Culture Flux Magazine asked me to write about my take on ‘how to choose an instructor’, below is my answer.
- Lady Fred
How to choose the best belly dance instructor for you could be easy if you have a variety to choose from. Take as many classes from as many instructors as you can to find the one or few that resonate with you provided you are ready (advanced) to jump around. But keep in mind that if you’re a beginner, and you’ve found more than 1 instructor, you may run into the problem of technical confusion. If you are a total beginner, I advise you to stick with just one instructor to start; hone in your technical skills & foundation, and choose wisely by dropping into classes to find the instructor that’s right for you. When you’re ready, THEN be open to other classes but be sure not to mistake being antsy (or plateauing), for being ready. Meaning, technique takes a long time and you might want too much too fast, something I see a lot. If you move around too soon and quickly, then you never have time to refine your technique thus you have a weak foundation. An instructor that cares about your growth in dance will push you to take classes from other teachers, when you are ready.
At the end of the day, the secret is to understand that plateaus are a huge part of growing and don’t always mean you’re ready to begin seeking for new formats/instructors.
