Behind every Dancer who believed in themself, is a Dance Instructor who believed in them first. Dance Instructors touch hearts one step at a time. Continue Reading
Explore Career What are the typical responsibilities of a Dance Instructor?
A Dance Instructor would typically need to:
Most Dance Instructors find their work environments to be intellectually stimulating and rewarding as they watch their students grow into skilled and talented Dancers under their tutelage. The work environment for Dance Instructors varies based on their employer. Actual work settings can range from Dance studios to gymnasiums, to Dance halls, to classrooms.
Some travel may be required to accompany students to Dance competitions. Dance Instructors who come to class looking and feeling like a Dancer tend to dance and teach better. The dress code minimizes distractions in the classroom and ensures greater visibility of alignment and positioning, aiding a student’s ability to learn and progress.
At the high school or collegiate level, a dance coach is often a part-time, seasonal position.
Dance Instructors employed by schools usually work during the day while those employed by private Dance studios might be required to work at night and on weekends when most students have time to take classes.
At colleges and universities, Dance Professors may only teach two or three classes a semester, but spend many hours getting ready for classes, preparing assessments of student work, and handling departmental duties. Consequently, hours can be long with early starts and late finishes.
Additional commitments, such as performances and one’s training, add extra fatigue and mean that a dance teacher’s daily regimen can be challenging and brutal.
Most get summers off and may find work as part-time Dance Instructors.
Dance Instructors are professionally trained in one or more disciplines allowing them to work in various places. Freelancing and short-term contracts are the norm.
Dance Instructors are generally employed by:
Dance Instructors who work at secondary or postsecondary schools may be members of unions for teachers. Professional associations at the local, state, and national levels offer Dance Instructors, membership categories for high school students, college students, and young professionals. They certify and accredit post-secondary dance education programs and provide continuing education opportunities by hosting conferences & networking events.
Prospective Dance Instructors should have spent a significant time in dance performance, choreography, body conditioning, and training. For the teaching aspects of the job, any experience working with groups of young people or adults is beneficial. Shadowing a dance teacher to gain experience or working as a teaching assistant is advantageous and often a natural part of the learning process.
Most dance degree students supplement their studies by creating, producing, and performing their work. They build skills in other areas of the performance process, including operations and administration. They can also develop marketing, ticketing, and event management experience by working on their projects.
Some dance degrees include a professional training placement year. A placement allows you to experience working in a professional dance company or arts organization and may lead to a paid opportunity.
Other options include internships, community projects, teaching dance classes, volunteering at festivals, writing reviews and opinion pieces for dance blogs and websites, and creating workshops that allow you to explore your interests.
Some students evolve their own dance companies from their involvement in self-directed or voluntary projects. These opportunities allow you to grow your network in dance and performing arts, creating further opportunities for you to work with other creative professionals.
Aspiring Dance Instructors should go for the degree programs offered by accredited colleges and performing arts schools. Some employers require applicants to have a Dance degree, but in other cases, extensive experience is enough. Be on the lookout for appropriate courses in communication and marketing, even while at school.
Candidates who want to give Dance lessons in schools will need a teaching credential, a degree in Dance, and suitable work experience. If you wish to teach in a college, you will need a graduate degree or a master of fine arts related to Choreography and Dance techniques.
Studying Dance provides you with specialist knowledge in different Dance forms, Dance history, choreography, community Dance, arts administration, the commercial and business side of Dance, and the performing arts.
Some employers require certification in Dance techniques such as belly dance, classical ballet, and ballroom dance. Several associations offer voluntary certification programs in various styles of dance at different levels.
When turning a dance studio into a profitable business, a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) is typically required. A CO confirms that all building codes, zoning laws, and government regulations are fulfilled.
Typically, a “blanket” license would allow a business to play music owned by a large catalog of artists and recording studios and obtained from performance rights organizations, such as ASCAP and BMI. The exact type and amount of state permits and licenses needed to operate a studio will vary depending on the location.
Keeping an open mind will help ensure that you will be able to take advantage of available opportunities. Many Dance Instructors develop 'portfolio careers'. Moving between different fields, networking, attending auditions, and collaborating with other artists, while putting on their shows may become an essential part of a Dance Instructor’s professional career.
An experienced Dance Instructor at a dance school can advance to the position of Head Instructor. Some Dance Instructors choose to open dance schools or dance companies, while others develop their particular style or movement concepts and bring them to life as Choreographers.
