Its not too late to put together your plans for improving your belly dance in 2016.  Maybe you are going to take another weekly class, or do daily drills in your lunch hour.  Perhaps you are going to finally write a chorography to your favorite song, or perform solo at your local event.  One of the ways that I believe you can greatly improve your personal development as a dancer is to travel.  Yep, a day trip, weekend away, or even a vacation can count as training !

​Here are ten ways that a belly dance trip can improve your belly dancing:

1. Access New Teachers.  Perhaps the most obvious reason to travel for your belly dancing development is to take lessons from a different selection of teachers.  Every teacher has a different way of explaining the technique, of correcting the students and helping them connect with the music.  One of the greatest lessons we can learn is that there is not just one way to learn to belly dance.  Your home town teacher will always be your favorite, but other teachers will widen your experience and change how you think about dance.
2. Learn a New Skill.  No teacher can specialize in all forms of belly dance.  If you want to improve your skills, study with the experts.  No amount of research, watching videos or self practice can compare to being in the room with a teacher who was born in the culture, lived the lifestyle, or developed that style of dance.  Which brings us to...
3. ​Meet the Innovators.  While the roots of our dance may be ancient, the art of belly dance as a popular performance is still young enough that many of the innovators are still alive and hip dropping.  The stars of the 1960's and 1970's are teaching workshops or presenting lectures.  Not to be morbid, but if you take your belly dance education seriously, you need to meet these wonderful people this year, because they wont be around forever.  When they take their final curtain, their first hand knowledge goes with them.
4. Explore New Music.  Ever left a local Hafla or performance bored by the music choices of your peers?  Each local belly dance community has its favorite artists and styles of music, hits that get re-used, re-cycled and become performance favorites.  By stepping outside your local circle you can experience not only the music choices of other performers, but also sample local bands and new mixes.
5. Discover the Next Big Thing.  Every famous name had to start somewhere.  They all took a beginners class, danced at their first Hafla, were offered their first teaching gig, and filmed their first DVD.  While its tempting to plan your travels around the diamonds of belly dance, explore a little further and find the unpolished gem.  You may be very glad you did!
6. Return to the Basics.  I can't say it often enough, returning to the basics with a good teacher will do wonders for your skills.  It is essential before you begin teaching, so you don't pass on your bad habits.  Many dancers consider it like an annual check up with the Dr - the chance to go through the basics with someone and highlight holes in their knowledge or skills that need polish.  However, pride can be a road block.  Its hard to contact a local teacher, or someone you consider a peer, and ask them to critique your hip drop.  Instead, consider contacting a teacher outside your area for a private lesson.
7. Inspiration.  Travel broadens the mind.  There are thousands of ways that a trip away can improve your belly dance, without even focusing on the belly dance!  Just being away from the familiar will spark the imagination.  Perhaps the color of the sky will inspire your new costume, or the sound of the birds will help you find a new arm route.  The change of pace, the music on the radio, the people you meet - the whole experience is inspiring.
8. Understand your Skills and Talent.  When we learn and dance with the same group of people year after year its easy to become complacent.  Perhaps you are the headliner at most of the local shows, or always center front in your teachers choreographies.  Its easy to think you have reached your peak.  When we have the chance to move outside our local community, we can see how our skills match those of dancers in other cities.  Watching, learning and performing with others can highlight the areas we need to develop, or be a huge ego boost.
9. Shop for New Costume Ideas.  We tend to think that all belly dance classes look very similar to our own, but fashion in class wear is varied and fascinating.  Equally, trends in performance wear tend to grow in certain areas before they expand to the wider community.  Does your teacher's recital drip with rhinestones? or do all the performers prefer the minimalist look?  There are always new retailers to explore, new cuts and styles to try out and new designers to lust after.
10. Bring your Expanded Horizons back to your Community.  Finally, people who travel have a huge impact on their local dance community.  You may be the first to suggest hosting an exciting teacher, or to present a performance to an unknown band.  You might adapt a combination to suit your own students, or suggest improvements to their existing costumes that better reflect the changing fashions.  You might be inspired to study a subject in more depth, and become the local expert, or encourage others in your social circle to travel with you next year.  Your personal development has an impact on all the belly dancers you meet.

​Of course, exotic travel is not within the reach of everyone, but consider how you can make an adventure outside your comfort zone this year.  Can you plan a day trip to a major event? How about hosting a teacher from outside your area?  Perhaps others in your area would be interested in a road trip?  Do you have a family or work trip planned that can support a little belly dance? Or do you know a retailer or event organizer who would do a trade for work?  When other local dancers offer to host outsiders, please support them by attending and promoting the events.  Remember - There is a huge world of belly dance out there, just waiting to be explored.

Sara Says
​"In 2006 I set off on my first real belly dance adventure.  I spent a week in New York, took Morocco's intensive training course and had my first taste of America.
​
Through contacts made during my obsession with the MED list (the belly dancer connection board that grew through the early days of the internet), I invited myself to restaurants where the big name dancers were performing, and to drop in classes with my heroines. 
​
The next year, I took a similar trip to San Francisco.  I used google and email to contact a dozen teachers in the area and plan my own intensive made up of classes and private lessons.  Some of these people turned out to be upcoming stars, others were the "grandmas" of belly dance - each of them made me feel welcomed, shared their knowledge and love of dance.  After taking two or three lessons with Rose Harden, I invited her to visit the UK and hosted her a couple of times over the next few years.  I planned my meals around restaurant shows and fell in love with the best city in the world.
​
The final trip in my Trilogy of American Belly Dance was to The Las Vegas Intensive in 2008.  This time I took the whole package, which included hotel, workshops, performances and even some transport.  I picked out workshops that covered the gaps in my knowledge, as well as those I knew I would enjoy and loved both the professional and attendee shows.
​
By 2009 the pound to dollar exchange rate had changed and ​I no longer had the budget for exciting trips abroad.  However, three years of training with some of the top belly dancers in the world had changed my own skills and experiences beyond recognition. 

​Back in the UK I continued to travel to improve my belly dancing, visiting other cities and weekend events from the Isle of Wight to Leicester.  Weekend events like Celebrating Dance and social dance events like Planet Egypt in London.

​In 2011 we had the opportunity to move as a family to San Francisco.  Since then I have taken every opportunity to perform, teach, watch, learn and write !

​This year I will be teaching in Merced, attending Waking Persephone in Seattle and the Las Vegas Intensive.  I also plan to tour the UK with Dawn Devine once our new book "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage" is finished.  If you would like me to teach in your area, I'm now taking bookings for 2016/2017!"

​Check out my previous Blog Posts including : "I'm Perfect for Belly Dance - And so are You !" and "Picking out your Troupe's Costume"

Updated 12/31/2020

New Years Day ! - the day when the diet adverts start, the offers from the gym come through the mail and the wrinkle cream ads fill up Facebook.  Isn't it wonderful to be reminded that you are old, fat and unfit !
​
If there is one thing that belly dance has taught me, it is that I am perfect. I don't want to sound self centered (although I am - and that is fine too), but this is as good as it gets. I woke up this morning, therefore I am perfect for the day ahead. I have food for my family, a roof over their heads, time to laugh and smile - that's perfect. My body may not be your idea of perfect, but as long as it processes food, gets me up the stairs and doesn't hurt, then its perfect to me. 

Being body positive is knowing that today is a happy day, which deserves to be shared in photos. Its about loving that pink jumper but buying it in the size that fits today, so you can wear it tomorrow. Its about knowing that some people don't like your body shape/hair color/height/sex, but that millions of other people think you are red hot - and neither group matter as long as you and the person you snuggle are perfect. Its heartbreaking to see people who put their life on pause, until they are perfect.  Perfect is here and now, its you and me - it can't be a wish for the future, when today is already here.

​I feel sad when students tell me they are too big, too tall, too old, too "not perfect" for belly dance.  Its simply not true.  Because belly dance works with your body, and not against it, you are perfect for belly dance !  There are no rules, only ideas: when you dance a love song, you don't need arms that open wide, or ankles that can support your weight - you need a heart, you need honesty, you need fearlessness....

