User:Hannahalexa123/Sandbox

As a dancer, there are many career options available. Depending on your skills, passions, and background, you can decide which career would be best for you. There are many different roles that you can play as a dancer, with varying degrees of fame. With a large-scale career, one might look into Broadway or joining a professional dance company. In small-scale careers, working on cruises, theme parks, or in community theater are popular. Many dancers also choose to use their dance talents as a service opportunity, such as teaching or using dance as a type of therapy.

Professional Dancer/Dance Companies
The mission of a dance company is to “provide education and outreach programs for patrons at all levels of artistic experience, through post-show discussions, master classes, open rehearsals, studio showcases and more”. Dance companies consist of dancers who are serious about continuing their education of dance, while still putting on performances.

Broadway/National Tours
Being on Broadway is one of the top goals for serious dancers interested in theater. Working on Broadway or a national tour requires dancers to work very hard in order to get to this level. The life of a performer on Broadway includes countless hours of rehearsal and up to 8 shows per week. However, these grueling hours and hard work days pay off both economically and spiritually. “A dancer working at Equity minimum can make over $1,100 a week”. Dancing on Broadway also is “about fulfilling a dream”.

Agents
To become a part of both a dance company and be on Broadway, it is highly recommended that a performer finds an agent to represent them. “A dancer today without representation will find it very difficult to have a satisfying dance career in the LA/NY markets”. Agents will help to find dancers jobs and send them out on casting calls. Sending your resumé and headshot to an agency will get you noticed, but your talent is what they look at the most. To do this, you could send the agency a flyer for a show that you are in or set up an audition.

Cruises
Dancers on cruises not only get to perform, but get to travel as well. Typically, auditions for cruise lines are held internationally. Auditions can be advertised in newspapers or you canfind out about them through your agent.There are many benefits in working on a cruise. For example, in Disney Cruise Lines, dancers have their own rooms on the boat, have continuous work, complete health benefits, and make about $700 per week. To work on this type of cruise, it is essential that the performer is not only compatible with peers, but with people of all ages, as many people on the cruise will be children.

Theme Parks
Working in theme parks, dancers perform a variety of shows, ranging from child to adult theater. At Universal Studios, dancers perform a maximum of 6 shows per day, each show being approximately 10-20 minutes. Depending on the show and the skills involved, dancers earn between $16 and $38 per show. Dancers are also provided with the same benefits that all Universal employees have. At Disney parks, there are many different types of dancing opportunities. Parade dancers are hired to perform in the specialty parades, which occur year-round. Dancers in the special productions, like the Holiday shows, perform with a limited run-time. Long-term productions typically run forever and are performed 5 times a week. Each of these shows is 25 minutes long. Auditions for these roles are advertised in LA trade papers for the West coast and on Disney Audition Websites. At an audition, the performer should bring a headshot and resumé to an audition and should be prepared to both dance and sing.

Community Dance Projects
Dancing in community theater is a “way of learning your craft”. Being involved in community theater gives you “stage time” and helps the performer improve their skills. “Community theater rarely pays but the value of what you’ll learn makes it worth doing and you can gain experience and another credit on your resumé”. Directors want you to be yourself in an audition and show them the best part of yourself so that they can help you to grow in your learning.

Open Up A Studio/Choreography
Teaching others to dance is another career path to choose from. Opening up a studio is one way to do this. Owning a dance studio requires business knowledge, along with an ability to communicate to and guide other dancers. Along with owning a studio, choreography is another outlet for dance instruction. "A successful performer, however, doesn't just dance" Choreography involves creativity and knowledge of dance technique to form your own dances and teach them to others. When teaching dance in a class there are many ways to choreograph, including improvisation and technique. "Technique classes train the body. Improvisation frees your movement from the restrictions placed on it by a codified technique and frees your own creative energies". Although these seem opposite, both are needed to be a successful choreographer.

Dance Therapy
Dance therapy is defined as the “psychotherapeautic use of movement as a process which furthers the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual”. Using dance as therapy is a way of communication and how some can “express needs through their bodies”. To be a dance therapist, you must go through years of schooling and training, both in psychology and dance. Areas of study that are necessary to be a successful dance therapist are psychology, art therapy,and being able to assess mental illnesses. Being a dance therapist can be very rewarding, as you see your passion impacting others.