What are Different Career Options in Dance?
Hello Aspiring Dancers!
Hope you all are safe and dancing in these tough times!
I had been receiving few queries from people asking how can we build a career in Dance. I have been guiding them since then but what I realized is to make them aware first with different career options they can pursue as a dancer and then help them in building it in whichever options they choose. So, in this blog, I will be writing about different options you all can look into while pursuing a career in this field. Let's roll!
1. Professional or Background Dancer
This is the most common career option which we all are aware of and many of them are already pursuing it. As a professional Dancer, you get an opportunity to perform in music videos, movie songs, corporate shows, etc. either with celebrities or main show stoppers of the event. One of the good options on the initial stages as you get to network and travel with lot many people but also you need to see how you plan to transit from it in the long run. As you age, there will be a time where you won't be able to Dance properly, so you need to look how you can progress your career from being a background dancer to other career options mentioned below.
2. Dance Choreographer
Dance Choreographer is one of the options you all can definitely try if you all feel that you all possess good choreography skills. If you think that you can come up with a really creative choreography with the given number of Dancers then try getting into this option. As a choreographer, you get an opportunity to choreograph dancers, celebrities even non dancers for any music videos, movie songs, corporate shows, weddings, reality show and lot more. Sometimes, depending on the project, you also get a good earning opportunity as a choreographer. Eventually, you need to look for different options as you grow and see how you can upgrade your skillset not just as a choreographer but also from the perspective of direction.
3. Dance Director
Another interesting option which you all can try pursuing if you all are interested in direction. Dance Directors usually look into overall production of a dance performance. They are the people who take creative calls regarding the performance and work on making it to look visually appealing. You get paid really as a Dance Director and eventually, you may try direction for music videos, movie songs or may films as well. With your experience, you may also opt to work as an Art or Creative Director for many shows and functions, basically, a role switch when you feel the need to try something new as a Director.
4. Dance Teacher
If you are interested & passionate towards teaching then this career option is definitely for you. To become a Dance teacher, you would really need to develop yourself a lot. It's not just the dancing skills but also the teaching skills which you would need to nurture to start with this profession. Whichever dance style you choose to teach, make sure that you have drilled as hard as a stone to master that particular style. If you are proficient in the given dance style, only then you would be able to teach it to your fellow dance aspirants. If you are really skillful enough then you may start with your own institution or affiliate with renowned institutions to provide your service as a Dance teacher. As a Dance teacher, ensure to promote yourself so that people can see your dancing skills and are compelled to approach and learn from you. Also, look for more options where you can explore yourself for sustainability and long term goals.
5. Dance Studio Owner
Another career option where you all can open your own dance studio either online or offline to provide classes in multiple styles and formats. As a studio owner, you may associate with different dance experts to conduct their classes at your studio and get a good footfall of learners towards your academy. You may also rent out your studio for other commercial purposes like video shoots, photo shoots or studio rentals through which you can generate a decent revenue.
6. Dance Therapist
Dance Therapy or Dance Movement Therapy is one of the most unexplored career options and many of them are really unaware of it. If you observe carefully, in India, very rarely people have pursued this career option.
A Dance Therapist is someone who heals a person emotionally, mentally and physically by making them do certain steps or moves on music which will boost their self esteem and energy resulting in faster recovery of mental & physical health. To become a Dance Therapist, you really need to have a good body awareness irrespective of any style and you need to have a masters degree in psychology along with a specialization in Dance Movement Therapy. There are few renowned institutions in US which offers this course under their 2 years curriculum as it is extensively practiced in the country but in India too, there are two renowned institutes where you may pursue this course. Dance Therapy is one of the career options holding a good scope where you get to earn well on the lines of a medical practitioner if you possess the right skillset and it is definitely going to grow in the future.
7. YouTube Creator or Influencer
If you have come so far reading till here, then you all can definitely not miss our last option. In the recent times or let's say in the past 5-6 years, we have seen the emergence of new option which is by becoming a YouTube Creator or an Influencer. Digital platforms has actually proved to be beneficial as it has given good earning opportunities to so may people. It has helped people establish a decent career as a Digital creator.
You can really earn well on YouTube through your dance videos, tutorials, vlogs, etc. and depending on its engagement & reach, you can start earning them. It's definitely not an easy task, as you can continuously keep putting on videos to grow your channel so that it grows in number of subscribers and reach to wider audiences. In order to start earning on YouTube, you need to fulfill their simple criteria of 1000 subscribers along with 4000 watch hours. Once you have fulfilled this criteria, then you can immediately apple for YouTube Partnership Program to start your monetization process.
If you have a really good presence on Digital platforms like YouTube, Instagram or short video applications with a genuine audience of more than 10,000 then you may also approach to brands for collaborations and endorsements. This can become a good source of earning income for you. There are many people who are earning more than in lacs with more than 500,000 audience on Instagram by posting photos or video and this eventually has given rise to Influencer Marketing and many brands have achieved good results through this marketing technique which compels them more to invest on good social media influencers. So, if you are a social media person, then you may definitely try this option but ensure that you are providing good content and remaining consistency. With this, you may also get an opportunity to work in the industry as well.
Above were some of the options which you all can try as a Dancer, but there are few more. If you have possess good editing skills then you may try working as a music editor or video editor and this can become one of the career options for you. Eventually, these are some of the options but always try to explore more. Try learning those skills which you can make you earn while sitting at home because as we all know, Dance is definitely not sustainable field individually but it is definitely as an enterprise.
Thank you so much for reading this! I hope it was informative for you all. You all may also find it in audio format under podcast episode. Please find the links mentioned below.
Spotify: What are Different Career Options in Dance?
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