​A great teacher can help you increase your strength, flexibility and coordination. Some people who take belly dance classes loose weight, some tone up, some get great abs. Everyone gets more confident. Confidence comes from learning how far your body will take you, how it can move to the music, how beautiful you feel and look. Confidence is sexy and sometimes it can be life changing.

​Take a moment today to say thank you to your beautiful body for all it does for you. Pamper it with good food, lots of water and rest. Put on some music and move, relax and unknot the tensions of the holiday season. Take a look in the mirror and look at the belly dancer. You are the belly dancer, and you are perfect x

Updated - 11/17/18

Even belly dance teacher deserve a few weeks off over the holidays, but January is traditionally time to build up your classes.  If you party for too long, or get sick, you may find you have missed the annual push to connect with new students and get your existing students back to class.  Here are ten things you can do today, to gain dancers for 2019 and leave you free to celebrate:

1, Book your venue or confirm start dates with your employer.  Make sure everyone knows when you will be back to work and that you will be promoting the classes.  Lots of venues plan building work over the holidays, so be sure you wont have to cancel a class at the last minute. Nothing puts off a new student more than turning up and finding the room all closed up.

2, Email your existing students.  As well as making sure everyone knows the start dates of the new semester, wish them a happy holidays !  Your current student body is your best marketing tool - make them feel appreciated !  ​Most of my new students come from word of mouth promotion.  My students tell their friends, who then tell their friends...  There is no harm in asking nicely if they will pass on the info, or post on their social media sites.  Consider giving them a gift, such as a free class, a discounted private lesson, or a beautiful hair flower to make sure they know just how much you value them.

3, Set up an events page on Facebook and announce a free class or a meet and greet for new students. People want to try new things in January, but are often nervous or hesitant to commit.  If you can offer a free class it becomes an incentive that few can resist.  If you teach in semesters or terms and cant offer a free class, ask your employer if you can set up a desk and offer a "meet and greet".  Take some cookies and juice, flyers and video clips.  Be prepared to answer all kinds of questions.  Invite your existing student body, but let them know you don't expect them to attend.  Again its a way they can help promote your classes and make your event appear on their wall.  Print out sign up sheets, plan the lesson, set up your music and pack your bag now so you are all ready to teach the first class of the year.

4, Advertise your event on Facebook to strangers !  You can set up an advert now to run through the first few days of January.  By linking your advert to your event you can provide lots of info one click away and the chance for them to sign up and connect with you.  A few days before your event you can send them a quick reminder.  Facebook seems so much less formal that joining a mailing list.  I advertise to women who live within five miles of my venues, 18 to 80, who like Zumba, dance, science (ever noticed how many belly dancers are scientists !) and fitness.  That advert will go to 1,000s of people, but I pay per click, so I only pay for those who were interested enough to visit the event page.  I set my daily target to between $3/$5, depending on how long I let the advert run. 

5, Re-order flyers, postcards and business cards.  Professional stationary is cheap and easy to create using sites such as Vistaprint.  Go for one of their standard designs and ad your own photo.  Double check they contain all your info :

• Your name
• "Belly Dance"
• Web site
• Telephone
• Venue
• Booking info​​

Consider yourself as a new student.  You want to know where, when, why, how, what...

​
6, Fill your car, purse and work bags with flyers !  Over the next few weeks you will be travelling to different shops, parties and hafla.  Perhaps you might find yourself performing at different venues and with little notice.  You will be meeting lots of new people who may want to do class with you.  Don't miss out by not having the info on you.  Ask at every store and restaurant if they have a noticeboard.  Offer a "free pass" to the staff (so they can attend your free class).

7, Make up raffle prizes and contact event organizers to offer your gift.  Prepare a card that offers one or more lessons for free (again make sure it contains all the info).  If you are feeling generous, add in a coin belt or some jewelry.  Wrap these gifts in clear film and offer them to local events as a raffle prize.  At this time of year every organization, every school, club and social group is planning a party with a raffle.  Not only will you have the chance to teach a new student, you will also put your product in front of a totally different audience.​​

8, Write on your car.  Or purchase a car sticker.  You will be travelling around this holiday season, so use your car as free advertising.  Make sure your web site is written large enough for people driving around to see.  If you are shopping or eating out, try and park in a space so your advert faces everyone entering the car park.  I love to see people stop and take a photo of the back side of my car :)

​
​9, ​​Make sure your web site and social media pages are polished and up to date.  Pre plan interesting blog posts, Facebook and twitter comments.  Use software to schedule these posts to be automatically uploaded while you are away.  You can be an interesting belly dancer and asleep on the sofa at the same time!

Facebook is a wonderful tool for connecting with people, learning about them, making friends, watching performances, buying costumes, finding out about events..... and marketing your classes.

No one likes to admit it, but getting students into class is a tough business.  Overheads are high and class numbers are down from those we saw before the economic dip.  I need 8 people a night to cover my costs.  Some weeks that is easily achieved, other times not so much.  One bad week can off balance the whole month.  Many teachers have a wonderful core group, who come to every lesson, every week, and these are the people who keep a class going.  However if sickness hits or just one or two students move away, teachers have to find new students to take their place.

Facebook is full of new people !  

The struggle is to find local people who might be interested in a dance class in the blurred noise of your hundreds or thousands of friends.  Only a tiny % will see a post from you, and those are more likely to be your close friends and core students, who already attend your classes !

I have spoken about advertising on Facebook before, and I do recommend it for finding new students.  The great thing is that you can set the limits and fine tune your advert to be aimed very clearly at people who may be interested.  My most recent advert was for people who live within 5 miles of the town where I teach, women (much as I love men students - they find me, rather than "discover" belly dance on FB), 18 or above, who list fitness, dance, music, salsa, jive, zumba, running or soccer as an interest.  I know these women are interested in doing an activity and live close enough to make it to class.  From each advert I collect a list of names who express an interest and send them more info and a friend request.  I also write their names in a little green book, and every 2 months I send them the dates of the new classes and courses.  Many of these ladies never reply, few ever come to class - but I only need a couple to become core students, to stay forever, and my classes are assured for another 12 months.

In a way I am collecting a mailing list.  Its not a mailing list of active belly dancers.  Its more of a list of people who thought about attending a belly dance class for about three seconds and then moved on.

So why did I just tell Facebook that I moved house ?  Facebook wants you to feel like your social network is also your local network.  When you are thinking of hosting a BBQ and create an event, it gives you the chance to remember the friends you want to invite and then it offers you the chance to see a list of your friends who are local.  Friends you might want to add to your invite list for your Sunday afternoon BBQ.  It will also show you a list of friends from your old home town.  Of course if you were thinking about who to invite to your BBQ you would really know these people and want them in your home.  If, however, you were looking to invite people to your belly dance classes.... it would be really useful to have a list of people you linked up with last time you send out an advert, and the time before, and three years ago, who had a three second interest in class, accepted a friend request and who might now be free on Wednesdays, or be over their injury or have changed jobs.

Because I teach in three towns (Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin - Everyone Welcome !), I would like a local list from all three.  Facebook wont let me live in three towns, but it will let me move about once a year.  

So here I go again, all the stress (not!) of moving.... and almost instantly, I  have a nice new mailing list to help with my quest for new students.

If you would like to increase your student base try this:

• Create an event for your next session of classes (I create one for each month as my classes are ongoing)
• Invite your core students
• Invite "more friends" to access the mailing list of other people who are local to you, click on the sidebar where it lists your hometown (s)
• Send them an invite
• If you teach in more than one town or city "move", wait a couple of minutes and repeat

“Sara Shrapnell is that rarest of rare, a full time belly dance instructor.  Her career spans decades and continents and her knowledge is encapsulated in her books “Teaching Belly Dance” and “Becoming a Belly Dancer.” - Dawn Devine

​If you like this blog, go back to the blog page, for others you might like including: 

Being Part of the Solution
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)

Or check out these Hub Blogs including:

"Your First Belly Dance Workshop"
The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance"
"Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher"
​
​Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide and on-line via the Belly Dance Business Academy.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.

