oh my oh my!!
1st off have to LMAO abt the "duck butt" a phrase I always have used going on 12 years now (thought I was a bit "off"!!!) hehehe glad to know this is common BD terminology!
I HAVE found esp,. with new students.. & a couple of hard core knee lockers... that emphasizing BENT knees (when I really mean "soft") will get the point across much more quickly...
AND....as far as "tucking the butt", ...... I used to say that alot... but found that it changed the "duck butts" into "lounge lizards"... (ok... go with me here... stand up now & assume the "duck butt" position, then instead of pulling up your pelvis & lengthening your low back just simply PUSH your pelvis forward (now the weight (& your hips) is over your toes, your shoulders are over your heels (& for some reason tend to sink a bit), & your lower back is CRUNCHED))
NOW (go back to duck butt from lounge lizard~~~btw that is the technical term for the slightly aging/polyester & gold chain wearing/smarmy/greasy guy who trys to pick you up at any one of a number of bars across the US- on & off screen!) I tell em to pull up the pelvis (up towards the belly button) & LENGTHEN THE LOWER SPINE... so imagine that the measure btwn your pubic bone & belly button is 7" & btwn your tail bone & mid back (at waist level) is 6".... I want you to reverse this.... THEN relax the belly muscles ALL the while keeping the weight neutral btwn the toes/heels.... then MAINTAIN this posture while rocking back & forth (NOT the pelvis... but putting the weight into the toes, then into the heels).....
eeeeek sooooo hard to explain.... let me know if anyone "got" it!!!!
but of course, long story short... Brea... SOUNDS like you are ok here... as long as now complaints from students..... maybe you should be asking them (about any pain/discomfort).... the ONLY complaint (KNOCK on wood!!!!!) I have had was from a dedicated knee locker... she went to another teacher then came back & said... well SHE told me to bend my knees (luckily she did this IN class where I had many of her studio mates... they were like... WELL belly_dancer tells you (& us) that 10x per class!!!)... but AGAIN>>>> another good reason for multiple teachers.......
ANOTHER (weird)issue I have found after years of teaching... I am TALL... so in MY class SHORT girls sometimes have (more) issues (than tall girls) w/ bending their knees????!!!!! (GO FIGURE!!!)
so I MENTION to them that I always had issues going on the balls of my feet (with my 1st (short!!) teacher... but BOTH positions have their place!!!!
I think it boils down to.... what is that phrase... you cannot please ALL the people ALL the time!!!!!
so... just keep looking around (your class) & correct (as necessary) the postures/movements & find as many DIFFERENT ways as possible of explaining the SAME move/posture... that way MORE will catch on!!! (but when they do... LET em know that THEY have got it!!!
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