Austin dance lessons - ballroom dance lessons - Country Western dance lessons

The Go Dance Teachers Academy is a formal vocational teacher training program for anyone seeking a career as a Dance Instructor. Our course is based on Go Dance's own popular social dance syllabus, and the highly recognized DVIDA* American Ballroom Syllabus. Teaching dance is a great career choice for anyone who loves to dance and our course is designed for experienced dancers and absolute beginners alike. If you love dancing, and helping other people enjoy their lives to the fullest, teaching dance may be your dream job!

Courses
The Go Dance Instructors Academy offers training courses in American Smooth, American Rhythm, Country Western, Latin Social, and more.

Currently Enrolling: The Core Four - Beginning August 19th
Learn how to teach four of the most popular social dances. This 16-week course covers Two Step, Waltz, Swing & Salsa. You'll learn the leaders and followers parts to the fundemental patterns of each dance as well as teaching technique for private lessons and group classes. The Core Four will be taught by Taletha Jouzdani, one of Go Dance's favorite instructors with over 11 years of professional teaching experience. Taletha is known for her ability to create the perfect balance of technique and fun in her teaching and always receives rave reviews from our students.

Tuition
16-week course: 64 hours of instruction over 4 months $1500.00.
Monthly and bi-monthly payment plans are available. Work-study may be available to offset part or all of your tuition, it depends on your skills and the needs of the studio at the time. If you are interested in work-study please email us with your request and include any skills you think may be of particular interest to us as well as your resume.

Additional Benefits For Go Dance Teacher Academy Students

Free Regular Group Classes, Workshops & Parties (certain specialty classes, workshops & parties may be excluded.)
$5 off Private Lessons to work on course material (discount not available to work on non-course material.)
20% discount on dance shoes from the Go Dance Boutique, including special orders.
Free Practice Time at Go Dance during designate times.

Employment Opportunites
Our courses will prepare you to teach professionally in a variety of venues. Go Dance frequently offers teaching positions to top graduates of our Teachers Academy Courses based on our staffing needs at that time.

Course Requirements

Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for the course. We will teach you everything needed to become a professional instructor from the ground up. Our course is also designed to benefit experienced dancers who wish to become professional dance instructors.

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 please make arrangements in advance to catch up with help from a classmate or by scheduling a private lesson.

Exam Schedule
Exams are scheduled during regular class times. If you miss an exam, you may schedule a make-up exam for an additional private lesson fee.

Practice
The class meets a total of 4 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 the class. Becoming a dance teacher takes dedication and practice.

Shoes
All students will be expected to have proper dance shoes by the second class. 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 students wear a basic "practice shoe", a 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 matter of personal comfort. Dance shoes may be purchased from the Go Dance Boutique at a discounted rate.

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 you will dance with other students as both leader and follower, regardless of gender. This is standard practice for professional dance instruction.

Materials (For Ballroom Courses Only)
The DVIDA Manuals (please see Schedule for which manual for each semester) and the Go DanceTeachers Academy Binder are required textbooks for the American Smooth and American Rhythm course. The accompanying DVIDA videos are recommended, but optional. The DVIDA Bronze Manuals and videos are available from Dance Vision, and may be ordered online at www.dancevision.com, or by calling 1-800-851-2813. The Go Dance Teachers Academy Binder is provided in class and costs a one-time fee of $75. It includes all class handouts that are distributed over the entire 20-month full broze ballroom program.

Questions?
Please feel free to give us a call at 512-339-9391 or send us an email at teach@godancestudio.com with any questions regarding Instructor Training.

You will enjoy full immersion into the exciting world
of ballroom and social dancing!

Go Dance has been voted "Best Dance Lessons" in the
Austin Chronicle Readers Poll for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

A word from one of our graduates - Debra Packard
When the Teacherís Academy started, I had only been taking dancing lessons for five months but had soon become eager to quickly develop the skills I needed to get out on the dance floor and have some fun. Beginners were welcome in the program, so I thought it might be a good way to boost my progress; if I got good enough to be able to teach, that would be a real cherry-on-top.

My experience of the Teacher's Academy is a microcosm of my experience of learning to dance - a constant flow of highs and lows. I have not picked up dancing quickly, so one might think focusing on one or two dances the smart way to go; however, I found the Teacher's Academy like a foreign language immersion program - if you can stand it, there's no other way to learn. I have established good habits at the outset, and I hope I've sidestepped some bad ones. And, I also discovered that not actively working on a specific dance doesn't mean your skill in that dance isn't improving. I hadn't danced West Coast for months after starting teacher training, and when I danced it again for the first time in a private lesson, I found I had really improved! That was certainly one of the highs.

As a beginner, learning lead and follow at the same time has been a challenge. I didn't have the advantage of a strong follow when I started learning to lead. And leading ISN'T EASY! I do have a whole new respect for leaders. But, learning to lead has definitely made me a better follower. Knowing where my partner is supposed to be gives me a clue about where I'm supposed to be and how I should get there. And I hope it's made me a better listener. Many years ago, I took a motorcycle driving training program and was surprised to find there were some people taking the class, not to learn to drive, but to learn how to be better passengers. I don't think I ever really understood the motivation behind that until now.

The small class size and the camaraderie between students is a huge benefit. Before long, you are comfortable making mistakes or "not getting it." The more advanced students act like sempai in a karate dojo and make gentle corrections. I have been fortunate to be in a class with dancers far more advanced than me and I profited from the years they have already invested.

*DVIDA (Dance Vision International Dance Association) is a member of the National Dance Council of America (NDCA), which is the governing organization for Ballroom Dancing in the United States. DVIDA certification is highly recognized and sought after by dance studios in the United States, boosting your potential for employment and a higher salary. For more information on DVIDA visit www.prodvida.com.

"I used to wonder how other students had so much time to spend at Go Dance. Now, seeing the instructors and students are something that I look forward to each day."

Joe Roberts

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