Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · Holland code ASE

Choreographers

Create new dance routines. Rehearse performance of routines. May direct and stage presentations.

Also called: Choreographer, Dance Director, Dance Maker, Opera Choreographer, Ballet Director, Musical Choreographer.

O*NET 27-2032.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $55,310; Middle half earn $41,600 to $75,710. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 33% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.8 / 5
Learning Strategies3.6 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.5 / 5
Critical Thinking3.4 / 5

Knowledge areas

Fine Arts4.5 / 5
Education and Training3.3 / 5
Administration and Management3.3 / 5
Production and Processing3.3 / 5
Design3.1 / 5
Communications and Media3.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic44
Investigative20
Artistic100
Social49
Enterprising46
Conventional19

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

performing arts school dance instructor · DE Lehrkraft für Tanz an einer Hochschule für Darstellende Kunst · FR professeur de danse/professeure de danse
choreographer · DE Choreograf/Choreografin · FR chorégraphe
choreologist · DE Choreologe/Choreologin · FR notateur
artistic coach · DE Trainer für künstlerische Performance/Trainerin für künstlerische Performance · FR coach artistique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Higher education teaching professionals (2311)258,500 employed
Sports coaches, instructors and officials (3432)124,900 employed
Dancers and choreographers (3414)14,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.58. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (27-2032).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test