Choreographer vs director

The differences between choreographers and directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a choreographer, becoming a director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a director has an average salary of $113,489, which is higher than the $60,957 average annual salary of a choreographer.

The top three skills for a choreographer include stage presence, musical theater and dance classes. The most important skills for a director are healthcare, customer service, and oversight.

Choreographer vs director overview

	Choreographer	Director
Yearly salary	$60,957	$113,489
Hourly rate	$29.31	$54.56
Growth rate	27%	8%
Number of jobs	496	230,711
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	27	40
Years of experience	4	6

Choreographer vs director salary

Choreographers and directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Choreographer	Director
Average salary	$60,957	$113,489
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $115,000	Between $66,000 And $192,000
Highest paying City	Hoboken, NJ	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	Louisville Ballet	Mayo Clinic
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between choreographer and director education

There are a few differences between a choreographer and a director in terms of educational background:

	Choreographer	Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Dance	Business
Most common college	Duke University	Stanford University

Choreographer vs director demographics

Here are the differences between choreographers' and directors' demographics:

	Choreographer	Director
Average age	27	40
Gender ratio	Male, 24.0% Female, 76.0%	Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 10.7% Hispanic or Latino, 29.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 44.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	24%	14%

Differences between choreographer and director duties and responsibilities

Choreographer example responsibilities.

Start up and manage social media; Facebook, Instagram.
Perform as lead dancer in semi-annual mainstage concerts.
Perform in mainstage, blackbox and academic productions.
Perform in script shows including children's theater, choreograph stage combat, and choreograph dance performances.
Create, execute and perform an original musical production: including plot, music, costumes, choreography and staging
Design culturally authentic costumes for performances.

Director example responsibilities.

Manage water metering programs for NYC and national portfolio.
Collaborate with the CPA to manage financials and reporting / distribution to physicians.
Manage OEM manufacturing partners for making bulk solutions, product fills and final packaging.
Lead company's first deep-fill structural project, bring company into EPA compliance, establish effective QA-QC program.
Develop company website entirely as well as wrote and manage the SEO and upkeep for overall site maintenance.
Manage the company's hotel portfolio operations and assets, including renovation, new build, conversions, and rebranding.

Choreographer vs director skills

Common choreographer skills

Stage Presence, 29%
Musical Theater, 15%
Dance Classes, 10%
Dance Routines, 8%
JR, 4%
Hip Hop, 4%

Common director skills

Healthcare, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Oversight, 7%
Project Management, 6%
Human Resources, 4%
Business Development, 4%

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Choreographer
Choreographer vs Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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