Sara wrote “Teaching Belly Dance", the book about setting up, planning, teaching and enjoying belly dance classes.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is the stagecraft handbook for all belly dancers.  Both books are available on Amazon.

​As a troupe director, I know that its impossible to please everyone when it comes to costuming.  Each member has an opinion about colors, shapes, styles and coverage that works for their body.  Sending a dancer out on to stage in an ill fitting, or ugly costume, or one that just doesn't suit them, sets them up for insecurities and failure.  A well thought out costume, that makes them look and feel beautiful, both as part of a team and as an individual helps them perform to the best of their abilities and take home happy memories.

Here are a few things to consider when planning your troupes costume:

• Budget.  Get a good idea of what they are prepared to spend on a new costume.  Remember to include all the little extras, like hair flowers, jewelry and belts.  Does their budget need to be split between multiple costumes or just one per year?  As the troupe director you will need to hear everyone's thoughts and then set an achievable budget.


• Versatility.  Will the costume be suitable to wear at different venues and for different styles of dance.  Costumes for community events need to be more conservative than those for belly dance events.  Tribal Fusion costumes are very different from Kaleggi.  Can the costume you choose be re-styled with "off the rack" pieces, a home made skirt, different hair styling or jewelry?


• Fit for purpose.  Does the costume allow the dancer enough flexibility to dance?!  Can she travel, move and dance without the costume causing drama?  Does the costume show off the movements or hide the subtly from the audience?  Will the costume work on the stage?  A black dress with beautiful black lace will be lost against a black backdrop.


• Size range.  We all know that its easier to get cheap costumes in a dress size six or under, but unless you are going to pick your troupe based on size rather than dancer ability, you need something that fits your full range.  Sizing can also be misleading, so be sure that your smallest and largest dancer can look good and get the support and coverage that they need.  One size never fits all !


• Color (or color range).  We all have favorite colors that suit our skin tone, and others that make us look washed out or ill.  There are a few "Neutral" colors that are said to suit a high percentage of the population.  These are often chosen for corporate uniforms, but are not inspiring for belly dancers : Navy, Cream, Black, Grey and Beige.  However you may find a more exciting color or pattern that suits most of your dancers and can be used as a "Neutral" : Gold, Silver, Assuit, Animal print or "Pick and Mix" (where a variety of colored beads are mixed onto a costume).  You may prefer to find a costume that comes in a variety of colors and ask your dancers to each pick one from the range.  Be sure to keep on top of their choices.  If six dancers like the red, and one picks the teal, she will look like the soloist.

​For the photo above each dancer was given the same instructions:

​The wrap top was the key fabric and comes from www.Bellydance.com.  We found that the matching pants were a little short for our taller dancers, so we added in a black pant in the same cut, but an interesting fabric.  Our second fabric is black and silver Assuit as we were dancing at Assuit Fest that year.  The dancers added Assuit to their bras and belts as they wished.  Trimming a bra with Assuit is fairly cheap if dancers can split up a piece of fabric between them.  Other dancers enjoyed the opportunity to include larger or vintage Assuit pieces.  Skirlets and belly drapes were options.  Each dancer was asked to find jewelry that suited her personality and a large flower in a stand out color.  If you scroll back to the top of this page, you will see we also mix and match the wrap and assuit with a silver skirt.

In the stair case photo below our troupe chose to use a "Pick and Mix" bra and belt set as our neutral.  On this occasion we paired it with matching yoga pants in a fabric we knew would stand out at the venue and a large flower in the same shade.  Each dancer added wrist or arm bands to compliment her shape and jewelry that matched her personality.  On other occasions we paired it with a purple skirt and wrap top.  The purple set also mixed and matched with harem pants and a tube top to give a more modest look for outside events as you can also see below.  We also all owned a circle skirt and veil in a candy color, which you can see in the third picture.  From this one, expensive set, we had three very different looks, using cheaper, off the peg, pieces.

​In our new book "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", we include a chapter on simple no-sew and sew projects so everyone can make their own costume.  From simple skirtlets that can be made in 20 minutes, to dresses that may take a weekend, we wanted to include looks for glam, tribal and ethnographic dancers.  All of these looks could be used as troupe costumes - and its a wonderful group bonding experience to gather for an afternoon and make your costumes together.

​Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.

Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” was published in 2014.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is a stagecraft handbook for belly dancers of all styles and levels.  Both are available on Amazon.

If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:

Teacher Knows Best
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)
Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line
Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections
Being Part of the Solution

Or check out my Hub Blogs including:

"Your First Belly Dance Workshop"
The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance"
"Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher"

At this time of year we are bombarded with fitness tips, diet plans and the new, hot, weight loss fads, but one thing that all the experts agree on is that the only way to maintain a fitness regime is to enjoy it. Fitness activities have to be fun to keep you coming back, long after the January motivation is gone. It doesnt matter if its Zumba or soccer, pole dance or parkour, make 2015 the year you love your workout.

Here are ten reasons why I think you should give belly dance a try this year :

1, Its easy to get started but hard to master. You will be dancing from your first lesson, but after 20 years you will still be working on perfecting the layers.

2, You need little or no equipment. You can dance to music on the radio, or download an album from Amazon. It can be danced barefoot and you can practice in a tiny space. (Even on the bart!)

3, Its as intense as you want it to be. Put as much or as little into your dance class, because you know how hard you need to work in each lesson. Belly dancers may glow, but we know how to dance for an hour without sweating !

4, Any woman can get an hour glass figure. Belly dance may not be the quickest way to lose weight, but working the core and hips helps lose inches from the mid section.  Belly dance is also fantastic for toning the upper arms, strengthening the legs and improving flexibility.

5, You will learn so much more than you expect, like how to look amazing in photos, Egyptian food recipes and how to turn a veil into a quick, stand in, costume.

6, You dont have to perform (although you may find you want to).

7, Women friends are amazing. Although men are welcome in class, the majority of belly dancers are bright, funny, educated, interesting and exceptional ladies. Our ages range from teens to 90’s and we have more in common than you might think if you saw us laughing over lunch.

8, Your body can do some amazing things. Injuries and disabilities can’t limit our love of dance.

9, Its addictive. Dance creates endorphin as well as burning calories.  Belly dancing makes you feel great!

10, Belly dance is lots of fun. Trying shimmying without laughing !

 

Ok, so not everyone is cut out to be a belly dancer. But when you think about getting fit this January, make sure you are keeping it fun, so that you are motivated for the whole year.

 

If you would like to try belly dance for free, we have classes in Dublin on the 7th and Livermore on the 9th. Details are below :

 

7pm, Janurary 7th, Dublin

Radiance Ballet School

6800 Sierra Court, Suite L, Dublin, California

 

6.45pm, January 9th, Livermore

Valley Dance Theater

2nd Street, Livermore

 

Normal pricing is $12 for 45 minutes, but these dates are free. Classes are also available through the City of Pleasanton, starting in February.

 

For more details please visit our web site :

www.LetsBellyDanceUSA.com

EFFECTIVE WARM-UPS 

 Your warm-up has a number of aims:

• ·         To help you identify any injuries or limitations in your students
  


• ·         To set the tone of the class
  


• ·         To lubricate joints
  


• ·         To relax nervous students
  


• ·         To provide a workout
  


• ·         To prepare the mind and body for the class
  


• ·         To prepare or warm up the muscle sets to be used in class
  


• ·         To release adrenaline into the body
  


• ·         To gently increase the heart rate and oxygen intake
  


• ·         To allow time for the teacher to mentally adjust the lesson plan to suit the attendees
  


• ·         To introduce basic versions of moves or concepts to be used later in the class
  

You will notice that I have not listed stretching as an aim in the warm-up. Although we still see teachers stretching their students before class, it is generally considered to be unsafe to stretch before the body is fully warm. Advanced ballet dancers, gymnasts, and martial arts experts sometimes stretch to prepare the muscles, to avoid “ripping” the muscles during extreme moves. If you are teaching your students extreme moves in your belly dance classes, you may want to reconsider your lesson plan! Even professional ballet dancers do not need stretching before a belly dance class, because belly dance doesn’t require the dancer to move outside her natural reach. Most of our students are not in that 0.1 percent of top athletes or dancers who may need to stretch their muscles before placing extreme demands on them – and these people generally have professionals keeping on top of the research for them. If you plan your lesson well and teach new moves later in the lesson when everyone has had a chance to fully warm up, then you shouldn’t have any problems. If you want your dancers to be more flexible, the best way to help them is to repeat the basic moves regularly in class, which will gradually increase their range.

