{"id":4423,"date":"2012-09-07T11:30:29","date_gmt":"2012-09-07T18:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/?p=4423"},"modified":"2012-09-07T11:36:27","modified_gmt":"2012-09-07T18:36:27","slug":"attending-workshops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/2012\/09\/07\/attending-workshops\/","title":{"rendered":"Attending Workshops"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Them<\/h2>\n

\"Sahra,<\/p>\n

by Adriane<\/a>
\nposted September 7,\t2012 <\/span><\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve all been there.\u00a0 You get home exhausted from dancing for four hours\u00a0at a belly dance\u00a0workshop with some outrageously talented belly dance\u00a0artist, but then, you cannot remember a bit\u00a0of what you were supposed to have learned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sure, it was worth\u00a0it to\u00a0just soak in the presence of a Belly dance\u00a0master for a few hours, get a good workout, and network with your\u00a0Belly dance\u00a0friends, but how can you\u00a0make\u00a0that time and money spent upon a workshop with a master teacher benefit you in the long run?<\/p>\n

Here are seven tips for getting the most out of your Belly dance workshops:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take Notes\u00a0<\/span>
    \nBring a Belly dance\u00a0notebook in which you can take notes at all of the Belly dance workshops that you attend.\u00a0 Take quick breaks throughout your workshop to take notes on what you\u2019re learning (even if everyone else is still dancing!).\u00a0 Try to write down as much you can remember during your water and lunch breaks.\u00a0 You will have these notes to which you may refer years down the road and they will jog your memory concerning what you learned that day.\u00a0\n<\/li>\n
  2. Ask Questions<\/span>
    \nMost instructors appreciate students who are engaged with the material and ask questions.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t understand how to do a particular move or didn\u2019t quite get a transition during a combination, ask your instructor!\u00a0 If the instructor does not have enough time to answer your questions fully,\u00a0he or she may\u00a0be able to help you after the workshop.\u00a0\u00a0Especially if\u00a0your workshop teacher is an expert in a particular style, don\u2019t be shy to ask questions and learn as much as you can\u00a0in the little time you have together.\n<\/li>\n
  3. Film with Permission<\/span>
    \nMany instructors will permit their students to film the choreography that they are teaching at the end of a workshop\u00a0if they promise not to post it on the Internet.\u00a0 Ask your workshop instructor for permission to film beforehand and respect his or her wishes.\u00a0 I think it is most helpful to film the choreography from behind so that it is easy to follow at home.\u00a0 Having a video of what you learned at a workshop is the ultimate tool for mastering the material down the road!
    \n\n<\/li>\n
  4. Buy the Workshop Instructor\u2019s Music<\/span>
    \nSome of the best Belly dance CDs I have are ones that I have purchased from a workshop instructor.\u00a0 Not only do workshop instructors tend to have good taste in music, but it is critical for you to get the music that the instructor used in the workshop–if she or he taught a choreography.\u00a0 Try to purchase the music from your instructor (if you can afford it)\u00a0because it supports your instructor and the musicians who have recorded the music.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t afford to purchase the music right there and then, make sure you find out the name of the song your instructor used so that you can download it from the Internet later.\n<\/li>\n
  5. Practice at Home as soon as possible! <\/span>
    \nIt is most effective to practice \u00a0at home what you learned as soon as possible while it is still fresh in your muscle memory.\u00a0 Even if you aren\u2019t able to return to the workshop material for awhile, if you have the workshop material filmed, you\u2019ve got it made!\u00a0 The ideal way to retain what you learned in a workshop, especially if it was a choreography workshop, is to break down what you filmed into bite-size chunks.\u00a0 One strategy I use is to\u00a0analyze a\u00a0combination from the choreography that I videoed and then write it down in my notebook in my own words.\u00a0\u00a0Through the process of writing it down, I\u2019m figuring it out in my own body to make sure I understand the technique and transitions.\u00a0 This also helps me see nuances in the instructor\u2019s movement that I didn\u2019t catch the first time.
    \nI proceed, combination by combination, analyzing the instructor\u2019s movement, writing it down, practicing the combination alone, then practicing the choreography from the beginning.\u00a0 It may seem like a painstaking process, but I find it to be a satisfying and effective way to completely saturate myself in what I have learned.\n<\/li>\n
  6. Perform What You Have Learned <\/span>
    \nOnce you have fully analyzed the choreography you have learned at a workshop, you are two steps away from being able to perform it!\u00a0 The next step is to drill any technique or transitions from the choreography that were challenging to you.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t shortcut this step or your performance will look sloppy and unpolished.Then, start rehearsing the choreography over and over for weeks and weeks until your technique and transitions are clean and the choreography flows automatically without thought.\u00a0 Now you\u2019re ready to perform what you have learned!\u00a0 (Be sure to credit the original\u00a0choreographer if you perform the piece in a show.)\u00a0 If you have learned movements and combinations at a workshop, find ways to integrate what you have learned into your own dancing and choreography for performance.<\/li>\n
  7. Review<\/span>
    \n Why abandon what you learned after you have worked so hard to get it just right?\u00a0 Run through any choreography, combinations, and movements that you learned from a workshop at your home practice sessions.\u00a0\u00a0 Keep it alive in your muscle memory and continue to improve on what you have learned during practice and in performance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    By following\u00a0these seven tips for getting the most out of your Belly dance\u00a0workshops, I hope that you will be able to retain more of what you learn at workshops so that your skill and enjoyment of Belly dance\u00a0will grow.\u00a0 Let me know how your next workshop goes!<\/p>\n

    \"Adriane
    \n
    Jillina<\/a><\/span> in her Malibu studio in September 2011 and
    \n(top photo) Journey through Egypt I<\/em> in Sierra Madre with     Sahra<\/a><\/span> and
    \n    Aubre<\/a><\/span> from July 2009<\/p>\n

    \"use<\/p>\n

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