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TEACHER QUALIFICATION
Most organizations who hire a MEDance instructor interview the prospective teacher about her ability to teach. Some don't but most do. It is in their best interest to provide good quality instruction.
You should be able to ask your teacher about her training. This doesn't have to be an interrogation but simple conversation or general enquiry at the beginning.
Your teacher should tell you or have available a 'curriculum vita'…a list of her qualifications. MEDance is a very unregulated business. There are NO formal accreditation programs for MEDance instructors. Some well known instructors are getting into Certificate programs but the dance has never been codified so any program is a personal version of the dance. ASK you teacher about her dance. Most learn via an apprenticeship type of training.
Some sample questions:
How long have you been teaching
Where did you learn to teach
Where did you learn to dance
What style is your dance
Have you ever performed
Do you still study
Do you have other forms of dance
Do you have any training in physiology…i.e. body mechanics (most dance instruction covers basic physiology in it's teacher training)
Fatima's Law: not all that glitters is gold. Some instructors talk a good story but their expertise doesn't match up to what they say. Bad for the student. Bad for dance.
Beware of the 'teacher'
who has only studied a year or two or has taken only a couple of courses
who has had no other dance training or teacher training
who does not continue her training….unless she is at a 'master' level, most teachers continue to learn...even a 'master' constantly researches
knows nothing of the history or culture or music
does not use a lot of MEMusic…there's a lot of new age and fusion music out there….to learn you need the real stuff, you branch out once you learn the basics
IN CLASS:
Is your teacher?
Does your teacher?
have lessons planned….if the class runs smoothly and the teacher knows what she is going to do next, etc. it's planned
know her stuff….especially choreography…using notes is acceptable but getting lost repeatedly in the sequence, etc. isn't ...forgetting or not knowing how to do a step isn't
Break down steps
do proper warm-up and cool down
correct you --- this is part of teaching and for your safety many times….can be done a couple of ways…either direct to individual or as a general comment …you should not feel 'put down' by a correction
stress the importance of proper posture and alignment and show you how to maintain it
tell you what to be careful of and give you alternative ways of executing a step
tell you or the class when you 'do good'
and on a more general bend
does your teacher tell you about other dancers, groups, events other than her own or her troupes
does she tell you about other classes or provide a source to find them
does she send you on to more advanced classes when you are ready
does she have a resume and list of her accomplishments readily available if asked
does she have a description and qualifications for the different levels of dance
Fatima's Law: some teachers hold you back 'for your own good', usually it's for their good not yours.
Beware the teacher who
tells you "I'll tell you when you're ready to move on'
keeps you in a beginner (introductory) level for an extended period
doesn't mention any other dance classes or events she is not part of
bad mouths other dancers or teachers or tells you 'you wouldn't like their class'
has sloppy technique and tells you 'it's not important to work on…."
withholds information because you aren't 'ready' and won't tell you why or demonstrate the advanced technique … usually indicates she doesn't know & is afraid to admit it
tells you about workshops but she will go and bring back the info for you…this usually means the teacher doesn't want to share taking a class with her students
tells you studying with other teachers will confuse you and conflict with her style and it's best to stay in her class
there is only one method or way of doing 'a step' and it's her way
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