Warm up the body gently, taking into consideration the room temperature and your students’ fitness levels as well as the kind of day they have already had. If you teach in a very hot country and your students have to climb four flights of stairs to get to your studio, you won’t want to start with squats. If, however, your students have just walked through snow to come to your class and the heating isn’t working, you would be better off allowing them to keep their coats on and to jog in place (or sending them home).

Set the tone of your class and help everyone to relax by picking music that is soothing, gentle, and positive. Move with soft, flowing movements, and take time to talk to the group and perhaps introduce some of the ideas for that day’s class. The joints are lubricated with synovial fluid, which protects them from wear and tear and acts as a shock absorber and cushion during movement. Distribute the synovial fluid by using gentle circling movements at each of the joints. I find it best to start at the bottom of the body and work up in order to not leave anything out. Watch as your students move to see if anyone is favoring one side of her body or pulling a face as she moves a joint. They may not be aware of any aches or pains until they start to move.

Once the body has been gently warmed up and the joints lubricated, then the warm-up can become more intense and upbeat. Pick music that is joyful and lighthearted with a regular beat throughout. Once your students know some belly dance moves, you can use them as part of your warm-up in a very relaxed, follow-me style.

Unless someone seems likely to injure herself, warm-up is not the time to correct any movements. Better that they bounce around and get everything warm than tense up and try to do a perfect hip drop. For new students, a simple step tap or walk in place is enough to warm the body. Add arms, hand moves, shoulder rolls, and changes in the size of the step to add variety and interest and to make sure the whole body is working. The body tends to glow – that is, sweat – once the muscles have reached a good working temperature, so take this as an indication that you have worked your students to the right level of intensity.

Practical Tip: Before your first class, practice your warm-up every day for a week so that you don’t run out of energy halfway through or sweat more than the students! Speaking while working out is so much harder than it looks and can mess with your natural breathing patterns. You want your students to feel like they’ve had a workout, maybe make them sweat a little, but you also need to be able to talk straight after your warm-up.

I find it helpful to have a basic move for each warm-up. That may be a step tap, step close step tap, march, or square walk. Mark your basic move with its own arm position and return to it often and before each change of arms or combination. This allows the students to return to the familiar if they got lost in the warm-up and to keep the same pattern as the rest of the class without feeling they look foolish. If you find someone is not keeping up or it looks like too much for them, call out and remind them that they can stick to the basic if they prefer. Continue with each change for at least a count of eight, if not sixteen or thirty-two. This allows the dancers to see what you are doing and get confident in their moves. If no one can do your warm-up, it is too hard. Warm-up time is not the best point to challenge your students mentally.

Think about your lesson when planning your warm-up. Focus on the parts of the body that will be working hard in the lesson, and introduce components that help with moves. It is wonderful to be able to say “You just did this in the warm-up” as you introduce a section of the main body of the lesson.

SUGGESTED WARM-UP FOR TOTAL BEGINNER DANCERS. 


 With soft music, each move repeated around sixteen times:

• ·         Smile, nod, find your place in the room
  


• ·         Roll shoulders backward and forward
  


• ·         Heel and toe on each foot
  


• ·         Circle ankles – both ways, both feet
  


• ·         Circle knees – both ways, both sides
  


• ·         Draw a circle on the ground with the big toe, keeping the knee almost straight (this circles the hip joints)
  


• ·         Half hip rotation to the front
  


• ·         Half hip rotation to the back
  


• ·         Whole arm backward (backstroke)
  


• ·         Whole arm forward (crawl stroke)
  


• ·         Wrist circles – both ways, both sides
  


• ·         Piano fingers
  


• ·         Look over one shoulder, hold, look over other shoulder, hold, repeat
  


• ·         Gentle shake of the whole body
  

With upbeat music, each move repeated around sixteen times:

• ·         Step tap right and left (basic)
  


• ·         Add a sweep of arms down and across the body
  


• ·         Make the sweep large
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Sweep the arms over the top of the head
  


• ·         Make the sweep small and dancelike
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Shoulder roll in direction of step
  


• ·         Arms in front to make shoulder roll dancelike
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Step and point toe in front
  


• ·         Bring opposite arm in front too
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Step and point toe behind
  


• ·         Bring arms above head
  


• ·         Bring down same arm as foot behind
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Bring shoulders forward and back (slow shoulder shimmy)
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Big step to side, tap
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Tiny step to side, tap
  


• ·         Finish
  

SUGGESTED WARM-UP FOR MORE EXPERIENCED DANCERS 


 With soft music, each move repeated around sixteen times:

• ·         Smile, nod, find your place in the room
  


• ·         Roll shoulders backward and forward (right, left, right, right, left, right, left, left)
  


• ·         Heel and toe on each foot
  


• ·         Circle ankles – both ways, both feet
  


• ·         Circle knees – both ways, both sides
  


• ·         Draw a circle on the ground with the big toe, keeping the knee almost straight (this circles the hip joints): three times on one side, step close, repeat on the other side
  


• ·         Half hip rotation to the front with a small shimmy
  


• ·         Half hip rotation to the back, lowering the chest with a straight back, bend knees, unroll up to standing
  


• ·         Whole arm backward (backstroke) with tummy pulses
  


• ·         Whole arm forward (crawl stroke) with knee bounce
  


• ·         Wrist circles – both ways, both sides over snake arms
  


• ·         Piano fingers over “paint the fence” forward arms
  


• ·         Look over one shoulder, look over other shoulder, repeat
  


• ·         Gentle shake of the whole body
  

With upbeat music, each move repeated around sixteen times:

• ·         Vine step (basic)
  


• ·         Add inward circle arms (like polishing the mirror)
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Add outward circle arms
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Add on shoulder roll patterns (right, left, right, right, left, right, left, left)
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Add a gentle shimmy
  


• ·         Add an arm frame (fingers to eyebrows)
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Add a hip lift on each step
  


• ·         Add an arm frame (arms out in a W)
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Swing hips side to side with each step
  


• ·         Add moving arms (falling leaf)
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Add an extra-large shimmy
  


• ·         Back to basic
  


• ·         Hip lifts on a vine to the right, shimmy over a vine to the left
  


• ·         Add arms
  


• ·         Back to basics
  


• ·         Finish
  

If you like this chapter, check out the "look inside" feature on Amazon and read the first few chapters of "Teaching Belly Dance" for free : 

​Sara also has an on-line workshop called "52 Lesson Plans and how to write 5,000 more" which is perfect for new teachers or those who want to improve their lesson planning. Its available here:​

If you like this blog, go back to the blog page, for others you might like including: 

The History of Belly Dance; Where to start
10 Simple Steps to Writing a Choreography
Preparing a Bio ahead of time
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)
​
​Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

She has taught more than 5,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide and on-line via the Belly Dance Business Academy.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.

Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” is available on Amazon.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is available in 2016 .

Much as I wanted to include the following in my book “Teaching Belly Dance”, I know that Facebook moves and evolves its policies almost weekly.  The information here is based on my understanding of Facebook in 2014.

When I joined Facebook in 2005 it had a nice, simple idea : Post stuff on your wall that your friends would like to see, see what they are posting in return.

It was pretty, smart, easy to use and a good step up from Tribe, Bhuz and the MED list.  Here was a new way to communicate and connect with Belly Dancers from around the world.  Little did I know....

