I have noticed a phrase in the last few years creeping into the dance industry that takes on the aura of an incantation.  It is used almost like a magical phrase to protect the student and validate the instructor.  I noticed it first a few years ago when the Yellow Pages suggested using it to help the prospective buyer of dance lessons to avoid problems.  This incantation is "Are you certified?"  I know of a teacher who asserts that he is the only "certified" teacher in his town.  This assertion is patently and demonstrably false and is made without even knowing the other teachers or their qualifications.  So, why make such an assertion?  Because certification has become an incantation, buzzword, and a piece of jargon to which the customer relates and I assume he wants to set his school apart from the others in the area,perhaps out of insecurity.

 

Now when I am asked this question, I answer yes nad follow up with another question.  "But what does it mean to be certified?"  Most people have not thought this far into the matter.  THe unspoken assumption is that a dance teacher is like other professionals such as doctors and lawyers.  There is a national certification board for doctors called the American Medical Association and for lawyers called the American Bar Association but there is no national governing board for dance teachers.  In Georgia, the only qualification you need to teach dancing is to call yourself a teacher and convince people to buy lessons.

 

Does this mean that certification is worthless?  Not at all.  there are organizations that provide dance teacher certification that are legitimate.  Franchised studios loke Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire have a system of certification for their teachers.  I received my certification from Fred Astaire's whcih involved four-hour written, oral, and dancing tests.  Still,every time I went to work for another franchisee, I had to take at least a dancing proficiency test.  I became the trainer for other prospective teachers to prepare them for their certification tests.  When I went to work at an independent studio this was a skill I did not forget.  However, there is the dance equivalent of diploma mills in this country where all you need is enough money and you can buy a certification.  It is like meeting someone who has a Master's degree from Columbia State University and you are impressed until you learn his degree comes from Columbia State University in Louisiana instead of New York.

 

I still test everyone applies for a teaching position in our school regardless of wher their certification originates.  This is because I cannot know for certian who is qualified  and who is not by their certification.  If I, a professional, cannot tell the legitimacy of a teacher's certification, then how can you the prospective student do it?  the simple answer is that the prospective student cannot ascertain the validity of the teacher's certification.  Being certified does not guarantee a good teacher.  I have know certified teachers who could not teach a "kangaroo to hop".  I have know uncertified teachers who could teach a "pig to fly" if that is what the pig wanted to do.

 

All is not lost however.  Even though there is no way to determine the credibility of an instructor's ability by checking certification papers, you can check out the students.  Do they dance proficiently?  If so, then, this instructor should be able to teach you to dance proficiently as well.   You can also check the instructor's dancing ability.  I would never take lessons from a teacher who did not dance.  It would be like taking piano lessons from a teacher who never played or practiced the piano.  Speaking as a teacher, keeping my skills polished helps me keep in touch with the dance scene and allows me to continue learning new material myself.  A teacher who has stopped learning to dance, has stopped growing as an artist.  If yo are not growing, you are dead and you will begin to rot.  If you do not use a skill, you will lose it.  Finally, you can call on the school that interests you and ask some questions.  Ask them what is their philosophy and theory of dance.  If they look at as if you just asked them to explain the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, then do not enroll on a lot of lessons at first even if they claim to be "certified".  Following this advice, you can never be rooked into buying the "good luck talisman" of teacher certification from some "gypsy" teacher.

 

© 1998 by Kenneth Howard- All Rights Reserved