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I had planned on teaching floor work in class today with some travelling steps as a warmup, but then I realized my students were having trouble on travelling steps. The class was therefore primarily about variations on travelling steps, like grapevine, box step, Ghawazee box step, and triangle step. We especially covered the triangle step, since it has a pelvic contraction which was causing everyone grief. So there was plenty of contracting going on, and lots of butts pushing back, and correction of synchronization issues (eg. does my foot go back and then my butt stick out? No!). By the end, everyone had the basics, but it still needs plenty more work. So next class, we'll be reviewing the triangle step, and also going over other travelling steps, like Moroccan hiphop, cha-cha, Tunisian, Egyptian walk, Saidi strut, Tarik's "evil step," etcetera, etcetera, etc. I think I could pretty much teach a six-week course on travelling steps and still only have the basics covered.
However, travelling steps are my least favourite thing to teach because I'm retarded when it comes to footwork. I need more mastery of it before I can break it down the way I'd like to. Teaching this stuff is exactly what I need to do more, though. The more questions students ask, and the more difficulties they encounter which I help them overcome, the greater becomes my understanding of the topic. I've probably learned more from teaching than I have from studying with masters. I've learned how to explain most movements mathematically (tip your pelvis about 45 degrees....), metaphorically (imagine you're holding a hundred dollar bill in your arse crack), anatomically (activate your obliques and gluteal muscles, then follow up with your hamstrings), tactilely (hold onto my hips and feel where the accents are), and visually (follow the bouncing butt). With some students, I need a combination of all of these. With others, just one or two will do.
Now that I'm getting![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
random_echoes and snowy_kathryn to apprentice with me, I'm realizing I should put these techniques in writing, too. And I should also do a section on particular problems and how to deal with them. I don't know if there is such a written resource for raqs sharqi instructors, but maybe I should get around to developing one for myself and my students.
Of course, I'm buzzing right now from a cooler, and maybe I'll change my mind when I sober up. Who knows? Regardless, if I put together such a project, I'd be hoping for some feedback from other instructors and students. What are common problems you experience? How do you deal with them? You know, that sort of thing. Maybe it would translate better as video. I don't know. I think it would work best as part video and part text. I don't have access to a video crew, though, so visual representation would be difficult.
What would you like to see in such a guide?
However, travelling steps are my least favourite thing to teach because I'm retarded when it comes to footwork. I need more mastery of it before I can break it down the way I'd like to. Teaching this stuff is exactly what I need to do more, though. The more questions students ask, and the more difficulties they encounter which I help them overcome, the greater becomes my understanding of the topic. I've probably learned more from teaching than I have from studying with masters. I've learned how to explain most movements mathematically (tip your pelvis about 45 degrees....), metaphorically (imagine you're holding a hundred dollar bill in your arse crack), anatomically (activate your obliques and gluteal muscles, then follow up with your hamstrings), tactilely (hold onto my hips and feel where the accents are), and visually (follow the bouncing butt). With some students, I need a combination of all of these. With others, just one or two will do.
Now that I'm getting
random_echoes and snowy_kathryn to apprentice with me, I'm realizing I should put these techniques in writing, too. And I should also do a section on particular problems and how to deal with them. I don't know if there is such a written resource for raqs sharqi instructors, but maybe I should get around to developing one for myself and my students.Of course, I'm buzzing right now from a cooler, and maybe I'll change my mind when I sober up. Who knows? Regardless, if I put together such a project, I'd be hoping for some feedback from other instructors and students. What are common problems you experience? How do you deal with them? You know, that sort of thing. Maybe it would translate better as video. I don't know. I think it would work best as part video and part text. I don't have access to a video crew, though, so visual representation would be difficult.
What would you like to see in such a guide?
