Can I be an accredited dance coach and an amateur competitor at the same time.

I sure wish someone would answer this question because I was wondering the same thing. Maybe nobody knows???

Boleros.. Think about it. I can be a Professional Competitor without having even passed a Medal. I can also be a Professional teacher without ever having been in a competition or taken any examination. There is nothing that can stop a competing Amateur or a none competing Amateur from becoming an accredited coach. In this country it is possible with the provision that there is a Professional present in the studio when the Amateur is teaching. Which brings us back to square one. Is the Professional who is present a qualified person themselves anyway.

Wow. Total tautaulogy. I am teaching a couple their wedding dance and I feel like I am taking advantage of them because I am not certified. Do I believe I have the experience to do this, yes, do I have the certificate that says I am qualified to do this, no. It bugs. They are friends of mine and so it's not necessarily an issue. Nevertheless, it really bugs me, so much so I went looking to find someone who could certify me on some level. What stops me from committing is that I am not sure I'm ready to give up competing as an amateur just so I can teach a wedding dance.

What has a wedding dance to do with Ballroom Dancing for all we know you could be showing them Gumboot Dancing or the French Le Step. If anybody were to say anything just make up a name and say that is what I am teaching . As I said before . It is possible to be an acredited coach and still be an amateur. I could point you in the direction of the advertising for the 2008 World Latin. There are very large pictures being used and is on the official IDSF advertising the event There is a profile on two of the dancers which says they are accredited coaches as well as being Amateur dancers. Dont ask me why that information was put forward but it is there for all to read. I thought it a bit strange. Keep going.

Maybe the answer to the question is what defines an amateur verus a professional. In most sports amateurs do not and cannot accept compensation for competing. Professionals do, does that rule apply here?

Shawn

Was Leonardo Da Vinci accredited? Picasso? Mohammed Ali? Najinski, Pavarotti?

If you were a student in these fields would you have been willing to pay for lessons with these people?

Accreditation just means you've met a standardized level of competence that a student can use as a guide. It does not mean you're a better teacher than someone without accreditation.

OB

Maybe not accredited-- but certainly acclaimed .-- again-- no guarantees they could teach ( would have taken a chance though ! )

Not true-- happens in show jumping on a regular basis-- they say it goes to the horse-- havent seen many horses at the bank lately !!

In response to Shuelin:

Valid point. I worked in the film scoring industry for a while. I took classes to help me make the connections I needed to get the work, not so much as educational tools, though I got much from these classes. One of my instructors had a PdD in music and said he never told a producer or director anything about his education because he either had the chops and the experience to write music for a given project or he didn't. The education was to equip him for the task, not to get him the gig, as it were. He was a professional because he knew what he was doing and was qualified to convey that through his work.

On the other hand, I am also aware of those who have had diddly for an education in the field, less experience than most and their work shows this ineptitude, yet they get hired by those in a hurry or who don't know any better.