Not all Barre Teacher Training programs are created equal! You want something that will be worth your time, money and energy that gives you the tools you need to teach Barre effectively.
How can you differentiate between instructor training programs and which ones will provide you with these tools?
When evaluating these programs, remember that the purpose should be education. When you begin teaching classes, you need to be prepared for any situation or student issues. You should feel comfortable using appropriate terminology and providing corrections that emphasize safety. You may also want a to look at a program that provides you additional resources such as class designs, music suggestions and continued support, but are these recourses included in the program or are they only available you for additional fees?
If you simply want the certification to gain CEC’s, add to your teaching credentials and use the information to help you grow as an instructor, make sure that is what you are signing up for. If you want class outlines or support as an instructor, do your homework to compare fees and programs. Some offer additional support and some do not. Additionally, it is important to consider how much flexibility you would like as an instructor. Do you see yourself offering barre classes at your local recreation center, YMCA, dance studio or small boutique studio? Make sure you will be allowed to take your certification and material to these external facilities by checking with the HR or Facilities Director.
If you see yourself only teaching at one location, possibly a franchise, and that location offers teacher training, you will likely only be able to teach exactly what you learn at that facility. Most of these trainings are done on location, in person. (One thing to pay attention to with this option, is whether or not teacher training leads to hiring…sometimes locations will allow you to go all the way through the training process and not hire you as an instructor. Be sure you gather this information before committing to their training program and their contract. This is critical because you will not be able to take the tools you learn to other facilities to get hired elsewhere!)
Is your background in ballet or dance training? Have you studied dance or taught dance classes for years? Your background will be incredibly beneficial to you because you will recognize proper body placement in your students. Your students will look to you for ballet terminology and explanations of positioning and posture.
It is critical to evaluate this question before beginning your certification process. If you feel confident in your background in any of the areas listed above, it is likely that online training will be sufficient. If the training dives right into the material, there will be parts of the training that you will easily grasp and you can focus on the sections you are less familiar with.
An online training should coverThese topics would also be covered during an in-person training, however, the focus will likely be on choreography and putting exercises together. Make sure the point of exercise training is understanding the WHY of each exercise. Having a full repertoire of exercises is nice, but if you don’t know what the targeted muscles are or what populations need modifications, you may not be equipped to teach a safe Barre class.
You will likely notice that many Barre studios and franchises have unique names for their exercises or poses. The use of created names for these positions essentially eliminate the need for knowledge of ballet terminology and definitions. However, this defeats the point of using barre as a form of exercise. Ballet based exercise is meant to use small movements to isolate muscle groups for intense bursts of effort with low anatomical impact. That is to say, barre without ballet is no longer effective or safe. When introducing barre to new students, instructors should emphasize the importance of working in a small range of motion and maintaining proper posture throughout class. If barre instructors around the world are not educated in ballet basics, how do we expect them to share this knowledge? The desired affect of barre is to obtain the dancer’s long, lean physique. The physique, as any dancer can tell you, comes from years of disciplined practice. This is not to say that you must have the years of ballet training mentioned in order to teach barre effectively. Instead, as an instructor, it is your responsibility to educate yourself on correct body placement in every exercise. Additionally, the use of ballet terminology validates your knowledge of the base positioning for each exercise.
This is a big decision! If you know where you will be teaching, feel confident you have the training or experience to support your barre education, and know what format you will thrive in, let’s begin!
The provided materials are listed above as a reference when making your certification decision. We know there are many choices out there for this process and would love to serve those that think the online format is right for them! Please contact info@barrecertification.com for more information or inquiries.