Dance isn’t just about learning technique and choreography, it can help students develop a multitude of different skills that they can carry into their everyday lives. At Dance Connection our students have the opportunity to take that learning experience even further adding leadership skills and mentoring young dancers by becoming a part of our Teacher Training Program.

Our Teacher Training Program members will be there to greet all of our students when they return to classes this fall, helping to direct everyone to the proper classroom, helping with set-up and clean-up of anything used during class, demonstrating technique for students in their classes, and helping to teach and encourage our young dancers as they learn. They are assigned weekly tasks to complete that help to keep the studio running smoothly, they observe classes to gain new techniques to assist in teaching their own classes, and their progress is evaluated to determine when they are ready to move on to the next level of training. They learn about personal responsibility and how to conduct themselves professionally while building confidence in both their dance and leadership skills. Eventually, many of our Teacher Trainees will be qualified to become a Substitute Dance Connection teacher.

As a parent, I love that I can see my dancer develop a relationship with her teaching assistants. They have always been wonderful at building their classes up and supporting them all the way though to recital. My daughter truly looks up to her teaching assistants, and I would be thrilled if she decided to become a part of the program. It’s just amazing to see how much the trainees grow and mature through being trusted with the added responsibility in the studio, and the opportunity to have such a positive effect on the younger dancers in the studio.

If your dancer would like to become a part of the teacher training program there are certain criteria that they need to consider before making a commitment:

• Are you able to be available during the hours of Monday thru Friday after 4:00pm and/or Saturday 9:00am-1:00pm, if you are assigned to teach a class during those times?
• Can you and your parents arrange transportation to the studio during the above times if you are scheduled to teach?
• Can you be responsible to wear appropriate attire for each dance discipline including a monogrammed TTP shirt?
• Can you commit to help out during the entire recital week?
• Are you responsible enough to check your mailbox at the studio as well as your email to read important messages and reply in a timely fashion?
• Do you always respect deadlines?
• Can you remember to complete assigned weekly jobs around the studio?
• Are you responsible enough to inform the studio when you will be absent and independently obtain coverage?

Dancers who are accepted into the program will begin as Student Helpers, and their progression though the program will be dependent upon the dancer’s completion of all the requirements of that level. There is an evaluation meeting at the end of the year where the Program Director will meet with each a dancer and their parent to review all yearly evaluations of the trainee’s performance and determine what their level will be for the upcoming year if they choose to continue.

The Teacher Training Program is a fantastic way for our Dance Connection dancers to truly give themselves the chance to excel and develop skills that will serve them well for the future no matter what career they decide to pursue. If you or your dancer would like more information about becoming a part of our Teacher Training Program for the upcoming year click here to learn more and request additional info. Who knows?  Your dancer may be heading to classes this year wearing a shirt with “Miss” or “Mr.” and helping us to train the next class of Dance Connection Dancers!