About This Career

Creates new dance routines. Rehearses performance of routines. May direct and stage presentations.

This career is part of the Arts, Audio-Video Technology and Communications cluster Performing Arts pathway.

A person in this career:

• Directs rehearsals to instruct dancers in dance steps and in techniques to achieve desired effects.
• Teaches students, dancers, and other performers about rhythm and interpretive movement.
• Chooses the music, sound effects, or spoken narrative to accompany a dance.
• Advises dancers on standing and moving properly, teaching correct dance techniques to help prevent injuries.
• Designs dances for individual dancers, dance companies, musical theatre, opera, fashion shows, film, television productions, and special events, and for dancers ranging from beginners to professionals.
• Seeks influences from other art forms, such as theatre, the visual arts, and architecture.
• Trains, exercises, and attends dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness.
• Develops ideas for creating dances, keeping notes and sketches to record influences.
• Experiments with different types of dancers, steps, dances, and placements, testing ideas informally to get feedback from dancers.
• Directs and stages dance presentations for various forms of entertainment.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
• Work in this occupation involves keeping or regaining your balance more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves bending or twisting your body more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Maintaining a body position that prevents falling when in an unstable position
• Moving the arms, legs and torso together when the whole body is in motion
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching quickly and repeatedly
• Using muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Exerting oneself physically over long periods of time without getting out of breath
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours
• Overnight travel
• Weekend work