Middle Eastern Belly Dance and Dabke Instructor (Substitute) en Old Town School of Folk Music

Middle Eastern Belly Dance and Dabke Instructor

The Old Town School of Folk Music seeks an experienced Middle Eastern Belly Dance (Raqs Sharqi) and Dabke instructor to teach adult and teen classes that celebrate the rich traditions and contemporary expressions of these forms. The ideal candidate is a dynamic teacher-performer who can build community, teach with cultural respect, and support students at all levels—from absolute beginner to advanced—through musicality, technique, and choreography.

Schedule

• Weeknights and/or weekends required

• Sub and short-course opportunities may be available

Location

• Lincoln Square and Lincoln Park

Duties

• Create a welcoming, inclusive classroom environment for diverse learners.

• Teach foundational belly dance technique (posture, isolations, traveling steps), musicality, and choreography across levels.

• Teach Dabke repertoire and technique (basic step, variations, line formation/lead transitions, stamina, and rhythm), including social context and etiquette.

• Incorporate cultural and historical context, including rhythms, styles, and costuming etiquette, with respect and accuracy.

• Develop lesson plans aligned with program goals; adapt methods to different learning styles and abilities.

• Prepare students for informal sharings and/or end-of-session performances as appropriate (solo and group/line formats).

• Handle basic administrative tasks and maintain timely interdepartmental communication.

Qualifications

• Minimum six years of teaching Middle Eastern/Belly Dance (Raqs Sharqi) and Dabke preferred.

• Demonstrated knowledge of Middle Eastern music and rhythms (e.g., Maqsum, Saidi, Baladi for belly dance; Dabke rhythms such as Dal’ouna, Zareef, and traditional Levantine variants); experience teaching to live or recorded music.

• Performance experience preferred; ability to break down movement clearly and scaffold progression for both solo and group/line dances.

• Commitment to culturally responsive, respectful instruction and community-building.

• Bachelor’s degree in Dance, Dance Education, Performance, or related field preferred.

• Creative, reliable, and positive classroom presence; strong communication skills.

• Availability to teach on weekends is required.

• Bilingual skills are a plus.

Instructor Hourly Pay Rate: $37/hour

To Apply

To be considered for this role, please apply through our Career Center. Qualified applicants will be invited to interview and to teach a short demo lesson highlighting belly dance and Dabke technique, musicality, and cultural context.

About Old Town School of Folk Music

Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music (“OTSFM”) is the largest community school of the arts in the U.S. and a non-profit organization committed to celebrating American music and global cultures. Founded in 1957, Old Town School provides a wide range of music, dance, and arts courses to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Whatever one's interest, Old Town School provides broad access to more than 700 weekly class offerings, a broad array of private lessons, and over 400 concerts and community events per year.

Old Town School of Folk Music opened its Lincoln Square facility in 1998 and expanded in 2012. The Old Town School operates two campuses located in Chicago's Lincoln Square and Lincoln Park neighborhoods that include world-class concert halls, classrooms, an award-winning music store, and a music resource center. Online classes were introduced in 2020 and students from nearly every state and a dozen countries participated over the course of the pandemic. Children's classes are also held at several suburban satellite locations. More information is available at oldtownschool.org

Equal Employment Opportunity

OTSFM is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. OTS strives to be an inclusive and equitable organization that is reflective of the diversity of the city of Chicago. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. This is critical to our success as a community focused organization.