BALLROOM BLITZ
The Mitchell School of Dance
About Dance Teachers

INFORMATION ABOUT DANCE TEACHERS

For those of you who are new to dancing, you may be interested to know about the qualifications of dance teachers so that you are able to ensure that your teacher is actually qualified (and not just an enthusiastic amateur).

There are four main levels of professional qualification:

 

STUDENT

Can currently be taken by anyone aged 17 or above.  By anyone, I mean literally ANYONE – they could have no dancing experience or years of experience.

By passing this examination a person does not become a qualified teacher, it means that they have started on the road to becoming a qualified teacher, and they can no longer compete or claim to be an amateur.  This is a ‘stepping stone’ so to speak.

Since September 2004, some of the Exam Boards have also offered the ‘Foundation in Dance Instruction’, which is a QCA accredited qualification, fitting onto level 3 of the National Qualifications Framework.

 

ASSOCIATE

This is the basic teaching qualification which can be taken by anyone aged 18 or above, and again by anyone, I mean literally, ANYONE – dance experience or not.

 Once a person has this qualification they can start teaching and entering pupils for exams.  However this qualification does not make them fully qualified.  They will be qualified only in the individual dance styles that they have taken an exam in (for example: Disco/Freestyle).  To be fully qualified a person would need to be qualified in all of the dance styles listed below.

The ISTD also offer the ‘Certificate in Dance Education’, which is a QCA accredited qualification, fitting onto level 4 of the National Qualifications Framework. 

 

LICENTIATE

In order to take this qualification a person must be at least 21 years old and have held a responsible position as a teacher of dancing for at least 2 years.

 

FELLOWSHIP

This is the highest teaching qualification.  In order to take this a person must have held the Licentiate qualification for a period of 3 years (therefore they have to be at least 24 years old) and have held a responsible position as a teacher of dancing for at least 3 years.  (Please note some of the exam boards have slightly different eligibility criteria to this).

Anyone holding this qualification is fully qualified in the dance style that they hold the qualification in.  Each individual dance style has to be taken as a separate exam.

Anybody who holds any of the above qualifications will have certificates, stating the level of qualification; the dance style and the membership number of the examination board that they have taken the examination through.

DANCE STYLES

There are currently professional examinations in the following dance styles (DanceSport only); a similar structure operates with the Theatre (Ballet, Tap etc) styles:

  • Ballroom
  • Viennese Waltz (currently only available at Licentiate and Fellowship)
  • Latin American
  • Disco/Freestyle
  • Rock’n’Roll
  • Old Time
  • Country & Western (currently only available upto Licentiate)

At the moment there are very few professional qualifications in Club Dance/Alternative Rhythms (eg Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Argentine Tango etc).

OTHER TEACHING QUALIFICATIONS

In addition to dance teaching qualifications a good teacher will also have recognised academic teaching qualifications.  This is usually called a Certificate in Education, or Postgraduate Certificate in Education (other teaching qualifications include the City & Guilds 730 Further and Adult Education Teachers Certificate – stages 1 and 2).

INSURANCE COVER

Obviously nobody wants an accident to occur or for anyone to get injured, however at times unforeseen accidents/emergencies do occur, therefore a qualified dance teacher will also have full insurance cover, which will include public liability insurance.  Only recognised teachers will be able to get such insurance cover through the insurance agents connected to the dance examinations boards.  Likewise any teacher should be able to show you their certificate of insurance.

ENROLMENTS

A good dance teacher/school will expect you to complete an enrolment form, which in addition to requesting personal contact details will ask for details of any medical problems, if you are not asked to complete such a form be very wary of the school that you are attending.

REGISTERS, THE INLAND REVENUE AND MUSIC LICENCES

A good teacher will take a register (not necessarily calling out names, but marking who is actually present) so that if there was a fire they know how many people they have in their care.  Likewise a register/record of pupils is necessary for the purposes of obtaining music licenses and for the Inland Revenue.    Many ‘so called’ teachers have, over the years, had to close their classes once the Inland Revenue and Music Licence People (eg PRS – Performing Rights Society and PPL – Phonographic Performance Limited) have caught up with them.

Teachers who offer their classes at supposedly ‘cheap prices’ can usually only afford to do so if they are not qualified, not declaring their earnings, not paying insurance, not paying for music licences etc.  Be very wary of teachers who claim that they can offer classes cheaper because they don’t need to pay tax etc.

POLICE RECORD CHECKS

Dance schools unlike educational schools do not have to have compulsory criminal record checks on any members of staff – that includes teachers, teaching assistants/helpers or student teachers.   In the case of Ballroom Blitz the principal members of staff either have 'Enhanced Disclosure' certificates or have been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

EXAM SCHOOLS AND COMPETITIVE SCHOOLS

Qualified ‘above board’ teachers will usually offer regular exam sessions (by regular I mean at least twice a year usually) with a recognised exam board. Schools who don’t offer regular exam sessions do not always have qualified teachers.

Schools who compete in Medallist Competitions will have to have a qualified teacher, who is entering pupils for exams at least once a year.  Whereas schools that enter Open competitions (for example ADFP competitions) need not necessarily have a qualified teacher and therefore don’t usually enter pupils for regular exam sessions.

OPEN COMPETITIONS

Open competitions are as they say ‘open’, that means that anyone (providing they are registered as a competitor – they will have an annual registration fee to pay) can enter them – you do not have to take any exams at all, it is basically just a ‘free for all’.   In Disco/Freestyle for example, the competitions are graded: Beginner, Starter, Intermediate and Championship (there is also a final category of ‘Premier’).    A good school will be looking to have more Intermediate and Championship dancers than Beginner and Starter.

Unfortunately with a lot of the open competitions the quality of dancing is not always what counts, it is often, the number of lessons that a pupil has, the number of lessons pupils have with different teachers (so that the judges will mark them if the competitor has trained with them); the expense of the costume and make-up. 

EXAM BOARDS

The main examination boards for DanceSport are:

ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing)

IDTA (International Dance Teachers Association)

UKA (United KingdomAlliance)

There are other dance exam boards, but these are the three main ones, with the ISTD and IDTA being the more highly regarded organisations.

Finally, if you are looking to attend a dance school don’t hesitate to ask for proof of a teacher’s qualifications, insurance etc, if they are qualified they won’t hesitate to give them to you, likewise they won’t hesitate to provide you with a receipt for your lesson fees.

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