Twice a year we do a show, to raise awareness or funds for a charity of our students choice.
This year we did a horse charity (World Belly Dance Day in May) and Sanitary Sisters, happening this December 2016.
Shows are relaxed (that's for the patron), fun and interactive. Husbands and boyfriends get conscripted to help out (doormen, ushers, salesmen, sound and lighting and general carry things around for us!)
As we draw closer to the show, class times become both difficult and fun. As teachers this is the hardest time for us, we have to make difficult decisions so that the show looks polished and well put together. Which means that overall commitment to class and how well you (the student) are coping with the choreography, comes to bear.
For the first time in (all my years as a teacher) we had to do just that.
In one of our classes the student came to us and said, "I just can't, I know I said I wanted too, but work has gotten insane. I'm very sad, but I won't have time"
Because it's not compulsory to perform in any of the shows, Jessica and I are really proud of this student also a little sad of course that she won't be dancing this time around!
In another of the classes, we had to be the baddy and tell students that they couldn't dance.
Jessica and I both feel, that it is unfair to the other students and that it puts unnecessary pressure on everyone concerned if we allow a student to dance who does not know the choreography well enough!
As we prepare choreography early in the term, there is no last minute learning. We structure the classes that in the month leading to a show, we are just doing spit and polish and not learning new moves that go in or (we try) not to still be teaching a choreography.
This puts a whole lot less pressure on both us and our students. This also gives us plenty of time to decide what are we going to wear for each dance. In the more advance classes we try have open dialogue concerning outfits (unless the dance we are dancing already has it's own cultural outfit style as in the case of more folkloric dances).
Our Pinterest is full of outfit idea's and tips from the various bloggers we follow:
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