how to become a dance teacher? do you need training or certification?
So you want to teach dance…
Maybe you’re tired of sitting at a desk, or are dreaming up your next career move.
Maybe you miss your days of dancing as a kid… or want to give yourself the chance you never had as a kid.
You might wonder:
Is dance teacher training or certification necessary? Or can you just… start teaching?
The answer will be different for everyone, but I hope this post helps you get a bit clearer on what is best for YOU.
There are many practical guides you’ll find on Google that tell you how to become a certified dance teacher and even how to do it in 5 steps.
But the thing that’s missing in all of these is the biggest question:
What kind of dance teacher do you want to be?
From the demographic you want to teach to the style of dance you choose, it will affect the path you take to getting there.
Let’s break down some options…
1. How to become a dance teacher for Kids
Teaching kids anything is likely going to require training and certification. “Kids” typically means K-12 grades.
If you want to become a dance teacher in a public school system as a full time job, you’ll likely need a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in dance, however requirements vary from State to State (and I’m sure Country to Country - but I’m in the U.S. so am more familiar with state stuff!).
If you want to become a dance teacher for college kids, you’d likely need additional training, as in a Master’s Degree.
NYU’s School of Education has a number of Dance Education programs, as does Hunter College. UNLV has a Dance Teacher University and certification program.
If you want to become a dance teacher in a private dance school setting (or even start up your own!) there aren’t as many official requirements.
Having a ton of your own experience in dance could be enough to get you going, although it can be really helpful to have education around teaching dance to kids and what different age groups need.
The National Dance Education Organization offers an online certificate program in dance education, which can help to enhance your credentials and provide a wide range of education. International Dance Teaching Standards offers an online course as well.
See which might resonate for you!
2. How to become a dance teacher for Adults
While most dance related things can be geared towards kids, let’s not forget about the adults!
To become a dance teacher for adults, the training and certification requirements are a bit lighter. Getting training to teach adults is more about boosting your confidence, refreshing your knowledge and skills with dance, or going deeper into a specific modality you want to teach.
This is going to need more bullet points because there are a few different categories of dance teaching for adults to choose from!
Dance Fitness for Adults:
Probably the most common kind of dance you’ll find for adults is of the fitness/exercise sort.
Dance Teacher Trainings, Licenscings, and Certifications like Zumba, Jazzercise, Groov3, and others, are great if you want to learn a specific style of dance fitness and operate under their name.
The focus of these classes is often exercise and cardio, so keep that in mind!
Dance Fitness Teacher Training could be a good fit for you IF:
You’re into the fitness aspect
You would like to be doing 1-hour long cardio sessions multiple times a week (i.e. you have a lot of stamina!)
Professional Dance for Adults:
This one is fairly simple… if you’re teaching professional level dance classes for adults, you should have professional level experience yourself! Not much extra training to do, but simply get into practice and take classes yourself to get into the groove.
You could also take a professional level teacher trainings like the one offered at Broadway Dance Center, including their Teacher Training Workshops. Battery Dance has a teacher training as well based on their Dancing to Connect methodology. And if you’re a ballroom dancer, look into Dance Fever Studio Teacher Training or Arthur Murray Teacher Training.
Then, seek out studios who might be hiring and get in touch! Remember that taking class at a place is a great way to get to know the existing teachers and staff and to make your presence known.
Spiritual Dance for Adults:
Something that’s become more popular in recent years are dance modalities that are mostly free-form/improvisation based and that have a spiritual angle to them.
Perhaps the most common of these types are 5 Rhythms and Ecstatic Dance.
5 Rhythms Teacher Training requires a lengthy pre-requisite list and the program is quite long.
Ecstatic Dance seems to give you the ability to start up a local class without doing training, but there are also some unofficial teacher trainings for Ecstatic Dance that I found while searching, like this one.
Then there are modalities like Journey Dance Facilitator Training and Qoya Teacher Training and Chakra Dance Teacher Training and Dance Church Teacher Training.
If you’re not familiar with any of these modalities, I highly recommend trying out a class first to get a feel for it and if it would be for you before you move forward with training!
Spiritual Dance Teacher Training could be a good fit for you IF:
You are interested in the spiritual/emotional/energetic aspects of dance
You want to focus on freeform, expressive movement, rather than choreography
Can also be good if you have less formal dance training in a specific technique, as they tend to be based mostly in freeform movement
Choreography + Expressive Dance for Adults - at any level!
One of the most needed (in my opinion) types of dance classes for adults, are the ones that DON’T just focus on fitness, that DON’T require professional level experience, and that DON’T feel too loosey-goosey…
In other words, adults need a simple yet fun dance class that feels like a regular technique class, but is paced in a way that isn’t too complicated or fast, and is safe and welcoming for people who are rusty or even new to dance. And we’re talking about any style: ballet, jazz, hip-hop, modern, contemporary, African, Bollywood, etc.
The only kind of training that I could find that offers this type of class is Dance Again. (In full transparency, I created this company and teacher training because I saw the gap in the market and the need for it!)
The Dance Again Teacher Training guides you to take your existing experience with dance in any style (however rusty you might feel) and turn it into a class and a creative side business that you can share with others.
It’s here to create the much-needed space for expressive, accessible dance for adults - beyond just a fitness class!
The Dance Again Teacher Training is a great choice for you IF:
You don’t want to JUST focus on fitness, but rather want to get into the creative and expressive sides of dance
You don’t resonate with other kinds of teacher trainings out there and would like something that honors your unique expression and helps you bring it into your classes
You miss being part of a dance community and know that you resonate with people who are not competitive or judgmental, and who welcome all body types and levels of experience
You’d love to not only make dance a more active part of your life, but also mayyyybe start a side business with it
If any of those describe you, I highly recommend checking out the Dance Again Teacher Training!
Here are some stories from Dance Again Teacher Training students:
Quick story of a late-to-bloom dance teacher -
Hi, I’m Jess! I personally started teaching dance around the age of 30 after almost 10 years of not dancing at all. I had experience as a health coach and was leading workshops and 1-1 clients already, so I started by slowly incorporating dance into those sessions.
You can learn more about my unconventional journey back into dance and into teaching through my TEDx talk from way back in 2013:
Because I knew I didn’t resonate with fitness-only-based modalities, and I knew I didn’t want to operate at a professional level any more in my life, I decided to make it my mission to create the kind of class I had always wanted as an adult.
Dance Again was slowly born and many years later I created the Dance Again Teacher Training when I started to see the desire for other similar classes to pop up in other locations. I’ve been leading the training since 2019 and it’s one of my favorite things ever!
Whether or not you decide to check out the training, I’d love to share a couple of free resources:
1 - Feel free to grab my 35 Creative Dance Prompts: for your personal practice and for the classes you lead, to add more creativity and ideas to your routine!
2 - You can read my diary! (The Dance Rebel Diary, that is ;) It’s my newsletter where I share the inside scoop on how I revived my own dance practice and developed a creative dance business over the last decade -
It’s full of my most game-changing personal lessons - including the embarrassing ones! - plus playlists, videos, and prompts to get you moving in your unique fabulous way.
Sign up here:
I hope this article was helpful - would love to hear how you decide to move forward on your dance path!