FAQs
When I’m doing my teaching, does the student need to be an aerial newbie? Or can it be someone who already knows some aerial?
When you launch out to teach your very first aerial class, we are happy to see a variety of scenarios. Here are some ways to get your first class going:
(1) Be an assistant for another teaching. This helps take a load of stress off from planning that first class knowing that an experienced instructor will be there to run most of it. You can start to cue students through the skills and perhaps lead warm-up or cool-down, etc. For Level 1/Intro certificates, you can have up to half of your hours be hours that you were assisting another instructor.
(2) Get a "mock" class going with students or teachers who already know aerial. Maybe they even know the material you are teaching but they can pretend like they don't for the sake of you learning how to teach. This can be wonderful because they can offer feedback on your cues. While we are flexible for Level 1/Intro Certificates, we recommend that you eventually go out and get some real newbies. But that leads us to the next idea...
(3) Get a friend, partner, etc and offer them a free trial class. It helps to start teaching 1-1 as you first get some practice and leading them through the material and cueing. For Level 1/Intro Certificates, you can have ALL your hours be private lessons. There are no requirements to teach classes with multiple people at the beginning level. However...
(4) When you feel ready, start small with your first class. Invite members of the public to take a free class and let them know that you are a teacher-in-training. This is best done in conjunction with a studio who has a master-teacher who is there in oversight. If you don't have that, one of our Master Teachers can zoom in to provide you with oversight, or at minimum, you will be recording your instruction and sending it in for feedback. And you won't start this until you feel ready and your lesson has been approved by your Master Teacher.
One thing to keep in mind: For all of our certificates, we require that you get practice teaching, so please plan to start teaching when you sign up for our program. Get ready to film/record about half of your classes and send them our way for review. Please get permission from your students to be recorded. If you are filming minors, please have their parents sign a release letting them know that the video will be used for teacher training purposes.
Does Born to Fly Teacher Trainings cover rigging information?
The answer, in short, is no. We used to cover rigging information, but here's what changed our mind:
(1) We were not interested in becoming certified riggers and we were starting to offer too much information in an area where we were not experts. We would much rather stick to educating in topics that we have become experts at. So, what we do instead is that we recommend that you seek out a rigging course from a professional rigger.
(2) We did simplify the information down to teaching what all teachers should know about how to operate equipment at a studio, but we found that most aerialists already had the knowledge that we were teaching because local studios were good at teaching their teachers what they needed to know for care of the equipment in that particular space. It didn't make sense for us to teach how we rig at our local studio, when it wasn't going to be where the teacher will be teaching.
(3) Thankfully, most equipment these days can be bought from aerial vendors who specialize in load-testing equipment and making sure that it's aerial-ready. Places like Vertical Art Dance, Aerial Essentials and Firetoys are all fabulous at what they do. Back in the day, it was vital that we taught rigging because these places didn't exist like they do now! We used to teach where to find equipment and how to know it's quality, but with places specializing in this current era, that information is not needed as much. Also, on that note, certain vendors such as Vertical Art Dance release educational videos on how to properly use their equipment and they can even teach you how to tie knots, set-up a pulley system or whatever your customized rigging needs may be!
(4) After having said all that, I would be amiss if I didn't mention that we do have a rigging lecture from Brett Copes on the AerialDancing.com video library. If you are looking for general information on rigging, that's also a great place to start! See the next question for some general guidelines as well.
So, what is a "safe" set-up?
The best case scenario is that you are partnered with a local studio. In fact, we typically partner with studio to train their instructors and this is the most common scenario. But no matter where your set-up is located, keep reading for our safety standards!
We require that all teachers who will be partnering with us to receive online training have access to a safe set-up, so let's define that! We look for the following qualities:
(1) The rig itself is sound:
-- The attachment point is rated for aerial. A good rule of thumb is 2,000-5,000 lbs for the load capacity. This takes into account the fact that aerialists will put shock loads on their system, and we need a safety factor to be present. So, if an aerialist who weights 170 can easily put a shock load of 400-500 pounds (I've seen as high as 800 lbs!) on their equipment, and 5 is a good safety ratio, then 2,000-5,000 makes a lot of sense to be the range where we want our equipment to be rated for.
