Make a Career in Choreography in India & Earn 6+ Figures in 2022
Move to the beat! Move with rhythm! To your left! To your right! Oh yeah, perfect! Well yes, some of us are really good at dancing and want each and every minor detail of the dance to be perfect and extraordinary.
If you too love the concept of assigning the steps, synchronizing them, and creating a whole new vision for the music, then choosing to become a choreographer is the best-suited option and this article is going to provide you just the right things you need to know about this career.
What is Choreography?
Choreography is the art of practicing and designing the sequence of steps and movements in dance or figure skating, especially in a ballet or other staged dance.
Choreography is directly interlinked with dance. Dance in India has an unbroken tradition of hundreds of years and it dates long back around 2000 years. The dancing styles have evolved to a great extent in the past few years which is evident from the fact that there prevail more than 50 distinct and recognized dance forms all across the world. These dance forms consist of ancestral and traditional styles which lay the foundation for the dance forms to develop and be nurtured.
The individuals who have been continuously nourishing the aspirants with the knowledge and skill of these dance forms provide such services either in their own premises or work with some organizations. Let us now see what are the pros and cons of working in this domain.
Pros
- Passion for job: It is all about working in a field and in a career which usually promotes the hobby or passion and talent of an individual. This not only enables one to work hard but also brings self-satisfaction.
- Job-status: The job status is usually derived from the respect one gets in his/her society and surroundings for the work one does. This profession provides that recognition and social status to oneself.
- Job satisfaction: Every individual develops a special fondness towards his/her profession so it is particularly customary to derive a certain sort of job satisfaction. And also this profession can enable one to earn a lot of revenue.
- Talent recognition and appreciation: Choreography is definitely not done for one to keep it to himself/herself and certainly someway or the other the individual is going to become the talk of the town with proper administration of the talent.
- Ability to create history: The trend for the promotion of hook steps of any song has become so prevalent these days and there are many such choreography of songs that have created history. Hence, with hard work and dedication, one can definitely create history.
Cons
- The burden of coming up with new ideas after every single choreography can be really challenging at times. The audience at any platform wishes to see something new almost every time and coming up with ideas to satisfy them one may need to bear a lot of stress.
- Tremendous competition exists in this domain and only the best of best is offered the chance to choreograph any act.
- Social media criticism has become a big-time issue for a lot of reasons and moreover, it has the ability to affect one’s career in a negative way.
- The vocation of a choreographer is not similar to the 9-5 job and the earnings are also not fixed. At times, one can see a boost in the income however, there are chances that sometimes the pay may not even be half of what one may anticipate.
- Lack of opportunities is observed and pointed out by several individuals multiple times. The well renowned and leading individuals of this industry are always given higher priority over a newcomer or person with less experience. This may even lead to stagnant or no growth in one’s career.
A successful career is not made by the factors driving it but the zeal with which one chooses to trail the goal. With sheer determination, one can definitely overcome the disadvantages and make them a challenge which one accepts with a positive attitude and open arms.
Salary
A hardworking and creative vocation of a choreographer can enable an individual to earn a sum of Rs. 4-5 lakhs per annum at the initial stage and with time and experience it shall definitely grow larger.
Career Options in Choreography
When it comes to choreography, the only thing that comes to mind is designing the dance and one can achieve progress only he/she lands up in the entertainment industry. Although the thought is relevant, it is not always necessary to try and achieve the big breaks first. A choreographer can seek to get employed in schools, colleges, film or television industry, dance troupes, and so on.
If really interested in dancing, there are several other opportunities one can look forward to, and hence, some of them are enumerated and discussed below.
1. Dance Instructor
Dance instructors also go by the name of a dance teacher or a dance educator or even a dance professor. They specialize in various dance forms and indulge in teaching such practices to the students showing up to him/her. They can either operate in their individual studio or work with some establishments. Either way, they can earn a good amount of money.
A dance instructor can earn up to Rs.3-4 lakhs per year.
2. Dance Critic:
Very similar to that of a movie critic, a dance critic is usually the individual who gives a written or a verbal review on the dance performances. They usually operate in the entertainment industry. They are responsible for providing an adequate and relevant opinion about the dance or dancers.
