Dancers
Perform dances. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for video recording.
Also Known As:
Ballerina
Ballet Company Member
Ballet Dancer
Ballet Soloist
Belly Dancer
Company Dancer
Dancer
Latin Dancer
Performing Artist
Soloist Dancer
Wages
Hourly wages for Dancers in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
12,900
5% Change From 2024
Explore Dancers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Perform in productions, singing or acting in addition to dancing, if required.
- Teach dance students.
- Coordinate dancing with that of partners or dance ensembles.
- Develop self-understanding of physical capabilities and limitations, and choose dance styles accordingly.
- Collaborate with choreographers to refine or modify dance steps.
- Prepare pointe shoes, by sewing or other means, for use in rehearsals and performance.
- Attend costume fittings, photography sessions, and makeup calls associated with dance performances.
- Devise and choreograph dance for self or others.
- Perform classical, modern, or acrobatic dances in productions, expressing stories, rhythm, and sound with their bodies.
- Prepare pointe shoes, by sewing or other means, for use in rehearsals and performance.
- Study and practice dance moves required in roles.
- Monitor the field of dance to remain aware of current trends and innovations.
- Audition for dance roles or for membership in dance companies.
- Harmonize body movements to rhythm of musical accompaniment.
- Attend costume fittings, photography sessions, and makeup calls associated with dance performances.
- Train, exercise, and attend dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
Career Coaching
Need a guide to help you on your career journey or to prepare for your next interview?
You May Also Be Interested In
Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")