| Important Core Job Duties (in order of importance) For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Advise dancers on standing and moving properly, teaching correct dance techniques to help prevent injuries. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Read and study story lines and musical scores to determine how to translate ideas and moods into dance movements. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Record dance movements and their technical aspects, using a technical understanding of the patterns and formations of choreography. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Direct and stage dance presentations for various forms of entertainment. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Choose the music, sound effects, or spoken narrative to accompany a dance. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Experiment with different types of dancers, steps, dances, and placements, testing ideas informally to get feedback from dancers. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Seek influences from other art forms, such as theatre, the visual arts, and architecture. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Develop ideas for creating dances, keeping notes and sketches to record influences. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Direct rehearsals to instruct dancers in dance steps and in techniques to achieve desired effects. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Design dances for individual dancers, dance companies, musical theatre, opera, fashion shows, film, television productions, and special events, and for dancers ranging from beginners to professionals. |
| Importance: 100 (%) | Description: Audition performers for one or more dance parts. |
| Importance: 95 (%) | Description: Coordinate production music with music directors. |
| Importance: 90 (%) | Description: Assess students' dancing abilities to determine where improvement or change is needed. |
| Importance: 90 (%) | Description: Teach students, dancers, and other performers about rhythm and interpretive movement. |
| Importance: 86 (%) | Description: Train, exercise, and attend dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness. |
| Importance: 76 (%) | Description: Design sets, lighting, costumes, and other artistic elements of productions, in collaboration with cast members. |
| Importance: 75 (%) | Description: Manage dance schools, or assist in their management. |
Theater Careers and Jobs
Select, Find and Prepare for Theater Careers and Jobs - all on one page
For theater-minded people who want to understand the full range of careers beyond performing on stage. Use the tools below to see which theater roles fit your background and goals.
Theater careers extend beyond acting into directing, stage management, design, and technical production, and often combine multiple roles. Use the tools below to explore Theater-related job titles sorted by growth rate, salary, or required education. You can start with entry points like Stage Crew Member, or look ahead to advanced roles such as Director or Theater Company Artistic Director. Along the way, you will see specific certifications, such as None formally required; audition/portfolio-driven field, that can help you move up the career ladder.
Here is a short Helper Video 
This page will take you through 4 steps to (1) Select from Theater careers/jobs, (2) Find Theater job listings, (3) Prepare for Theater careers, and (4) Provide Theater career-specific resources.
Step 1: Select a Career/Job: This page starts with 4 ways for you to identify and select from listings of Theater careers/jobs:
A) Fastest Growing Theater Careers - 2023 to 2033 (est.)
These listings are based on job growth estimates and helps you to identify the fastest growing and evolving Theater careers. Some careers may not initially seem related to Theater, so relevant Theater jobs are listed alongside each listing. This can also help us to identify which careers (bottom of the listing) may have negative growth - perhaps due to automation or planned obsolescence.
B) Median Annual Salary U.S. Theater Careers
These listings are sorted (descending) by median annual salary in the U.S. This may help us to identify our ideal career. We may not qualify at this time for the desired career, but this listing and the results provided can help us to explore job details, as well as learn how to appropriately prepare for the career.
C) Theater Career Ladders (Educational Requirements)
These listings will help us to identify Theater careers sorted by educational requirements (with the most difficult to obtain listed first). This may help us to identify career ladders (as we scroll down the list), and help us to get jobs that we qualify for now.
D) Select From a Listing of 98 Theater Jobs.
The list may be quite long. There are two ways you might like to use this list:
1) Filter - As you enter a word, you will filter (limit) the list of job titles
2) Browse the list (Don't Filter) - You can simply explore the list of job titles. There may be many that you might never have considered to be of interest.
Once you have identified a job title of interest, simply click on it.
Step 2: Find a Job: After you have selected a career/job title above, you will see a form asking for your location. You will see several radio selection choices to utilize the job search site of your choice.
