So after phoning around and asking all the necessary information you wanted to know before you make the next step, its time to go to the free trial class which she should be offering. After all, you want to know how she teaches in the class and if you will be learning throughout your lessons.

Make sure you have the got the address with directions if required so that it is easy for you to be able to find the venue. Nothing is more frustrating than getting lost. Try get there 10 to 15 minutes before the class begins so that you may talk to the teacher and let her know it is your first lesson and she should give you a brief run through of what to expect.

Make sure you get a front row position so that you can see her clearly and what movements she is doing. After all that is how you are going to be learning by visually seeing and hearing. Hiding away at the back of the class on your very first lesson won’t help.

Remember you are there to learn and I can promise you that we all thought we looked weird the very first time we started to. Just relax and ask as many questions as you like about the movement if you are not getting it right or not sure of something.

Having said that, this is your hour to see whether you like the style the teacher is teaching and the way that she is teaching it. The basic format of the class should be as follows:

1. You should start every class with a warm up to a piece of music. Do not feel intimidated by this as it is only a warm up before the actual technique session.
2. The first thing that she should tell you is the correct posture you should have in belly dancing. This is very important and often gets neglected.
3. You will move onto technique where the movements incorporated into a piece of music. This is so that you can get used to the movement and be able to transition from one movement into another.
4. If the class has been in progress for a few months, you will be introduced to the to a basic prop which would be a veil whereby she should have a spare veil to lend you for that lesson. Ultimately you would need to get your own after that.
5. Again, if the class has been in progress for a few months, the teacher would most likely have started a class choreography formulating the movements you learn in class into a dance which you can learn and remember and use at your will.
6. When the hour is complete, she should cool down with stretching and breathing exercises to get your heart rate back to normal.

After the class go and speak to the teacher and tell her what you thought of her class. If she explained the movements and techniques to you and was helpful when you battled and you had fun, then you have found the right teacher.

Otherwise go try out more trial classes before making your decision.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

You learn by repetition so that you can easily flow one movement into another. However a teacher who stands in front of a class and does 2 to 3 movements for an entire hour is not only wasting your money but is very BORING! The point of dancing is teaching you technique and teaching you to dance and standing there and telling you to do a hip circle for 5 minutes and then a figure 8 for the next 5 to simply repeat it again is not teaching.

Step 4: Is she qualified to teach?