My dance life has just gotten complicated.

The friend I followed into bd just escaped the school with her cool buddies... not naming any *cough... sheridan... cough* names or anything. I now have no reason to try to advance to the next level, other than just to have done it.

I just found out that in our next session, my dance instructor has decided to splice the 4th level class into the Advanced class. That leaves the 5th level class I fought to get into last session out of the loop. I will therefore not be automatically going into the Advanced class with the group I was grudgingly allowed to "graduate" from last session. Now I'm not sure what to do.

And now that our cool choreography is done, we're doing this ASSHAT dance with small triangle veils. Just to be edgy, our teacher has decided to have us dance to the most boring, repetitive ME pop song she could find. There is no layering, only very basic moves with much swinging of triangles. We look like an unimaginative troop of aging cheerleaders that couldn't afford real pompoms. It's the most embarrassing thing I've ever been a part of. The worst part is that halfway through the dance, she's decided we'll just start over at the beginning moves and do the whole stupid thing again. Last class I spent a lot of time sitting on my ass rolling my eyes. I don't even think I can make myself do it.

Should I even bother registering for next session?!?!
posted by:
Skal
offline Skal
Canada
8 friends
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  • Kat
    Kat
    offline 26

    Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

    Tue, April 15, 2008 - 7:00 PM
    In general, I say F the whole characterization of dancers in advanced/intermediate/beginner level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ...... This isn't freaking grade school or DnD. Although I can understand the basic utility of categorization, it can get a little much in the bellydance community. And wtf, I think it's crap to make an already intermediate or advanced student rise through the ranks of beginner blah blah bla - just let the person begin at their "level". Oh wait, in order to move thru the ranks, you have to pay loads of cash to attend beginner classes first.
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  • Pois...
    Poisoned
    online 132

    Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

    Wed, April 16, 2008 - 4:42 AM
    Skal... get out! Run for the door! This instructor is clueless!

    I don't teach anymore and don't really plan to until I get my manuscript projects closer to the finish line but I have been working my ass off on a new curriculum and I fear for my future students. I don't teach beginning classes and probably never will again. I move too fast, push too hard and generally just have waaay too much material to cover in a short amount of time. This means that I like to rely on other people to teach the babies for me and shoot em up to me when they hit a plateau. If you're not getting a good education then I will break you in a disturbing Russian Dominatrix kind of way. That's the reason that jumps out at me first since it's something that weighs heavily on my mind but other than that it sounds like you are just not getting your money's worth. Go baby! Go!

    ~*Spoonie*~
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    • Bonn...
      Bonnie Margay
      offline 453

      Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

      Wed, April 16, 2008 - 11:56 AM
      "I move too fast, push too hard and generally just have waaay too much material to cover in a short amount of time... I will break you in a disturbing Russian Dominatrix kind of way."

      Rowr!

      Now you're just trying to make me hot, you tease!

      ; P
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  • Melissa
    Melissa
    offline 5

    Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

    Wed, April 16, 2008 - 8:51 AM
    Heh, I'm liking the mental picture I got from Spoon ;)

    It's not worth it to stick around for that! Ugh, I hate it when teachers suddenly revise the levels and you get jacked around. We only have one advanced student in my school and she's from an out-of-town school, so we're all kinda intermediate or beginners. Then again, our school has only been open for a year, so no contoversy yet.

    Hmm...Now I have to find a way to avoid the place you speak of. My teacher is getting ready for us to branch out a little and take trips together for workshops and such, and I'm pretty sure we're in the same province.
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    • Sher...
      Sheridan
      offline 16

      Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

      Wed, April 16, 2008 - 10:46 AM
      Dawn:
      Make this suggestion next class: Soak the triangles in Kerosene and do a flaming triangle dance!! *evil grin*

      Melissa:

      No worries, anyone she thinks of bringing up for a rare workshop would be coming in from your neck of the woods anyway. We're up in the Northern bits of the Province.

      Everybody else:

      Our biggest trouble here is that this control nut is the only game in town. That's slowly changing now that a bunch of people who have stuck with her for years have finally had enough of her and have the knowledge to branch out on their own. Options are slowly developing. None of us are in a position to start a full school - yet. (Sooon my precious, sooooon). Apparently she has quite the history, and lots of disaffected students so when the time comes there is a pool of people that can support a second, or third school.