Step 3: Prepare For a Career: In this section you will gain access to detailed information to help you prepare for the chosen career. Information may include (not every career choice includes all of the elements below - updates occur quarterly):
Core Duties: Lists the primary worker-related tasks performed in this occupation
Supplemental Duties: Lists additional tasks that are performed but are secondary to the core duties
Work Activities: Summarizes the broad types of behaviors and actions related to this career
Specific Work Activities: Provides more granular day-to-day activities tied to the work performed
Essential Skills: Provides foundational skills that are core to performing this specific occupation
Transferable Skills: Provides career-portable skills that can be applied across multiple occupations and industries
Day-in-the-Life Summaries: Provides a snapshot of the key activities performed on a typical workday in this career
Knowledge Required: Provides the requirements regarding the acquisition of facts and principles
Software Skills: Lists software tools commonly used in this occupation, organized by category and priority
Preparation Required: Provides a summary of the required experience and education
Education Required: Detailed breakdown of the education required
Training and Experience Required: Detailed breakdown of the training and Training and Experience Required
Local Salary Information: Provides national and local salary ranges
Certifications: Provides appropriate government and private-sector certifications and/or credentials that may be required
Professional Associations: Provides professional associations that are related to the career selected
Job Listings: Provides links to active current job listings for the selected career, along with multiple similar job titles to explore. All information appears on this page without navigating away.
Related Careers to Consider: Lists up to 20 careers that might be of interest to you (related to your initial choice - what they do, what they know, and what they're called), ranked by best fit.
** If you clicked on a link from section D (as described in Step 1 above), you will see one or more links to an occupation that is usually a bit more general than your initial job selection - the link(s) is directly related to the specific job you identified through your prior selections.
*NOTE: It is possible that there may not be a career path identified for the specific job you selected in Step 1. If this is the case, scroll up the page and click on a different career/job.
Step 4: Career-Specific Resources (detailed and constantly updated): Continue to scroll down the page and you will find tabs that provide detailed (updated) links specific to the career you selected. This information includes:
Videos: Provides a listing of video links related to this career. A great way to get a quick overview of the occupation.
Resumes: Sources for resume materials and techniques. This can help to get you started.
Job Description: Sources that provide job descriptions, which are vital to resume and interview preparation.
Interviews: Provides links that can help you to prepare for and successfully complete the job interview. Can also assist with coffee chats.
Step by Step: Provides links to resources that can help to organize the career search process.
LinkedIn: One of the best professional social media sites that provides links, opportunities, and networking specifically for careers and career development.
Step 1 of 4: Select a Career/Job
30 Theater careers are listed below (sorted by Percentage Change in Total Job Openings - 2023 to 2033 est.). Theater-related jobs specific to each career are also provided. This shows which careers are emerging and growing the fastest. Please Scroll and Select below:
| Occupations | U.S. Job Openings 2023-2033 (% change) | Theater-Related Jobs |
33 Theater careers are listed below (sorted by U.S. National Median Salary). Theater-related jobs specific to each occupation are also provided. Please Scroll and Select below::
| Occupations | National Median Salary | Theater-Related Jobs |
33 Theater careers are listed (sorted by Education/Preparation Requirements - descending) to provide career ladders. Theater-related jobs specific to each career are also provided.
|
Education/Preparation Categories: 5 = Usually requires graduate school (e.g., Master's degree, Ph.D., M.D., or J.D.) 4 = Usually requires a four-year Bachelor's degree 3 = Usually requires vocational training, related on-the-job experience, or Associate's degree 2 = Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, but not always Please Scroll and Select below: |
||
| Occupations | Education/Preparation | Theater-Related Jobs |
Scroll through the picklist (below). There are 98 specific Theater job titles listed. Select those that may be of interest - you will get active job listing links, along with detailed resources to help you prepare for a career related to that job.
You can use this form two ways:
Filter - As you enter a keyword, you will filter (limit) the list of job titles below
Browse the list (Don't Filter) - You can simply explore the list of job titles. There may be many that you might never have considered to be of interest.
OR - leave blank and scroll through the choices:
Select a Job Title (Scroll and Select) :
Step 2 of 4: Find a Job
Find Job Listings:
Choreographers.
