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 Eilecia.
Exam Schedule
Exams are scheduled to be held during regular class times. If you miss an exam, you may schedule a make-up exam with Eilecia (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 and Bovard Ballroom Dance Teacher Academy Binder are required textbooks for the 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 BBDTA Binder is provided in class and costs a one-time fee of $85.00. It includes all class handouts that are distributed over the entire program.
Tuition
Tuition is currently $500/month per section. Please note that tuition will be increased every May to reflect the current market.
Tuition is due the first class of each new month or every 4th week of classes. Students who make a late tuition payment will be accessed a $15 late fee. Tuition can be paid in class by check, or online via PayPal.
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!
shoes or high heeled dance shoes, but this is a matter of personal comfort.
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.
Benefits
Additional Training
When available, your tuition entitles you not only to the Bovard Ballroom Academy course itself, but also to most of the classes and workshops offered at the Bovard New York studio.
You will have free entry for group classes and workshops (where you are required to fill in as leader or follower as needed), and parties.
Employment Opportunities
Bovard Ballroom Dance Academy offers Teacher Trainees opportunities to assist classes and frequently offers teaching positions to top graduates of the Teacher Training Program, based on the needs of the studio at that time.
