QUALIFYING AS A DANCE TEACHER
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| What
Makes a Dance Teacher? |
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Dance teachers
do not necessarily become "good" teachers merely by gaining
a Teaching Certificate or Teaching Diploma; this is only a method
of increasing their awareness of the Syllabi that they are teaching,
and an overall basic understanding of Music, Anatomy, and at
times a limited understanding of Child Development.
A "good"
teacher is one who has the ability to inspire students (whether
they have great ability or limited ability in dance) to acquire
the love of dance - and to create anticipation for their next
class. They need to develop the skill of maintaining the students'
interest and not stifle their natural personalities by simply
continuing to repeat a set of stipulated exercises for a long
period of time, with no challenge of dance development in the
form of free classwork.
Dance is
a visual art and although there is always the need to develop
technique there is the necessary component of the student being
able to show his or her enjoyment in what they are doing.
Good teachers
are born and often some are developed, but there isn't a Certificate
that can assure all teachers that they have this ability to
impart their knowledge with the skills that in this day and
age are required by all students, only experience and open-mindedness
to embrace all forms and methods of dance can do this.
- The late Betty Tilley (former CSTD Examiner and Asian Region Director)
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| Is
Dance Teaching For You? |
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If you feel you fit the above description then
you can look into ways of becoming a dance teacher. You will need
to have reached a certain level of dance training yourself, most
likely Elementary or above, where Classical Ballet is concerned.
The best way of learning to teach is always the "hands-on" method
of becoming an apprentice teacher for a period of two to three
years, assisting with music (where there is no pianist) and class
organisation and helping with individual corrections. This can
be on a part-time basis, but should include classes of various
levels and ideally those of different teachers. This would also
give you the opportunity to learn about choreographing dances
for examinations and competitions, etc and of being involved in
performances.
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When you start teaching your
own classes don't ever think that Baby classes are the easiest
place to start; in fact they are probably the hardest. For
this age group the teacher must be able to consistently follow
the golden rule of "an iron hand in a velvet glove." Teaching
technique is not a part of baby class (although the foundation
of it may be taught in an unseen way), but imagination and
expression coupled with organisation and discipline are. It
may be better to start off by teaching 6-7 year-olds as at
this age the child can more easily assimilate the fundamentals
taught in a ballet class and can progress at a faster pace. |
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| What's
the Next Step? |
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First of all you will need to apply for Affiliate Membership with C.S.T.D. by contacting the Organiser.
You will then be able to enter your students for C.S.T.D.
examinations while preparing for the first stage of a Teaching
Qualification, which is the Teaching Certificate. To do
this you will need to attend periodic Teacher's Courses whenever
they are offered on such subjects as Pre-Grades and Grades Syllabus,
Choreography of Dances, Music, Physiology and Safe Dance, Major
exams for teachers and the requirements of the T.C. itself, which
are detailed in the Major Examinations Syllabus. You can also enrol in Courses scheduled in Singapore.
The second stage is the Full Teaching Diploma which holders of CSTD Intermediate and the Teaching Certificate may apply to take, provided they have reached the age of 21. This covers the Majors Syllabus, Public Performance examinations, Anatomy, Production, Music, Teaching Methods and Choreography.
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Teaching and Performance Path for Major Classical Students |
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| Teaching
Other Forms of Dance |
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If you are also interested in teaching Jazz dance or Tap or just in introducing some elements of these into your dance classes you could think about pursuing the Theatrical Diploma, which covers both these areas, together with Classical Ballet. You would need to have some basic training in these other forms, so if your area is only Classical Ballet you should attend classes in Jazz and Tap and sit for examinations in these.
If you already have experience and you want to specialise, you can work towards a Teaching Certificate in Modern Jazz after passing Grade 6, and a Teaching Diploma (minimum age 21). For Jazz Ballet the highest qualification is the Jazz Award which requires a knowledge of all the Jazz Ballet grades, Choreography of routines and Anatomy. For Tap there is a Teaching Certificate (after passing the Senior Gold Star) and Teaching Diploma after two years minimum teaching experience.
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| Public
Performance Examinations |
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C.S.T.D. is a performance-oriented Syllabus right
from the Pre-Ballet "Performance Test" to the Première Danseuse/
Premier Danseur Examination and students are taught how to present
themselves and encouraged to experience solo performance whenever
possible. We believe that a student who knows the joy of performing
will have much more to pass on to their own students when they
become teachers. To this end the Syllabus contains two Public
Examinations at different levels - Grades and Majors, both performed
in costume before an audience.
The Dorothy Gladstone Classical Award is for students
under the age of 16 years who have passed Grade 5 or Grade 6 Classical
examination. These students will perform two dances - Classical
and Demi-Character or National - for which successful candidates
receive a trophy. For more details please refer to the Grades
Examinations Syllabus.
The Martin Rubinstein Award is for students of
16 and over who have passed the Intermediate examination. They
perform three dances - Classical (on pointe), Demi-Character (on
pointe) and National - for which successful candidates receive
a trophy. For more details please refer to the Major Examinations
Syllabus.
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