Write a Dance Resume
A dance resume provides information about your dance skills, experience and accomplishments. Dance studio owners, casting directors, choreographers and dance school committees often require resumes to gauge a dancer's suitability for dance programs and dance jobs. The format and structure of a dance resume is usually different from that of a standard professional resume. Get started with Step 1 below to find some tips for writing a dance resume.
Contents
Steps
Sample Resumes
Doc:Ballet Resume,Breakdance Resume
Writing Your Own Dance Resume
- Brainstorm a list of your dance accomplishments.
- Reflect on your dance training. Write down the names of the dance masters who trained you and the prestigious schools and dance studios in which you learned various styles of dance. Include any degrees in dance, theater arts or other performing arts.
- List your performance experience. During the brainstorming phase, you'll write an extensive list of all of your performances. These may include dance studio recitals, community performances, college dance shows, taped performances and all professional shows.
- Consider any honors and union memberships. If you were the dance captain of your high school cheerleading team or are a member of a dance union, write down these distinctions.
- Tailor your dance resume to the dance position. For example, if you are applying to a job as a hip hop dancer, concentrate on your hip hop experience and avoid focusing on your many years of ballet training. You can create different versions of your dance resume depending on the dance position.
- Format the resume. Dance resumes are typically a single page and are formatted differently from the standard professional resume.
- Include personal information at the top. In addition to your name and contact information, a dance resume typically includes your height, weight, eye color and hair color. Some dance employers are limited by the size of dance costumes or have artistic reasons for requiring specific physical features.
- Present performance experience in columns. For example, you would use the column header, "Show" under which you would indicate the name of the show. To the right of that you would indicate your "Role" which may be "Soloist" or "Chorus." You might also include an additional column to the right that lists the "Location" of the performance, which would be impressive if you have toured extensively.
- List your dance education and training. Include the year, school name, dance teacher's name, style of dance, and if you have obtained any degrees or certificates of completion.
- Write a "Special Skills" section. Tailor this section to the particular job. For example, you may be applying to a theater piece that is looking for dancers who have experience in stage fighting or martial arts. Or you may be a strong acrobat and the production can benefit from this. If you don't know much about the production, include all of your dance-related special skills.
- Include a photo on your dance resume. Placing a small photo at the top right of your resume is an effective method for helping dance employers to remember you when they sit down after an audition to make decisions. Make sure that the photo is relevant to the production. For example, you don't want a tap dance photo for a ballet job.
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