"There are those who dance to the rhythm that is played to them, those who only dance to their own rhythm, and those who don’t dance at all."

Jose Bergamin

Requirements

Attendance

This is a professional level course, and we cover a lot of material at a fairly fast pace. Missing class is not advised, as you can easily fall behind. If you do have to miss a class, you can generally arrange to work with one of the other students to help you catch up. You can also schedule private lessons with one of the faculty members BDTC (for an additional private lesson fee) to make up any work you miss.

Class Times & Exam Schedule

Classes held at Cheryl Burke Dance meet Mondays & Thursdays, from 5 to 7pm.
Classes held at Allegro Ballroom meet Tuesdays & Fridays, from 5 to 7 pm. Exams are scheduled to be held during regular class times. If you miss an exam, you may schedule a make-up exam with the Master Teacher (for an additional private lesson fee).

Practice

Each class meets a total of 4 hours a week per section. Therefore, if you are taking both sections, class will meet a total of 8 hours a week. Most students spend quite a bit of time every week studying the material and practicing what they have learned. Though the amount of outside time varies greatly from student to student, please expect to commit one hour of study time for every hour you spend in class (about four or eight hours of study time per week). Becoming a dance teacher takes dedication and practice.

Materials

The DVIDA Manuals (please see Schedule above for which manual for each session) and the BDTC Binder are required textbooks for the course. The accompanying DVIDA DVD’s are recommended, but optional. The DVIDA Bronze Manuals and DVD’s are available from Dance Vision, and may be ordered online at www.dancevision.com, or by calling 1-800-851-2813. The BDTC Binder is provided in class and costs a one-time fee of $95.00. It includes all class handouts that are distributed over the entire program.

Shoes

All students will be expected to have proper dance shoes by the second class meeting. This is not an arbitrary aesthetic or fashion consideration. To teach dance, you need the "right tool for the job," and proper dance shoes are literally the foundation for your dancing!

There are different styles of dance shoes for different styles of dancing, but most BDTC students wear a basic "practice shoe," a practical and durable suede-soled dancing shoe that is made to be comfortable and wearable for long periods. Some students wear flashier shoes or high heeled dance shoes, but this is a matter of personal comfort.

You can purchase dance shoes from any dance shoe retailer or from A. Keen Dance Shoes, who offers a 10% discount to BDTC teacher trainees. Just call Ann at 510 547-8483.

Misc. Expectations

Presentations

Because this is a teaching class, there is a strong emphasis on presentation. You will be expected to present material to the class on a regular basis. You may be asked to demonstrate a figure or to present a brief history of a specific dance. Don't worry, we hand out assignments in advance, so you will have plenty of time to prepare!

Dancing both roles

In order to teach a specific dance or figure, you need to be able to articulate and demonstrate both the leader’s and follower’s part. We spend equal time in class working on both parts, and every student is expected to dance with every other student as both leader and follower, regardless of gender. This is standard practice for professional dance instruction.