Career Hunting: Becoming A Dance Instructor

Dancing has been around since the earliest human civilization. Back then, it represented a ceremonial purpose rather than entertainment or fitness. Nowadays, dancing can be seen everywhere, from the latest Tiktok trends to a new Zumba routine. It can vary in form, genre, and purpose. You can be casual with dancing and only do it for recreation or exercise, but it can also be a profession, especially a dancing instructor. There are a lot of variations of a dancing instructor. It depends on your selected genre, experience, and dancing purpose. Follow along as we discuss the career path of a dance instructor, including what resume formats to follow, educational and experience requirements, and types of instructor.

Educational Attainment

Like any professional job and career, it requires some education. Some companies, workshops, and studios accept a high school diploma as the highest attained education. The jobs obtained with this diploma might not generate a big salary or be in a prominent position. Most studios, especially competitive ones, require a bachelor’s degree. There are different degrees for dancing, such as BS in dance, bachelor in performing arts, and bachelor of art and theatre. Choosing the type of degree to pursue would help you find your preferred dance type, which can then also aid you in teaching that particular style of dancing. 

Experience Required

You should already be an experienced and trained dancer if you set a career path as a dance instructor. Having experience is the core of this profession. It can benefit you if you have taken workshops and private training sessions and participated in various competitions. Similar to any job listing, connections and network matter here. This can help you establish references to back your skills and experiences. Knowing who to contact would help you deal with future dilemmas or situations. Depending on what type of instructor you are aiming for, you might be required to have a certificate. If you wish to become a typical dance instructor, a teaching certificate from a studio or workshop will suffice. On the contrary, a fitness teaching certification would be needed if you wish to be a dance fitness instructor. 

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Skills

Skills collated and generated from all classes, training, and competitions will be significant since these are the telltale signs of whether you can teach well or not. Teaching proficiency is as crucial as performance mastery when working as an instructor. These are the handful of skills that you would utilize when going down this career path.

• Communication and Teaching – Ensure that the dancers can understand what you want them to do efficiently. Relay information clearly to make your students follow suit. 
• Leadership – Be strict yet compassionate. Reflect on your own experiences as a student to better your teaching capabilities.
• Dancing Knowledge & Technique – You can either be a master of one particular style or be significant in several types of dance.
• Choreography – Establish a consistent and fluid system for the dancers to follow steps ideally and in sync. 

Career Type

There are quite an abundant variety of dance instructors. As mentioned earlier, this depends on what styles you have mastered and prefer to teach. This also coincides with the number of genres that exist for dance. You can teach ballet, hip-hop, ballroom, Latin, Contemporary, or a little bit of everything. It also differs on whether you teach for entertainment, competitions, or fitness.

Dance Resume

Your dance instructor resume is similar to any typical resume. It displays and presents all of your contact information, skills, educational background, and experiences. References and connections can also be included to support your credentials further. 

Conclusion

A dance profession is far from easy. It takes a lot of patience, dedication, and time. Learning and having experience are vital in this career as they can reflect on how good of a performer you are. Aside from being a great dancer, you must also be a great teacher. You should be able to teach various choreography efficiently and have compassion for the art itself. Being able to relate to the students is crucial to cater your teaching methods to them.