Choreographer Resume Example

Choreographers use their creativity and athleticism to express stories through movement. They design performances and teach them to dancers for competitions, music videos, and more. 

No matter your style -- tap, jazz, ballet -- we’ll get your resume up to par. 

In this article, we’ll discuss

1. Which format is right for your resume
2. How to write a resume summary 
3. Describing your work experience
4. Listing your skills
5. Including your education 
6. Naming your certifications
7. Choosing the right template

Choreographer Sample Resume 

Choreographer, Entwined Hearts Dance Company

• Created 3 new dances for the Dallas Hip-Hop Dance Festival, taking 2nd and 3rd place
• Selected appropriate music for all dance routines and advised students on music selections
• Assessed students’ abilities in a fair and compassionate manner in order to place them in the appropriate level for their skill sets
• Auditioned over 400 dancers for roles in the studio’s semi-annual performances 
• Assisted with costume design, lighting, and other artistic aspects of the shows
• Awarded “Best Dance Instructor” in 2018 and “Best Dance Studio” in 2020
• Consulted with Performance Directors and Creative Professionals about show elements and goals
• Planned and scheduled thrice-weekly rehearsals and monthly dress-rehearsals for the semi-annual productions; overseeing 50 dancers
• Developed and executed 4 routines for 2 large productions per year 
• Assisted in choreographing 2 Broadway productions, Cats and Newsies, that included months away from home 
• Performed at Entwined Hearts Thanksgiving Day Parade

Assistant Choreographer, Ballet Slippers Studio

• Collaborated with 3 other choreographers to design routines for 16+ shows a year
• Maintained the production calendar for live productions
• Directed 35 students in advanced choreography for a studio showcase
• Taught complex dance movements to both intermediate and advanced students in the genres of ballet and hip-hop
• Assisted with the administrative duties of the studio, including signing up new students and managing billing
• Served as a Junior Choreographer for one of the Southwest’s leading Dance Academies
• Designed 60+ routines for individuals, studio showcases, and state and local competitions
• Assisted in choreographing 3 nationally televised commercials for companies like Dove, Nike, and Aerie
• Attended other studios’ shows and industry events to gain new ideas and network with others
• Studied new and emerging types of dance to design more creative dance routines
• Scheduled one-on-one sessions with students to provide extra support and individualized attention 

Dancer, The American Ballet Theater

• Served as the understudy for Cosette in Les Misérables for the summer 2012 season
• Performed as Odile in the 2010-2011 spring seasons of Swan Lake
• Danced as the Sugar Plum Fairy for the winter 2010 season of the Nutcracker
• Trained classical and modern ballet routines and learned new choreographies

1. Choose the Right Format for a Choreographer Resume

The first step to drafting your resume is deciding which resume format to use. This depends on your career experience and skillset. 

You have 3 main options for your resume:

1. Reverse-Chronological -- this is the most commonly used resume format. With this structure, place your most recent jobs first, followed by the next most recent job, and ending with your oldest position. 

Tip: only include jobs relevant to the position to which you’re applying, so leave out any former jobs that don’t fit. For example, do include jobs like Dancer or even Fitness Instructor since there is some overlap. 

2. Functional -- this format is best for people who have been out of the workforce for a while, perhaps because they had to care for children or an elderly parent. This format will have headers like “Performances” and “Dance Genres” with their respective skills listed in bullet points below. At the very end of the resume, include a brief snapshot of your work experience.  

Tip: Read our advice on How to Explain Employment Gaps on a Resume. 

3. Hybrid / Combination -- this format is a mix of both Functional and Reverse-Chronological. It provides more detailed work experience descriptions that would typically be seen in the latter, while still offering a bulleted list of skills.  

Tip: When in doubt, choose the Reverse-Chronological resume format. For more details, check out our guide on How to Write Your Resume in Reverse-Chronological Order. 

For a Choreographer, hiring managers want to glance at your resume and get a sense of the following:

• The years in which you’ve been in the industry, either as a Choreographer, Dancer, or some other relevant position
• The number of performances you’ve choreographed and for what -- like creating dances for individuals, theater companies, serving as a consultant on a music video 
• The types of dance genres in which you’re trained and familiar with (e.g., Jazz, Tap, Ballet)

The best format for a Choreographer is the Reverse-Chronological resume format. This is because it shows the trajectory of your career -- how you’ve grown professionally and expanded your work experience and knowledge base. Check out our advice on How to Show Your Job Promotions on a Resume for more details. 

