Resume guide · Updated October 2026
Dancer Resume Example and Dance Resume Guide
Short answer
A dance resume is a one-page credit sheet, not a career story. Put your name, titles, contact details and height at the top, then performance credits (production, company or venue, role, choreographer), training by school, style and teacher, education, awards and special skills such as partnering, tumbling or singing. Add a headshot when the audition asks for one.
| Median pay (May 2025) | $24.80 per hour |
|---|---|
| Job outlook, 2025-35 | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 13,800 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Dancers and Choreographers, checked 27 October 2026.
Dancer resume example
Below is a full dancer resume for Sienna Park, a fictional dancer: Ballet, Contemporary and Jazz in New York, NY. Keep the section order, then replace each line with your own work and results.
Sienna Park
Dancer: Ballet, Contemporary and Jazz
New York, NY · Height 5 ft 6 in · sienna.park@example.com · (555) 012-8890 · siennaparkdance.com
Summary
Classically trained dancer with 3 seasons in a regional ballet company corps and contemporary project work in New York. Strong on pointe and in partnering, quick to learn repertory and comfortable creating material in devised work. Also teaches ballet and jazz to young students. Non-union.
Experience
Corps de Ballet Dancer, Riverbend Ballet Theatre
2022 to 2025 seasons
Richmond, VA
- Performed 40 to 50 shows a season in classical and contemporary repertory, including Snow and Flowers in The Nutcracker and the Wilis in Giselle.
- Understudied 6 soloist roles and danced a Big Swan in Swan Lake Act II for 4 performances.
- Worked with guest choreographers on 3 world premieres, learning new phrases within 2 to 3 rehearsal days.
- Performed in company lecture-demonstrations for about 1,200 elementary students across 9 schools.
Project Dancer, Hollis Street Dance Collective
Summer 2025 to present
Brooklyn, NY
- Danced in 'Tidewater' (choreography by Lena Ortiz), 8 performances in a 199-seat downtown theater.
- Contributed improvised material during a 3-week creative residency for a new evening-length work.
- Performed site-specific pieces outdoors on concrete and grass at 2 summer festivals.
Ballet and Jazz Teacher, Spotlight Studio of Dance
2022 to 2025
Richmond, VA
- Taught 6 weekly classes in ballet and jazz for about 70 students ages 6 to 14.
- Choreographed 5 recital pieces and ran spacing and tech rehearsals with the studio director.
- Coached 4 students for summer intensive auditions; 3 were accepted.
Training
- Riverbend Ballet Theatre Trainee Program, 2020 to 2022: ballet, pointe, variations, partnering
- Hollis Street Dance Collective summer intensive, 2024: contemporary, floor work, improvisation
- Royal Academy of Dance Advanced 1, passed with Merit
Education
BFA in Dance, Lakeshore University School of the Arts · Ballet and modern concentration; senior choreography showcase
2022
Skills
Ballet and pointe (15 years) · Contemporary and modern (Horton, Limón) · Jazz · Partnering and lifts · Improvisation · Basic tap · Fast choreography pickup · Conversational Spanish
Dancer resume summary examples
3 dancer summaries, one each for pre-professional student, commercial dancer and company dancer moving into rehearsal direction. Pick the closest and rewrite it with your own title, years and one real result.
Pre-professional ballet student with 12 years of training and 3 summers at company-affiliated intensives. Strong on pointe and in partnering class; danced soloist roles in 2 school productions. Seeking a trainee or second-company position.
Commercial dancer with credits in 2 music videos, an arena tour and live corporate events. Trained in hip-hop, jazz funk and heels; picks up combinations fast at open calls and on set. Comfortable with in-ear cues and quick changes.
Company dancer with 9 seasons in contemporary and classical repertory, including principal roles in works by 6 living choreographers. Rehearsal assistant and teaching artist, bringing reconstruction and coaching experience to a ballet master or rehearsal director role.
Dancer resume objective examples
Use an objective instead of a summary for recent BFA graduate and career changer situations: one or two sentences on what you bring and the dancer job you want.
Recent BFA dance graduate seeking a company apprenticeship, bringing strong classical technique, contemporary floor work and 4 years of student choreography credits.
