Welcome to the first installment of “Tips for Teachers”. In this blog I will address an array of issues relating to the rewarding and challenging profession of teaching bellydance. As bellydance grows in popularity, more and more teachers are emerging. This is fantastic but with so many teachers to choose from it has become essential for students and aspiring teachers to gain an understanding of the professional qualities that establish a teacher as superlative and for teachers to understand what makes students love and return to their classes. Hence, this column is born.

As we all know, many intricacies of thought go into preparing our class plans. We plan for the basic structure and flow of the class and make decisions relating to our approach in teaching dance technique. We are mindful of music considerations, the needs and goals of our students and the importance of teaching the cultural significance of the dance. But this is just the tip of the ice burg and if any of you are like me, you have experimented over and over with class format adjustments, adding and removing elements of the class structure & overall approach to teaching all in the spirit of assuring your classes are inspiring, educational, physically well rounded and of course, FUN!

In our business, motivation is a key factor in success. We as instructors must convey an enthusiasm to share our art and inspire our students to want to learn and excel if we want to succeed in the business of teaching professionally.

The forthcoming posts will offer suggestions that will help create a motivating learning environment supportive of the creative expression and personal challenge your students are looking for. Applying these suggestions in class will assure that the overall motivation level of your students is renewed and stimulated regularly.