Can you make a living as a dancer?

by Jasmine
(Liverpool)

Hey,
I love dancing so much, it is my life. I'd love to do it all my life as a full time dancer. I'd love to go to dance college and hopefully become professional and get into a dance company for contemporary dancing. Just wondering, can you make a living with it? As well as dance I love fashion so I need money haha… would you need a part time job? Thanks

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Can you make a living as a dancer?

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Mar 29, 2012
 Answer from Maria
by: Maria

Dear Jasmine,

The answer to your question depends on several things. I believe that the city you live in has a lot of influence in the possibilities of making a living out of dancing.

Is contemporary dance socially appreciated there? Are there a good amount of dance companies? How much do normal citizens attend the contemporary dance performances? Does your government support contemporary dance with enough funding?

If there's a good environment for contemporary dance where you live, you might have the chance to make a living out of dancing. However, dancers do indeed have part time jobs. I wrote an answer to Jane from Sydney that fits your question really well. Please follow the reading at her thread, which you will find through the following link:

Can you survive working as dancer?

If you have ambitious expectations about your future life, want to have several kids, a house, a car and travel around the world from time to time, you will need to be a super star of a profit-making type of dance to get the money just by dancing. Also, remember that many dancers feel tired between their thirties and forties (no matter how passionate they always were about dance), so having an alternative job is important. Yet, it can be a related job (I wrote about that in the thread recommended above).

As you live in the U.K., I believe you might indeed have the chance to make a living out of the different possibilities offered by dance. But you might need to build your own working environment and adjust your career to the circumstances.

Warm regards,

Maria

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