They usually earn a sum of Rs.2-3 lakhs per annum at the initial stage.
3. Stage Performers
As evident from the name itself, a stage performer is an individual who performs at various events and entertainment programs and charge a specific amount for such performances. They are usually even selected for performing as background dancers in the various television and film industry shows and can perform along with the superstars as well.
They can earn up to Rs.1-3 lakhs per annum.
4. Rehearsal Director
A dance specialist will better know the proper direction of a dance performance in any event. Hence, a rehearsal director usually manages the directorial operations and helps in achieving the desired vision of the choreography. They work hand in hand with the dancers and choreographers.
A rehearsal director can earn up to Rs.3-4 lakhs per year and even more with time and experience.
5. Rehearsal Director
A dance choreographer can not operate and manage all the performance’s activities all by himself/herself and requires an individual who can assist in the successful and efficient management of the work. A dance assistant helps out in managing just that and in the case of real talent, it may not take long for the individual to even become an aspiring choreographer.
A dance assistant can earn up to Rs.2-3 lakhs per annum.
6. Artistic Director
An artistic director is responsible for designing and assisting the director and choreographer in achieving the desired vision for the performance which may be either on a reality show, event, music video, and so on.
An artistic director can expect an income of Rs.2-4 lakhs per annum.
Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria predefine the requirements of an individual to pursue a career in a specific career. In choreography all one requires is the ability and talent in dance and its styles. Apart from that, the minimum qualification of 10+2 from any stream is considered appropriate if one wants to pursue a BA course. If one wishes to complete a post-graduate certificate course, then he/she can register if they have a graduation degree in any subject.
Training Cost
The training cost for obtaining the certification and specialization in this domain is not that high and if the hopeful really looks forward to achieving a career in this sector, then the returns may cover the educational cost right at the early stage of one’s career.
One may expect to pay somewhere near Rs.12,000-Rs.15,000 for the certificate courses which last for usually six to seven months. For the BA course, one may need to spend at least Rs.2-3 lakhs for the entire course duration of three years from a well-recognized institution.
Educational Course
In India, there are not many specified courses when it comes to developing a career in choreography. The extensively significant factor is the talent, practice, and skill of the individual. It is seen in many cases that people became choreographers after winning certain reality shows or after being recognized. All one needs to discern is the mastery of choreographing the dance and create an altogether different and creative visual.
Nonetheless, the most prominent and relevant course for this profession is that of the Degree in Arts and Dance. This course is usually a certificate course and expertise can be achieved either in this after one has completed the Bachelor of Arts which is a three years course for undergraduates. The arts and dance degree course usually takes a duration of almost 6 months to a year in which all the necessary techniques are dealt with and the aspirant can specialize in any of the desired dance styles.
It is extremely practical in this case if the aspirant holds a certificate in varied and different dance forms. This benefits the individual in satisfactory vocational operations as well as opens door to various career prospects.
Training Institutions
The training institutions help in empowering the individual to build his/her career with a specialization in at least a few of the traits. In India, there are quite a many institutions providing proficiency to its dance students and some of them are enumerated below.
- Natya Institute of Khatak and Choreography, Malleswaram, Bangalore
- Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi
- The ITA School of Performing Arts, Mumbai
- Institute for Creative Excellence, Chandigarh
- Shiamak Davar Institute for Performing Art [ New Delhi and Mumbai both ]
- University of Mysore, Mysore
- Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Bangalore
Career Scope
A country so diverse in nature is bound to have cultural and traditional pursuits of dance forms. With the growing technological advancement, the aspirants have several incredible platforms on social media to showcase their talent and be recognized in the crowd. Many great choreographers get their big break after being recognized on such platforms themselves. Dancing is a passion that is present in almost every individual but only a choreographer can direct that passionate energy in creating an extraordinary performance. This profession can never be outdated or replaced as it is the very first form of entertainment passed on to us from our ancestors and it had strived to survives many centuries. And finally, what’s better than getting paid for what you like doing best!
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