"Shake off your heavy trance, and leap into a dance,
Such as no mortals use to tread, fit only for Apollo
To play to, for the Moon to lead, And all the Stars to follow."

Francis Beaumont

BDTC-In-A-Box

About BDTC In A Box

Download the BDTC in a Box brochure (PDF)

Ballroom Dance Teachers College In a Box is a revolutionary model for professional dance teacher training: it the first and only formal vocational training program for prospective dance teachers. The genius of the course is that it runs on-goingly forever. Trainees may enroll in the course at the beginning of any quarter. You will continue to acquire new trainees even as other trainees graduate.

BDTC In A Box represents the culmination of my thirty years in the ballroom dance industry. I founded the Metronome Ballroom in San Francisco and I am a National Examiner for DVIDA, as well as a DanceSport Adjudicator. You may also know me from the Dance Vision Dance Camps where I have taught classes, led studio management seminars and run certification programs. Still, this is my greatest accomplishment - the development of my professional dance teacher training program, Ballroom Dance Teachers College (BDTC), in San Francisco, CA.

Enrollees pay for the course just as they would any group class. There is no prerequisite except the desire to dance, nor are you required to hire the graduates. This model enables you to run this teacher training program as a profit-generating, professional, vocational school, similar to a cosmetology or law school. This training will also solidify the position of your graduate instructors as true professionals, dancers and teachers who have met an objective standard of national proficiency.

The Ballroom Dance Teachers College In a Box is a systematic, rigorous, and fun curriculum. I have formalized a teaching plan that includes a series of innovative exercises, supportive feedback, and regular examinations. Over the 16 month course trainees will learn the leader’s and follower’s parts of each dance. They will also learn the technical, musical, and partnership elements of each dance figure for the seventeen dances (Smooth, Rhythm and Club) of the DVIDA Bronze American Syllabus. Graduates of the program are ready to teach with no additional training required!

What "BDTC In A Box" Includes

1. A Business Guide that explains all the administrative aspects of the course, from scheduling and marketing to what to charge the trainees.
2. Four Master Teacher Manuals, covering the four Quarters
   1. Smooth: Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Viennese Waltz
   2. Rhythm I: Rumba, Cha Cha, Bolero, East Coast Swing
   3. Rhythm II: Mambo, Merengue, Samba, West Coast Swing
   4. Nightclub: Argentine Tango, Salsa, Lindy Hop, Hustle, Nightclub Two Step

Each Manual contains 3 parts:

1. How to use this manual
2. 32 lesson plans
3. Resource Sheets
   1. Running the Course
   2. General Dance Technique
   3. Smooth/Rhythm/Nightclub Technique

There are 128 Lesson Plans in total.
Each Lesson Plan is 2 hours long and includes:

• Teachers Script
• Class Goals
• Suggested Teaching Outline
• Which Figures to Teach
• How to Teach each Figure
• Elements to Introduce
• How to Teach New Elements
• Homework Assignments

Supplemental Binder

• 17 Written Exams (one per dance)
• 17 Written Answer Sheets (one per dance)
• Routines for Each Dance
• Attendance Record Keeper
• Sample Contract for the Exam Coach
• Outline of Duties for In-Class Monitor
• Trainee Contact sheet
• In-class Exam Assignment Sheet
• Sample Graduation Certificates

You will also receive:

• 17 2x3 ft Laminated Dance Charts containing the step list, history and musical information for each dance
• 5 hours of one-on-one Professional Consultation
• Amount of Turn Poster, Alignment Poster, and 3 Elements Charts
• Exam Day Materials Kit
• Additional Teaching Tools- Hand Styling Tools, Quiz Cards, Pivot Arrows