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1. •Coastal Performing Arts Foundation
   

2. •
   

3. •CDMA’s Performance Troupes

Dance Teacher Training Certification Program

Program Description

Dance Teacher Training is a three-tiered training program for dancers interested in becoming a Class Helper, Teacher Assistant or Student Teacher. Dancers must be at least ten years of age, with a minimum of three years of training and dance at an intermediate to advanced level for their age group.  Admittance to the program is through the recommendation, application and/or interview process and participants are not guaranteed a position upon completion.

 

Requirements For Admittance

(There is no guarantee of acceptance to program as student enrollment is limited)

Level One (September – October):  Class Helper 

1. •Age 10 and up
   

2. •Must be consistently attending at least four classes (hours) per week (in addition to Dance Teacher Training)
   

3. •Must dance at an intermediate to advanced level for age group
   

4. •Must have proper technique in ballet, jazz and tap
   

5. •Must submit a letter to the Directors requesting consideration for program. The letter should include:
   

6. ‣Your name, age, how long you have been dancing and what classes you are currently taking
   

7. ‣Why you want to be a class helper
   

8. ‣How this program will benefit you as a dancer and person
   

*Upon successful completion of the first level and obtaining Class Helper Certification, student is assigned to a preschool or combo class beginning in March (or after school is out for summer if class is during school hours) to learn the class dance in order to lead the young dancers in the studio recital.  Graduates of level one may be asked to be a class helper for consecutive years after obtaining certificate.

Level Two (November – January):  Teacher Assistant

1. •Age 12 and up
   

2. •Must have successfully completed Level One of Dance Teacher Training
   

3. •Must be consistently attending at least five classes (hours) per week (in addition to Dance Teacher Training)
   

4. •Must dance at an intermediate to advanced level for age group
   

5. •Must have proper dance technique in ballet, jazz and tap as well as knowledge of vocabulary
   

6. •Must complete and return the Teacher Assistant application available at the office
   

*Upon successful completion of the first and second levels and obtaining both Class Helper and Teacher Assistant Certifications, student may then apply for a teacher assistant position. After a probationary period of 3 months and receiving a positive evaluation, assistant will be paid an hourly rate of $8.00, through the work-study program, as credit toward monthly tuition.

Level Three (February – June):  Student Teacher

1. •Age 14 and up
   

2. •Must have successfully completed Level One and Two of Dance Teacher Training
   

3. •Must be consistently attending at least six classes (hours) per week (in addition to Dance Teacher Training)
   

4. •Must dance at an advanced level
   

5. •Must have proper dance technique in ballet, jazz and tap as well as knowledge of vocabulary
   

6. •Must pass the interview process (interviews are scheduled through the office)
   

*Upon successful completion of the first, second and third levels of Dance Teacher Training and obtaining Class Helper, Teacher Assistant and Student Teacher Certifications, students will receive a Dance Teacher Training Diploma. Exemplary student teachers, after two years of teacher assistant work, will be considered as substitute teachers.  Letters of recommendations for college applications or employment opportunities will be given upon request.

Dance Teacher Training Curriculum

Level One

1. •Class Helper responsibilities
   

2. •How to count simple music
   

3. •Picking up choreography quickly and remembering it
   

4. •Proper demeanor and attitude for a Class Helper
   

5. •Tricks for learning and remembering names
   

6. •Engaging students in the class
   

7. 
   

Level Two

1. •Teacher Assistant responsibilities
   

2. •Counting more difficult music and cueing dancers
   

3. •Learning to spot needed corrections
   

4. •Developing a confident and competent demeanor and speaking up
   

5. •Learning styles and how to teach to them
   

6. •Classroom management
   

7. •Using analogies to aide learning
   

8. •Proper learning progressions
   

9. •Dance vocabulary
   

10. •How to interview well
    

11. 
    

