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Choreographer

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Choreographer

Choreographer

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Ballet Director, Choreographer, Dance Director, Dance Maker, Musical Choreographer, Opera Choreographer

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Direct rehearsals to instruct dancers in dance steps and in techniques to achieve desired effects.
  • Advise dancers on standing and moving properly, teaching correct dance techniques to help prevent injuries.
  • Teach students, dancers, and other performers about rhythm and interpretive movement.
  • Record dance movements and their technical aspects, using a technical understanding of the patterns and formations of choreography.
  • Direct and stage dance presentations for various forms of entertainment.
  • Choose the music, sound effects, or spoken narrative to accompany a dance.
  • Experiment with different types of dancers, steps, dances, and placements, testing ideas informally to get feedback from dancers.
  • Seek influences from other art forms, such as theatre, the visual arts, and architecture.
  • Develop ideas for creating dances, keeping notes and sketches to record influences.
  • Coordinate production music with music directors.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    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.

    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.

    Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    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.

    Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    It's useful to be good at
    Gross Body Coordination - The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.

    Gross Body Equilibrium - The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.

    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

    Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Dynamic Strength - The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.

    Extent Flexibility - The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    Stamina - The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.

    Trunk Strength - The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2025
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $16.39 $20.00 $26.59 $36.40 $66.65
    Yearly $34,090 $41,600 $55,310 $75,710 $138,630
    Arizona Hourly
    Yearly
    2025 Median%
    United States $26.59 Hourly $55,310 Yearly
    Arizona Hourly Yearly

    Employment (2025)
    4,700 employees
    Projected growth (2025 - 2035)
    Slower than average (2% to 3%)
    Projected job openings (2025 - 2035)
    600
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

    Frequently asked questions about degree programs

    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.

    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.

    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.

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