How can I become a dance instructor?

healinghands1979: How can I become a dance instructor?
I have a little background in most forms of dance, ballroom, ballet, jazz, modern, not extensive, but I do have a love for teaching and a love for dance. I take as many dance lessons as possible. The problem is I’m 26 is it too late for me to consider becoming a teacher?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Davey
Find somebody to teach dance to and BAM you’re an instructor.

Answer by lulu91
NO SWEETIE ITS NOT TOO LATE TO MAKE YOUR DREAM COME TRUE 🙂 GO TO A COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND GET AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN TEACHING TAKE AS MUCH DANCE CLASSES AS YOU WANT AND THERE YOU WILL GET YOUR CERTIFICATE OR WHATVER YOU WANT TO DO .. START NOW!! YOU HAVE A TALENT.. GO TO YOUR NEAREST COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND TALK TO A COUNSELOR 🙂 GOOD LUCK ! I LOVE DANCE TOO!

Answer by el.tuco
do you know the green corn dance and the zulu fertility dance ? you can make some real cash teaching those if you do

Answer by snowflake1234
If you like ballroom and latin, you can become a dance intructor at your age without a problem. Also, one can becoem social dance teacher at any age, even very old age.

To become an instructor in this style, all you need is the consistent material that you can teach to others. Find a good instructor/studio where you can improve your dancing plus put whetever you know in a sysytem, in a complete picture.

Express your desire to teach to the studio owner. He/she will start sending beginner students your way, as well as work out an agreement with you regarding the floor usage/payment.

No, it is not too late to become a teacher.

Answer by twinkletoes
No, I don’t think that it is too late for you to become a dance teacher. However, as a former trained dancer myself (had to quit due to serious injury, not caused by dancing) I would strongly suggest that you get the proper training. There is a right and wrong way to dance, if you’re trained properly you can then instruct others in the proper way and avoid causing injury to them.

Take dance lessons at a studio where they offer exams in the classes your taking, for example CDTA Tap and Jazz exams, Russian Ballet methods etc. these exams work you through levels and some even have a teachers level. Go to college or university in a dance program and get your degree.

I know when the time comes for me to consider dance lessons for my daughter I will look very closely at the qualifications of the instructors. How long have they danced, what training do they have, degress, exams completed etc. I will not trust anyone who seems to be teaching just for the “love” of or sake of teaching. Serious injury could occur to my daughter and I would feel horrible if that happened. My daughter will go to someone who is well trained, who knows the proper way to dance to avoid injury.

Good luck

Answer by H-Feliza-E
It’s never too late. However, it really depends on what level you would like to take. I have known PLENTY of teachers, that weren’t great dancers. If you are interested in the little ones, it takes patience more than dance training. I only teach advanced kids. I find that my students get bored if they are better than the teacher. Therefore, I have to constantly improve as a teacher as well as a dancer. I say go for it! No need to waste money on a college degree. The best teachers (Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Tap, etc) didn’t go to college. GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer by Ali Y
Go to some studios near where you live and ask them if they need any part time help. Audition with them, and if you get a job, there is you a foot in the door.

You can also check out the pageant scene (you may not be into pageants, but pageant girls need talents). Give them your card and I bet you will get at least 1 girl to call you. Start with her… she enters a pageant and does well, 1-2 more people call you and so on and so on.

I taught dance for various studios for years, then stopped to go to nursing school. I knew a little girl (7yrs old) that needed a dance for a state pageant… I choreographed her a dance at my home, and she made top 10 that year. Then, I had calls coming in right and left. I ended up being able to start my own studio with 20 dancers within the next 3 months.

My studio has grown, and we have won many local, regional, state and national finals.

Answer by etoile
Never to late! As long as you are passionate and feel in your heart that you are destined for this nothing can stop you =*) …. It takes patience, egolessness, and a strong desire to want to see your students improve-that always worked for me. PLUS as a teacher, you teach and you also learn from your students as well. Be yourself and most importantly enjoy the ride! *smiles*

Answer by lisamisc
You are not too old. Go to some dance studios in your area and see if they need any help. You can take a few classes from them on their basic steps, techniques, etc. and start teaching the beginners and then gradually work your way up. You can volunteer to do it without pay until you are good enough, hang around the studio to watch other instructors and pick up info. Good instructors don’t like to waste time teaching beginners; boring plus a lot of them only take a few lessons and quit and ends of being a waste of time for them. They usually like the good serious students, but someone got to start the with the beginners. Thats how I did it. Had no problem getting a job at 3-4 studios I worked at and I wasn’t that good compared to the others.