Level Three

* Upon acceptance to Level Three, student will be placed with a Master Teacher in conjunction with Dance Teacher Training Class

1. •Class structure
   

2. •Vocabulary, terminology and dance theory
   

3. •Teaching Methods
   

4. •Mixed ability teaching
   

5. •Basic knowledge of musculature
   

6. •Injury prevention
   

7. •How to choreograph and music selection
   

8. •Interview/audition techniques
   

9. •Final Project
   

10. ‣Resume
    

11. ‣Portfolio
    

12. ‣Choreograph own piece to be performed at studio recital
    

13. ‣Teach the class to which assigned without Master Teacher present
    

Kathy holds a Master's of Education and a teaching credential from Cal Poly. She has taught in a variety of capacities including the public school setting as a dance specialist for Children’s Creative Project, Bellevue Santa Fe Charter School, and Ocean View Elementary School, and as a guest teacher for the ACE Camps summer program. Kathy studied, taught, and choreographed at the Academy of Dance in San Luis Obispo for 15 years. While at the Academy of Dance she also directed performance troupes and served as the executive director of the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo. She was one of several choreographers featured in an international tour of The People’s Republic of China. Kathy was able to fulfill a dream when she opened her own studio, Coastal Dance, in Shell Beach in 2004. Due to the incredibly positive reaction, the fledgling studio was soon too small for it’s growing number of students. Therefore, in February of 2008, with the help of family and dear friends, Kathy expanded her growing studio to a beautiful new facility in Arroyo Grande, CA, adding music, voice, theater, and fitness to her program. Coastal Dance has now become Coastal Dance and Music Academy (CDMA).

Kathy has been a contributing choreographer for Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California. Her work has been featured in the dance department’s productions of Dance Spectrum and Dimensions in Dance. She currently teaches jazz, tap, and ballet to all ages at Coastal Dance and Music Academy, and is the Director of the Performance Troupe. In 2008, Kathy and Tara became the founders of Coastal Chamber Youth Ballet, a non-profit ballet company. Her family-oriented, up-beat and polished performance troupe shows have received rave reviews wherever they have performed. Kathy’s loving, nurturing, and positive teaching style continues to be the guiding force behind Coastal Dance and Music Academy.

Tara has been dancing since the age of three. She fell in love with performing immediately and has loved being on stage ever since. As a young artist, she began her study of classical ballet at the Academy of Dance in San Luis Obispo. Her training immediately broadened to include pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theater, contemporary, and hip hop. Along with dance conventions, Tara has trained at West Side Ballet, Zeal Studio, and the Edge in Los Angeles as well as Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. She was the top scholarship winner at the Dance in Action Convention in 1998. Tara's intense schedule of training provided the foundation for a myriad of dance experiences including national and international tours to Spain, China and Cuba. Tara has danced with several professional level companies in SLO county, including All Things Contemporary Dance Company, the San Luis Jazz Dancers for eleven years and the Civic Ballet Company for seven years. As on of the company’s principal dancers, she performed in numerous roles in productions such as the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and original works, and danced the lead of Maria in West Side Story and Nancy in Since I saw Her Standing There, a Beatles ballet.

Tara holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Child Development and Psychology from Cal Poly. The research for her senior project focused on how extracurricular activities influence positive developmental outcomes during adolescence. She is now fascinated with immersing child developmental theory into her teaching. Tara has been teaching dance and directing performing groups in San Luis Obispo county since 2002. Tara joined Coastal Dance as a guest teacher in 2005, and in 2008 she joined forces with Kathy as they expanded Coastal Dance to it’s Grand Avenue location, adding “and Music Academy.” At that time, they became the Founders of Coastal Chamber Youth Ballet, a non-profit ballet company. Tara is a contributing choreographer for CDMA’s Summer Intensive Programs, Coastal Chamber Youth Ballet’s Babes In Toyland productions, and Morro Bay High School’s 2009 Dance Intensive. Tara’s diverse teaching experience expands beyond dance, including public preschool and working with students with autism. Tara is the Assistant Director and Owner of Coastal Dance and Music Academy as well as an instructor of jazz, contemporary, pointe, ballet, and contemporary pointe, Performance Troupe Director, and CDMA’s web designer.

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