Facebook is now my top means of communication with the outside world.  With the mobile app I can check my feed at least once an hour and keep track of thousands of friends I have never met.  When I attend belly dance events I post first to make connections, so even though I have moved around the world, I can meet up with familiar faces.  When I want to buy or sell a costume, I go to Facebook first.  If I want to send a message to my students I put it on Facebook and when I want to advertise an event…. Facebook is my first port of call.

Of course not everyone is as addicted as me, and we are seeing a split in the world of belly dance between those in the know (on Facebook) and those who avoid sharing their every moment with a faceless corporation with limited ethics.  I want to plead the case for using Facebook to promote ideas, raise your profile and get bums on seats at your events.  Please excuse me if I start with the basics :

The first thing I am going to suggest is that you separate out your “family” Facebook and your “belly dance” Facebook.  Using Facebook to advertise to belly dancers will be boring for your non dancer friends.  Split them up.  For a while Facebook worked on circles and groups, but that never worked.  Have two Facebook pages, or three or four.  Yes it breaks the rules, but it’s a small rebellion.  You may choose to have a “fan page” instead, but I find that people prefer to be your “friend” than your “fan”.  Maybe I’m just not famous enough :)

Next you need to get followers.  This takes work, is boring, but it has to be done.  Find a friend and look on her friends list for anyone else you know.  Repeat.  Hopefully people will notice you and send you friend requests too.  Its up to you who you accept, but I have rules :

• No men, except those I know well, belly dancers or well known musicians/djs/event hosts. Men who want to take class usually message me when they send a friend request.
• Only women who mention “belly dance” somewhere on their page.  If you don’t have a photo of you in a costume, get one quick.
• No one who posts too many selfies, near naked pics, poems or political statements.

I still get half a dozen friend requests every day, and probably send out 12 or more each week.



And here we start to see the problem with advertising events on Facebook.  Nine years ago most of us had 100 friends, posted twice a day and could keep up with each others news.  Now I have over 1,000 and I limit my friend list.  Many others have ten times that split between different accounts.  In order not to bring the facebook universe to a grinding hault Facebook decided to limit your feed to your top friends, and you didn’t get a say in who those people are.

Let me say that again:  "You don’t get to decide whose posts you see or who sees yours."

If for example you wanted to post “Informal Hafla at mine right now, bring a bottle”, some estimates say that 30% of your friends will see that post over the next few days.  Not too bad, but that 30% might all be three hours plus away from where you live, while the belly dancer across town who is bored tonight will never see that post.

You can influence what you see on your own feed by “liking” posts from the people you want to hear more from.  If you like or comment on your class mates baby photos, Facebook will make sure you see the second batch.

It therefore follows that if you want more people to see your posts you need to encourage them to “like” or comment on your posts.  Some people come right out and ask and that is why you see these kinds of weird fishing posts :

• "Like this post to find out about special savings available this weekend"
• “Puppies or Kittens ? – go !”
• “Like if you think all child abusers should be in jail”

These posts are all about collecting people who will see your next post.  There are companies who set up Facebook pages like “Kittens are the best”, fish for highly interactive friends by posting kitten pictures then sell the page on to a company (lets say a Onesie company).  A few weeks later they change the name of that page.  Suddenly you find that you like “Adult Onesies are the best”, they are filling up your feed with adverts and all your friends are laughing at you.  That’s a silly example, but beware, that’s how you get unexpected porn show up in your feed.

As a belly dancer you may want to fish for more likes and comments to help promote events you are working on.  For example your friends may all like a new video of Rachel Brice that you share, or a photo of you in your new costume.  Likes cause more likes.  If Facebook sees that most of the 30% of friends they showed your post to liked it, they assume it is important and show it to more.  If they also like it, then your message will spread. If your next post is about your event, Facebook sees you as an important person and sends your new post out to more of the folks on your friends list.

However if you post the same thing or something simiar, Facebook will limit its access to your followers who don’t want to see the same posts time and again.  This is a huge problem for us if we are promoting an event.  Say you posted this ;

• “New workshop with Sara Shrapnell this Saturday.  All the details are on www.LetsBellyDanceUSA.com – book today !”

Let us assume that 30% of your followers saw it.  Three people clicked like.

If you post it again, word for word, the next day it will only get seen by perhaps 10% of your followers and some of those will over lap.  This second post has no hope of reaching your prime market.  You feel like you sent it out to everyone on Facebook (twice !), where in reality just a few dozen saw it.  We need to do more.

The first thing you can do is set up an event on Facebook and invite people.  Facebook prefers to send people to its own pages over outside web pages.  Put everything on the events page that you would on a web page and post something slightly different to your wall :

• "New Workshop announcement ! - www.Facebook/event/SaraShrapnellWorkshop.com - are you coming ?"

(See how I'm fishing for comments and clicks !)



With an event page you have the chance to invite people directly.  I suggest you start a “hit list”.  As you connect with people on Facebook make a note of who they are, where they live and how you intend to market to them.  It is no different to keeping an address book.  I have a list of people who live within an hour of me, who I invite to events I organize.  My second list is of people who have shown an interest in starting classes, and I send them an event invite each time a new course starts up.  My final list is of people who may host a workshop with me when I travel.  For a local event I am going to invite everyone on that first hit list.

Event invites go straight to notifications and have a higher chance of being seen.  However, so many people send out blanket invites (to everyone on their friends list) that many of us skip over those notifications assuming that they are out of area.  Please don’t do this – it spoils the effect for the rest of us !  It also helps if the name of your event includes a location :

• “Sara Shrapnell in San Jose !”

The next way you can enhance the views of posts about your event is to tag people.  Tagging promotes your post with both your friends and the friends of the person you tag.  For example, before I taught in Bristol last month I tagged the host, Sasha, in many of my posts:

• “So excited to see @Sasha and all her students in Bristol next week for my new workshop!”

Her students and other dancers in the Bristol area where more likely to see that post because she was tagged in it, and it may have helped bookings.  It also helps promote her as a community leader and workshop host.  She did a great job, and I want other people to know that.

Some people are very open to the idea of tagging each other in posts, but limit it to people you are working with on a project.  You can’t just tag the most famous belly dancer you know and expect her friends to like you too.  Have you seen the posts where a costume designers puts up pictures of new costumes and tags every belly dancer in the universe?  You don’t have to help promote their work if you don’t want to.  However you should be open to helping out friends by using the tag option.  Adjust your setting so that you have to approve any tags others might put on photos or posts.  That way you can control how your name is being used, while still promoting events and products you support.

Please feel free to share, tag me and comment on any posts about this blog, or about my book !  If you interact with my post it will reach more of my fiends and maybe some of yours might like to know more about me :) 

Personally I am a big fan of advertising on Facebook.  Adverts appear in the main body or side bar of the feed of the people you target.  The great thing with Facebook ads is the targeting.  For example, before a new semester in Pleasanton I advertise to women over 20 who live in Pleasanton, like dance and are not already connected to me.  Over this weekend I advertised to people in the UK,USA, Canada and Noway who like belly dance.  That advert helped me find 40 people who liked my book, and 4 people bought it.  It cost me $5.  I think that is money well spent.

Facebook users say they hate adverts, but I think many are more interested in seeing targeted ads. Be honest - you clicked that advert with the pretty yoga pants....

Make sure that all your promotional work links back to one place (most likely your main web site) and remember that people hate to click more than once.  If you are promoting an event make sure that when they click on your post or advert they get to a place with all the information they could possibley want.

Finally remember to work as part of a community.  By sharing other peoples events you help that event information reach more people and position yourself as a “gatekeeper” informing other belly dancers of what is happening.  Gatekeepers get more attention and are more customer friendly than those that fish.  Your increased popularity in turn increases interest in you, your events and those whose information you share.  The more of a community we can build the faster we can get information to people who want it.  Post often but keep it fresh and mix up your topics, providing new information and topical news in amoungst your continued promotion of yourself and your events.  Too little and you wont be heard, too much and you turn your market against you.

Here are my top tips for marketing your event at belly dancers  via Facebook:

1, Set up a web page with all the information laid out clearly

2, Set up an event and invite your “hit list” to attend.  Make the location clear.

