Certification
Do you offer classes or workshops for people in the community to become pole certified?
Not at this time. We feel that in most cases, charging a person $500-$3,000 to say that they have a certification that allows them to be an authority and instructor in pole dance or any other dance/fitness is IMMORAL and UNETHICAL.
If a person has a background in dance or fitness instruction and/or years of training, we will teach them how to instruct classes in pole dance or any other unique niche class that we offer for the purpose of instructing at our studio only. If you don't have a background, you can still be taught, but you will have a long way and several years to go.
We are not interested in taking your money to give you a one day to one week crash course in our field of expertise for several reasons:
1. You will not and can not possibly learn what takes many years of experience in one day to one week's time, no matter how talented you are.
2. Our studio can not be held responsible for having certified those mentioned (crash coursers) who truely are not formally educated, thus allowing them to act as an authority in our field.
3. It is morally wrong to take that much money in exchange for a simple workshop and a home printed piece of paper that cannot take the place of a real education. PERIOD.
Is your studio pole certified through (insert name) Celebrity or (insert name) other pole studio?
A studio itself cannot be certified, because that would mean that every teacher in the studio (past, present, and future) has paid $ through (said name).
Would-be teachers who wish to take crash course certifications can contact studios or individuals who claim to certify, and that person can get a badge and home printed piece of paper for the right price. This paper would state that (insert name) says that you have the authority to teach classes. You may not even have to attend a class at all, if you find the right online workshop. You may be able to send them the money and get the paper. Sounds legitimate, right?
What is the difference between a certified studio
and a non-certified studio?
A certified instructor has simply paid someone who claims to certify people as instructors under their name (individual or business). This certification may be well known through the pole community, or not known at all. But regardless of what the education was, if any, this instructor can now claim to be certified. There are no regulations, rules, or a governing body over our field at this time, so ANYONE can take your money and print you a certification.
Non-certified studios rely on qualification, rather than certification for credentials. You can be certified and still lack quality.
What does a certification badge on someone's
website mean to you?
Nothing. It just sounds good.
Will you train me to teach and show me how to run a pole studio, so that I can open my own business and call it
(insert name's pole studio?)
No, we ask that those interested in opening a pole, burlesque, or any other form of sensual dance studio in the state of Oklahoma are honest, moral, and ethical. We ask that they let us know if they are interested in opening a studio before attending any classes at Teaze. We will go over the options with them on franchising with Teaze. Please refrain from asking personal questions about our business's operations during this time. Until contracts are signed, no personal details will be offered.
If franchising is not of interest to them, then we do not allow the person to take classes or receive instructor training at our studio. You will have to figure out how to open and operate your business on your own, just like we had to! We are in the process of franchising and opening other locations in Oklahoma. Franchisees have the opportunity to learn the business inside and out. You would receive training on everything from business operations to class instruction and everything in between.
A page on franchising with Teaze will be added to our website soon.
But yoga and pilates have well respected certification programs. Are you saying pole does not?
Pole dance/fitness as an exercise discipline is much younger than yoga and pilates. Even though there are many studios and individuals who certify, none of them are well known as household names like "Stott Pilates" is. We are not saying that Teaze will never obtain certifications for it's instructors, but certainly not until the certifications become better known and that certification would have to offer an excellent program. It is unlikely that we will become certified under another pole studio who may grow their business into Oklahoma. Why pay a competitor, who has the same credentials as us? That doesn't make much sense.
Every studio is different. They may appear to offer the same things, but our studio and others are owned and operated by professional, college educated business women, who happen to have a dance or fitness background. These studios tend to offer classes for any woman, who wants something unique, fun, and even sexy out of their workout.
Other studios are operated by exotic dancers without dance technique, who teach other women how to make more money at their trade. There is nothing wrong with that, but we want to inform you that every studio is a different experience. It pays to do your research, ask questions about credentials, and find out what the goals of the studio that you are looking into are. You will be much more satisfied with your experience if you do!