Over the years we have trained a few of our students to become dance teachers and then have gone on to hire them when they are of a suitable age and have sufficient knowledge. It can be a great situation when you are able to do this, as these are dance teachers that you have trained to dance over a period of years and consequently they know firsthand how you like things done. We have found that it is a big plus because right from the start they know what is expected and initially they are mirror images of you as a teacher until they develop their own ways. By training your teachers you know that they will continue to do the work that you have done and found to be successful.
The majority of students are not thinking about being dance teachers. Those that are serious are generally dreaming of going out into the world and becoming performers. If that is their goal and they have the right attributes to potentially make a go of it then I would certainly back them up and try to help them attain those goals. However, if I have a student who is talented and has a flair for dance but obviously is going to struggle to get work from any audition then I would and have encouraged them to think about teaching as a viable alternative.
A first step is to get an interested dancer to assist in classes. I usually begin with the preschool age group because often the dancer has a younger sibling and so they immediately feel more comfortable with little ones. Usually teachers are very grateful to have an assistant with very young students because as we all know, those classes can be pretty challenging in a number of ways! In the beginning an assistant can be very useful just helping with music and bathroom runs. Over time a smart dancer will see ways to really become involved and will emulate the teacher that they are assisting.
Taking time to sit down with your assistants to show them how to have a sound class plan is really worth the time it takes. So often dance teachers really don’t either have or take the time to make a plan and the result is haphazard classes with random information going out to the students without any rhyme or reason to it. Teaching an assistant how to plan their classes is really helpful to them. So you might think to yourself, 'Why should I take the time to do this when they can get it in college?' Perhaps they don’t end up going to college or perhaps they do but are not taught how to plan their classes. I have come across both scenarios and whether they get that information from another source or not it is still a good idea to show them how you do it and what you find works the best for what you are trying to get over to your students. I encourage my assistants to make a class plan and show it to me so that I can help them to structure it in a way that will work for them and me. Giving them this project also helps them to have a better idea of what teaching dance is all about.
There are a number of dance teacher training courses that are offered both here and abroad, of course they are not eligible for those until they get out of high school but I would always try to steer them towards one of the Ballet training courses because it will be invaluable to them for their future and will give them more scope as a teacher. Ones that I can certainly recommend are the Dance Teacher University Program, Royal Academy of Dance, American Ballet Theatre teacher training courses and the Cecchetti Society. Each one of these organizations is recognized worldwide and will offer excellent credentials for any dance teacher.
Perhaps you have a student who is not interested in teaching Ballet and only wants to teach Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz or Contemporary. Whatever their ideal style is to eventually teach I would recommend encouraging them to broaden their scope rather than making it narrower. Even if they don’t end up working for you they will always be more in demand if they are able to teach a variety of dance styles.
Another important aspect of training your student to become a dance teacher is to get them to start using their minds with choreography. I don’t start out by letting them choreograph a piece, I give them assignments to come up with, an across the floor combination in Tap or Jazz or a petit allegro combination in Ballet, just something to see how they structure it and what they come up with. A common mistake in the beginning is to make the choreography too difficult. Learning to teach beginners is so important because every dancer has to start somewhere and you never know when a talent will emerge. Sometimes students are shy about choreographing and this is one reason why it is so helpful to teach with a syllabus because there are definite steps and combinations to use and follow. Then it is much easier to expand and go for it yourself. If you are teaching your students with a syllabus then they in turn will understand the value of it and it will give them confidence when they eventually teach for themselves.
Apart from the actual content of any given class it is just as important to give aspiring teachers the tools and ways to control the class and inspire the students. Over the years they have been in class studying with you but they probably have paid little or no attention to the way you handle a class. They will feel it if the students respond well to you but they will not really have given it much thought. As we know, the rapport a teacher is able to establish with their students is all important and not always easy. I tell any prospective teacher that I approach every class as if it is a performance and by doing that I am able to bring good energy to it even on those days when it is difficult. We all have those days when the students are just not responding the way we would like them to and it really is an eye opener for students when they start to assist classes and see what each teacher does to change the negative momentum. It often makes them appreciate their teachers more and as a result they themselves become better students. Take a look at your older students and see if there is anyone that you feel you could train to eventually teach for you. Each dance teacher that you help in this way will make it possible to solidify your methods and ideas and continue them on with a new generation of dancers and dance teachers.
