching you form and technique with great attention to detail, and skipping ahead to the end is the equivalent of telling them "Ah, forget all this, I already know it all!"
So be a better student. Come to class with an open mind, and set your ego at the door along with your shoes. And if in doubt, ask the instructor beforehand what the course content is, and what will be covered during sessions. This way, if you truly know more than what's going to be taught in that batch, it probably isn't the batch for you. Ask your instructor if you can be inducted into a more advanced class. That way, you don't get bored, the other students don't feel awkward, and your teacher doesn't get annoyed. :) Everybody wins!
Great:
Thank you :)
You have to wonder, if they're so awesome and know everything already, why are they going to a dance class especially for beginners XD So how many people have injured themselves trying this maya thing or been offended when you tell them they did it wrong? XD
Do you get intermediate/advanced students showing off in such a fashion or do they usually have wisdom by then? :D
I have no idea why they do it! And that's just it, they don't know "everything", just one or two moves that they mimic off a Shakira video. As for injuries, SO MANY! Lower back pain is incredibly common, or twisting an ankle because they turned or landed wrong. sigh
So far, most of my intermediate students have been ones who have stuck with me since their beginner days. But I have had a few who have joined me after learning basics from another instructor, and then questioned my methods. To clarify, they usually learn a different style of belly dance and then call what I do "wrong". I then hand them a booklet I created which talks about all the different styles of belly dance, and how they're different. Usually shuts them up. :-P
Oh goodness! Well i suppose it looks easy if you don't know how a body is connected XD just looking at that move gave me a workout.
Lol you must have gotten that a lot if you made a booklet XD sounds like it would be a good read 😊
Hahaha. Indeed. :-D Maybe I'll post excerpts here!
Please do if you feel so inclined :D
I can't wait to take a class with you. My mind is already spinning how, where and when.
BTW : https://steemit.com/steemit/@alexrickard86/3-steps-for-newbie-success-on-steemit
We must dance together soon, @mammasitta <3 Thank you for the guidance post. Very helpful!
I will NOT give up to get you to Vienna and indonesia. It will happen all at the right time. One day even Bangalore but for now Let's just dream and make things happen even thought it's not that easy
<3 Absolutely! It may not be easy, but we will make at least ONE of these places happen in 2017 itself!
Surely some time, it just comes down to over exuberance? Although I'm sure there is a lot of showing off going on. Must be hard to tell the difference between the two; no?
Cg
Over-exuberance sometimes, yes. But it isn't difficult to tell the two apart, actually. One can usually tell from body language whether it's just sheer excitement, or whether the student is simply trying to portray themselves as superior to the rest of their classmates. It's the latter I have a problem with. They affect class morale greatly.
Interesting! It makes perfect sense that in this respect, you would be quite the expert on body language, I really didn't think of it that way :-)
Cg
:)
Nice post! So your studio is in Bangalore? Great!
Thank you, @firepower! Yes, my regular classes are in Bangalore, but I try to travel as often as I can to conduct outstation classes and workshops.
That's awesome! Looking forward to seeing more of your work on Steemit. :) I plan on conducting a Steemit Accelerator in July in Bangalore. So stay tuned.
So happy to see that 2 of my favourite BangalorSteemians hooked up :) finally! @firepower and 💕@bombaybellyrina
Oh that would be wonderful! :-D I hope it's post the 12th, I'm traveling until then. Do keep me posted!
Planning towards the of the month! :)