3, Post your event on your wall every few days.  Say the same thing with different words, add pictures and make each post new and different.  Dont always include the same web site link in the main text:

• “Sign up now for Sara’s workshop: www.LetsBellyDanceUSA.com”
• “Confirmed performers for the show include : Sara, Poppy and Sasha (tag) – find out more at www.LetsBellyDanceUSA.com:
• “Here are pictures of the confirmed performers at the Hafla:” (put web site in comments)
• “Special offer on workshop tickets ! talk to (tag workshop host) for more details”
• “Just three days til our workshop and Hafla – www.LetsBellyDanceUSA.com”

4, Fish for likes and comments:

• “Who is coming to our fancy dress Hafla ? – what are you wearing?”
• “Which costume do you prefer ? the Red or Blue ?”

5, Advertise on Facebook but target your ads at your prime customers.

6, Ask your friends to share your post.  Share other peoples posts.

7, Tag your friends (but ask them first):

• “Just having coffee with @Poppy – we are both so excited about the Hafla in San Jose next week ! – www.LetsBellyDanceUSA.com

8, Don’t limit your focus on Facebook – make a web site, email the local teachers, send out flyers and talk to people over the phone.

Good luck with your event, and feel free to share this post, tag me, and buy my book !!

http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Belly-Dance-Sara-Shrapnell/dp/0615980848/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395867094&sr=8-1&keywords=teaching+belly+dance


.

In my book "Teaching Belly Dance" I advice teachers to always have a back up plan...or two.  Things do go wrong, and its part of your role as a class teacher to move seamlessly through the lesson no matter what.  As if the universe wanted to make me put my money where my mouth is, last Tuesday was not a good day....

So first off you have to know that my husband broke his foot two days before.  While he got amazing treatment, it did mean that we spent a lot of time in the hospital and he was forced to spend a couple of days at home. 

I have a plan for the days when I am working in the evening.  I tend to write or edit or generally work on "Teaching Belly Dance" for a few hours, then around 11 I write my lesson plans which takes about an hour, then I move on to my music plan, which is about an hour more, then I often have to practice (particularly if there is some choreography in the lesson).  I cant teach it unless I can do it - and being able to do a move or a combination a month ago is not the same as being able to do it tonight !  So that was my plan last Tuesday - not particularly a busy day.

Then my husband asked if we could run some errands - of course I am taxi, because he cant drive with a broken foot.
One of those errands was to drop a check in with the garage.  Its a bit of a drive, but we had time.

Three hours later they have finally processed the paperwork and we have an appointment "soon" with the correct member of staff who can take the check.  My phone is dead and we have watched three episodes back to back of some weird crime drama on their TV with the sound off.  It was the pool boy...

oh and I have an hour til class.

Thankfully I had done my lesson plan and music plan.... practice not so much... and I hadn't downloaded my music plan to my ipod.

I get home, charge my phone, put on make up and go to plug in my iPod.....Nothing.  Its not flat, its just crashed.  Its now five minutes til leave the house time.  I do that reset thing with the outer and inner buttons..... nothing.....I grab water and try to re-set again..... and I reset again.....Now I really have to leave the house.  Thankfully I have music on my phone, but not for my plan.

I have millions of track - just millions - and I like to have a theme or a pattern running through the weeks for my classes.  I spend a lot of time picking just the right track for each activity - but I cant keep all those tracks on my phone, its just not big enough.  Instead I keep a minimum list of essentials :

• I have the "Basics", which are the top 15/20 moves I teach
• Across the floor - ten tracks that work for that activity
• Cool downs and warm ups - again about ten each
  
• Favorite drills
• Choreographies that I know I can teach in an hour class or as a mini workshop
  
• Regular beats - from dead slow to mega fast
• Drum solos
• Simple Shimmies
• Slow melodies
• Your first belly dance lesson (the lesson I teach as a one off - includes warm up and cool down)
• 1001 shimmies (a workshop I teach)
• Come Back to me (a Choreography I teach to beginners in an hour - includes tracks for move break downs and warm up/cool down_)
• Desert Hero (same as above)
• Folkloric tracks
  
• Examples of key instruments
  
• Taqsims
• Turkish (something for all styles - folkloric to pop)
• Egyptian (Classical to modern)
  
• Zill drills
• Party playlists
• Performance playlists
  
  That's easily 300 plus tracks - enough for any emergency ! (fingers crossed)
  
  As I leave the house I am doing a quick brain scan "how many of the tracks I wanted to use are on my phone?"
  
  Of course when I arrive the iPod is still dead, so I start my class with a warm up and start to re-plan my lesson.
  Here is what I wanted to teach:
  
  • Soft warm up
  • Heart rate warm up
  • Hip drops to a Saiidi Rhythm
  • Reverse Figure 8s
  • Swings (double hip drops)
  • Free dancing drops and forward and back step (fakeloric)
    
  • Shimmy with Saiidi breaks
  • Across the floor with hip drop hits
  • Cool down
    
    While that was a great idea I knew a lot of it wasn't going to work.  The Saiidi drops need a saiidi pattern, but while I knew I would have something saiidi in my folkloric playlist I couldn't be sure of the speed.  If I took that out then the shimmy with a saiidi pattern had to go too.  I started the lesson with the Reverse 8 to  a piece from my basics playlist and thought on. 
    
    I really wanted to work on hip drops, because we learned basic drops the week before and I like to build on new skills.  Instead I needed to work on a regular beat to fit the music so I switched to the "MacDonald" hip drop that goes in-front, neutral, behind.  I knew I had regular beat music from slow to fast so we did some at a mid tempo.
    
    From there we went back to the reverse figure 8 and mixed it up with the other horizontal figure 8 and I talked about the emotional difference.  They had their "two move free dance" to another track from my melodies play list. - Just 8s and reverse 8s and the emotional connection.
    
    While we were dancing I remembered that one of my favorite drills is a hip drop combo (drop in-front, behind, in-front, in-front, behind, in-front, behind, behind) -so that was next on my list.
    At this point the time was flying, we were dancing, the students were learning and my sense of panic was dropping !
    
    Finally we marked out both the beat and the melody at the same time on our body - first by stepping to the beat and moving our arms to the melody, and then following the melody with an 8 and clapping the beat. Then they followed my bouncing butt while I danced the same way - trying to mark the beat and the melody both at the same time. (I dont like to do too much "follow the bouncing butt" - but on this occasion it was acceptable)
    
    With that our time was done and we settled into our cool down.
    
    Thankfully the second class were working on a choreography and I could break down the moves and combos to the regular beat music and a couple of modern Egyptian numbers - and the track we are learning WAS on my phone (I must always check).
    
    I strongly suggest that teachers have at least three options for music with them;
    
    • IPod or music player
    • Music on their phone
    • Cds
    • Finger cymbals
      
      And bring back up cables, players and speakers.  I have taught lessons with just my finger cymbals and its not much fun I can promise !
      
      Which means that today my lesson and music plan are already half planned - we are finally going to work on the Saiidi beat and add in some different ways to mark it (shoulders, chest, tummy....).  Fingers crossed.
      
      Thank you Universe - I win that challenge - but please, no more.....
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

 Posted on December 19, 2013 In my book “Teaching Belly Dance” I talk about the different ways to promote your classes, but today I thought I would look at social media, and Facebook in particular, in more detail.