Step 3 of 4: Prepare For a Career
Choreographers
Description: Create new dance routines. Rehearse performance of routines. May direct and stage presentations.
Please click on a section below to expand and see detailed occupational information related to "Choreographers":
U.S. Total Employment (2023):
4,600U.S. Total Employment (2033 est.):
6,100
Employment Change (2023-2033 est.):
1,500 (32.1%) Average Annual Job Openings (2023-2033 est.):
1,000
Core Duties
Supplemental Duties
| Important Supplemental Job Duties (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 90 (%) | Description: Restage traditional dances and works in dance companies' repertoires, developing new interpretations. |
Work Activities
| Important General Work Activities (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 97 (%) | Description: Thinking Creatively: Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
| Importance: 90 (%) | Description: Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates: Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance. |
| Importance: 90 (%) | Description: Performing General Physical Activities: Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials. |
| Importance: 86 (%) | Description: Coaching and Developing Others: Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
| Importance: 85 (%) | Description: Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Importance: 84 (%) | Description: Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Importance: 84 (%) | Description: Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Importance: 83 (%) | Description: Training and Teaching Others: Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
| Importance: 81 (%) | Description: Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others: Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks. |
| Importance: 81 (%) | Description: Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Importance: 80 (%) | Description: Performing for or Working Directly with the Public: Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
| Importance: 77 (%) | Description: Developing and Building Teams: Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members. |
| Importance: 75 (%) | Description: Scheduling Work and Activities: Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. |
| Importance: 71 (%) | Description: Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients. |
| Importance: 70 (%) | Description: Communicating with People Outside the Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
| Importance: 67 (%) | Description: Providing Consultation and Advice to Others: Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics. |
| Importance: 67 (%) | Description: Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Importance: 66 (%) | Description: Developing Objectives and Strategies: Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them. |
| Importance: 65 (%) | Description: Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
Specific Work Activities
| Important Specific Work Activities
How can you begin to build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. Specific Work Activities appear below: |
|
| Audition or interview potential performers or staff members. | |
| Choreograph dances. | |
| Coordinate artistic activities. | |
| Determine presentation subjects or content. | |
| Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes. | |
| Evaluate skills of athletes or performers. | |
| Manage operations of artistic or entertainment departments or organizations. | |
| Monitor current trends. | |
| Practice athletic or artistic skills. | |
| Study scripts to determine project requirements. | |
| Train others on performance techniques. | |
Knowledge Required
| Knowledge Required (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 89 (%) | Description: Fine Arts: Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture. |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Production and Processing: Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. |
| Importance: 61 (%) | Description: Design: Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models. |
| Importance: 61 (%) | Description: Communications and Media: Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media. |
Essential Skills
| Essential Skills (in order of importance)
These are the foundational skills most central to success in this occupation. For the Top 5 most important, how can you begin building experience and confidence using these skills now? |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Importance: 62 (%) | Description: Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
| Importance: 60 (%) | Description: Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
| Importance: 58 (%) | Description: Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. |
| Importance: 56 (%) | Description: Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. |
| Importance: 54 (%) | Description: Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
Transferable Skills
| Transferable Skills (in order of importance)
These are skills that can transfer across occupations and industries. For the Top 5 most important, how can you strengthen these skills now so they support both this career and future career flexibility? |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 66 (%) | Description: Instructing: Teaching others how to do something. |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
| Importance: 60 (%) | Description: Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Importance: 56 (%) | Description: Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Importance: 54 (%) | Description: Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Importance: 54 (%) | Description: Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Importance: 52 (%) | Description: Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. |
Day-in-the-Life Summaries
| Day-in-the-Life Summaries These summaries show the main types of activities you are likely to perform on a regular basis in this occupation. How can you imagine your typical workday — using these examples to see if this type of work fits you? |
