Dancers
Perform dances. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for video recording.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Time Management
- Reading Comprehension
Key knowledge
- Fine Arts
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Transportation
- Sales and Marketing
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
What the work involves
- Train, exercise, and attend dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness.
- Study and practice dance moves required in roles.
- Harmonize body movements to rhythm of musical accompaniment.
- 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.
- Coordinate dancing with that of partners or dance ensembles.
- Attend costume fittings, photography sessions, and makeup calls associated with dance performances.
- Audition for dance roles or for membership in dance companies.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Artistic, Realistic, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (45.1% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (40.4%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (39.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Dancers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 82% of occupations compared | 85% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 65% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 69% of occupations compared | 69% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 90% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 95% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 64% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 75% of occupations compared | 26% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 70% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 9.34%
- Contact with others most of the time: 5.25%
- Constant contact with others: 85.41%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 15.78%
- Fairly important: 28.49%
- Important: 15.82%
- Very important: 16.71%
- Extremely important: 23.21%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 5.25%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 5.25%
- Very important: 20.6%
- Extremely important: 68.9%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 8.44%
- Very little freedom: 18.82%
- Limited freedom: 21.8%
- Some freedom: 21.21%
- A lot of freedom: 29.73%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 29.73%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 12.54%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.35%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 21.02%
- Every day: 22.36%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 18.75%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.87%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.64%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.83%
- Every day: 12.91%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 13.91%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.87%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 25.56%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 26.14%
- Every day: 22.52%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 19.52%
- Fairly serious: 31.06%
- Serious: 25.73%
- Very serious: 21.21%
- Extremely serious: 2.48%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 27-2031.00 · SOC 27-2031 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8