Dancer : Employers and vacancy sources

The dance economy employs around 30,000 people in the UK, with 2,500 working directly in performance. Typical employers include:

• performing dance companies, including ballet, contemporary, street, Asian and African companies;
• clubs, cabarets and cruise ships, either in the UK or abroad;
• musical theatre, either in London's West End or on tour;
• community dance organisations.

Many dancers work on a freelance basis on short, fixed-term contracts. However, there are some opportunities for full-time work with dance companies.

Dancers will often combine performance with a range of other roles within the dance industry. Typical employers in the broader industry include:

• private dance schools, who employ qualified dance teachers to teach a wide range of dance techniques at various levels, for social and recreational as well as vocational purposes;
• schools, further education colleges and higher education institutions (for those with relevant teaching qualifications);
• local authorities, who sometimes employ people to promote dance throughout the authority - dancers will usually work on a peripatetic basis in schools across the area;
• the four Arts Councils (Arts Council England , Arts Council of Northern Ireland , Arts Council of Wales  and Creative Scotland ), and national and regional dance development bodies, who often employ dance officers.

Dancers sometimes set up their own companies, perhaps obtaining funding from one of the four Arts Councils.

Sources of vacancies

• The Stage  
• Dance Europe  
• Equity  - job information service available to members.
• Article 19 Contemporary Dance Online  
• London Dance  - details of vacancies available to members.
• Council for Dance Education & Training (CDET)  
• Foundation for Community Dance  

You will need to take a creative and proactive approach to job seeking by networking and establishing contacts, as well as fostering links made through previous work, and attending classes and courses.

The Dance UK  website includes links to dance companies and national dance agencies.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.