Most commonly reported Work Activities

• Thinking Creatively Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• Performing General Physical Activities Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems Analysing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Coaching and Developing Others Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Organising, Planning, and Prioritising Work Developing specific goals and plans to prioritise, organise, and accomplish your work.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• Developing and Building Teams Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

The Work

• Studying types and aspects of dance to be used in performances.
• Creative interpretation of scripts and music.
• Directing in musical companies; instructing and advising dancers.
• Ensuring moves and techniques are being performed safely.
• Leading rehearsals.

Travel: may be frequent; choreographers have to go where the work is. International travel may be involved for recognised choreographers.
Working hours: can be long, irregular and unsociable when working towards deadlines.
Location: most vacancies are found in big cities where television and musical theatre industries are based, making relocation highly likely.

Most commonly reported Work Tasks

• Direct rehearsals to instruct dancers in how to use dance steps, and in techniques to achieve desired effects.
• Teach students, dancers, and other performers about rhythm and interpretive movement.
• Choose the music, sound effects, or spoken narrative to accompany a dance.
• Advise dancers on how to stand and move properly, teaching correct dance techniques to help prevent injuries.
• Design dances for individual dancers, dance companies, musical theatre, opera, fashion shows, film, television productions, and special events, and for dancers ranging from beginners to professionals.
• Seek influences from other art forms such as theatre, the visual arts, and architecture.
• Experiment with different types of dancers, steps, dances, and placements, testing ideas informally to get feedback from dancers.
• Train, exercise, and attend dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness.
• Develop ideas for creating dances, keeping notes and sketches to record influences.
• Read and study story lines and musical scores to determine how to translate ideas and moods into dance movements.

Further Information

• Choreographer - from: N.C.S. [UK]
• Choreographer - from: GradIreland

This occupation is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests:

Creative

Creative people are drawn to careers and activities that enable them to take responsibility for the design, layout or sensory impact of something (visual, auditory etc). They may be atrracted to the traditional artistic pursuits such as painting, sculpture, singing, or music. Or they may show more interest in design activities, such as architecture, animation, or craft areas, such as pottery and ceramics.

Creative people use their personal understanding of people and the world they live in to guide their work. Creative people like to work in unstructured workplaces, enjoy taking risks and prefer a minimum of routine.

Social

The Social person's interests focus on interacting with the people in their environment. In all cases, the Social person enjoys the personal contact with other people in preference to the impersonal dealings with things, data and ideas found in other groups.

Many will seek out positions where there is direct contact with the public in some advisory role, whether a receptionist or a counsellor. Social people are motivated by an interest in different types of people and like diversity in their work environments. Many are drawn towards careers in the caring professions and social welfare area, whilst others prefer teaching and other 'informing' roles.

Enterprising

Enterprising people like situations that involve using resources for personal or corporate economic gain. Such people may have an opportunistic frame of mind, and are drawn to commerce, trade and making deals. Some pursue sales and marketing occupations. Many will eventually end up owning their own business, or in management roles in larger organisations. They tend to be very goal-oriented and work best when focused on a target. Some have an entrepreneurial inclination.

There are many pathways to becoming a Dance teacher./ Choreographer The training that a Dancer receives is that which he/she receives in dance school - this is a framework upon which all subsequent practical training and rehearsal is be built. The better the training, the better chance the Dancer will have of understanding a wide range of parts with corresponding, increased employment opportunities, including the possibility of becoming a Choreogrpaher.