| Activity: Coordinate artistic or entertainment activities. |
| Activity: Create artistic designs or performances. |
| Activity: Develop news, entertainment, or artistic content. |
| Activity: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures. |
| Activity: Evaluate personnel capabilities or performance. |
| Activity: Monitor external affairs, trends, or events. |
| Activity: Perform athletic activities for fitness, competition, or artistic purposes. |
| Activity: Perform recruiting or hiring activities. |
| Activity: Study details of artistic productions. |
| Activity: Train others on operational or work procedures. |
Software Skills
|
Software Skills These are examples of software tools commonly used in this occupation, organized from most to least important for your career preparation. How can you start learning or practicing the highest-priority tools so that you feel confident using them on the job? |
| Emerging Tech Skills |
| Customer relationship management CRM software: |
| Salesforce software |
| Office suite software: |
| Microsoft Office software |
| Presentation software: |
| Microsoft PowerPoint |
| Spreadsheet software: |
| Microsoft Excel |
| Web page creation and editing software: |
| Word processing software: |
| Microsoft Word |
| General Software Tools |
| Electronic mail software: |
| Email software |
| Graphical user interface development software: |
| Salesforce Visualforce |
| Graphics or photo imaging software: |
| Chorel Technology Dance Designer Credo Interactive DanceForms |
| Internet browser software: |
| Web browser software |
| Video creation and editing software: |
| YouTube |
| Web page creation and editing software: |
| Social media sites |
Preparation Required
| Preparation Required - How much preparation is needed to obtain this type of job? |
| Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed |
| Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job. |
| Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. |
| Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations. |
| These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include hydroelectric production managers, desktop publishers, electricians, agricultural technicians, barbers, court reporters and simultaneous captioners, and medical assistants. |
Education Required
| Education Required - by frequency of educational attainment This shows you details about the level of education most commonly held by workers in this occupation. How can you begin planning the educational pathway that will prepare you best for this type of work? |
|
| Frequency of Attainment (%) | Level of Education |
| Frequency of Attainment: 33.3 (%) | Level of Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) |
| Frequency of Attainment: 19.1 (%) | Level of Education: Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) |
| Frequency of Attainment: 19.1 (%) | Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree |
| Frequency of Attainment: 9.5 (%) | Level of Education: Less than a High School Diploma |
| Frequency of Attainment: 9.5 (%) | Level of Education: Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) |
| Frequency of Attainment: 4.8 (%) | Level of Education: Some College Courses |
| Frequency of Attainment: 4.8 (%) | Level of Education: Master's Degree |
Training and Experience Required
| Training and Experience Required - by frequency of training and work experience attainment This section shows you how often different types of training and work experience are required for this occupation. How can you start gaining the kinds of experience and training that are most common for this type of work? |
|
| Frequency of Attainment (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience |
| Frequency of Attainment: 28.6 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 19.1 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 6 years, up to and including 8 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 14.3 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 14.3 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 14.3 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 10 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 9.5 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 8 years, up to and including 10 years |
Local Salary Information
Select a State (scroll and Select) :
Please select a State to see State and National Salaries
Job Listings
| Job Listings and Similar Occupational Titles - scroll and click to identify common requirements, keywords, and skills in current job listings |
Related Careers to Consider
Step 4 of 4: Career-Specific Resources
This section contains detailed external resources appropriate to "Choreographers". Explore these resources to start learning more. Links are constantly updated, so bookmark this page.
Videos
Here is a listing of videos related to this career. A great way to get a quick overview of the occupation.
Resumes
Here are resources that allow you to see example resumes for this occupation. It may be helpful to see examples from others who have this type of experience.
Job Description
Here are resources that provide job descriptions, which are vital for resume and interview preparation.
Interviews
There are many great resources that can help guide you through the interview process. These links provide help in preparing and performing an effective interview, specific to this occupation.
Step-by-Step
Here are links to help guide you, step-by-step, to become a(n): Choreographers
LinkedIn®
Here are links to various posts and groups from LinkedIn ® that relate to this occupation. Great way to start building professional contacts in the field that might be most appropriate for you.
Developed by Dr. Ralph Jagodka, Ed.D., Professor Emeritus of Business Management at Mt. San Antonio College and author of the Harvard Business Impact article "What to Do When Students Ask You for Career Advice." - Full bio. © 2026 About This Page
© 2026 - Disclaimer - Privacy