Becoming a Certified Teacher with Dance The Medicine
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 through a deeper, more comprehensive training journey. Our programs welcome dancers with varied backgrounds, learning styles, and professional aims.
What is a Certified DTM Teacher?
A Certified DTM Teacher is a dancer who has chosen to embark on a defined program of education, personal practice, and mentorship with Dance The Medicine. While there are common shared requirements 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 teach 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.
Please read the information below for a detailed explanation of what the certification process entails and how to apply. We also recommend that you watch the recorded information call where DTM Founder, Bernice Raabis, explains how the certification process works and what being certified could mean for you.
How Does Being a Certified DTM Teacher 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 Certified DTM Teacher is an optional, extended professional program. If you choose to continue, the individual trainings you have completed will count toward your certification requirements. Certification as a DTM Teacher is achieved through a specific combination of trainings and additional requirements, rather than a single course.
The Certified DTM Teacher Program is more than coursework alone. Because embodiment is at the core of who we are, the program includes practical experience within the DTM community and beyond. This involves serving as part of the team in an assistant role, engaging in a structured mentorship group, continuing your education, and taking steps to facilitate within your own communities. Together, these elements support the development of conscious dance teachers who are not only well trained, but deeply embodied, relational, and experienced in real-world facilitation.
Full professional certification is best suited for those seeking greater depth, long-term professional recognition, alignment with international teaching standards, and those wishing to join the International Conscious Movement Teachers Association (ICMTA).
The Training Program (At a Glance)
The DTM Certification Program 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 across 5 areas of requirement.
1. Core Educational Requirements
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DTM’s Dance Facilitator Training
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Returning to the Facilitator Training as a Level 02 assistant
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The DTM Leadership Program, a 12 month online program.
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The DJ School
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A DTM Immersion Retreat
2. Group Mentorship & Supervision Requirements
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The DTM Leadership Program will include mentorship and supervision.
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The Mentorship Group which meets once per month via Zoom
3. Conscious Dance Exposure Requirements
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400 Overall Conscious Dance Exposure hours
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200 of Training hours with DTM
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80 of your training hours with DTM must be completed in-person
4. Team Participation Requirements
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Built into this process are multiple opportunities for you to assist, facilitate, and/or DJ as part of the team. This practical experience, overseen by the core team, offers significant real-world learning.
5. Practical Experience Requirements
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The certification journey is structured to help you apply and integrate your learning within real-world contexts. This ensures that by the time you achieve certification, you are already implementing your education.
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 Certification Program, graduates qualify to apply for ICMTA membership, supporting international professional recognition.
For a more in-depth understanding please watch this prerecord information call, where Bernice explains the process of becoming a certified DTM teacher and what becoming certified could mean for you.
Please note: a new recording will be available soon.
Next steps: For those who would like to become a certified DTM Teacher
The certification process is by application only. While anyone may take the Dance Facilitator Training and receive a certificate of completion, only those who demonstrate readiness and a deep understanding of the principles taught within the Dance Facilitator Training may enter the full professional certification program
For those new to Dance the Medicine:
Before deciding whether our program is right for you, we encourage you to get to know us and 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. You will find all upcoming Dance facilitator trainings listed here on the Trainings & Events page . Once you have completed this course, you will be able to apply for the DTM Certified Facilitator Program. If you have questions about the application process, please contact us at: info@dancethemedicine.com
For those who have already completed a DTM Facilitator Training:
We’re delighted you’ll be returning to continue your journey with us. Please continue to fill out this form. We will contact you within a week of your application to talk about next steps.