Training & Development Pathways

FET Centre Traineeship: Traning & Development 'Train the Trainer' in centres around Ireland NFQ Level 6 Search FET Courses

FET PLC Courses: Dance 1 & 2, Dance Studies, Performing Arts, Theatre Performance & Production, Dance Technique Performance & Choreography, Musical Theatre & Dance, Dance-Advanced, Actor Training - Advanced at NFQ Levels 5-6 Search FET PLC Courses

Apprenticeship: There are no performing Art Apprenticeships currently available, but new programmes are being added all the time NFQ level 5-10 Search Apprenticeships

Higher Education CAO Entry: Arts - Music and Dance, Performing Arts (Traditional Irish Music / Traditional Irish Dance / Contemporary Dance / Voice / World Music) - Audition Required, Performing Arts, Arts - Music & Dance courses at NFQ Levels 7-8 Search CAO courses

Professional Development

Postgraduate Study Options Dance - Irish Dance Studies, Music & Dance - The Irish World Academy of Music & Dance - Research, Dance Performance, Ethnochoreology, Theatre Directing NFQ level 9

Dance Ireland: Guide to Independant Choreographers

Irish Film & Television Network 

The Teaching Council 

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance Dance Teachers would be expected to take examinations and attain technical qualifications through one of the principal examining bodies such as, the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). 

Becoming an Irish Dance Teacher

An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha is known as a T.C.R.G. which is the abbreviation for the Gaelic Teagascóir Choimisiúin le Rinci Gaelacha. Most people, especially outside of Ireland, never learn how to properly pronounce that lovely Gaelic way of saying "certified Irish dance teacher", so saying "T.C.R.G." is more common when referring to Irish dance teachers.

A T.C.R.G. has sat for their Irish dance teacher's exams and passed those exams, showing their knowledge of, and ability to execute and teach both traditional and more modern Irish dance steps. That person is then recognised as a certified Irish dance teacher by An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha, the international Irish dance organization with whom the majority of the world's (and most of the United States') Irish dance schools are affiliated.

An Comhdháil Na Múinteoiri Le Rincí Gaelacha (also known as An Comhdháil) is another organization which uses a T.C.R.G. certification process for their Irish dance teaching members. Different organizations use other methods which vary in the time, knowledge and experience required for certification.

Other Dance Styles

In general, dance teachers come from a background of being dancers themselves. They may become dance teachers due to their high level of skill and their desire to pass this on to others.

To teach dance in recognised dance schools you need to have a qualified teacher status. To study for a qualification to teach classical or contemporary dance, you may need to have completed Leaving Cert or equivalent. 

For classical and contemporary dance courses check with organisations such as:

• The Royal Academy of Dance
• The London Contemporary Dance School (The Place)
• Laban

For ballroom qualifications and many other types of freestyle dancing check with the International Dance Teachers Association

• The International Dance Teachers Association

Last Updated: April, 2023

Salary Range (thousands per year)* €17k - €55k

Nature of work makes estimating annual salaries difficult as income often isn't steady across entire year.

The Review of Pay and Conditions in the Performing Arts in 2018 found that 74% of performing artists and creative practitioners rely on other sources of income and one third of artists and creative practitioners earned less than the National Minimum wage.

Data Source(s):
Payscale/ RPC Performing Arts / SalaryExpert / DEASP

Last Updated: July, 2024

* The lower figures typically reflect starting salaries. Higher salaries are awarded to those with greater experience and responsibility. Positions in Dublin sometimes command higher salaries.

View Salary information from Indeed.ie
Note: data not aways available

This information has been derived from the Solas National Skills Bulletin (2023).

Employment grew strongly between 2021 and 2022, with an additional 7,300 persons employed. As illustrated in the CSO Census data below, employment is spread across a number of roles; since 2016, the strongest growth, in absolute terms, was for graphic designers and authors, writers and translators.

New employment permits issued for this occupation in 2022 were primarily for film/TV and animation/visual effects (VFX) roles but also for linguistics experts in the ICT sector. There was also a high volume of recent job hires in line with the recent employment increase. The data does not point to overall issues with recruitment for these roles.

Trainers & instructors (National Skills Bulletin 2021) Despite a fall in employment over the five-year period for this occupation, employment increased between 2019 and 2020, primarily related to vocational trainers and instructors.

• Dance Ireland

  • DanceHouse, Foley Street, Dublin 1.
  • (01) 855 8800
  • [email protected]
  • Click Here

• The Arts Council of Ireland

  • 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2
  • (01) 618 0200 CallSave 1850 392492
  • [email protected]
  • Click Here