Dance teacher

Many of the careers in the performing arts industry are practical, “hands on” roles. One of them which I have chosen to research is that of a dance teacher. I have chosen to research this role because I find that watching performers dance and express themselves through movement very interesting. I am also keen to find out what kind of salary a job in the dance industry might offer.
One famous dance teacher was Anna Pavlova who was born in St. Petersburg in 1881 and died in 1931. She was a Russian dancer. Anna was not a typical ballerina; she was very lean and delicate. She taught in her early life while she was training to become a professional ballerina and tour the world. Pavlova had a great passion for dancing throughout her life.
A dance teacher, has the role of teaching many different styles of dances too students, and in some cases, they may have to choreograph dances for students and then teach them. They would normally focus the lesson on one particular type of dance, e.g. ballet or Latin American. They teach different techniques to their pupils and this therefore progresses them to improve. If you teach in a school, you can run after school clubs in dance for school students. You can also teach dances on the syllabus for dance exams, and enter students in for graded examinations.
The general qualifications needed to become a dance teacher are; a “Qualified Teacher Status” (QTS) award, as this is needed to teach in a state school. To teach privately, you will need a higher qualification from a recognised board such as “The Royal Academy of Dance” or the “Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing”. Once you have a qualification from one of these two boards, you can enter students in for exams. If you wish to be more highly qualified, you can also study a range of degrees and diplomas.
The hours that you would teach in a state school are normal school hours, in most cases from 8:50am – 3:30pm. However, there are some occasions where you may have some evening commitments which would be part of the job, such as parents evening or afterschool-clubs. If you teach privately, you can run classes to suit yourself, (In the evenings, during the week or at the weekends).
The annual income that a dance teacher can earn depends largely on where the school is situated and whether you are teaching privately or teaching in a state school. However, if you want to work as a full time dance teacher in a state school you can expect to earn around £21,500 to £31,500 a year or £27,000 to £36,000 if you teach in inner London. If you choose to teach privately you can charge as much as you like – to suit yourself.
The skills/requirements needed for this role are a good practical ability in dance and music. This is because you will need to coordinate your movements to fit in with the beat of the music and move around the stage in a practical way, as well as being able to execute the correct dance steps. You will also need an understanding of health and safety to prevent injury, or tripping up on stage. Other skills include having patience with students who may be struggling to perform, and good communication with other people on stage, so you know what you are doing at all times during the performance. You shall also need to have the ability to motivate people and encourage them to succeed, so that they don’t become discouraged. Finally, you will require the ability to control groups of pupils, and