Dance Career Opportunities

People underestimate the number of careers there are in the world relating to dance. Most people assume that there is only one – a dancer. This, however, is not the case. I strongly believe that there are many opportunities to take dance to the next level, whether it includes actual performing, choreographing, designing or even strengthening other dancers.

Taking up a career in dance is usually assumed to be a bad decision by many people. Numbers of dancers don’t get to live their dreams because of their society telling them they won’t be able to make a living out of a dance career. In today’s day and age, however, anything is possible.

In South Africa there seems to be less of a demand for careers in dance than in other countries, especially

I will also discuss the responsibilities, facilities and resources you may need when pursuing that specific career.

Dance related career options include:

Professional Dancer

When deciding to go into the dance profession in South Africa you need to consider many aspects such as what style you want to dance in, where you want to dance and whether it will be possible to make a living out of your choices. There are only a certain amount of companies available to dance for and majority are ballet companies.

To go in to this field is important to have the following requirements:

• Be dedicated to dance

• Have perseverance, discipline and motivation

• Have physical stamina

• Have good flexibility and gracefulness

• Have a sense of rhythm and a feeling for music

• Must be able to work well with other people

• Have a thorough knowledge of dance

• Have self-belief and

UCT and US both offer a wide curriculum in this career field. They focus on anatomy, music, the history of dance, teaching methods, choreography, drama, the history of costumes, choreology, arts administration and practical dance (Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet, Spanish, African, Tap Dance and National). TUT offers the same but also offers a three year musical theatre course.

A JDF Diploma course is offered by The Johannesburg Dance for Professional Dance Performance. This course includes a three year training program as a professional dancer. Previous dance experience is not necessary and neither is a matric exemption. It is, however, important to have previous dance training of a high standard in the style you are going to major in.

The Cape Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA) is also a good option when looking to go into professional dancing. CAPA plays a big role in South Africa’s dance and performing arts sector and provides high quality vocational training for dance students aspiring to become professionals. It includes a full time pre-professional program that is internationally recognised. The program takes place over three years and is designed for post-matrics.