 2. Write a Strong Choreographer Resume Summary

Only 2-4% of job applications are successful -- but don’t panic! 

Though this number seems dismal, we have a number of strategies to help you become one of the lucky few. 

One way to bolster your chances of success is to include a resume summary. 

A resume summary is one or two sentences at the top of your paper that summarizes your entire resume. It’s the punch line that gets the resume reviewer wanting to know more.

For a Choreographer career, include the following points in your summary

• The amount of time you’ve worked in the dance, performance, or theater industry
• Mention 1 or 2 of your awards or accomplishments 
• The types of dance you do
• An adjective or two conveying your personality, such as “passionate,” “driven,” “organized,” or “energetic” 

Here is an example of a bad resume summary: 

Experienced Choreographer with demonstrated success in creating stellar performances.  

This is a bad resume summary because it is incredibly vague -- what does “experienced” mean? What are “stellar” performances? Furthermore, this summary does not set you apart from any other applicants. There is nothing to tell the recruiter about who YOU are as a person. 

Here is an example of a good resume summary: 

Passionate and driven Choreographer with 4+ years of experience creating Ballet and Hip-Hop routines. Awarded “Best Hip-Hop” performance by the Dance Awards 2 years in a row. Former American Theater Ballet dancer. 

This is a good resume summary because it describes you -- passionate and driven -- while explaining your specialities. The list of awards also quantifies your accomplishments and makes your application stand out.  

For more information, checkout our guide on How to Write a Killer Resume Summary. Or, browse our Resume Summary Examples. 

3. Describe Your Work Experience as a Choreographer

The next step to drafting your resume is to list your work experience. This includes the name of your position (See: The Right Way to List Job Titles on a Resume), the name of the location at which you worked, and the length of time in which you worked. 

Your work experience should include the following:

• Company name
• Job title
• Years worked
• Location
• Job description

Be sure to use strong action verbs in each of your bullet points. Here are a few to get you started:

• Adapted
• Assigned
• Choreographed
• Composed
• Conducted
• Created
• Curated
• Designed 
• Directed
• Identified
• Improved
• Incorporated
• Marketed
• Organized
• Performed
• Planned
• Promoted
• Recruited
• Studied 
• Supervised
• Trained
• Utilized
• Visualized

Tip: Don’t start every bullet point with the same verb -- that will get old real quick! Instead, mix it up a bit. If you do use the same verb often (e.g., “created”) don’t put those bullet points next to each other. 

Furthermore, write your resume experience in a way that anyone in your industry will understand. Don't use company-specific language.

For example, let’s say you worked at a studio that called “barres” something like “handrails.” Not everyone is going to know what this means, so it’s best to stick with the common name, otherwise a hiring manager may not know what you’re talking about, and if the manager is confused, they’re more likely to throw out your resume and move onto the next.  

You should also quantify your resume whenever possible. This means adding a number -- such as a dollar amount or percentage -- to your accomplishments. Quantifying your resume gives the hiring manager a more concrete idea of your workplace performance. For example, say that you “trained 14 dancers,” “improved clientele by 20% through an awards program,” or “won $30,000 for Studio X at Competition Y.”   

Tip: One way to quantify your resume is by listing your accomplishments and awards. These can be awards from your workplace (e.g., “Employee of the Month”) or from your industry  (e.g., “The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography”). 

For more information on how to format your work experience, check out our guide on How to Describe Work Experience. 

Don’t have any work experience? We have a guide for Writing a Resume with No Work Experience!

4. List Your Skills

Skills show the hiring manager what you can do for the company -- without taking up too much space in the “work experience” part of your resume.

There are two types of skills -- soft and hard. “Soft” skills are those that are not quantifiable and are more indicative of your personality. Examples include leadership, problem-solving, and communication. In contrast, “hard” skills are those that are learned through formal education. Examples include computer technology, programming languages, and certifications.  

Choreographers need a good mix of both hard and soft skills. Hard skills will include the genres of dance with which you’re familiar, as well as any software programs that you use for administration purposes. In contrast, Soft skills will show that you can lead and instruct others.  

