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The Dance Profession

Twelfth graders learn how the professional dance world works — company life, freelance gigs, constant auditions, teaching and choreographing, and cross-disciplinary work in film and media — the real-world career of a dancer.

Grade 12Professional Practice55 minutes1 class periodArtistic ProcessExplicit teaching4 StandardsNCAS
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain the dance profession.
  • ✓Know company & freelance work.
  • ✓See many roles.
  • ✓Understand the field.
Essential Question

What does life as a professional dancer actually look like? It’s more varied than you might think. How do dancers build careers?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

The Dance Profession Explorer

Project this and tap each area. Have students learn how the professional dance world works.

🩰 Explore the dance profession — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Artistic Process (Warm-Up · Explore · Create · Perform · Reflect)

55 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — The Dancer’s Life

6 min

Professional dance is more varied than you’d think — how do dancers build careers?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a dancer’s work life.
  • Ask how they earn.
  • Warm up.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Wonder.
  • Warm up.
2

Explore — Dance Profession

13 min

Students explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the Dance Profession Explorer.
  • Note company and freelance.
  • Note teaching.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each.
  • Note them.
  • Name.
3

Create — Create

15 min

Students create.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Sketch a dancer’s week.
  • List income sources.
  • Explain it.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sketch it.
  • List them.
  • Explain.
4

Perform — Perform

13 min

Students perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Share a career idea.
  • Explain a role.
  • Give critique.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Share it.
  • Explain.
  • Critique.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students respond.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a profession area.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Dance, HS Advanced).

NCAS
DA:Cn11.1.HSIII

Understand dance as a profession.

NCAS
DA:Cn10.1.HSIII

Connect dance to livelihood.

NCAS
DA:Re7.1.HSIII

Perceive dance’s field.

NCAS
DA:Pr6.1.HSIII

Understand professional practice.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Profession-area cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A dancer can ___.”
  • Use real examples.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with company and teaching.
  • Use one example.
  • Name one area.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Research a dance company.
  • Explain audition life.
  • Plan a freelance week.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🩰Career examples
  • 💻The Dance Profession Explorer
  • 📋A careers chart
  • ✏️Pens
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

professiona career fieldcompany dancera full-time troupe dancerfreelanceindependent project workauditiona tryout for a rolegiga short-term jobchoreographto create dancescross-disciplinaryacross art formsfieldthe whole profession
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is a company dancer?
A dancer who works full-time for a professional dance company.
QUESTION 2
What is freelance dance work?
Taking projects, shows, and jobs as an independent dancer.
QUESTION 3
Where else does dance appear beyond the stage?
Music videos, film, theater, and commercials.

Reflect: the dancer’s world.

Have students name two ways a professional dancer can build a career. A printable profession sheet is in the Arts library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 The Dance ProfessionFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 The Dance ProfessionQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ The Dance ProfessionPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: audition, choreograph, company dancer, cross-disciplinary, field, freelance, gig, profession
  1. a short-term job
  2. across art forms
  3. a tryout for a role
  4. independent project work
  5. to create dances
  6. a career field
  7. a full-time troupe dancer
  8. the whole profession

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is a company dancer?
  2. What is freelance dance work?
  3. Where else does dance appear beyond the stage?
Answer key — Part A: 1) gig · 2) cross-disciplinary · 3) audition · 4) freelance · 5) choreograph · 6) profession · 7) company dancer · 8) field
Part B: 1) A dancer who works full-time for a professional dance company. 2) Taking projects, shows, and jobs as an independent dancer. 3) Music videos, film, theater, and commercials.