Education · 1 of 4

The path

There is no license and no single route. There is only whether you can make work people want to perform.

1. 1

   Serious dance training

   Years, starting young

   Most choreographers started in a studio well before high school. Ballet technique underneath whatever style you love is the usual foundation.

2. 2

   High school

   Keep training outside school. Start making short pieces on your friends now, badly, on purpose. That is how you learn.

3. 3

   College dance program or a company job

   4 years, or none

   A BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in dance is the common route, and schools like Ohio State also offer graduate degrees. Plenty of people skip it and audition straight into a company instead.

4. 4

   Perform first, choreograph second

   3 to 8 years

   Very few people are hired to make dances before they have danced professionally. This is where the years go.

5. 5

   Build a body of work

   Ongoing

   Small commissions, student pieces, your own company, music videos. Video of finished work is your resume.