-- The apparatus comes from an approved aerial vendor. They load-test all their equipment and make sure it is safe for aerialists. All attachments are rated for aerial, and equipment has been checked over and inspected regularly for wear and tear. Carabineers are double checked when attached, and properly fastened, etc.
(2) There is a suitable mat for aerial work. The crash mat must be at least 6 inches, 8 inches is preferred. A great place to start shopping is Norberts or MatsMatsMats.
(3) Never practice alone. There is always a safety spotter present. This person is available in case of emergency. If you holler that you are stuck, can they come help assist? Is there a clear plan for what to do if you were to get stuck at the highest point on your apparatus -- could they lower you down?
(4) The person training with us has a good general understanding of aerial already. No one coming into this program is still learning the basics of aerial. That has been established, and they already have a strong self-practice.
Does Born to Fly Teacher Trainings cover topics related to the business side of teaching such as waivers, insurance, what-if scenarios if an injury happens?
We desire that all our instructors have safe practices at the top of the list, so I'm glad you're asking this question!
Unfortunately, we won't help much when it comes to writing a waiver or providing you with insurance. The reason for this is mainly because it is outside our area of expertise. This walks the line of acting like a lawyer, which is the correct professional when it comes to putting together a waiver or release form. While we always like to give friendly advice, we are careful about sticking to our lane in terms of what we offer training for. We WILL talk about counterindications and how to respond to various background of incoming students, but we will not be putting together a medical questionnaire form for you, as this oversteps our line of expertise.
On the topic of insurance..
We can say though that in the past, we have had teachers graduate from our program and submit their certificates to their insurance companies and have received discounts on their insurance. It would be a good idea to ask your insurance company if this is possible with a Born to Fly Certificate*.
*If you need a Born to Fly Certificate to be for insurance purpose or a studio is requesting one, you can get one after satisfactorily completing our RTAP process x2 after completing a full training (live or online). SEE MORE INFO HERE.
Our goal is to develop you into a highly sought-after, knowledgeable and SAFE instructor. Because this has always been our primary goal, we have been recognized by some insurance companies who recommend (or even require) certifications, but we cannot guarantee it.
Which insurance companies cover aerial arts are constantly changing, and with all that we already do, it would be impossible to keep up with insurance company news. If you are looking for insurance, we recommend joining aerial groups on Facebook for lively discussions where this kind of information (and much more up-to-date info) is shared in the aerial industry. We recommend searching for groups that cater to aerial instructors and studio owners. In fact, the Born to Fly Teacher Training Program has it's own secret Facebook group that you get to join once you start the program. Ask about it if you'd like to join and we'll get you in! Great place to reach out for questions as you go.
On the topic of "what-if" scenarios...
Please note that we do require that you receive a CPR/First Aid Certification in order to get certified through the Born to Fly Program. This is because we want you to be prepared for any "what-if" emergencies.
Our focus in the teacher trainings will primarily be how to use safe progressions and teaching practices that any incidents will be extremely rare. However, it is ignorant to pretend that nothing will ever happen, so I'm glad you're thinking about this! We will talk about best practices in terms of classroom management if an emergency happens, but again, we will stick to the topic in terms of how it relates to your teaching. An example of what will not be covered in the training: how to fill out an incident report which your studio and insurance may require, etc. Training for how emergencies are handled, to some degree, will be different at every studio, and we recommend working with your local studio on this topic. We are happy to answer more personalized questions on this topic (or others!) through personalized mentoring. You can always purchase those hours here.
When I’m doing my teaching, does the student need to be an aerial newbie? Or can it be someone who already knows some aerial?