A high school Dance Instructor might advance to become the Head of the art, theatre, or physical education department or become Principal with more education. The regular pattern of advancement for a college dance teacher is from Dance Instructor to Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor, and finally to full Professor.
Qualified candidates who are distinguished by training, certification, and experience have the best job prospects.
Some dance schools do not require any experience and have training programs or boot camps for aspiring Dance Instructors.
Popular further study options for Dance Instructors include postgraduate study in specialist fields, such as choreographic practice, arts administration, digital arts, and community dance. Others pursue general postgraduate degrees in dance to deepen their particular interests.
Because of their knowledge and interest in movement and the physical body, some Dance Instructors undertake further study in human biology, strength, and conditioning, physiotherapy, osteopathy, or vocational fitness/healthcare qualifications such as personal training. They might also study the history of dance and dance notation (the written process or recording dance steps).
A Dance Instructor may also be required to continue professional development to maintain an understanding of current dance trends and techniques.
Most Dance Instructors are experts in several types of dance - ranging from ballet and ballroom to tap or hip-hop. People may take dance classes as a first step to becoming professional Dancers, or improve their skills so that they can enter amateur or professional dance competitions. They may take up dancing to have fun or learn basic dance skills for a specific social event such as a high school reunion.
A Dance degree develops transferable skills valued by all kinds of employers. A degree in dance develops transferable skills that are valued by all kinds of employers. Whether you identify yourself as a teacher or an Instructor or an educator is a personal choice. The terminology can vary, but the role is the same. All Dance Instructors have responsibilities towards their students, their colleagues, students’ parents, the community, and themselves.
Responsibilities Towards Colleagues
Dance Instructors must offer mutual respect and support, engage in open and conducive communication, and behave in a professional, ethical way while interacting with their colleagues.
Responsibilities Towards Students’ Parents
Using multiple modalities for communication, Dance Instructors must keep students’ parents updated about expectations and upcoming performances. They must also provide them opportunities to view classroom instruction and offer criteria for being respectful, appropriate audience members.
Responsibilities Towards the Community
Dance Instructors are also responsible for educating the community through performances at public events and art festivals and offering criteria for being respectful, appropriate audience members. The professional conduct that Dance Instructors demonstrate acts as a positive reflection on the field of dance education.
Responsibilities Towards Themselves
Last but not least, Dance Instructors engage in continuing education and professional development activities. They also gain leadership through membership in local and state organizations. They owe it themselves to maintain personal health through proper rest, nutrition, and stress management and permit themselves to profit from their expertise. They must continually foster a positive self-concept as valuable people and educators, believing that they can command respect and authority because of experience, training, education, and affiliation.
Potential Pros&Cons of Freelancing vs. Full-Time Employment
Being a freelancer offers freedom in regards to flexible schedules, working hours and location. They have full ownership of the business and can afford selectivity in terms of the variety of projects and clients presented. While it has unlimited earning potential, it also has less stability and security, with inconsistent work and cash flow. There is more responsibility, effort, and risk involved. Paid holidays and sick/maternity/paternity leaves become unaffordable. There is the added pressure of a self-employment tax and no eligibility for unemployment benefits.
A full-time employee, however, has access to company-sponsored health benefits, insurance, and retirement plans. They have job security with a fixed, reliable source of income and guidance from their bosses. They are susceptible to potential boredom and inability to pursue passion projects due to their lack of time or effort. There is a lack of flexibility, ownership, and variety, and need to budget extra money for commuting and attire costs.
When deciding between freelancing or being a full-time employee, make sure to weigh the pros and cons of what works best.
A Feel-Good Profession
A typical day in the life of a Dance Instructor would include teaching, evaluation, preparation and paperwork, personal training, choreographing, and rehearsing for a show and auditions. Dance is challenging and creative and allows Dance Instructors to do something different every day, using both mind and body differently every day. Inspiring people and giving them the confidence to fulfill their potential leads to many feel-good moments.
The mediocre instructor tells. The good instructor explains. The superior instructor demonstrates. The great instructor inspires. May all the hours of choreography, the sleepless nights, the piles of admin, the stress, and the sacrifice that go into creating your 45-minute dance class help your students find the song in their heart, the beat in their feet and a passion for life.
Try and find your niche. Be prepared to have a portfolio career; living off dance is pretty hard; so, you need to be ready to work hard as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. It is not an easy option but is immensely rewarding and allows you to pursue your true passion.
Dancing reduces stress and tension for the mind and body while preventing heart disease in particular.
What do Dance Instructors do?
A Dance Instructor would typically need to:
Accredited
$97,500
