How to Become Certified to Teach Zumba Dance Exercise
"Ditch the workout, join the party!" exhorts the motto for Zumba Fitness, which sells dance exercise DVDs and clothing from its Hollywood, Florida, headquarters. Many gym members become intrigued enough with the joy and energy of this Latin music-based dance exercise to want to become certified to teach Zumba themselves. You can take a certification workshop either for fun--to see how a master trainer approaches Zumba--or to begin teaching Zumba yourself.
"Usually workshops have at least 75 people, maybe 10 people out of that will teach," says Zumba teacher Adelicia Villagaray, who leads around 20 classes per week in Baltimore, Maryland. "It really does depend on what you want to do. It's fun to throw down 200 bucks and go for it. It depends on the instructor what becomes of the workshop."
Instructions
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Sign-up
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Visit the "Instructor Training" section of Zumba.com (see "The Zumba Academy" in "Resources"). If you are not currently an instructor, you can take either a Basic or a Gold workshop.
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Select either a Basic or Gold workshop. The Gold workshop covers more types of dance moves and may prepare you more thoroughly to teach.
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Navigate to the "New Instructor" dropboxes at the bottom of the page. Search on either the "Basic" or "Zumba Gold" type of workshop and "Available" status to hide sold-out workshops. Sign up early to get the best rate for your workshop. As of 2009, prices range from $215 to $270 depending on how much in advance you sign up. Provide credit card information to pay for your workshop.
At the Workshop
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Bring towels, a change of clothes, water and lunch and snacks to your workshop. Zumba Fitness will send you an email a few weeks before the workshop reminding you what to bring. Wear dance sneakers.
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Observe your master trainer's teaching style during the 1 hour and 10 minute Zumba dance that kicks off the workshop, typically at about 8 a.m. You'll be working until 6 p.m., with a break for lunch.
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Learn how to do basic steps for the building blocks of Zumba--salsa, cumbia, reggaeton and merengue--as well as the tango and other steps if you take a Gold workshop.
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Work with the group you are assigned to toward the end of the workshop to take a song, choreograph the music and teach it to the entire class.
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Retrieve your certificate at the end of the workshop. You'll be called up on the basis of the first letter of your last name.
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Tips & Warnings
Try Zumba Gold as your first workshop. "I recommend for someone who's never done it before to do Zumba Gold," Villegaray says. "In Gold, they do a little bit of belly dancing, flamenco, different styles, so you have something to do a starter class with. If you do Zumba Basic, you'll learn merengue, salsa, cumbia and reggaeton and how to teach four different moves for each dance."
Proceed to additional workshops, which include Basic 2, Toning, Aqua and Zumbatomic, to round out your knowledge of how to teach Zumba. Basic 2 teaches belly dance, flamenco, tango and samba. Toning adds weighted sticks to build strength. Aqua moves the party to the pool, and Zumbatomic modifies the dance program for ages 4 to 12.
Consider joining ZIN, the Zumba Instructor Network, if you end up teaching five or more classes per week. ZIN costs $30 per month (2009 prices) and provides you with monthly DVDs with nine songs, including choreography ideas.
Be prepared to extensively prepare on your own for your first class, which requires more understanding of Zumba and teaching than a one-day workshop can provide. "They're called training workshops because there are no tests or exam. With Zumba, they break down certain steps, and at very end, if your name is A-M, they say, 'here's your certificate.' It's not so much a certification as a license to teach Zumba classes," says Villagaray.
"The instructor makes the class work," she says. "Once you are out teaching, it all depends on the instructor themselves. They kind of determine whether their class is going to be popular, they have to put work into it and they have to find their niche."
Many gyms and health clubs will require, in addition to your Zumba certificate, CPR and Group Fitness certification so you can handle emergencies that may arise in class. Dance studios and recreation centers may not require these additional levels of preparation.
