Dance Major

[Anonymous]

My daughter wants to major in dance. Does anyone know of anyone that majored in dance and had a successful and well paying career? I'm worried she won't find a job after graduation.

[Anonymous]

I know many dance majors.
What kind of dance and where does she want to study?

[Anonymous]

Your concern is well-placed.

[Anonymous]

How do you know her interests won't change once she gets to college? Maybe she'll want to be a litigator or a lobbyist instead, or she'll decide to be a SAHM. A lot can happen between now and then, so maybe the problem will resolve itself. Or she could parlay her dancing experience into a dance scholarship. The further away she is from college, the more this could change. Poo-pooing her choices now could only make her more determined to pursue dance, simply out of spite.

Moreover, is she an amazing dancer who wins awards and could seriously pursue dancing as a career (a path that could be "successful and well-paying")? If that's the case, I'd be all for it.

[Anonymous]

We need more info op

[Anonymous]

I wrote this a few years ago:

http://www2.danceusa.org/ejournal/post.cfm?entry=how-to-pick-a-college-dance-program-that-will-work-for-you

You are welcome to contact me directly. At the moment I'm breaking my self-imposed dcum ban while looking up childcare stuff, so I probably won't check back.

In short, it's a great major if done properly. She can develop a great skill set. If she is going to major in dance in college only because she wants to dance for a company, that's not really the way the field is structured.

Reach out; i'm happy to talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know many dance majors.
What kind of dance and where does she want to study?

Ballet, lyrical, and contemporary. She's interesting in NYU and Towson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know many dance majors.
What kind of dance and where does she want to study?

Ballet, lyrical, and contemporary. She's interesting in NYU and Towson.

Is musical theatre where she plans to focus? That's the only way I would consider dance at the college level, and only programs that do New York showcases. NYU is fine. I'm working with nyu dancers right now on a national tour. Very expensive. Nyu does not give much money for undergrad. I've been friends with many TISCH kids. Mommy and daddy were loaded 98% of the time.

[Anonymous]

HAHAHAHAH! Sorry. I was a professional ballet dancer. By 16 you should be established as a n apprentice through summer programs. By 18 you have accepted to a company. If your daughter is truly interested in making her way in this particular world then the must give us dreams of college until she ages out of ballet due to injuries 28/30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HAHAHAHAH! Sorry. I was a professional ballet dancer. By 16 you should be established as a n apprentice through summer programs. By 18 you have accepted to a company. If your daughter is truly interested in making her way in this particular world then the must give us dreams of college until she ages out of ballet due to injuries 28/30.

Not with contemporary.

Contemporary dance companies tend to work with "older" dancers (ie dancers out of college into their late 20s/early 30s. They are also open to different body types than ballet companies.

OP, degreed dance teachers at the studio level make around $25.00-50.00/hour for regular teaching and up to a thousand to two thousand or more plus travel for teaching an in house studio workshop for a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon.

If she is smart, a good and creative teacher/choreographer and markets herself well, she can make a decent amount of money as a twenty something right out of college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HAHAHAHAH! Sorry. I was a professional ballet dancer. By 16 you should be established as a n apprentice through summer programs. By 18 you have accepted to a company. If your daughter is truly interested in making her way in this particular world then the must give us dreams of college until she ages out of ballet due to injuries 28/30.

Not with contemporary.

Contemporary dance companies tend to work with "older" dancers (ie dancers out of college into their late 20s/early 30s. They are also open to different body types than ballet companies.

OP, degreed dance teachers at the studio level make around $25.00-50.00/hour for regular teaching and up to a thousand to two thousand or more plus travel for teaching an in house studio workshop for a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon.

If she is smart, a good and creative teacher/choreographer and markets herself well, she can make a decent amount of money as a twenty something right out of college.

That is not typical. There not a large market for contemporary dancers. Of the dozens of ( contemporary) dancers I knew in college, one has made a career of it.

[Anonymous]

I would not allow it. I'd let her minor in dance, or double major in dance and some more lucrative major like accounting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not allow it. I'd let her minor in dance, or double major in dance and some more lucrative major like accounting.

Have her double major in dance and business. Artsy types need entrepreneurial skills.

[Anonymous]

My college roommate was a dance major (modern dance). Ended up getting masters in dance therapy, and seems happy with her life.

[Anonymous]

Tell her to go for it. If it doesn't work out, she can do something boring and responsible later. An accelerated BSN and become a nurse, or law school or whatever.

Creative careers are really the best jobs in the future, as AI and robotics develop.