Teaching

Scottish Country Dancing appeals to all levels of ability. With a good teacher, it is easy to pick up the basics - you just need a bit of rhythm and an ability to count to eight. As your experience increases, you can learn new formations, improve your footwork, and expand your repertoire of dances and dancing (there are over thirteen thousand dances catalogued in the DanceData database).

The RSCDS helps at all stages of a dancing career. Your local branch will run classes at various levels of ability. Branches all over the world (well almost) run workshops where you can improve your technique, meet new people and pick up new ideas. You can have your dancing ability rated by taking the Proficiency Assessment. You can even train to become a teacher yourself.

To ensure a consistently high standard of teaching, the RSCDS has developed a programme of examinations, which all teachers of branch classes must have passed. There are two exam phases - Part 1, then after a two-year period of gaining practical experience there is Part 2 where success results in gaining the formal Teacher's Certificate. Courses entail at least 30 hours of training as well as practical coaching on how best to teach and manage a class.