As many of you know, last spring Idecided that it is time to reorganize Celebrations Bellydance and do things a little bit differently. I’ve been teaching in Whitehorse for 10 years now (do you believe it?) and I am ready for a change from the level 1, 2 & 3 class
formats that I’ve been following. After 10 years I’m also really looking forward to having my weekends free to pursue other interests and spend time with my family.
One of the frustrations of being only a part-time dance teacher is in the lack of time to do more than skim the surface of any topic. Middle Eastern dance is so rich, and yet there is a limited amount of time each week to cover any topic. So I have always focused on what I
consider the basics, leaving the rest for another day. Well, people, another day has arrived!
I’ll still offer an introductory/level 1 class for brand new students & those wanting to work on essential skills, but will not be offering the standard level 2 & 3 classes this term: instead there are two new classes to replace them: a repertoire class with a heavy focus on choreography for use by the dance troupe, and a special topics class where we can really dig into the meat & potatoes of the dance. I am very excited about this offering! I’ve put myself on the hot seat with it, though –while I’ll be incorporating material from previous lesson plans, I will also be spicing it up with in-depth looks at movements, methods, history, etc. This is the stuff I’ve found myself wanting to focus on in my own dance training and in guiding yours. I’m thinking positive and have scheduled two separate offerings of this class. I hope there are as many students who want to take it!
Classes will be limited to 12 until I get an idea of what the room will accommodate. We will be in the theatre classroom at Yukon College for the first time ever. There are no mirrors (yet –hopefully those will come in the spring), and that is also an exciting and welcome challenge as I find that students often focus externally instead of internally (rely on watching themselves in the mirror instead of focusing on how the move feels in the body.)
With a limited class size, you will need to be sure and register early (like right NOW) to ensure your space in class. I won’t be squeezing in last minute folks this time.