• Set yourself up with accounts are “real” and are “work”.  Although Facebook states that you shouldn’t have multiple accounts, most dance teachers do.  Your real account is for your old school chums, work mates outside belly dance, your book club…. and you can post whatever you like there.  Your work account is for your students, your teachers, dancers who inspire you, your audience and everyone else you have met through your performer persona.  Its not fake, its business.
• Your work posts, tweets and blogs should always be upbeat, excited, happy and optimistic.  Belly dancers sparkle and your on line presence should reflect that.
• Avoid topics you wouldn’t discuss in class time: Politics, religion,  money, intimate relationships.
• Go light with topics that may only interest a small section of your followers.  These show that you are human and help students to connect with you because you have things in common, but can also alienate those who don’t share your interests: Pets, healthy living, local events (fetes, fairs, shops with sales), favorite books/films/shows, baking, sports….
• Try to post every day on a topic that your followers want to know about.  Which is mostly belly dance: costumes you like, videos that inspire you, what you are practicing today, where you are performing, what music you are listening to.
• Post something upbeat about each class either before or after: How great everyone was, how hard they worked, how fun the choreography was, how much you are enjoying planning the class, what great music you have found to inspire them.
• Share information that others have posted.  It shows your level of love for all things belly dance and also that you are their portal to all things belly dance: local hafla, shows, blog posts (share this !!!), articles, magazines, videos, shops.
• Remember that while you are probably friends with hundreds or thousands of belly dancers, you may be the only belly dancer your students know.  Your news feed may be filled with 100 repeats of that link to that video everyone loves, but your students are probably not seeing it and if its causing a “buzz” in the community then you should be sharing it too.
• Don’t just share videos and pictures of big “stars”.  While they are very inspiring they can also seem out of reach for the average dancer just starting out.  Instead share “I cant believe these ladies have only been dancing a year ! Look at their beautiful smiles.  Dance teacher X must be super proud of her students after this performance.”  That video is much more inspiring to your beginner student group.
• Don’t say anything bad on line about other dancers – ever!  Even private messages can end up going public, plus it sends a negative message to your students.  The golden rule is “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all”.  If you are invited to a workshop with a teacher you don’t like, simply don’t reply.  If you are asked what you think of a costume you hate, either take the conversation off line, or look for a positive spin “Its very covered for someone with a great body like yours”.  Sometimes its useful to use video as an example for your students, but look for good examples of the point you want to make, and if you want to show a bad example then don’t say so on line.  Maybe you are teaching your students about drum solos and you want them to understand that they don’t have to hit every beat.  You can point them towards two videos, the first where the dancer only hits the occasional beat, and the other where the dancer is hitting everything, and you can simply say “here are good examples of the two different styles of drum solos we were talking about today in class”.
• On line videos are a great resource for dance teachers, but use them wisely and encourage your students to go and explore for themselves.  That way you can see where their interests will lie.  If they send you videos they like then share them and say why they are a great find. Set up Facebook groups for each of your classes so that they can get to know each other better and “chat” outside class, but remember to keep your teacher persona and not make your interaction too personal.
• Actively look for new students a couple of times a year – perhaps January and September – when people are looking for new activities and fitness classes.  Because all of us are “friends” on Facebook you don’t have to be too subtle, but pull yourself up before you nag.  “who is excited about the new semester starting on Monday” is fine,but don’t post it every day for a week.  Rephrase and post it at different times of the day, when different friends will be on line:  “Booking for the Monday class just opened – the link is here”  “Picking out music for the new Monday class, its going to be so much fun”  “Thank you to everyone who already booked the Monday class”  “Packing my bags and putting on make up for the NEW Monday class.  Its not too late to book.  Just go and see Maggie on the front desk and she will sort you out.  See you later !”
• Many of your students may be linked to you through more than one social networking site.  If you repeat post the same comment on all your sites you risk becoming annoying.  Each social network site has its own tone and attitude and your posts should reflect that, even if you are practically saying the same thing.
• Not everyone is on-line or enjoys the same sites that you do.  Facebook should not be used instead of class time or phone calls to pass on important messages.  “oh, I thought we all decided that on Facebook” will just further exclude the student who doesn’t like that site.

For more information about the book “Teaching Belly Dance” please visit my web site :

www.TeachingBellyDance.com

Posted on December 27, 2013
As a belly dance teacher your role may soon evolve into that of an agent, booking dancers for restaurants, parties or shows.  In my book “Teaching Belly Dance” I run through some tips for how to do this and still stay friends (Super Tip : use contracts !), but I have also added a chapter on how to keep dancers safe.

This is controversial for me.  I am the mother of two grown sons and a daughter.  I believe that one of my most important jobs is to teach my boys not to rape, to respect women, to be the sober one at the party, to call the police, to take a drunk girl home or to call her parents, to protect her, defend her, to speak up.  And yet I spend more time teaching my daughter how to stay safe.  Why?

I want her to be able to walk the streets after dark, just as her brothers do.  She should be able to call on a neighbor to borrow sugar, stand by her broken down car and wait for the repair man, to stay in a hotel on her own….

Statistically all these things are safer than the first few weeks of dating a new man, meeting his friends, visiting his home for the first time.  The Hollywood monster maybe the stranger lurking down a dark alleyway, but the real monster is the boy next door, the new boyfriend, the man who wants to ask you for a date.  Yet I fear the stranger too.

As your belly dance teacher I also become your mum, like it or lump it.  I’m going to tell you not to take the booking, cos it sounds a bit dodgy, not cos I want the gig myself.  I’m going to come with you, guard the door while you change, stand between you and the drunks while you dance (and pretend to take photos), and drive you home.  I know you fancy the man a the bar, but you are not staying to chat tonight.  Call him tomorrow when he is sober and you are not the “belly dancer”.  Sadly he probably wont be so interested.  I am old and grumpy and bossy and a spoil sport.

Years ago, I would call on a neighbor each afternoon and take her for a walk.  She was about ten years older than me, amazingly bright and fascinating.  She had traveled the world and was a wealth of information about the Middle East.  She needed someone to walk with her as she was in the last few weeks of carrying her twins.  It was a joyful shuffle and sway around the block.  I was first choice babysitter to her babies, walked them home from school when she went back to work, spent Christmas afternoons admiring their presents.  Today one of those twins posted a very interesting blog about “rape culture”, she quoted feminists, anti-feminists, sociologists and scientists.  I’m kind of proud to see that this teenager is obviously studying this subject in depth and feels strongly enough about her views to share them with others.  But I am also sad.  She is 15.  My generation should have sorted this for her.  People like me and her mother – strong, intelligent women – we have been teaching our boys not to rape, but its not enough. She sees more work to be done, and she is right.

In the chapter “Keeping dancers safe” I list the things we need to do as dancers, and teach to other dancers, to be “street wise”.  I wish it wasn’t necessary.  I wish I could cut that chapter.  I wish that every dancer could feel safe from attack.  But in the mean time I’m going to spell out in my book the “rules”.  I am happy to be mum to any performer, and if I cant be there then let me give you my voice in your head telling you to be alert – like it or lump it !

Teaching Belly Dance is available on Amazon - 
 

Return to Sara's Blog to read more including : "I'm Perfect for Belly Dance, and so are you!" and "Picking out a Troupe Costume".

Sara Shrapnell's new book "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya is available in summer 2016

Posted on December 29, 2013
I’m not usually one for New Years Resolutions, but I do like to set myself aims and now seems like a good time to re-set.

My last set of aims was written when I moved to the USA:

• Make friends
• Set up three good belly dance classes and find students to fill them
• Find performance opportunities, attend events, encourage my students to attend events.
• Write

While I am not going to give myself 10/10, I feel I have worked hard on these.

I think these are going to be my new aims :

• Promote “Teaching Belly Dance”
• Increase general fitness
• Dance only where improvisation is appreciated
• Write new material for my advanced classes
• Increase promotion to find new beginner students

I like to set aims that I think can be achieved !

