PRESENTATION OUTLINE
CAREER DAY, PROFESSIONAL BALLET DANCER
I'd like to be a professional ballet dancer when I grow up.
This is in the Arts, A/V Technology and Communications Career Cluster.
To become a professional dancer, you should start young and take several hours of classes per week.
It takes 8-10 years to become a pro at ballet. You start when you are about seven, and take 1-2 dance classes a week. When you are about 14, you take 10-15 classes per week.
In middle and high school, you can take electives such as dance, drama, and PE to help you become a better dancer.
Most professional dancers have university masters in dance.
Some popular dance schools are the School of American Ballet, University of California, Juilliard Dance, and Princeton Ballet School.
Some popular U.S. dance companies are American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet.
The salary of a ballet dancer is 25,000 dollars a year to 50,000 dollars a year, depending on the company.
To be a good dancer, you need physical stamina, a fit appearance, persistence, creativity, and teamwork.
As a ballerina,the tools you use are your body, costumes, props, ballet slippers, and pointe shoes. You also need music.
Ballet dancing isn't a growing occupation. There are few work opportunities for dancers, and ballet is very competitive.
As a dancer, you would be expected to perform in many theaters, such as the Fox, and practice constantly at many locations.
A typical day of a professional ballet dancer is to first attend a 1 1/2 hour warm up/technique class. Then, they practice their routines for 4-6 hours, sometimes before evening performances. Dancers have 1-2 days off per week, when they do normal things.
I want to be a professional ballet dancer when I grow up for many reasons. First of all, I am already beginning to practice dance, and compete routines. When I listen to music, I don't just sit there. I get up and move to the beat!
Dancing has always been fun for me, and I really want to continue. I might even make it big!
