Jay,

I understand what you are looking for from us and the truth is you are just not going to find it. If it existed...WOW!! It would have saved most of us a lot of time, frustration and money.

There are various certifications out there but they won't lead you to the perfect teacher. There is only one thing that will, and that is you either getting on the telephone and calling studios and asking questions or going to performances and watching or stopping by studios to see what is happening there.

I think you are thrown by the idea that dancers are considered teachers. It's more like the model with professionals in the legal and medical fields. Yes they passed the test but it doesn't mean they are necessarily good at their craft, or maybe they are good at their craft but they are lousy teachers. Even more clearly, if you follow the model of doctor...

Teachers have specialties just like there are proctologists, General doctors, Ob/gyn, etc. The teachers in ballroom may instead of these be Salsa dancers, Standard, Rhythm. None of us here know what specialty you are looking for or what goals you have. Only you know that and only you can select the right specialty. Again the only way to uncover a teacher's specialty is to ask the individual or his/her students.

You just have to do footwork, and honestly Jay, if you don't have time to look for the right teacher, than how do you have time to learn to dance?

Belle

I believe these few words belong here.
We are all far to imapatient to stick to one discipline. If you Google Marcus Hilton Basic Waltz you will find it is far from being a beginners Walt routine. I think it is meant to be a base that we stay with for say one year. But being impatient we look for more complicated moves. But if we did stick to a Basic Waltz which incidently is 32 bars of music and contains a Double Reverse Spin into a Hover Corte then an Outside Spin into a Back Whisk a Chasse and another Back Whisk into a Wing and an Open Telemark. That is only 8 bars out of a 32 bar routine. The moral of this story is. If we stuck to that 32 bar routine for one whole year wouldn't we become better dancers. Is this the type of training that some of those European countries do. Is this why they produce so many great dancers.

Belle,
I do have the time to look for a teacher, but I'd rather use that time learning to dance. That's why I'm using time now posting this question and using more time answering the answers to my questions.
Bottom line: I'm trying to save time by finding out if anyone has compiled an easy, time-saving method of cutting through all the to and fro stuff of finding a teacher.
From what I've read so far, apparently no one has, so before I use my time starting to learn to dance, I have to use a whole bunch of time finding the right teacher.
More of an art than a science, it seems, and probably more difficult than finding a proctologist, ob/gyn, or GP. Should it be that way? To find a dance teacher?
Whether or not it should, it certainly is.

JM

JM -

You are correct. No one has found the perfect mathematical equation to select the perfect teacher.

When you want to find a contractor to build an add-on for your house, what do you do? You ask around, look at the houses/projects the recommended contractors have completed, talk to the contractors, then choose the one who best suits your needs and desires.

The same goes for dance teachers. Just as anyone can be a contractor, anyone can be a dance teacher. You HAVE to talk to people, talk to the instructors, and look at the students they produce.

IMHO you're spending way too much time trying to find the easy way out, when you really need to be doing your research like many in this thread have told you. Just dial the first number in the phone book under "dance studio" and tell them your goals. Even if you later are not satisfied with your teacher, a poor start beats no start at all.

Jay,

I can certainly understand not wanting to waste resources. I wish there were a better way.

If you were in the Phoenix Metro I could help direct you. I would if I knew teachers in your area. It's a painful process, I drive several hours each way to get to my studio. I know others who have the same instructor that fly from Texas and California because he is good. Good instructors are rare.

If it would help, one of the ways you can cut down on the misery of looking is searching through competitions to see if any of the professionals in your desired style are in your area. It isn't a golden rule that they are good teachers.

I'm about to get screamed at for suggesting this because many here teach but don't compete and dislike this advice. You can, to a degree of certainty, know that these people do know what they are doing and can prove that they not only know current steps but can perform them competently. If you want to get more nit-picky check the Scholarship winners at the competitions to scope out their instructors. These people can obviously teach, because they aren't getting pat on the back wins for spending the most money.

I would look at the results in Emerald Ball, Ohio Star, the US Nationals and the Nevada Star Ball. See if any of these have winners who also teach in your area.

These are your best bet especially if you want to compete, but also many of these teachers know how to dial it down and teach without hounding you on technique.

Maybe this will help shorten your search...and for all of you out there about to smack me...I'm not saying that competing dancers are the only good teachers, I'm just saying it is one of the few ways to measure teachers in this art.

My favorite teachers have been local and not competition oriented.

The main one is wonderful at explaining the basic steps AND giving hints and directions for polishing what you already know, so when you take a class again, you can focus on the pointers for improving your execution of the step while beginners are still working on the basic step.

Her private lessons are really a wonderful way to get a boost that is directed at your greatest need as a dancer.

A good teacher may have nothing to do with competition and never mention it.

That said, there are other teachers around that I don't bother going to because while they dance well they do not explain the steps nearly as well as the teacher I like so much.

I'm short and tubby and actually GET COMPLIMENTS on the gracefulness in my dancing! This is due to a good teacher who never wrote me off due to my weight but simply kept on teaching me and giving me suggestions on what to work on at home.

I'll likely never be competition material, but it is so much fun to keep learning and getting better.