I want to take private dance lessons, but I don't know how to judge how good a teacher is or how much training and education in dance she has had. Are there levels of competency or achievement that I should look for? Are there certificates of achievement that are recognized. I am in South Florida and it seems that every gal and her sister is willing to charge to teach, but I would like to know how I can go about choosing one and deciding if her rates are in line with her experience.

Sometimes it's best to forget about "certificates" or competition results. There are some very good teachers who have never taken an exam, and some "certificated" teachers who have never been on a competition floor.
Instead, take a good, long look at the teacher's other students - is THAT the kind of dancer you want to be? Is that how you want to look? Talk to those students and find out what they say about their teacher.
If competition is your goal, then attend a competition and look at the results of the teacher's students - that can be (but is NOT always) a good indicator of the teacher's capabilities.
Hope you find a good match!

Agree 100%.

Certification only proves a person could pass a test; whether or not they thoroughly know the material they were tested on, or are able to actually impart this knowledge onto a student with results is a different question.

You can pass a college course with full credit with a grade of "C" or better. If I graduated with an A average and someone else graduated with a C average, we'd both have the same certification in our field. Our knowledge of the material would be vastly different, however.

Having gone through a top-notch university and graduate school, I agree in principle with what you say. But that really doesn't help me. I was hoping to learn what various governing bodies evaluate dance teachers and how they signal their evaluations. I was hoping to get some solid answers so I would avoid doing all the legwork myself.

You cannot be certificated or qualified in 'competitive' dancing, so the comparison is meaningless. There are internationally recognised dance teachers associations, and various other routes to recognition of knowledge of technique and teaching ability, but the vast majority of dancers will be supremely unconcerned about a teacher's competetive career, because only a few dancers are interested in competition.

Watching an average competition can be an object lesson in poor technique, lousy floorcraft and couples dancing advanced choreography, hopelessly beyond their ability, whereas a local social dance can contain a handful (among the many) who dance with good technique, style and who are a pleasure to watch.

I'd rather be taught by the teacher of the social dancers than I would of the competitors.

My answer to the question is to become acquainted with some decent dancers, and ask for their recommendation. The oafs that career around the floor executing their double reverse teleswirl with a slip pivot, while knocking over three other couples, are NOT the ones to ask - although they will be the most likely to offer an unsolicited recommendation.

Thank you for your reply. I was hoping to get some specific advice on how other people, governing boards in particular, evaluate a dance teacher. I neither have the time nor the desire to investigate all the dance teachers in this are myself. If there is some way to determine their level of competency, I would welcome that. Their rates are all over the map, and usually set after they "size me up" and decide how much I'll cough up for them. I want some scale, preferably determined by a ballroom dance group, of their abilities as a teacher.

JM

Telemark hits the nail on the head. JayMagoo you should have somewhat of an idea as to what it is you want to learn i.e., social dancing salsa? nightclub 2-step?ballroom and the various levels? if you decidedly know what style/kind of dancing your going to learn - it tends to make looking for a teacher of experience/recommended by others or found by yourself somewhat easier. As Telemark has stated, there are various organizations, certifications, etc., however, a good dancer is not always a good teacher, a good well known competitor/teacher is not always the best for your personal dance goals. Ask around, visit studios, schools, or even try a community college that has group lessons and get a feel for what you yourself are looking for in a dance instructor - not just if the pay is equal to the experience. You may surprise yourself. (-: Happy dancing!

I agree intuitively with what you say, but your answer doesn't help me very much. Certifying bodies in other fields are able to advise us when we want to m make choices, and I was asking what certifying bodies are there and what meanings do their certificates have. I was hoping that going to such information would help me make a choice without having to do all the legwork and investigation myself.
Thanks for your answer.

JM

I can't help you with US certification, but in International Style, you can view the current professional syllabus of the ISTD online. The ISTD considers itself to be the premier dance teaching society, and few would argue, but the IDTA (the other big player) has a syllabus more focused on dance, rather than peripheral knowledge.

The entry level certification for IDTA is Associate Membership, which is by examination only. The range of syllabus figures are pretty much those prescribed for an amateur Bronze Medal (but a much higher level of knowledge and execution is called for, of course), but the scope is really very narrow. A newly qualified Associate, with no wider dance experience, would be a VERY boring partner, because of the limited range of figures they knew. They SHOULD know them like the back of their hand, and be able to give a good practical demonstration of every aspect of the technique associated with them, but they needn't have accumulated any practical teaching experience at all, and it may take them many years before they consider higher level certifications (Licentiate/Fellowship), and they may never progress beyond a single entry-level certification in just one branch: Ballroom OR Latin.

If you look at the current professional syllabus of IDTA for Associate Foxtrot, you will find that the only required figures are:
Feather Step,
Reverse Turn,
Three Step,
Natural Turn,
Impetus Turn,
Reverse Wave,
Weave (after 1-4 Reverse Wave only)
& Change of Direction - that's it!

Jive is even briefer:
Rock Action & Jive Chasses,
Basics in Place and in Fallaway,
Changes of Place,
Link,
Change of Hands Behind Back,
Whip,
Promenade Walks
& American Spin.

It's almost shocking. That's the sort of list that you might brush up on in an afternoon, isn't it?

I'm sure Terrence has view, based on long experience, if he is around...

JayMagoo
Go to ndca.org, link to Directories and then click on member organizations. The list has asterisks by the member organizations that offer certifications.
One of my instructors is going through the certification process with Terpsichore - quite frankly, I could not care less about his "certificate".