What Makes Born To Fly™ Aerial Teacher Trainings Stand Out?

By Julianna Hane

As aerial arts take the country by storm, safe and informed teaching is a must.  With so many teacher trainings out there (and many excellent options, I might add!), how do you know which program will meet your needs and interests? For all the research types out there, Rebekah and I want to share what makes this program different.  That way you can decide if it is a good fit for you.

1.  We have diverse movement backgrounds. 
Both Rebekah and I are dancers, but we have studied so many types of movement including somatics, yoga, ballet, modern dance, acrobatics, Pilates, and Laban Movement Analysis.  It’s so much easier to cue students through skills when you train in various types of movement because your have more tools to work with.

2.  We emphasize concepts.
Yes, we do teach many skills, but we focus on the concepts underlying those skills.  A conceptual framework gives the teacher more tools to teach with, and gives students more opportunities to create their own moves or transitions.  (We like creativity!)  We not only teach you what concepts are, but how to dissect them and weave them into a class.

3.  We dive into mixed level classes.
It’s common for teachers to have a mixed level class at some point.  If you are concept focused (see #1), you’ll have a much easier time challenging students at various levels within the same class session. The live teacher training includes a sample mixed level class so you get a clear picture of that class style.

4.  We offer both linear and global teaching methods.
Our aerial teacher trainings are 50% skill based and 50% teaching methods.  Linear teaching involves step-by-step instruction, and global teaching often poses a problem to solve (see The Aerial Teacher’s Handbook for more).  We like both methods, and since your students may gravitate to one or the other, we offer both in the program.

5.  We include curriculum development in all of our courses.
Knowing how to teach aerial skills is one thing, but framing the skills in a clear flow that progresses over time is a whole different animal.  While we challenge participants to really think about how they want their curriculum to be structured, we also offer guidance along the way.

6.  We offer online modules in correlation with live trainings.
Live trainings are vital to developing as an aerial teacher, but what happens after a full week of immersion?  We like to keep you linked into the community and further developing your teaching skills. The online modules offered through the Born To Fly ™ Certification support your continued growth as a teacher.

Ready to sign up for a training course? Check out our Training Page for Upcoming Events. We’d love to work with you!