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Dance Instructor Training
Whether you are just getting started or have taught several dance classes, our instruction training program is loaded with educational material that will elevate your skills as an instructor.
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Learn More About the KIT Training Program
About KIT
The KickStart Instructor Training (KIT) Program aims to empower individuals with knowledge, training, and resources to become impactful dance instructors that make a positive contribution to the dancing community. The KIT Program was created to fill the need for knowledgeable and experienced dance instructors by providing up-to-date educational courses and training for all instructional levels, creating opportunities for instructor growth through an Apprenticeship Program, and paving a supportive path to a credentialed career in dance instruction.
Program Overview
The KickStart Country Instructor Training (KIT) Program has been created for anyone to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to successfully start and continue to build a career as a dance instructor through specialized professional training. The KIT Program was designed around three cornerstones: Education and Training, Apprenticeship and Certification, and Network and Service.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The Education and Training sets you up for success by providing a knowledge base that will allow you to confidently lead a class and share the fundamentals of dance styles in a safe and fun manner. Our specialized courses offer focused content to take your instruction beyond the basics and into an avenue as a "go-to" resource for dancers to expand their skill set through your instruction.
The KIT Program offers 2 full educational training series: Line Dance Instructor Training (LD-XXX) and Partner Dance Instructor Training (PD-XXX). Each Series is broken down into 4 sequential courses that build from a strong foundation rooted in fundamentals to an enlightened path exploring advanced concepts. Education and Training is provided by In-Person immersive program overview workshops and complete, self-paced eCourse learning. The In-Person workshops feature interactive training with broadview course KEYNOTES discussed and then practiced firsthand with a professional instructor. These provide immediate tools to get you started on your path to instruction with focused training material and constructive practice. The COMPLETE, self-paced eCourse training series provides comprehensive educational content with resources and downloads to explore topics in more depth with regards to meaning, purpose, considerations, and best practices for instruction. These provide a path to becoming a credentialed KickStart (Line and/or Partner) Dance Instructor.
APPRENTICESHIP AND CERTIFICATION
Growth and confidence in instruction starts with education and flourishes with experience. The KIT Apprenticeship Program serves to provide opportunities for instructors to gain invaluable industry experience by applying concepts learned in training to real world dance environments alongside industry professionals. Through these apprenticeship roles, Instructors can receive direct feedback and build confidence faster through experience and guidance. Participation in the KIT Apprenticeship Program is immediately available upon any course/workshop completion.
Certification is awarded to those who complete a full instructor training series and participate in at least one role within the KIT Apprenticeship Program (or submit videos of requested demonstrations of instruction). Upon receiving certification, those individuals will be recognized as KickStart Credentialed Instructors within the KIT National Network of Instructors.
NETWORK AND SERVICE
With the overall goal of making a positive contribution to the dancing community, the KickStart National Network of Instructors serves to mentor other instructors as well as fill the need for knowledgeable dance instruction in our communities.
Our education-based training and interactive-focused guidance (with ongoing Apprenticeship support), we hope to raise the bar on what it means to be a KickStart Credentialed Dance Instructor and set an industry standard of Instructor service.
Line Dance Training Series
The COMPLETE Line Dance Instructor Training Series includes these sequential courses:
LD-101 Career KICKSTART
LD-201 Career BUILDER
LD-301 Career ELEVATOR
LD-401 Career BRANCHOUT
Every tree has roots and every house has a foundation. No matter where you are in your dance journey, everyone can benefit from building a strong foundation in the fundamentals of dance. Understanding the theory and purpose behind best practices for instruction lays the groundwork for adding on more challenging concepts, terms, and techniques. The LD-101 course does just that: lays the foundation for the entire series to KICKSTART your career! Topics include how to approach adult education, memorization, understanding a stepsheet, process of teaching a dance, setting up a class structure with intention, resources, starting a business, and more!
The complete series BUILDs on the foundation in LD-201 with intermediate dance instruction concepts of tags and restarts, modifications and variations, crowd and venue assessment, and more…ELEVATES into advanced instruction in LD-301 with phrased dances, lesson series planning and implementation, advanced techniques, and more… and BRANCHES out in LD-401 with exploration of workshop and competition hosting. With lifetime access to course updates for continuous reference and use, you’ll wish you could’ve started with this training series years ago!
Partner Dance Training Series
The COMPLETE Partner Dance Instructor Training Series includes these sequential courses:
PD-101 Career KICKSTART
PD-201 Career BUILDER
PD-301 Career ELEVATOR
PD-401 Career BRANCHOUT
In our Career Kickstart course, you will receive the essentials and fundamentals to start your career as a dance instructor. PD-101 includes a broad-based foundation of how to teach the roles of leads and follows, establishing connection between partners, safety awareness, body mechanics, best practices for instruction, introduction to music genres, dance selections, dance styles and footwork, and more. Each lesson is designed with the intent to learn the move and practice it to become comfortable TEACHING it to BOTH leads and follows, comfortably.
The primary dance style utilized will be country swing with terminology and concepts consistent with the Nomad Method. The basics of instruction using this method will create a foundation for building into more advanced partner dance patterns, dips, and tricks as taught separately in greater detail through membership with the Nomad’s Method Country Swing Program (and corresponding app not affiliated with the KIT programs). The PD-101 course introduces you to the Nomad Method of instruction and equips you to get started with teaching on your own.
As part of the investment, you will receive lifetime access to updates on the KIT PD course. After completion of the PD-101 course, KIT Program offers expanded instructional material for teaching partner dance classes in various settings to take your career to the next level with our Career Builder course PD-201 and beyond.