What does a dance instructor do?
A dance instructor teaches a variety of dance styles and techniques to students from beginner to advanced level. Dance instructors must choreograph routines for their students and select the proper music for recitals and concerts. They evaluate the performance of their students and provide suggestions and recommendations for improvement. Dance instructors can specialize in one or more dance genres such as ballet, ballroom, or hip-hop. They also can find employment at schools, dance studios, and community centers.
Dance instructor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real dance instructor resumes:
- Promote for demonstrate leadership skills and competence in managing students.
- Choreograph beginner, intermediate and advance dance repertoire in the areas of ballet, pointe and modern dance.
- Teach classical ballet, contemporary dance, and Pointe work to children, teens, and adults.
- Dance instruction include skills such as Zumba workouts, ballet, tap, jazz, and Hawaiian dance.
- Earn the title of Sensei.
- Administer first aid when need and hold CPR certification.
- Instruct classes in the charter school and dojo setting.
- Cook and run the cash register at the concessions stand.
- Teach proper ballet, jazz, contemporary, and pom technique.
- Help students meet goals both inside and outside of the dojo.
- Experience in hands on training for safety and are previously certify in CPR.
- Teach require skills on the syllabus and choreograph mid-year, and end of the year dances
- Put together rotation schedules, help with holiday camps, and also run birthday parties.
- Spot kids on new skills and help them to preform their activities safely while supervising classes.
- Provide a specific hour and fifteen minutes for club time which includes arts and crafts, zumba, rec.
Dance instructor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Dance Instructors are proficient in Dance Classes, Role Model, and Hip Hop Dance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Dance Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Dance Classes, 16%
Coordinate and instruct dance classes- Choreograph dances for events- Manage financial transactions for tuition and costumes- Provide superior customer service
- Role Model, 9%
Be the reliable role model and mentor you would want your children to have.
- Hip Hop Dance, 8%
Teach students the skills and history necessary to learn Hip Hop dance as well as create fliers to promote the class.
- Dance Program, 7%
Initiated and administer an innovative gymnastics/dance program serving all of Nassau County.
- Fine Arts, 5%
Collaborate with Fine Arts Faculty and plan and produce fine arts performances twice a year.
- Front Desk, 5%
Assisted in field trip coordination, front desk management, opening and closing procedures, and overall camp operation and activities.
"dance classes," "role model," and "hip hop dance" are among the most common skills that dance instructors use at work. You can find even more dance instructor responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a dance instructor to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Dance instructors often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "incorporated the use of interpersonal skills with children ages 3-17 and their parents. "
Speaking skills. Another essential skill to perform dance instructor duties is speaking skills. Dance instructors responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." Dance instructors also use speaking skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "teach 4,000+ high school students dance choreography through public speaking and demonstration. "
Writing skills. This is an important skill for dance instructors to perform their duties. For an example of how dance instructor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a dance instructor: "maintained positive classroom environment while encouraging students to succeed in their writing and academic goals. ".
The three companies that hire the most dance instructors are:
- Fred Astaire Dance Studios113 dance instructors jobs
- Ymca Of Metropolitan Atlanta9 dance instructors jobs
- YMCA of Metro Knoxville
6 dance instructors jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable dance instructor resume templates
Build a professional dance instructor resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your dance instructor resume.
Compare different dance instructors
Dance instructor vs. Guitar teacher
Dance Teachers are responsible for leading dance classes to teach individuals or groups of people various dancing techniques. Dance Teachers are required to help their students improve their dancing skills by participating in amateur or professional dance competitions or performing in social events such as high school reunions. They must teach one or more dance genres such as ballet, ballroom, or hip hop. They must also be physically fit and should possess a good sense of quality music.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, dance instructor responsibilities require skills like "dance classes," "role model," "hip hop dance," and "dance program." Meanwhile a typical guitar teacher has skills in areas such as "learning process," "songwriting," "ran," and "music lessons." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Guitar teachers tend to reach similar levels of education than dance instructors. In fact, guitar teachers are 2.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Dance instructor vs. Private music teacher
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, dance instructor responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "dance classes," "role model," "hip hop dance," and "dance program." Meanwhile, a private music teacher has duties that require skills in areas such as "mathematics," "language arts," "cello," and "in-home." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, private music teachers achieve higher levels of education than dance instructors. They're 9.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for dance instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Helen Callus
Professor of Viola, Northwestern University
I imagine this might become part of the framework that we offer in the future. Students should understand how to present themselves in these situations, understanding sound and picture quality devices (what microphones and cameras are best), internet speeds, ethernet cables, router devices, lighting, etc. But it is an excellent opportunity to understand the media of film/video and how to create best a sound video recording for competitions, summer festivals, or college applications. We were already using that medium for prescreens, so this is a chance to refine that skill as, without doubt, that will be a part of our future.
Dance instructor vs. Voice teacher
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, dance instructors are more likely to have skills like "dance classes," "role model," "hip hop dance," and "dance program." But a voice teacher is more likely to have skills like "kids," "stage presence," "music education," and "music lessons."
Most voice teachers achieve a higher degree level compared to dance instructors. For example, they're 15.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Dance instructor vs. Dance teacher
Types of dance instructor
Updated January 8, 2025
