Becoming a DTM Certified Dance Facilitator
Dance The Medicine offers different levels of certification because we recognize that students have diverse needs and intentions. Many graduates go on to lead successful dances with a single training, while others choose to pursue full professional certification across all areas we teach. Our programs welcome dancers with varied backgrounds, learning styles, and professional aims.
A DTM Certified Dance Facilitator is a dancer who has chosen to complete a defined pathway of education, practice, and mentorship through Dance The Medicine. While there are shared core elements within the certification process, each facilitator’s pathway is shaped by their unique skills, background, and lived experience.
This certification recognizes professional competency in conscious dance facilitation and related areas, grounding facilitators in the ethos and practices that we at DTM believe support healthy, resourced, and whole dance communities. We are not a modality and do not require you to teach a specific system or method created by us. Instead, we offer conscious dance education in an embodied way, supporting you to bring your own skills, perspectives, and belief systems into your facilitation.
At the heart of our work is embodiment: learning to be embodied yourself, and learning to facilitate from that place. When facilitation is delivered in an embodied way, it naturally invites embodiment in others. In this approach, you are not teaching people what or how to dance, but guiding them into a deeper relationship with their own body—learning to listen, feel, and move in ways that support health and wholeness.
At DTM, we value belonging, integrity, and ethical practice over modality affiliation. Our aim is to support facilitators who lead with authenticity, attunement, and care—guiding others into meaningful dance experiences through their own unique expression and leadership.
What is a DTM Certified Dance Facilitator?
How Does Being a DTM Certified Dance Facilitator Differ from Receiving a Certificate of Completion?
Each Dance The Medicine training provides a certificate of completion recognizing your participation and learning. Many graduates use these certificates to facilitate dances, meet venue requirements, and obtain insurance, depending on local regulations. These certificates are valid on their own and do not require further training unless you choose to continue your education with us.
Becoming a DTM Certified Dance Facilitator is an optional, extended professional pathway. If you choose to continue, the individual trainings you have completed count toward the education requirements for certification. Full certification is achieved by completing a specialized combination of DTM trainings, rather than a single course.
Certification, however, is more than coursework alone. Because embodiment is at the core of who we are, the pathway also includes practical experience within the DTM community and beyond. This involves serving as part of the team in an assistant role, engaging in mentorship, offering mentorship to peers, and taking steps to facilitate within one’s own communities. Together, these elements support the development of facilitators who are not only well-trained, but deeply embodied, relational, and experienced in real-world facilitation.
Certification is best suited for those who want additional depth, long-term professional recognition, alignment with international teaching standards, and those wishing to join the International Conscious Movement Teachers Association (ICMTA).
The Training Pathway (At a Glance)
The DTM Certification Pathway is designed to support both professional development and personal growth. It includes coursework, applied practice over time, mentorship, and real-world experience within the DTM community and beyond.
Coursework Requirements
Core Required Trainings:
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Complete a Dance Facilitator Training (online or in person)
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Return to the Dance Facilitator Training a second time in an assistant role
(referred to as “Level 02”)
Please note: One of your two facilitator trainings must be completed in person
One additional DTM training, such as:
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Dance Community Leadership Training
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Ecstatic DJ School
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DJ Camp
Attendance at one DTM Immersion Retreat:
This can be completed as:
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a participant
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an assistant
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an organizer (bringing DTM to your community to host the retreat)
Assisting Requirements
In addition to coursework:
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Assist at least one DTM event outside the Level 02 assistant role
Mentorship & Community
You will participate in:
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a monthly online meeting with other certification students
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two DTM Alumni Meet-Ups as a facilitator
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quarterly check-ins with a DTM team mentor
Practical Experience
You’ll take steps toward:
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facilitating, organizing, and/or DJing conscious dance events
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or incorporating conscious dance facilitation into your life, community, or professional work
Hour Requirements
You must satisfy the following time requirements:
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400 hours participating in conscious dance events/classes
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150 hours of DTM training
Important: at least 75 of these hours must be completed in person
These requirements mirror the standards of the International Conscious Movement Teachers Association (ICMTA), whose mission is to build a strong, diverse, and ethical peer community of conscious movement teachers.
Upon completion of the DTM pathway, graduates are qualified to apply for membership with the ICMTA, supporting international professional recognition.
Next steps: How to Begin the DTM Certified Facilitator Pathway
The certification process is by application. While anyone may take the Dance Facilitator Training and receive a certificate of completion, only those who demonstrate readiness may enter the full professional certification pathway.
For those new to Dance the Medicine:
Before deciding whether certification is right for you, we encourage you to first experience our work. Please visit the Trainings & Events page to decide which retreat or training you would like to begin with.
For those who want to fast-track the process:
If you already know certification is your goal, we recommend enrolling in the Dance Facilitator Training, either live online or in person. Certification requires completing this course twice, and at least one of those times must be in person.
Once you have completed this course, you will be able to apply for the DTM Certified Facilitator Pathway. If you have questions about the application process, please contact us at: info@dancethemedicine.com
For those who have already completed a Facilitator Training
We’re delighted you’ll be returning to continue your journey with us. Please apply now to begin your certification application.