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Teaching Degrees
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (philtex44@aol.com | 713-248-2299)
- Date Published:
- March 28, 2011
USISTD Examination Study Groups
Imperial Society of teachers of Dancing (ISTD) Fellow and Examiner Phillip Stephens is conducting courses on preparation for acquiring dance teaching certification and judging credentials. The classes have been underway for some weeks now with a goal of taking the examinations during early July.
At the moment, we have ISTD Fellow and Examiner Sherry Novak scheduled to be in the studio and conducting various exams and tests on July 8, 9 & 10, 2011. The student tests will be followed by a short coaching session in which Ms Novak will go over various points she feels you would benefit from studying in depth prior to taking future exams. In the case of a show routine evaluation, Ms Novak will provide guidance on improving the overall quality of the routine.
Students may participate in the July examinations through the USISTD Medal Test Program. There is a range of tests from beginners through highly accomplished dancers, so there is a place for everyone. Some of those tests will just be a critique of your dance skills that will provide guidance on what to work toward during future lessons. Some of the tests will actually pass students to the next level, such as from Bronze to Silver, from Silver to Gold, etc. Anybody can participate in these tests and, in many of them, you are not required to dance a particular syllabus. But, if you want to receive a USISTD Medal, you must use the ISTD or USISTD syllabus appropriate to the dance style you will be testing in. For more information, contact Phillip Stephens on 713-248-2299 or via philtex44@aol.com
Professionals have a wide range of tests available to them. Every test involves dancing routines comprised of steps from the syllabus being tested, and you must dance every dance in that syllabus. They can go for the Professional Medals where they just dance the syllabus material and receive a grade and a critique. Some people do this once as their natural gender and then again as the opposite gender, thus receiving a double medal award. Next would be the Student Teacher level in which demonstrations of various technical aspects of the figures must be shown. This would involve saying where the feet go, how much turn is made, how to lead and things of that nature.
Most of the people studying in the Professional Degree Certification Examination courses will be seeking academic qualifications as teachers that can be registered with the National Dance Council of America (NDCA) as judging credentials. This requires in-depth knowledge of all figures in the syllabus as both man and lady. Candidates must be able to provide answers about teaching methods, entries and exits for figures, different amounts of turns, and many other technical aspects of each figure.
If you are interested in this type of training, get in touch with Phillip Stephens via the contact details listed above. Even if you can't get ready for the July exams, there will be more training sessions in the future and you might as well get started now to be ahead of the game. The degrees atained though this examinations process are recognized around the world and are coveted by teachers everywhere. The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing was formed in 1904 and has grown steadily until, today, it is recognized as the world's leading dance examinations board. I am fortunate that I was able to meet the exacting standards required by the ISTD to enable me to become an Examiner for that organization. I look forward to helping others achieve academic success in their dancing careers.
Happy Dancing and remember:
www.the-dance-place.com is also www.theplace2dance.com
