Department of Dance
Careers In Dance
When people think about careers in dance, they usually think only about being a performer, choreographer, or a teacher. Dance as an employment possibility (and as a field of academic study) includes many other exciting options as well. While dance is an art form, it is also a field of knowledge with its own history, a study of the body and how it works, a study of how people move and make sense of their lives, and a way for people to relate to and enhance their communities and enhance their understanding of their own culture and that of others. In thinking about careers, you don’t need to be making a decision for the rest of your life, and you don’t need to prepare for every possibility while at UNCG. You can keep learning for the rest of your life, and most people change careers multiple times before they retire. You might end up in a career that doesn’t even exist now, or you might create your own. When you are thinking about career choices, consider what you are good at and also what you love. Don’t forget the resources on campus, including dance faculty advisors and the UNCG Career Services Center.
You probably already know that the life of a dance artist, whether a performer or choreographer, presents many challenges not faced by those seeking more conventional, 9-5 jobs. A good web site to look at is http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos094.htm. Very few dance artists, even the most talented, support themselves full-time, year-round, year-after-year, through their art. Yet, if this is what you feel called to do, we encourage you to pursue your dreams, and we post information about auditions. Some of our alumni have danced/are dancing in dance companies based in major cities; we have clusters of alumni in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, where they often dance for each other and provide moral support along with their other pursuits. Some have danced in touring shows or Las Vegas, worked on cruise ships, and even the New York City Rockettes. Free-lance dance artists may work in smaller communities as well larger ones, where they may create their own concerts, choreograph for a variety of local activities ranging from pageants to dinner theater to community theater, and/or work as a community dance artist partially supported by grants. If you choose the life of a free-lance artist, we encourage you to make sure that you maintain some kind of major medical health-care coverage, through an independent agency, the UNCG Alumni Association, or a part-time job that offers this benefit.
While many dance artists may be found waiting tables and tending bar to help supplement their income from their art, we encourage you to think of other ways to support yourself. A number of our alumni have found that being a Pilates instructor or doing some other form of somatic practice or body work such as massage therapy, helps them develop their body knowledge as well as financial status. While UNCG does not offer a professional certificate in any form of somatic practice, faculty member Dr. Jill Green is certified in Kinetic Awareness TM; as a master practitioner in this form, she can work with students who wish to pursue certification in that area. Some of our students choose to pursue other training in the summers or immediately after graduation, so they are prepared to earn an income while maintaining the kind of flexible schedule their dance career demands.
Some alumni have found that working in some area of dance administration offers career potential as well as some degree of schedule flexibility, depending on the position. The Department subscribes to a publication listing many administrative jobs, and Career Services at UNCG can be helpful as well. Some positions require specific skills (such as web design and other computer skills) which you can learn while at UNCG. Some students interested in a long-term career in dance administration (running a dance company or a dance theater, working for an arts council, marketing dance products, public relations for dance, etc.) choose to double major or minor in Business or in Communication Studies at UNCG; if you are considering this, look at major and minor requirements early in your undergraduate career. You could select the BA degree, and do an internship at a local agency for your capstone experience.
Teaching is a frequent career choice for dance majors. Many students think first about teaching in the kind of studio where they first learned dance. To teach in a studio, it is important to have the appropriate dance skills (including the highest level of technique possible), skills in teaching dance, and knowledge about the needs of children and adolescents (and adult learners, if you plan to teach adults). You could choose the BFA or the BA degree in Dance, and use electives to add additional areas. Most new alumni do not have the financial capital to open their own studio right away, so they need to work for other commercial or community-based studios (such as those at Recreation Centers or Y’s) first. Many of these positions are part-time, but there are some full-time positions available as Dance Director of large programs, and these may offer benefits. Students who wish to own their own studios will be running a small business; community colleges offer very low-cost, non-credit courses for owners of small businesses. It often makes the most sense to take these courses close to the time one will be opening a small business, since legal requirements do change over time.
