5 Ways to Make Extra Income as a Dancer

Making a living as a professional dancer is not always easy. Not all dancers get the chance of landing a regular gig, and even those are rare. Even if you get paid well for one-off performances, you never know when the next check will come. This is why dancers need to find as many ways to earn revenue as they can if they want to stay afloat. Thankfully, there are tons of ways that dancers can earn money from their craft, and technology has made it easier than ever for dancers to diversify their income. Let’s take a look at a few ways to make extra money as a dancer.

Start Teaching

This is one of the best ways for dancers to make extra money, and you could end up making more money as an instructor than as a dancer if you play your cards right. The most important thing will be to keep operating costs as low as possible in the beginning, offer great service, and start to build a name for yourself.

Know that you don’t need to own studio space or sign a lease if you want to teach classes. There are plenty of rehearsal studios that you can book when you need to give classes. This will give you some flexibility and allow you to save a lot of money on space. All you have to do is check how much you’ll have to pay for the space, the number of people you expect to sign up for your classes, and set the class price so you can make a profit.

You might have a bit of trouble finding studio spaces like these if you’re in a smaller city, however. But, if you’re in a city like Houston, for instance, you should have no trouble finding a great studio where you can set up classes.

If you happen to live there and are looking for a great space, this upcoming Houston dance studio could be a great choice. Pirate has some great rehearsal studios that are equipped with everything you’d find in a professional studio. Their studios have mirrors, ballet barres, great sound systems, and beautiful lighting that will make your students feel like they’re in a high-end class.

This is the type of thing that will help you build a reputation and get more clients. This will allow you to charge more for your sessions as well.

Start a Blog or YouTube Channel

As a professional dancer, you have a very unique life experience and one many people would like to hear about. This is one of the most glamorous jobs in the world, and if you manage to create a nice blog or YouTube channel chronicling your life as a professional dancer, you might be surprised by the amount of attention you could get.

You can take people through your journey of making it as a dancer or allow people to have a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to prepare for a performance, or you could start a blog advising aspiring dancers who want to make it in the business.

Become a Choreographer

Another way that you could make money as a dancer would be to work as a choreographer. While they will often work with musical artists, you don’t necessarily have to work with one to make money as a choreographer. Choreographers may be asked to work on movie sets or musicals for instance. They may work on television shows and films as well.

One thing about being a choreographer is that you’ll need to be well established in the business before you can land a big job. The best way to do this would be to work as an instructor for a well-known academy. You will first need to build your portfolio, however.

Working with an academy will give you the chance to show your talents. Most academies have student showcases and you could ask or be asked to choreograph them. Academies are also connected with important people in various industries, so you could get a chance to find someone who will hire you for bigger projects if they like what you’re doing.

Develop a Product

Developing a product could also be a great way to make extra money as a dancer, and, depending on how successful the product is, you could end up making much more money through sales than you earned your whole career as a dancer.

The obvious choice would be to offer virtual dance lessons, but you could make more money by narrowing down on a profitable niche. For instance, you could capitalize on the massive workout industry and create your aerobic dance program. People are always looking for fun new ways to train and you could get together with someone who knows fitness and build a program.

You can also decide to create physical products or sell someone else’s. You could build a Shopify store and sell equipment and accessories that dancers need, like water bottles, dance clothes, protective equipment, bags, and water bottles, for instance.

If you don’t want to bother with the logistics of running a store, you can always work as an affiliate. There are plenty of affiliate programs that could work for you as a dancer. Amazon, for instance, has tons of products that cater to the dancing crowd. You could promote these products through a blog or start a review site.

Work in Your Community

You’d be surprised at the number of opportunities there could be where you are if you know where to look. Recreational centers and schools are often looking for instructors to give fun dance classes. This could give you a chance to earn some extra money without too much work. You should also check out retirement homes as many will offer dance classes or events to entertain residents.

As you can see, there are tons of different ways that you can turn your skill as a dancer into an additional source of income. Look at all of these in detail and try as many as you can to find one that works.