List of Dance Facts and Statistics
The world of dance is an exclusive and intensive industry that has inspired awe and respect for the medium worldwide. The medium of dance is an accumulative repertoire curated by dancers and companies based on years of dance styles throughout history. Financially the dance world has a disposition towards male performers, and although they make up the minority of professional dancers compared to females, on average they are paid more and given higher leading positions than females. This list goes over various statistics of dance as well as the gender gap in the dance world.
Employment Statistics
- The top industries employing dancers and choreographers are performing arts companies, schools and instructional institutions, and athletic spectatorships. Colleges, universities, and professional dance schools and colleges offer the highest paying jobs in the industry for dancers.
- Women heavily outweigh men in the dancing workforce, with about 3,200 (1,839 margin of error) men working in dance professionally compared to 12,500 thousand women (2,745 margin of error) in the USA. This means that women make up 79.6% of the dance workforce.
- The total number of professional dancers in the USA workforce averages at 15,700 (3,077 margin of error.)
- California, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, and Texas are the top five states in the United States for dance related employment.
- The average percentage of dancers who move on from amateur to professionals is 3-10% based on different studies.
Salary Statistics
- The average salary of a professional dancer is $28,828 a year ($5,008 margin of error).
- Although women take up most of the workforce, on average men are paid $42,551 a year while women are on average paid $25,312 a year.
- The yearly wage for dancers in companies is comparable to other jobs in the company which don’t have to do with dance, such as shuttle drivers.
- The average hourly rate for professional dancers is $16.31, based off of studies done in May 2018. Based on the same study, choreographers on average make $22.98 an hour. On average, dance instructors make $20.98 an hour.
- Most professional dancers do not make a living wage to support themselves entirely through dance.
- Indeed, a popular job searching site calculates that on average, the salary of dance studio owners nationwide is $67,000 a year.
Race and Ethnicity Statistics
The most common race of dancers in the USA is White (non-hispanic), followed by White (Hispanic), and 3rd being Black (non-hispanic).
In a breakdown of diversity statistics, 66.7% of dancers and choreographers identify as White/ Caucasian. 16.6% identify as Black, 2.2% as Asian, and 14.5% identify as multiple races and ethnicities.
Age Statistics
The average age of dancers and choreographers in the USA is 28, with the average for males at 31.8, and the average for women at 27.1.
Dance Studios Statistics
The number of dance studios in the USA rises annually, with revenue in the dance studio industry increasing 4.6% in the last 5 years.
Based on statistics from 2018, the USA has about 51,984 dance studios actively.
Injury Statistics
Professional dance is one of the most rigorous and trying forms of physical exercise there is. 80% of professional dancers sustain a serious injury during their career, and 93% of dance teachers are former professional dancers who sustained a serious injury which ended their professional careers.
Choreography Statistics
In a 2019-2020 seasonal overview from Dance Data Project, their findings calculated that 72% of choreographed works this season were led in the US by men. 62% of the entirety of programs were choreographed by men, with 55% of world premieres being choreographed by men.
83% of full-length world premieres are choreographed by men as well. While the industry continues to favor men in almost every category, this season actually saw a spike in equity between genders compared to previous seasons.
Publicly, the demand and attendance for studios offering latin-inspired dance, fitness and cardio dance classes, and ballroom have steadily increased.
Dance Styles
Ballet originated in 15th century Italy remains one of the most popular forms of dance to this day. It is also considered the backbone of many different styles of dance.
While there are many varying styles of dance, these styles can be split into two categories; performative and social. Performative or theatrical styles of dance are performed for an audience, while social dance is participatory and usually happens at events like weddings, festivals, or other social gatherings.
Performative dance is usually choreographed and involves theatrical elements such as costumes, sets, and other touches that give it a more professional look and feel. Social dance is usually improvised and anyone is encouraged to participate.
Equipment Statistics
Most professional ballerinas will wear out 2-3 pairs of pointe shoes a week, with the average price of a pair ranging from $45-120. On average a dancer will pay $65-75 for a pair of pointe shoes.
Most ballerinas pursuing a professional career will learn to dance on pointe by the time they are 12, as 11-12 is on average when feet stop growing. However, the technique can be taught to children as young as 9 or 10. The skill required to be on point means a dancer must have at least three years of ballet training before attempting ballet with pointe shoes.
Wear on pointe shoes is dependent on practice and skill level. Beginning dancers' learning point will on average wear out their shoes within 3 months. However, professional dancers can expect their shoes to last a far shorter amount of time, sometimes a rigorous performance is all that is needed to require a new pair of pointe shoes.
A male dancer will wear out 4,000 pairs of tights on average during their dance career.