When you launch out to teach your very first aerial class, we are happy to see a variety of scenarios. Here are some ways to get your first class going:
(1) Be an assistant for another teaching. This helps take a load of stress off from planning that first class knowing that an experienced instructor will be there to run most of it. You can start to cue students through the skills and perhaps lead warm-up or cool-down, etc. For Level 1/Intro certificates, you can have up to half of your hours be hours that you were assisting another instructor.
(2) Get a "mock" class going with students or teachers who already know aerial. Maybe they even know the material you are teaching but they can pretend like they don't for the sake of you learning how to teach. This can be wonderful because they can offer feedback on your cues. While we are flexible for Level 1/Intro Certificates, we recommend that you eventually go out and get some real newbies. But that leads us to the next idea...
(3) Get a friend, partner, etc and offer them a free trial class. It helps to start teaching 1-1 as you first get some practice and leading them through the material and cueing. For Level 1/Intro Certificates, you can have ALL your hours be private lessons. There are no requirements to teach classes with multiple people at the beginning level. However...
(4) When you feel ready, start small with your first class. Invite members of the public to take a free class and let them know that you are a teacher-in-training. This is best done in conjunction with a studio who has a master-teacher who is there in oversight. If you don't have that, one of our Master Teachers can zoom in to provide you with oversight, or at minimum, you will be recording your instruction and sending it in for feedback. And you won't start this until you feel ready and your lesson has been approved by your Master Teacher.
One thing to keep in mind: For all of our certificates, we require that you get practice teaching, so please plan to start teaching when you sign up for our program. Get ready to film/record about half of your classes and send them our way for review. Please get permission from your students to be recorded. If you are filming minors, please have their parents sign a release letting them know that the video will be used for teacher training purposes.
Does Born to Fly Teacher Trainings cover rigging information?
The answer, in short, is no. We used to cover rigging information, but here's what changed our mind:
(1) We were not interested in becoming certified riggers and we were starting to offer too much information in an area where we were not experts. We would much rather stick to educating in topics that we have become experts at. So, what we do instead is that we recommend that you seek out a rigging course from a professional rigger.
(2) We did simplify the information down to teaching what all teachers should know about how to operate equipment at a studio, but we found that most aerialists already had the knowledge that we were teaching because local studios were good at teaching their teachers what they needed to know for care of the equipment in that particular space. It didn't make sense for us to teach how we rig at our local studio, when it wasn't going to be where the teacher will be teaching.
(3) Thankfully, most equipment these days can be bought from aerial vendors who specialize in load-testing equipment and making sure that it's aerial-ready. Places like Vertical Art Dance, Aerial Essentials and Firetoys are all fabulous at what they do. Back in the day, it was vital that we taught rigging because these places didn't exist like they do now! We used to teach where to find equipment and how to know it's quality, but with places specializing in this current era, that information is not needed as much. Also, on that note, certain vendors such as Vertical Art Dance release educational videos on how to properly use their equipment and they can even teach you how to tie knots, set-up a pulley system or whatever your customized rigging needs may be!
(4) After having said all that, I would be amiss if I didn't mention that we do have a rigging lecture from Brett Copes on the AerialDancing.com video library. If you are looking for general information on rigging, that's also a great place to start! See the next question for some general guidelines as well.
So, what is a "safe" set-up?
The best case scenario is that you are partnered with a local studio. In fact, we typically partner with studio to train their instructors and this is the most common scenario. But no matter where your set-up is located, keep reading for our safety standards!
We require that all teachers who will be partnering with us to receive online training have access to a safe set-up, so let's define that! We look for the following qualities:
(1) The rig itself is sound:
-- The attachment point is rated for aerial. A good rule of thumb is 2,000-5,000 lbs for the load capacity. This takes into account the fact that aerialists will put shock loads on their system, and we need a safety factor to be present. So, if an aerialist who weights 170 can easily put a shock load of 400-500 pounds (I've seen as high as 800 lbs!) on their equipment, and 5 is a good safety ratio, then 2,000-5,000 makes a lot of sense to be the range where we want our equipment to be rated for.
