What It’s Like to Be a Dance Fitness Instructor

I spent much of my childhood in dance school. I didn’t stick with it. At 10, I gave up ballet for basketball, but once a dancer, always a dancer. So as I entered into my career as an instructor, dance fitness seemed like a natural fit. If you’re thinking about taking this path, you’re in luck. Here’s what it’s like to be a dance fitness instructor:

Technique is Secondary.

You don’t have to be a dancer or even be great at dancing in order to be a dance fitness instructor. Your goal is to make the class physically challenging and fun. You’re ahead of the curve if you can:

• Move to the beat, also known as teaching “on-tempo”
• Teach while dancing (which is much harder than it looks)
• Learn or create choreography fairly quickly

Gym Members Don’t Have Dancer Goals.

Although anyone who attends a dance class would like to look good while dancing, their biggest goals are actually to:

1. Burn a ton of calories
2. Have LOADS of fun

Your ability to keep movements simple and tailor them to fit all levels of fitness will be key in building up your classes and giving members a good experience. Just remember that if you’re interested in teaching at a fitness studio, you’ll need to be qualified as a group fitness instructor.

You Are Constantly Performing.

Although your workouts should always be student-focused, the reality is that many of them show up to watch YOU dance. Think about it. When you dance, your vibration skyrockets! You EXUDE energy, style, confidence, and (more often than not) a whole lot of sex appeal. So don’t be surprised, when you’re teaching and your classes seem like this:

• Your students’ level of intensity = 60-75%
• Your level of intensity = 90-100%

That leads me to another point…

You Burn So Many Calories

I once tracked the amount of calories I burned during an intermediate song while teaching U-Jam Fitness. When I did the math at the end, I realized that I blasted through 1,000+ calories in 60 minutes. Yikes! No wonder I was hungry all the time… Here’s what my routine looked like:

• Three to five 60 minute dance classes each week.
• 1-4 hours of prep time per week, learning or reviewing choreography

You Have So Much Fun

At the end of the day, being a dance fitness instructor is just plain fun! You get to earn a living leading a 60 minute dance party several times a week. Although it definitely requires effort, you leave each class feeling like you shared the best part of yourself with your students. And they leave feeling connected to others who love to dance just like they do.

What has your experience of dance fitness classes been like? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

Keep dancing 🙂

Nadia

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