Many UNCG graduates have found satisfying careers as dance educators in public schools; for many years, there have been many more jobs available than there have been licensed teachers to fill them. Although UNCG will not be offering teacher licensure for students who entered after Spring 2007, we will continue to prepare students to meet requirements for initial licensure offered through North Carolina’s Regional Alternative Licensure Centers for Lateral Entry teachers. (Lateral entry teachers must have a college degree but are allowed up to three years to obtain the teaching license. About one-third of all North Carolina teachers are currently entering the profession this way.) If this is your goal, select these courses as part of your undergraduate degree requirements:
• DCE 546
• DCE 557
• DCE 365 (note g.p.a requirements for this practicum course)
• CUI 450
• CUI 535
• CUI 545
• PSY 121 General Psychology
Strongly recommended:
LIS 120, HEA 201, ELC 381, DCE 230, DCE 353, DCE 417.
We also strongly recommend that you attain the highest level possible in contemporary dance and other dance forms. Please know that the state is subject to changing its requirements at any point, so we recommend that you check with Melinda Waegerle (mhwaeger@uncg.edu) regarding changes to these requirements. The NC Department of Public Instruction web site is an important guide for requirements for licensure, including minimum gpa requirements (currently 2.5; see www.ncpublicschools.org).
Think that university-level teaching sounds perfect? Such positions are far more competitive, and they require a graduate degree. We recommend an MFA for those who wish to teach studio courses such as technique and choreography, and PhD for those who wish to teach theory courses such as dance history or dance education. Some dancers who continue to study dance at the doctoral level do so not only in dance programs, but in areas such as American Studies, performance studies, anthropology and ethnography, and women’s studies. These offer expanded employment possibilities, while allowing for continued academic research in dance. We recommend professional experience prior to graduate school, to give you an opportunity to be sure of your area of specialization and to give you the kind of experience to help you become more competitive in a very tight job market.
An increasingly popular career choice for dancers is being a dance trainer or physical therapist for dancers. All of these careers require graduate degrees. If this is your plan, you should take as many of the courses below as possible (selecting the BA degree to have the most room for free electives) and be sure to keep up your grades! (Admission to graduate programs in physical therapy is highly competitive, and most programs require a g.p.a. very close to a 4.0.) All graduate programs in physical therapy require these courses for admission; they are also recommended for graduate programs in athletic training:
• BIO 111 General Biology 1 with lab
• BIO 271 Human Anatomy with lab
• BIO 277 Human Physiology with lab
• CHE 111 +112 General Chemistry 1 + lab
• PHY 211 General Physics 1 with lab
• PHY 212 General Physics 2 with lab
• STA 108 Basic Statistics
• PSY 121 General Psychology
• PSY 250 (Human Growth & Development) or PSY 341 (Abnormal Psychology) or ESS 386 (Motor Development & Learning)
Many programs also require:
• BIO 112 General Biology 2 with lab
• CHE 114+115 General Chemistry 2 + lab
Another career you may have heard about is dance therapy, which is a form of psychotherapy. Dance therapists may work in hospitals, mental health clinics, or in private practices. If you want to learn more, check out the web site of the American Dance Therapy Association at www.adta.org/. A dance therapist in Greensboro also provides opportunities for you to learn more; this information is posted on the bulletin boards. Dance therapy also requires a graduate degree; we encourage you to think about having a second major or minor in psychology to prepare for admission to a graduate program in dance therapy, although you should look up requirements of specific programs. Some of our alumni who have gone to graduate school in dance therapy have chosen a BA, with an independent study as their capstone; others have completed a licensure program and taught for several years first.
Another way to think about a possible dance career is to think about what else you like to do. If you like to write, you might be interested in being a dance critic or a writer for a dance publication. A second major in English or Communication Studies would be a good choice. If you found your first nutrition course to be fascinating, you might want to consider a double major and prepare to be a nutrition consultant working with dancers. Like costuming? Costume design for dancers might interest you; there are courses in theater and in textile design at UNCG which would help support this career path; you could choose the BA and do an independent study as a capstone course. If you find yourself more interested in being offstage than onstage, you might want to take some lighting design courses in Theater as well, and consider a career as a lighting designer or production manager for dance, or take additional courses in Broadcasting and Cinema to prepare for work in videography for dance. If you love photography, dance photography might be your goal. As technology continues to change the face of dance and the other arts, new careers are likely to develop. And you can add on to this list, thinking about where your skills and your passions lie.