-- The apparatus comes from an approved aerial vendor. They load-test all their equipment and make sure it is safe for aerialists. All attachments are rated for aerial, and equipment has been checked over and inspected regularly for wear and tear. Carabineers are double checked when attached, and properly fastened, etc.
(2) There is a suitable mat for aerial work. The crash mat must be at least 6 inches, 8 inches is preferred. A great place to start shopping is Norberts or MatsMatsMats.
(3) Never practice alone. There is always a safety spotter present. This person is available in case of emergency. If you holler that you are stuck, can they come help assist? Is there a clear plan for what to do if you were to get stuck at the highest point on your apparatus -- could they lower you down?
(4) The person training with us has a good general understanding of aerial already. No one coming into this program is still learning the basics of aerial. That has been established, and they already have a strong self-practice.
Does Born to Fly Teacher Trainings cover topics related to the business side of teaching such as waivers, insurance, what-if scenarios if an injury happens?
We desire that all our instructors have safe practices at the top of the list, so I'm glad you're asking this question!
Unfortunately, we won't help much when it comes to writing a waiver or providing you with insurance. The reason for this is mainly because it is outside our area of expertise. This walks the line of acting like a lawyer, which is the correct professional when it comes to putting together a waiver or release form. While we always like to give friendly advice, we are careful about sticking to our lane in terms of what we offer training for. We WILL talk about counterindications and how to respond to various background of incoming students, but we will not be putting together a medical questionnaire form for you, as this oversteps our line of expertise.
On the topic of insurance..
We can say though that in the past, we have had teachers graduate from our program and submit their certificates to their insurance companies and have received discounts on their insurance. It would be a good idea to ask your insurance company if this is possible with a Born to Fly Certificate*.
*If you need a Born to Fly Certificate to be for insurance purpose or a studio is requesting one, you can get one after satisfactorily completing our RTAP process x2 after completing a full training (live or online). SEE MORE INFO HERE.
Our goal is to develop you into a highly sought-after, knowledgeable and SAFE instructor. Because this has always been our primary goal, we have been recognized by some insurance companies who recommend (or even require) certifications, but we cannot guarantee it.
Which insurance companies cover aerial arts are constantly changing, and with all that we already do, it would be impossible to keep up with insurance company news. If you are looking for insurance, we recommend joining aerial groups on Facebook for lively discussions where this kind of information (and much more up-to-date info) is shared in the aerial industry. We recommend searching for groups that cater to aerial instructors and studio owners. In fact, the Born to Fly Teacher Training Program has it's own secret Facebook group that you get to join once you start the program. Ask about it if you'd like to join and we'll get you in! Great place to reach out for questions as you go.
On the topic of "what-if" scenarios...
Please note that we do require that you receive a CPR/First Aid Certification in order to get certified through the Born to Fly Program. This is because we want you to be prepared for any "what-if" emergencies.
Our focus in the teacher trainings will primarily be how to use safe progressions and teaching practices that any incidents will be extremely rare. However, it is ignorant to pretend that nothing will ever happen, so I'm glad you're thinking about this! We will talk about best practices in terms of classroom management if an emergency happens, but again, we will stick to the topic in terms of how it relates to your teaching. An example of what will not be covered in the training: how to fill out an incident report which your studio and insurance may require, etc. Training for how emergencies are handled, to some degree, will be different at every studio, and we recommend working with your local studio on this topic. We are happy to answer more personalized questions on this topic (or others!) through personalized mentoring. You can always purchase those hours here.
What makes Born to Fly™ unique?
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Our top priority is to support teachers in using safe and effective teaching methods that better serve students and elevate the level of professionalism in the field. We recognize that aerial teaching is its own art form, and provide tools to help instructors maximize both their teaching and personal practice in the aerial arts.