Former competitive gymnast with 10 years of acrobatic training and 2 years of jazz and contemporary classes, seeking ensemble roles in theme park and cruise line productions where tumbling skills are an asset.
Dancer resume bullet points
Bullets grouped by performance credits, rehearsal and repertory, teaching and outreach and choreography. The numbers are illustrations; put in your own.
Performance credits
- Danced 120 performances in a 6-month cruise line production show, covering 2 swing tracks.
- Performed a featured hip-hop solo in a regional music video and 3 live brand activations.
- Danced ensemble in a 12-show summer stock musical while covering the dance captain track.
Rehearsal and repertory
- Learned 4 full-length ballets in one season while understudying 2 soloist roles.
- Served as dance captain for an 8-person ensemble, running clean-up rehearsals and teaching the show to replacements in 5 days.
- Assisted a guest choreographer by keeping rehearsal notes and teaching material to the second cast.
Teaching and outreach
- Taught 8 weekly classes in ballet, jazz and lyrical to about 90 students ages 5 to 17.
- Prepared 12 students for Royal Academy of Dance graded exams; all passed.
- Led 15 school outreach workshops for a regional company, reaching about 600 students.
Choreography
- Choreographed 3 competition pieces that placed at regional competitions.
- Set a 10-minute contemporary work on 14 college dancers for the spring concert.
- Staged musical numbers for a community theater production with a cast of 25 non-dancers.
Skills for a dancer resume
18 skills employers list in dancer postings. Include the ones the posting asks for and that your bullets prove.
| Type | Skills |
|---|---|
| Hard skills | Ballet technique, Pointe work, Contemporary and modern, Jazz, Hip-hop, Tap, Partnering and lifts, Improvisation, Acrobatics and tumbling, Musical theater dance, Choreography, Fast choreography pickup |
| Soft skills | Coachability, Stamina and discipline, Ensemble awareness, Rehearsal etiquette, Resilience after auditions, Time management across gigs |
| Tools and software | Self-tape setup (tripod, ring light), Reel editing (iMovie, CapCut), Personal portfolio website, Music editing for recitals (Audacity) |
Certifications for a dancer resume
| Credential | Issued by | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Academy of Dance graded and vocational exams | Royal Academy of Dance | List the highest vocational grade you passed (for example Intermediate, Advanced 1 or Advanced 2) and the result. Ballet schools and teachers recognize the levels. |
| ABT National Training Curriculum teacher certification | American Ballet Theatre | A teaching credential for ballet instructors. List the levels you are certified to teach if you apply for studio or school positions. |
| Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED | American Red Cross | Often requested by studios and camps that hire dancers to teach children. |
What is the standard dance resume format?
A dance resume is a one-page credit sheet. The UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts guide describes two versions: a concert or conservatory resume on 8.5 x 11 inch paper for company auditions and stage work, and a commercial resume on 8 x 10 inch paper with the headshot stapled to the back for TV, film and commercial work.
A concert resume opens with your name in a larger font, up to three titles (dancer, choreographer, teaching artist), email, phone and height. A commercial resume replaces the titles with your agency logo and union status and adds eyes and hair. Credits go in columns rather than bullets: production, company or venue, role and choreographer. Put the credit most relevant to the audition first, then everything else newest to oldest.
- Concert or conservatory: 8.5 x 11 in, one page, optional headshot in the top right corner, no agency information
- Commercial: 8 x 10 in, one page, agency logo, union or non-union status, eyes, hair and height
- Both: saved as a PDF, consistent fonts, every name checked for spelling
What should a dance resume include?
Performance experience is the core. For each credit, give the title, the company or venue, your role and the choreographer, and note when you were featured or danced a solo. Group commercial credits by category, such as Film and Television, Music Videos, Tours, Live Events and Theater.
Training comes next: schools, programs and intensives, the styles you studied and notable teachers. Directors read training to judge your technique before they see you move, so name the studio or company school and the years. Finish with education, awards and scholarships, and special skills such as aerial silks, tumbling, tap, singing or languages.
