A Career in Dance

A Career in Dance for many young people is a career as a dancer. However, there are a wide variety of jobs that are connected to dance in some way. Dance is part of the UK's cultural industries who employ over 1 million people and generate over £100 billion a year and have a growth rate of 16% a year. So there are many opportunities within the dance sector.

Performing
Being a dancer is a tough, physically grueling career but for those devoted to dance it can be an exciting and rewarding profession. Professional dancers often travel a great deal on tour with dance companies, have to work hard to keep physically fit and may experience periods of unemployment between dance jobs. In addition dancers will probably have relatively short performing careers as few will dance professionally beyond the age of about 35 years of age. Some may have to stop dancing earlier if they are injured.

Most professional dancers start dance classes at a young age in local ballet schools, in youth dance groups or in community classes. But if you want to have a career as a professional dancer you need to start more intensive dance training when you are a teenager. For some dance styles such as classical ballet, children often start serious training even younger.
Although talent in dance is clearly essential to succeed, you also need a strong well proportioned body and to be very healthy. Different styles of dance have different requirements as to height and type of physique as you can see by watching a range of professional dance. Traditionally, female classical ballet dancers for instance, tend to be small and petite while in other dance styles there is less emphasis on specific body shape and height. In contemporary dance in particular conventional ideas about what dancers look like is changing.

Whatever the style of dance you are interested in, make sure you get good training and research the various options that exist to prepare for a career in dance. Many dancers study a range of dance styles to ensure they have a strong technique so contemporary and jazz dancers will also do classical ballet and classical ballet dancers often study contemporary dance as well.

Teaching Dance
A career as a dance teacher offers an increasing range of opportunities within private dance schools, the community or in independent and state schools and colleges. Dance teachers can work with people of all ages and teach many different dance styles; tap, modern dance, ballroom, folk dance, African or Asian or ballet and contemporary. They also need to be able to choreograph dances for their pupils and in some jobs such as in schools, know about the history of dance and such aspects as anatomy and physiology and dance notation. Dance teachers should have good communication skills be interested in their pupils and enjoy helping people to learn about dance.

Choreography
Many dancers are also choreographers who create dances. However, you do not have to be a dancer to choreograph professionally, but it is often the main route into getting your first choreography job. Making up dances is a very satisfying occupation as you have the opportunity to be creative and make something completely new. Choreographers work within all the major dance styles, however it is very competitive and few choreographers earn their living just from making up dances in either the theatre, video or television.
Most of the vocational training and degree courses offer choreography as part of their training but is also essential to develop your skills through experience. Many professional choreographers started when they were at school or college by making up dances for their friends at end of term shows. So just have a go!

Community Dance
Working in the community dance sector generally involves working in a particular geographical area. They often work as part of regional arts and community agencies teaching, choreographing and organising dance programmes and projects. Community dance workers or animateurs as they are sometimes called, generally work with a range of groups which may include people with disabilities, young people, the elderly as well as schools. Sometimes they are freelance and employed for specific projects or periods of time. Some of the larger dance companies employ dance teachers/community workers to undertake projects that link with the performance programme of the company.
Most community dance workers have had a full-time dance training or recognised dance teaching qualification. Full-time community dance courses are offered by Laban, London and several other higher education institutions. Further information can be obtained from the Foundation of Community Dance.

Administration/Management
As the dance industry grows there is a need for people to organise and manage all the activities associated with dance. This could include working for dance companies, in theatres, regional arts/dance agencies and the many dance organisations around the country which set up and manage seasonal festivals and community dance projects. Many of these arts administrators will have studied dance themselves or they may have trained in completely different subjects at college or university. If you are employed in this sector you will need to be very well organised, have good computer skills and for many of the jobs available have some understanding of financial management.

Dance Notation
Dance notation is the method of recording movement using symbols in order to analyse and understand dance and preserve dances for the future There are two main systems in common use; Benesh and Labanotation. Major dance companies employ dance notators to record their repertoire and to re-construct and rehearse previously choreographed dances or ballets.

Courses such as A S and A Level Dance and dance degrees include the basics of one of these systems but in order to have a career in notating you need to follow a specialised course.

Journalism/Criticism
Most dance journalists work on a freelance basis writing for national newspapers as a dance critic or publications such as the Dancing Times or Dance Theatre Journal. Some dance journalists have completed a dance degree but many others have a general interest in the arts, have a first degree in English or Humanities subjects and then choose to specialise in dance.

Technical/Production
As in all the performing arts there are a number of jobs within the technical aspects of production in dance performances. These jobs include electricians, lighting technicians, stage managers. Training is not necessarily specific to dance and there are a number of technical theatre and stage management courses offered at theatre schools. It may also be possible to learn about the job through trainee or apprenticeshipschemes. Contact the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) at: www.abtt.org.uk

Visual Design
Designing the costumes or lighting for dance performances is a highly specialised occupation. Most lighting designers work in theatres and in the performing arts generally before concentrating on dance and working for a particular dance company or theatre. Costume designers also have probably studied costume design at art school before developing expertise in dance.

Dance Movement Therapy
Dance Movement Therapy uses movement and dance to help people with physical, mental health and emotional difficulties. Dance Movement Therapists may work in the health service attached to hospitals or GP practices or in private practice.
There are a number of specialist training courses which generally require students to have a first degree and also have an age requirement. There are two main routes into a career as a dance movement therapist. Some people train as a therapist following a variety of other careers such as in health or teaching. Others choose to specialise in dance movement therapy after dance training and a career in the performing arts.

For further Information contact:
The Association of Dance Movement Therapy
www.admt.orf 

If you are seeking employment Join Xcel now for free, Job information please fill in the Career Information form

The College Information service is your free, Study information service, helping you find out about study opportunities at colleges and universities