What is the Born to Fly™ Teacher Network? This is the best part of getting training from us. We aren't a one-time train-and-drop shop. We are here to support your growth, and that means continual growth, as an aerial instructor. We partner with high-quality aerial instructors to offer follow-up support that doesn't stop when the live training is done. Trainees can continue their education through mentorships, video feedback, and supplemental courses. We also offer credit for trainings completed with industry leaders including Paper Doll Militia (fabric, trapeze, and rope) and Circus Doc (Dr. Emily Scherb). There are two ways to enter the network:
Who leads the trainings? Born to Fly™ Master Trainers have worked personally with Rebekah Leach, contributing to the aerial manuals and video library on AerialDancing.com. We have trainings available at our headquarters in Castle Rock, CO as well as through providers around the globe. Our master trainers are true innovators in the field. In addition to extensive experience in the aerial industry, our master trainers also hold certifications through other organizations like American Council on Exercise (an NCCA accredited program), as well as registrations with the Yoga Alliance. Some of our trainers are also K-12 Certified Educators. How are providers selected? Our providers are chosen based on their proven excellence in aerial arts teaching. Our first group of providers are teachers and performers we have known throughout our years in the industry and have a proven record of excellence. Second, we have met some excellent teachers through our teacher training program, and have invited instructors to become master trainers in their area of expertise. Approved providers must meet the “Mastery” level of instruction (on their specific apparatus and level) on our quality assessment rubric. Who created the course content? It's been a wonderful collaboration of the best minds in the industry. Each course references a manual written by Rebekah Leach, founder of Born to Fly™ Productions and AerialDancing.com. We highly emphasize creativity and solving puzzles in the teaching methodology, which gives beginners and advanced beginners plenty of material to get them strong and ready to advance to the next level. Rebekah Leach designed the fabric and sling curriculum, and Julianna Hane, author of the Aerial Teacher's Handbook, designed the trapeze and hoop courses based on her background as a dance professor and curriculum developer. Do all providers offer the same trainings, or are they all different? Each provider runs their own teacher training under their own name, and we award credit toward a Born to Fly™ certificate. All providers follow our core standards and organizational structure for content delivery. This structure allows us to maintain a high standard of instruction while also leaving room for each trainer's unique teaching style. Each provider is approved by apparatus and level of specialty based on their years of experience and record of excellence in the industry. What is the difference between provider trainings and home base trainings? Born to Fly™ has its headquarters at AerialWorks in Castle Rock, CO. We run trainings at this space all summer and periodically throughout the year, where Julianna Hane is the primary instructor. AerialWorks is the best place for us since it’s a fully functioning aerial studio and laboratory. Providers are independent instructors and studios who share our vision for high quality teacher training with influences from dance, yoga, Pilates, circus, and other movement forms. Providers meet our standards for mastery in their specific area of expertise, and follow our core standards for course organization and content for consistency across the board. While each provider brings their unique teaching style and perspective to the table, we all share in the same core philosophies that aerial arts instruction should be safe and accessible to people from all walks of life. Which organization accredits your program? Currently, there is no official accreditation body in the aerial arts in the United States. If there were, we’d be a part of it! Our master trainers are experienced aerial instructors, and/or studio owners who have proven themselves in the industry. Some master trainers hold certifications through NCCA (National Council on Certifying Agencies) accredited programs like the American Council on Exercise, and some hold a 200-hour teacher registration through the Yoga Alliance. Several instructors are current or former K-12 Certified Educators. Julianna Hane, Director of Training, is an active member of the American Circus Educators Organization and presents at their conferences. Our master trainers also create resources for aerial teachers (books, videos, etc.) in collaboration with AerialDancing.com. I'd like to host a training at my studio. What are the costs involved? Please view the Host a Training page for specifics. How can I get more information? Contact us any time with questions, or let us know what your interests are. We are excited to get the opportunity to work with you! |