This webpage remains on DANC’s site as a point of reference to work we’ve done in the past. The Real Dancer Wages project is no longer being maintained or monitored. DANC has received feedback that some employers have referred to this chart to justify keeping dancer pay at a low rate. Isn’t that a kicker? A resource that DANC created to help boost dancers’ confidence and give them leverage when asking for a raise has been used by hiring entities for the exact opposite result.
DANC’s work towards safe, equitable, and sustainable working conditions NEEDS YOU! We know not everyone has the time to come to a weekly meeting or participate in a focus group — that doesn’t mean we don’t want (need!) to hear from you.
Real Dancer Wages
Inspired by the crowdsourced spreadsheets used by everyone from baristas in Philadelphia to museum workers in Texas, we’re aiming to create the first comprehensive database of dancer wages in the United States. (Although, if you’ve got international gigs, throw them in too!)
Talking about how much or how little money you make can feel taboo, and it shouldn’t! Dancers could ALL benefit from knowing going rates around the field. Knowledge is power. Wouldn’t it be great to know what your peers make so you could use that to leverage a raise? Or to know that dancers have worked for years at a certain company without a raise?
Check out the full spreadsheet here.
A note on anonymity: This survey does not collect any personally identifiable information, however some information could be specific enough to identify the contributor. Only questions with an asterisk are required, so you can choose how much or how little you want to share.
By sharing our experiences, we can help our fellow dancers. Thank you for your generosity. Please share this survey with dance colleagues near and far!
(NOTICE: a prior version of this survey was open from 7/13/2020 to 7/22/2020. We temporarily closed the survey and adjusted it to protect dancers from potential retaliation or defamation lawsuits, and re-launched on 7/25/2020. Responses to the initial version of the survey have been preserved in edited form, and appear in the Real Dancer Wages Spreadsheet.)
Always email freelancedanceartists@gmail.com with any questions, and a volunteer will get back to you as soon as we can.