I often receive questions on how to find a good belly dance teacher, so I decided to put a couple of useful tips on this subject:

Step 1 - Check his/her dance videos.

If you liked what you saw, you probably will find lots of things to learn from this person. With that said, a good performer is not necessarily a good teacher, and a good teacher isn’t necessarily an active or a great performer. Teaching and performing are two DIFFERENT skills. Yes, in the belly dance world they usually go hand-in-hand, and that’s why I put it as a first step. But that doesn’t have to be so. I saw many great teachers who barely had any dance videos, and their performance career were very modest. And yet, they just had a talent in teaching, and their students were competition champions and mega stars! Which leads me to the next step.

Step 2 - Look at their students.

Students are the best reflection of the teacher, and her TEACHING SKILLS. This can tell you a lot about your potential experience with this person. It can show how sensitive the teacher is to the needs of each students. Is she able to help students grown and achieve their goals?

Step 3 - Actually go to the class.

There is no better check than to experience it yourself, and to see if the teacher’s energy and approach works specifically for you. You can watch as many videos as you want, listen to multiple reviews and impressions, but until the moment you actually try it, you won’t know if it fits you or not.

Before I move on to Step 4, I should add here that are some WARNING SIGNALS that you should pay attention to right during your first classes. They can help you decide if it’s worth continuing studying with this teacher. And you don’t need to be a belly dance expert to see those warning signs. Even if it’s your very first class, you’ll be able to recognize these red flags.

Three things to pay attention to:

What kind of feedback the teacher gives to students during the class? Is it only compliments, or is it only critique of mistakes?

Saying only compliments and encouragements can be a great way to create a warm and friendly atmosphere, but it won’t help you grow as a dancer. The teacher can’t ignore your mistakes, and you shouldn’t be blind to your imperfections. But unfortunately, some teachers use this trick of only saying good things in order to create an emotional attachment. Students become addicted to this euphoria of feeling how awesome they are, so they come back for it again and again. It makes them a happy person, and usually a bad dancer. But the teacher’s goal of having a class full of students is achieved. The question is how much it really costs you as a student.

On the other hand, if the teacher is only criticizing and pointing out mistakes, it can be a signal of low confidence. They may be just trying to repair their self-esteem by putting other people down. In this case, they use students for this purposes. Such approach will push you to train harder, but it’s not sustainable in the long-run. It may damage your own confidence, and eventually destroy any enthusiasm of attending dance classes at all.

There should be a balance between nice things your teacher says, acknowledging your (and other students) progress, and constructive criticism to make you work on mistakes.

Second, is there any kind of discipline and set rules in the class? Or is it all loose and free?

Yes, of course, a dance studio is not a military training camp, but it’s an environment where you work on improving your dance skills. It’s not just a place to chat with your friends. Maintaining proper discipline in the class is also about respect towards the art, the group of students, as well as self respect of the teacher to herself. I have a separate article about basic etiquette in a dance class, and I highly recommend to check it out for both students and teachers.

Last but not least, listen to what the teacher says about her colleagues.

If she starts criticizing or bad-mouthing other studios or teachers, it’s a red flag. The same applies if she starts limiting your freedom of attending classes somewhere else. Those are serious red flags.

Such teachers are very insecure regarding their own dance level, so they're trying to prevent students from exploring other options. They simply want to avoid being compared to other teachers.

Also, they are not interested in actually developing your dance skills. Your dance growth is a threat to their authority. They just want to create a fan club of students who would copy them, but never reach the level of “ originality”. No need to comment that your dance development will be extremely limited in such environment.

Step 4 - Don't get obsessed with trying to find the PERFECT teacher!

There is no such thing. One teacher works for your dance friend, but may not work for you. The same teacher is a great fit for you now, but it may change in a year or two.

There are teachers for each stage of your dance journey. If you feel it’s time to move on, go ahead. But always remain grateful and respectful to ALL your teachers. They all contributed to your development in one way or another.

How many teachers did you have so far in your dance journey?

Find out more HERE.

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Author: Iana Komarnytska
Photographer: Pedro Bonatto