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Choreographers

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

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Coordinate production music with music directors.
    • Choose the music, sound effects, or spoken narrative to accompany a dance.
    • Train, exercise, and attend dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness.
    • Restage traditional dances and works in dance companies' repertoires, developing new interpretations.
    • Develop ideas for creating dances, keeping notes and sketches to record influences.
    • Record dance movements and their technical aspects, using a technical understanding of the patterns and formations of choreography.
    • Assess students' dancing abilities to determine where improvement or change is needed.
    • 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.
    • Audition performers for one or more dance parts.
    • Experiment with different types of dancers, steps, dances, and placements, testing ideas informally to get feedback from dancers.
    • Design sets, lighting, costumes, and other artistic elements of productions, in collaboration with cast members.
    • Seek influences from other art forms, such as theatre, the visual arts, and architecture.
    • Read and study story lines and musical scores to determine how to translate ideas and moods into dance movements.
    • Manage dance schools, or assist in their management.
    • 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.
    • Direct and stage dance presentations for various forms of entertainment.
    • Direct rehearsals to instruct dancers in dance steps and in techniques to achieve desired effects.

    Skills

    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    Knowledge

    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    5 years or more work experience
    Training
    More than 1 year on-the-job training

    Pay

    U.S. Annual Salary
    55600/yr
    U.S. Hourly Wage
    26.73/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    30
    Yearly Projected Openings
    10

    Personality

    Artistic: People interested in this work like activities that include creating, designing, and making your own rules. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Innovation
    • Persistence
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Leadership
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Compact disk players or recorders
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Digital video disk players or recorders
    • Metronomes
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Portable stereo systems
    • Stage or projection or studio lighting system
    • Stop watch
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Graphical user interface development software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software