• I am working on the first one.  Promoting yourself and your work is hard, and I need to learn to take a step back and see the value in the book for others.  Its a mighty fine book, and many people are going to learn from it.  If I can promote it to enough people I may even improve the general teaching of belly dance, which may improve many peoples dancing.  I may help good teachers become better, to make more money or to open more classes.  I may convince dancers to move into teaching.  I may convince teachers to continue to study.  I am not just promoting me and my book, I am promoting belly dance.  gulp.
• I have to increase my fitness this year.  As you may know I fell and sprained my ankle this summer.  I was horrified when the Dr said it might take six months to get better, but here I am six months later and it is still painful every day.  I have rested it and learnt how to teach without putting it under too much pressure, but I’m paying the price.  For the new year I have combined two of my classes into one night, leaving me more time to get back to the gym, run with my dogs and increase my personal practice time.  I don’t care what the scales say, I just want to be able to dance for 20 minutes without “glow”.
• Its time to say “NO” to trying to write myself choreography.  I don’t like it.  I am not good at confining myself.  Instead I would like the freedom to learn some new music really, really well and to drill combinations, turns and movements to increase my vocabulary.  And then dance soft, slow, soulful rotations when the mood take me.
• Over the last 14 years I have written dozens of semester plans for my advanced students.  I have studied topics, attended workshops, read books, spoken to specialists, all to prepare interesting and informative lessons for students.  In the last two years I have got a little lazy – I have re-used research to present material to new students.  The advanced group I’m working with now deserve better than that.  They are amazing dancers and I’m looking forward to learning new stuff and pushing them.
• And the final one may be the hardest !  How to find new students?  My best source of new students in the UK was old students   Someone came to class, loved it, and told all her friends.  I never realized til I moved here just how grateful I should have been to have started out by taking over my teachers established class.  I had it all – 25 lovely dancers who also sold my classes to their friends for me !  It feels like the whole belly dance world needs a shot of new beginners.  We need a Britney or Shakira moment, maybe a belly dancer needs to win America’s got talent, or one of the belly dance moves needs to be a hit.  But I don’t think I can make that happen.  Instead I need to spend every day thinking of new places to leave a flyer, to perform to promote, to advertise and to sell the idea that belly dance is the best thing you can spend your time doing.  Good job I know that to be true.

Please feel free to share your aims or objectives as a teacher !

www.TeachingBellyDance.com

I get asked this all the time “how much should I charge for….”

In our book "Becoming a Belly Dancer" - the stagecraft handbook for belly dancers - we avoided costs that would quickly become outdated, but here are a few pointers on how I calculate costs for all kinds of events:

No matter what the job is start with your “I wont get out of bed for less than” price.  This expression comes from the modelling world, but it works for other businesses too – just how much money do you want before you will get out of bed, put on your full make up, and “be” the belly dancer?  This will depend a bit on what kind of work you are being offered – for example I hate teaching kids, but I love my regular students – I probably want twice my “get out of bed” price for a morning in a school.  This also covers costs associated with being a teacher or performer that might come under the umbrella of “admin” or “hassle”.  You might factor in the cost of your mobile phone, computer, internet into your annual business costs, but what about time spent on the phone or answering emails?  Sometimes a booking can be organize with a quick phone chat followed by the emailing of a contract.  Other times it takes twenty calls before the client decides they want to book the balloon artist instead.  And I cant calculate the many hours and miles I have burnt on my quests for keys for dance studios over the last seventeen years.   If you still feel as if you don’t deserve the “get out of bed” price then use it as part of your negotiation when a customer wants you to drop your price.

Add in the things you can put a price on.  How much will the traveling cost you?  Gas/petrol, bus tickets, train fare…. add parking, entry fee if you are being charged.  How much is room hire? and insurance?

And how about those things that are harder to price?  Do you need a new costume? or does your costume need repairs or a dry clean?  You will need a full face of make up, and perhaps false nails, eyelashes or a spray tan.  Divide these costs between how many jobs you do between payments.  So if you perform twice a week all year and buy three costumes each year, you should divide the cost of the costumes by 100(ish) jobs (3 costumes @ $300 = $900 divided by 100 jobs = $9 per job), if you do your nails each month then that cost is divided by 8 jobs ($40 divided by 8 = $5)…. and so on

Next you can charge for your skills.  I charge $25 per hour to teach and $50 per half hour to perform – or to wait to perform !  Remember that you should be paid for all the time you are on site, not just for the time that you are on stage.  You are still a belly dancer goddess while you are hanging out in the toilets waiting for the stage to be set up.  Make sure that your booker knows that they will be paying for you from the moment you arrive and that you have to leave on time.  Or you can simply assume that every 15 minute performance will include two hours of hanging about and be happy to know that you are being paid to text your mum or read a book.

Now to preparation.  Each one hour beginner lesson should take about an hour to prepare.  More advanced classes are about twice that; an hour of studying the style (taking workshops, watching videos and on line research), plus an hour of lesson planning.  If your preparation hourly rate is $50 then you want to recover $100 from each advanced class.  If you have twenty students then that will be $5 each.  Don’t forget to add in other charges to that (such as hall hire, teaching time and insurance) before settling on a class fee.  If you have a student who would like a private lesson look at how long the preparation is going to take.  Assessing their choreography will take less preparation than writing a choreography especially for them.  When taking a booking for a performance add in preparation time to that as well.  How long will it take you to put on professional level make up?  Do you need to plan a new playlist? Write a new choreography? or re-learn an old one?  If the client asks that you perform to her favorite piece of music, add in the cost it is going to take you to prepare something special for that tune, and/or to purchase the music.

Lets look at a few examples:

• Weekly beginners class with ten students:
• Get out of bed – $25, Gas – $3, room hire – $40, insurance – $4, Make up and nails – $4, preparation – $25, hour teaching – $25 = $126… This class needs to be over $12.50 per student

• Restaurant gig:
• Get out of bed – $50, gas – $6, Make up and nails – $4, eyelashes – $5, costume maintenance – $20, preparation – $50, hour on site (15 minutes performing, 45 minutes waiting in the toilets) – $100 = $235

• One on one lesson including writing a choreography for the student:
• Get out of bed – $25, room hire – $10, preparation – $75, one hour teaching – $25 = $135

• Performing at a wedding including costume to match the wedding theme and dancing to grandma’s favorite song:
• Get out of bed – $25, Make up, nails and tan – $10, Gas – $10, parking – $10, eyelashes – $5, costume maintenance and adaptation (buying a new skirt) – $80, preparation – $75, 90 minutes on site (20 minutes performing, 70 minutes waiting in the toilets) – $150 = $365

Your local area will have a “set” fee level, so once you have worked out what you feel you need to charge, talk to other local dancers and see how your prices compare.  Don’t ever undercut the other local dancers.  Even if you are the youngest, least experienced dancer or teacher in the area you would do better to support the local price structure than to undermine it.  If other dancers are charging less than you then encourage them to move towards a more realistic pricing structure.  Remember that local teachers and performers are by far your best source of work – no “cheap” gig is worth upsetting the local scene.

That is not to say that you can not give your time and energy as a gift for friends or charity if you want to – just as an accountant can do his grandmothers tax, you should be allowed to teach your daughters brownie troupe if you want to – BUT – always let them know the cost of that gift, so as not to distort the general public’s idea of what a belly dancer costs.  Personally I always work from a contract, even if I intend to “gift” my fee back to the charity, and I ask for payment up front on the understanding that I will return the money if the event goes well.  It also means that someone with a check book approved my booking.  In the early days I would turn up ready to teach or perform only to be told “Sorry, I just spoke to the committee and they didn’t realize I had invited you.  They are not sure its suitable.  Sorry I wasted your time….”  I think its better to have that conversation three days before a performance when the check hasn’t arrived (and I can take the phone call in my PJs).

Your contract should make it very clear what the client is paying for, how long you will be on site, when you get paid, if you want cash, what happens to any tips, how many students you can teach (and ask that they are sober if you are doing a party), who is paying for the room hire, who is insured and clarify the cancellation policy.

​If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:

Teacher Knows Best
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)
Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line
Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections
Being Part of the Solution

Or check out my Hub Blogs including:

"Your First Belly Dance Workshop"
The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance"
"Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher"

​The book “Teaching Belly Dance” includes some example contracts to help you hire an outside teacher to teach a workshop for your students or perform in your show, plus lots of other advice for anyone who teaches belly dance.  “Teaching Belly Dance”, by Sara Shrapnell is available through Amazon.

Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage is a stagecraft handbook for belly dancers of all levels and all styles.  It includes a chapter on getting paid and has lots of help for those who want to find great gigs.

​Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.

Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” was published in 2014.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is a stagecraft handbook for belly dancers of all styles and levels.  Both are available on Amazon.