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Dancers

Perform dances. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for video recording.

What you’d do

  • Study and practice dance moves required in roles.
  • Harmonize body movements to rhythm of musical accompaniment.
  • Train, exercise, and attend dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness.
  • Coordinate dancing with that of partners or dance ensembles.
  • Develop self-understanding of physical capabilities and limitations, and choose dance styles accordingly.
  • Perform classical, modern, or acrobatic dances in productions, expressing stories, rhythm, and sound with their bodies.
  • Collaborate with choreographers to refine or modify dance steps.
  • Audition for dance roles or for membership in dance companies.

Skills that matter

  • Active Listening
  • Coordination
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Speaking

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Ballet Dancer
  • Company Dancer
  • Dancer
  • Soloist Dancer
  • Ballerina
  • Ballet Company Member
See all careers
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    Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

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    Considerable preparation: most need a four-year bachelor's degree

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    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

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    Considerable preparation: most need a four-year bachelor's degree

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