Dancers use movement to perform for live audiences or in recorded performances.
Starter salary not found - Experienced salary not found
37 to 39 a week (between 8am and 6pm)
You'll need:
You can get into this job through:
You'll usually need a degree or diploma in professional dance or musical theatre. These take 2 to 3 years to complete and are offered by dance schools, performing arts schools and universities.
Academic qualifications may not be essential if you show enough talent at audition.
You could get a Dance and Drama Award to help with fees and living costs.
You'll usually need:
There is no set entry route to become a dancer but it may be useful to do a relevant subject like:
For entry to some courses at level 3 and above you may need to attend an audition.
You'll usually need:
Dancing is very competitive and you'll need to develop your skills by getting as much dancing experience as possible.
You could do this through:
This can also help you to build a network of contacts in the dance profession. This will be useful when looking to get experience or a job.
You can apply directly to become a dancer, if you have a high level of training and ability in at least one form of dance.
Most professional dancers start taking dance classes from a young age. You can take graded exams from awarding bodies like:
Classical ballet dancers start training very young, usually at 10 or 11 years old. It's possible to make a career in contemporary dance if you start at a later age, if you're prepared to work hard and put in a lot of training.
You could join One Dance UK and Equity for professional development and to make industry contacts.
You can find out more about becoming a dancer from:
You can also get more details about working in creative careers from Discover Creative Careers.
You'll specialise in a form of dance, like:
Typically you could:
You could work in a creative studio, in a theatre, at a TV studio, at a film studio, on a cruise ship or in the community.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding, you'll travel often and you may spend nights away from home.
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