      Personally, I feel bad for this woman, she has lost all love for the dance and seems to barely understand it. She's burnt out and can't bring herself to delegate or let people help her. To be completely melodramatic - shes sowing the seeds of her own failure.
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      • Melissa
        Melissa
        offline 5

        Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

        Wed, April 16, 2008 - 12:35 PM
        Yeah...I'm in the northern bits too. Fun times in isolation

        I seriously hope you get to open a school Sheridan. It would be great for the dance scene wherever you are. I heard nothing but great things from when I was in Ontario. Didn't connect the dots until recently though.
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      • Durrah
        Durrah
        online 51

        Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

        Wed, April 16, 2008 - 2:10 PM
        Mm, flaming triangles! I like that idea.
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        • Robin
          Robin
          online 44

          Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

          Wed, April 16, 2008 - 2:21 PM
          I gotta tell ya...unti lthis came up here, I've never heard of triangle veils...what the heck would you do with that? Anybody got a youtube video of someone dancing with a triangle veil? thanks...
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          • Skal
            Skal
            offline 8

            Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

            Wed, April 16, 2008 - 4:15 PM
            Hmm... I don't know if there are any videos. Picture a woman holding a triangle shaped veil in each hand. The veils are about 3/4 of your arm in length. You generally hold them with the ends of your fingers and swing them both in the same direction. Sometimes you hold one in front of your face (stretched out between your two hands) and make coy eyes at the audience. It kinda looks like rhythmic gymnastics without the gracefulness.

            Thanks to everyone for helping me make up my mind. I'm going to this week's class to say bye to my friends, then I QUIT!!!! My oldest dd and I will be starting lessons with Sheridan in May. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            And Sheridan... no triangles, eh?
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          • Sher...
            Sheridan
            offline 16

            Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

            Wed, April 16, 2008 - 4:46 PM
            "I gotta tell ya...unti lthis came up here, I've never heard of triangle veils...what the heck would you do with that?"

            Think classic Persian or Andalusi hand veils, and then remove all the Persian and Andalusian. :0)

            I have done Persian hand veil dances in the past, this one looks more like landing airplanes....
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            • Fiol...
              Fioletta
              offline 65

              Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

              Thu, April 17, 2008 - 6:41 AM
              I hear so many control-freak-egomaniacal-idiot-dance teacher stories that all I have to say is:

              I love you, Jen.

              Our instructor is the kindest, most patient, easy-going, open-minded--and yet creative and very competent--BD mistress ever. She is careful to correct our mistakes on form, but other than that, never claims that she knows all or that there is only one "right" (or wrong) way to dance...in fact, she encourages us to seek out our own influences.

              This is all apropos of nothing...just feel that we're damn lucky to have her in such a tiny community.
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            • Velv...
              Velvet Fifi
              offline 66

              Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

              Fri, April 18, 2008 - 5:47 AM
              <Think classic Persian or Andalusi hand veils>

              And if that's what you are REALLY going for - then go to Amel Tafsout. She's Algerian, she teaches the real stuff - and the real stuff is really cool and beautiful - NOT!, I repeat NOT! airline flag landing handler goobers.

              Yeash-a-moly!!!
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  • Skal
    Skal
    offline 8

    Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

    Thu, April 17, 2008 - 7:00 PM
    Went to my last class at that school tonight. I did not set my triangles on fire. I did, however, manage not to make any loud grumpy comments about the need to listen to the music when choreographing a dance.

    She did do something very strange tonight, though. She's decided she's making some sort of video for a contest and insisted on video taping all of our hips while we shimmied, standing in a line and pivoting in a circle. Apparently no faces were filmed. Made me feel dirty, I tell ya, and not in a good way. It was yet more evidence that I needed to get the heck out of there. I only went back today to say bye to my friends.
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    • Fiol...
      Fioletta
      offline 65

      Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

      Fri, April 18, 2008 - 7:58 AM
      "oh no, i just had visions of hospital, lotions wrestling. complete with porno music, slow motion of tops getting ripped off. ugh whats wrong with me. innocent anger, to steamy knotty nurses? i must be sleep deprived. "

      Okay...hope I'm not too paranoid (more so than usual, that is...), but there is this troll called Lord Voldemort (sp? not a Harry Potter fan) who has an ongoing "contest" for dancers--preferably young, skinny women--to "bellydance" for him in a very similar way....wearing hung very low on the hips with a concentration on hip circles.

      Run, Forrest...RUN!!!
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      • Fiol...
        Fioletta
        offline 65

        Re: No more fucking triangles already!!!!

        Fri, April 18, 2008 - 9:38 AM
        "oh no, i just had visions of hospital, lotions wrestling. complete with porno music, slow motion of tops getting ripped off. ugh whats wrong with me. innocent anger, to steamy knotty nurses? i must be sleep deprived. "


        Oh for God's sake...wrong cut'n paste. I meant to comment on the creepy video thing the teacher was doing, i.e. focusing on the hip circles sans dancers' faces.
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