Relevant Soft Skills

• Creativity 
• Organization
• Leadership
• Discipline
• Communication
• Patience
• Persistence
• Teamwork

Relevant Hard Skills

• Technical Dance Skills
• Instruction Techniques
• Physical Stamina
• Athleticism

Tip: When completing this section on your resume, review the employers’ job requirements. Try to incorporate some of the language they use. For example, if the job description states they are “Seeking a reliable, responsible, experienced part-time Dance Instructor to teach children ages 2 to 10 years old age appropriate Tap and Ballet at multiple preschools and daycares” then be sure to include some of these keywords. List “Reliable” and “Disciplined” under the skills section. 

If you want a more complete list of skills, read our guide on 100+ Key Skills for a Resume in 2021 with Examples for any Job.

5. Include an Education Section 

While formal education like college or a trade school isn’t strictly necessary for a Choreographer, it certainly doesn’t hurt! If you have it, include it. If not, don’t sweat it. 

Most dancers and choreographers learn on the job, and require years of extensive and intensive training. However, some employers may require that you be certified as a dance instructor. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the next section.  

When writing your education section, be sure to include:

• The name of the school — e.g. “Aurora High School” or “The University of Pennsylvania”
• The location of the school
• Your degree (high-school diploma, GED, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, etc.)
• Graduation year (if applicable)
• Major field or department of study (if applicable)
• Minor field or department of study (if applicable and relevant)
• GPA (If you're a student or graduates who held lower GPAs, this bit of information may be good to omit unless specifically requested by the employer)

Still uncertain on what to include in this section? Review our guide on How to List Education on Your Resume in 2021. 

6. Mention Certifications Relevant to the Job

While Choreographers do not require any specific certifications, obtaining a few can show employers that you’re expanding on your skills and diversifying your experiences. Not only are you more knowledgeable, but you’re also more employable. 

Here are a few examples of certification programs:

• CPR/First Aid -- this shows employers that you are qualified to respond to an emergency situation 
• The Certificate in Dance Education (CiDE) by The National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)
• Dance & Hip-Hop Aerobics Instructor Certification by the American Sports & Fitness Association (ASFA)
• Pole Dance Instructors Certification (PDIC) by the Pole Dance Community (PDC)

For more information on certifications, check out our guide on How to Include Certifications on Your Resume the Right Way.

7. Pick the Right Template

Now it’s time for the fun part -- picking the aesthetics of your resume! 

Here at EasyResume, we offer several different templates. 

• Academic: these resumes are professionally structured with minimal aesthetics in order to provide a clear and concise glimpse of your experiences. This is best for current students or those looking to pursue a career in an academic field as a researcher or teacher. 
• Creative: these resumes are bold and colorful with eye-catching fonts to help you stand out from the crowd. This is best for those in creative fields like marketing and art. 
• Elegant: these resumes are contemporary and stylish in a way that highlights you and your experiences. This is best for those in fields that prefer austerity, such as the healthcare and finance industries. 
• Modern: these resumes have sleek designs that are fresh and bold with tasteful fonts and clean lines. This is best for individuals applying to startups or to companies with a young audience or product.
• Professional: these resumes have a clean, crisp look that incorporates only one or two accent colors. The focus is solely on the text, pulling the recruiter into your experiences and accomplishments. This is best for individuals applying to straight-laced companies that mandate a suit-and-tie dress code.  

Your resume template should reflect the job to which you’re applying. For a Choreographer, try a Modern, Elegant, or Creative format. 

If you want to create your own template, read how with our Step-by-Step Guide on How to Create a Resume Template in Microsoft Word. 

8. Takeaways

We’ve done it! Almost. 

Now it’s time to get down to business -- actually creating the resume. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

• Research the job description to locate keywords
• Use a Reverse-Chronological resume layout
• Write your resume summary, including the length of time you’ve worked in the industry, your genres of dance, and a few accomplishments or personality adjectives. 
• Include your education and relevant certifications
• Write your experience section in a way that any outsider could understand. Talk more about the how and why of your responsibilities. Quantify your results.
• Pick a resume template that fits the position to which you’re applying, such as Modern, Elegant, or Creative

Start from our resume example to save time.

We can’t wait to see your next show!