How do you make a dance resume with no professional experience?
Student and pre-professional dancers list school productions, recitals, competitions, summer intensives and youth company performances as credits. Format them like professional credits (production, studio or company, role, choreographer) so the page reads as a real dance resume rather than a list of activities.
Let training carry more weight: move it near the top, list each style with years of study, and name the teachers and intensive programs. For college dance auditions, add the academic details the program asks for, and keep the whole thing to one page.
Should a dance resume include a headshot and union status?
Include a headshot whenever the audition notice asks for one, which is almost always the case for commercial work. For concert and company auditions a small headshot in the corner is optional; many companies also ask for dance photos, such as an arabesque or a jump, or a reel link.
State union status on commercial and theater resumes. Dancers at many ballet and dance companies work under AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists) contracts, stage musicals fall under Actors' Equity, and film and TV under SAG-AFTRA. If you are not a member, write 'Non-union'; never imply membership you do not hold.
How is a dance resume different from a regular resume?
An audition resume skips the summary and bullets and lets the credits speak. A regular resume with a summary and bullet points is the right tool when you apply to teach at a studio, work in company management or outreach, or join a cruise line or theme park that screens applications online.
Many working dancers keep both: a one-page credit sheet for auditions and a bullet-point resume for teaching and arts administration. BLS notes that part-time work is common for dancers, so the second resume often supports the first. Use the summaries and bullets on this page for applications and the credit format for auditions.
ATS keywords for a dancer resume
Terms that show up in dancer job postings. Mirror the exact wording of the posting you apply to, but only for work you have done.
- Dancer
- ballet
- contemporary
- jazz
- hip-hop
- pointe
- partnering
- choreography
- repertory
- dance captain
- swing
- rehearsal
- performance
- teaching artist
- dance instruction
- improvisation
Mistakes to avoid on a dancer resume
- Writing an audition resume like an office resume. Directors want a fast credit sheet in columns, not paragraphs about teamwork.
- Listing every recital since childhood. Keep the most recent and relevant credits and cut older student shows once you have professional work.
- Misspelling names. Check every choreographer, company and teacher name; directors often know them personally.
- The wrong size for commercial calls. Trim a commercial resume to 8 x 10 inches so it does not hang off the back of the headshot.
- Skills you cannot perform on the spot. If you list aerials, tap or a split leap, expect to be asked to do it in the room.
- Agency details on a concert resume. The UC Irvine guide advises leaving agency information off concert and conservatory resumes.
Frequently asked questions
What should be on a dance resume?
Your name, contact details and height, performance credits (production, company, role, choreographer), training by school, style and teacher, education, awards and special skills. Commercial resumes also list your agency, union status, eyes and hair.
How long should a dance resume be?
One page. Choose the most recent and relevant credits for each audition and cut older recitals or student shows once you have professional work.
How do I make a dance resume with no experience?
List recitals, school productions, competitions and summer intensives as credits in the same column format, and put training near the top with styles, years and teachers. Add special skills and any teaching or choreography.
Do you put your height on a dance resume?
Yes. Height is standard on dance resumes because casting often depends on matching dancers in a line. Commercial resumes usually add eye and hair color too.
How much do professional dancers make?
The BLS reports that the median hourly wage for dancers was $24.80 in May 2025. BLS also notes that part-time work is common, so yearly income depends on how many contracts and gigs you book.
What is the difference between a concert and a commercial dance resume?
A concert or conservatory resume is for company auditions and stage work, printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper without agency details. A commercial resume is 8 x 10 inches to match a headshot and lists your agency, union status and physical details.
Should I include a headshot with my dance resume?
For commercial auditions, yes: staple a headshot to the back of an 8 x 10 resume. For concert and company auditions it is optional, but many companies ask for dance photos or a video link instead.
Related guides
Sources, checked 27 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Dancers and Choreographers (median hourly wage for dancers, employment, projected change, training, part-time work)
- UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts: Arts Industry Careers Quick Guide (concert and commercial dance resume formats, page sizes, header and credit layout)
- American Guild of Musical Artists: AGMA Signatories (ballet and dance companies working under AGMA agreements)