About The DVIDA Student Medal Program

With DVIDA Medal Exams, your students’ success can become your studio’s success. The sky is the limit!

Benefits to the Students
DVIDA Medal exams are a wonderful way to challenge and motivate your private lesson students. Here are just some of the benefits to your students from participating in the medal process:
• The upcoming exam provides a concrete goal and their lessons become structured and focused.
• The syllabus routines help your students to master technique for a wide variety of dance figures.
• Their dance instructor becomes their guide and partner in achieving their goals.
• The examination itself is a thrilling experience. Students perform with the support of their instructors, and with proper preparation, are nearly always successful.
• At the end of the process they will have attained a “medal”, tangible proof that they have attained an objective level of mastery and skill.
• Your students will then learn that real self-confidence comes from having worked towards and met this challenge.
• DVIDA Medal exams are very flexible. Students can participate in their first Medal exam after dancing only a few months.
• Students who are intimidated by competitions still have a way to “challenge themselves.”
• Students who may be overwhelmed by crowds are still able to “perform” for the examiner in a safe and supportive environment.
• There is a great sense of community and bonding among students in your studio who participate in the Medal exams.
• There is no limit to what students can achieve. DVIDA offers Medal exams for all American and International Style dances from Bronze through Gold Levels.
• The Medal Ball after the examinations are over is a great party! In many studios it is the highpoint of the entire year.

Benefits to Your Studio
Medal exams also provide significant benefits to your studio. In no time, student Medal exams can become your major source of revenue and significantly increase your studio’s gross profits. Here is a list of just some of the benefits of DVIDA Medal tests to your studio and staff:
• Students preparing for Medal exams will be motivated to purchase private lessons.
• Dance instructors will have a systematic format for planning private lessons.
• Medal exams will increase the national reputation of your school and attract serious, conscientious students.
• Your instructors will thoroughly master the Medal syllabus up though all the levels.
• Preparing for Medal exams provides a growing sense of excitement in the studio and a structure for your yearly schedule.
• Dance instructors receive extra income and the “thrill” of dancing for a knowledgeable, accomplished, objective examiner.
• Performing successfully on the exams will increase your instructors’ confidence in their dancing and their ability to teach.
• The Medal exams will help your teachers prepare for professional certification exams.
• There will be a real bond between teachers and students for having risen to meet this challenge together!

The Medal Process: DanzSupport Network Will Support You and Your Studio in Achieving Your Goals
In student Medal exams, students dance a routine of syllabus figures with their instructors and are “graded” on their performance by a DVIDA regional examiner. If students successfully complete their routine, they are awarded a “medal" certificate and are eligible to move up to the next level of Medal testing.

We understand that national Medal testing can be a new and daunting experience for many studios. We are here to help! DanzSupport will provide information, materials, and support for you every step of the way. We have spent years developing our Medal system and we believe it can provide significant benefits to every studio.

We can assist your studio in the following areas:
• Preparing your instructors to teach the syllabus.
• Preparing your students to take the exams (guidelines for proper attire, music, how much time to schedule for each examination, etc.)
• Choosing the appropriate examination and number of dances.
• Scheduling the examiner.
• Planning the day for the examiner and your instructors.
• Figuring out the cost to students for Medal “packages” or individual exams.
• Determining how to maximize your net profits and how much revenue you can expect to bring in.
• Helping students with stage fright and performance anxiety.
• Planning the Medal Ball and certificate ceremony.
• Helping students and instructors digest and incorporate the examiners’ feedback.
• Planning the next level of DVIDA Medal exams!

To learn more about the DVIDA Medal Student Medal Programs, call us at 800-851-2813 or email us at Dance Vision.

Linda Staver, owner of Staver Dancesport, Eugene, Oregon

For years, more years that I care to admit, I have been teaching dance. First, as a franchise teacher, then as an independent teacher, and then as a studio owner. As a franchise teacher, I was very limited in my own dance training advancement. While teaching as an independent teacher, researching for new material, new information to share with my students was always a challenge. Over the years, I took private lessons with various instructors and I attended workshop after workshop seeking new content for my classes as well as my own dance development.

I actually don't remember how I discovered Dance Vision, but as I watched their product line grow and develop, I became aware of the structure of the DVIDA syllabus and the DVIDA Medal Programs. At last I found the standardized structure for lesson plans that I so desperately craved. For my private lesson students this was a great catalyst for elevating their desire to learn MORE!

Last fall I started a group Medal class that was extremely successful. We invited Diane Jarmolow to come for the testing process. The "buzz" through the entire studio about a National Examiner coming for this event stimulated more curiosity about Medal Programs.

After the testing, I scheduled time with each of the students to review the test results with them personally. At one of the reviews the student asked, "What is next for us?" My response was, "what do you want to do?" To my surprise they both said most emphatically, "After experiencing the DVIDA Medal Program, we can't imagine taking anything else. So sign us up!" Not only has their dancing improved immensely, but so has their enthusiasm for dance and their desire for more dance training. They and the other students in that first medal group class are sharing their appreciation of the DVIDA Medal Program with the other students and the general community at large. The grapevine of communication for our studio is alive and well! People are now coming to me and requesting a Medal Program for their dance training. So Thank You Dance Vision for making my life as a teacher/studio owner much easier, and much more professional in term of lesson plans, content, and sales. It's great to have a program that virtually sells itself! The results are a gold mine! The potential is unlimited!