How do you get started teaching dance or aerobics?

Question

Does it cost alot? Can you do it online? And how long does it take? Also, how do you get a job doing it once you've got your education or whatever.

Answer 1

Try this:
http://www.jazzercise.com/become_franchise.htm

Answer 2

In order to get a job teaching aerobics at a gym, you typically need a fitness certification, typically one for group exercise class.

In order to get such a certification, you need to be able to pass an exam on anatomy, exercise physiology, and safe exercise practices such as what goes into a safe/helpful warmup, what goes into a safe/helpful cooldown, etc. So you'll want to study those topics as a starting point.

I don't know where you're located, but in the U.S. the certifications are offered by such bodies as the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA). These organizations hold classes you can attend to get the education required to pass their exams. I've heard that the ACE certification is a little more prestigious than the AFAA one, but I don't know a lot about it.

For more info, I'd suggest visiting the AFAA web site at http://www.afaa.com/ or the ACE web site at http://www.acefitness.org/

Along the way, you'll also want to continuously attend as many group exercise classes at gyms as possible, to keep current with fitness trends. Just like any other aspect of life, exercise methods tend to run in fads. For example, back in the 1980's "aerobic dance" was a really big thing, which had lots of jumping moves. That's no longer in fashion, and has been replaced by other stuff like step aerobics, kickboxing, etc. So you need to attend exercise classes to learn what people are doing, and build in-depth knowledge yourself of those areas.

If you want to teach a specialty area, such as Pilates or yoga, those typically have their own specific certifications that you'll need in addition to your group exercise class certification. For example, yoga certification are available from Yoga Alliance. You need those certifications to make sure you understand how to help students engage the correct muscles, avoid injury, etc.

Once you've got the necessary education completed and you've passed the exam, then you can approach the various gyms in your area with a proposal to teach a group exercise class. Chances are you'll find one that needs someone, and that's how you can get started. I know some aerobics instructors who work at 3-4 different gyms, each on a different day/time.

As for dance instruction, that's a completely different animal. If you want to be credible, I'd suggest going to a university and getting a master's of fine arts degree in dance.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Aerobics, go to a popular gym and ask if they need an aerobics teacher, for dance, go to a dance school and ask if they need a dance teacher.