You’ve been taking Zumba® classes for a while and now you are ready to become a Zumba® instructor! But what do you do? Where do you go? Well the process of becoming a Zumba® instructor is actually quite simple. Just follow these 4 easy steps!
Locate a training near you:
The first step to becoming a Zumba® instructor is to find an instructor training class. With so many people interested in Zumba®, there are now numerous cities all over the world that offer instructor training. Go to Zumba.com, under “Classes” select “Instructor Trainings”. From there you can select your location to find training sessions near you.
Decide which training to take:
Zumba® offers many different types of training- Basic 1, Basic 2, Toning, Aqua, Gold, Sentao, Kids & Kids Jr, Zumbini, Step, etc. Starting out, you can only take either the Zumba® Basic 1 or Jump Start Gold™ training. These are the only trainings you can take that don’t have any prerequisites.
ZUMBA® BASIC 1: The Zumba® Basic 1 training will license you to teach the traditional Zumba® classes that most of us are used to and is the most common. If you are looking to later receive specialty training, you will want to take the Zumba® Basic 1 training as it is a prerequisite for all specialty trainings.
Note: You are required to take the Zumba® Basic 1 training first BEFORE you take any other type of training. Sometimes you can find weekend trainings that include the Zumba® Basic 1 training as well as some specialty trainings. For example, the Zumba® Education Specialist (ZES- person who puts on the training) may teach Zumba® Basic 1 the first day, then the next day teach trainings for Basic 2, Toning, Kids and Gold. Then you can knock out 5 trainings in one weekend. Just FYI if you are looking for specialized trainings too.
Jump Start Gold™: With the JumpStart Gold™ training, you will receive a one-year Zumba® Basic 1 license and, if you join the Zumba® Instructor Network (ZIN™) at the training, you’ll also receive a Zumba Gold® license. Zumba® Gold is a class designed for active older adults and first time students.
Attend training:
You can expect your training day to last all day- typically from 8 or 9 am until about 4 or 5 pm. Some countries split it up into 2 days. You start out with a Zumba® workout and then transition to the more in-depth training. You will learn how to pick apart a song (intro, verse and chorus), how to count the beats in music, how to cue, Zumba® rules and you will also learn about ZIN™. You are only required to show up and participate. There is no test.
Receive your license:
After you complete your training, your ZES will give you your license and you are ready to go!
That’s it! That’s all you need to do to become a Zumba® instructor! Just find a training, attend the training and receive your license. Easy huh?!
This article has some errors in it. Jump Start Gold includes basic 1 AND Gold training so you get to do either regular Zumba or Gold. You must become a ZIN(Zumba Instructor Network) member and pay your monthly fees to continue to teach Gold. If you join Zin, you get DVD’s and CD’s each month. If you decide NOT to join ZIN, your license to teach regular Zumba is good for one year. After that you have to pay and go to class again. It is a fun to be a Zumba teacher, I love teaching my students. I teach Zumba Gold.
Thank you Bonnie! I will update the article to reflect the Gold info!
I’ve signed up to become an instructor and I can’t wait. Thanks for providing a breakdown of what to expect!