Dancing is a highly competitive, physically demanding sport. Like many sports, the average age of retirement in dancing is young, and most dancers will need to find a second career after they finish dancing. While professional dancing is not sustainable long term due to the nature of the sport, many Dancers are able to find sustainable, long-term careers after they retire from dance.
Dancers are known for retiring early. Just like in football, when it’s uncommon to see a 40-year old quarterback on an NFL field, you will unlikely find a 40-year old dancer on the stages of Broadway or the most coveted ballet companies. Dancers retire at a young age, but many professional dancers continue on in the dance world somehow. Post-dance careers often look like teaching dance or doing other work related to the dance world.
A dancer’s career is short-lived but often occurs during their late teens and early twenties when most people are entering the workforce and getting in the first critical decade of their careers. Because many dancers are unable to hold other jobs while pursuing a professional dance career, they often turn to dance-related career paths after their professional dancing is over.
The average age of retirement is young. Due to the high intensity of the sport as well as injury, dancers are likely to retire long before they turn 40. To understand what dancers do after they retire, you must first understand how long a dancer’s career lasts, the average age of retirement for a dancer, and the most common reasons why dancers choose to or are forced to retire.
How long does a Dancer’s Career last?
Dancers may retire early, but many have spent decades dancing before that happens. Most dancers start dancing when they are very young children and continue to adulthood. While a dancer may begin to dance very young, their professional career often does not begin until their teens or twenties. An average dance career lasts between 10 and 15 years.
Depending on the dancers, skill level, and type of dance, employment can be shorter or longer. Some dancers will continue to dance into later adulthood and have a significantly longer career, while others might only dance professionally for a few years.
What is the Average Age for a Dancer to Retire?
Dancing, like most sports, is not a lifelong career. While young athletes are often able to make a full-time career out of dancing, it becomes increasingly tricky as dancers get older. The high intensity of dancing creates a significantly younger age of retirement than a typical career. The average age of retirement for a dancer is 34 years old.
While the average age to retire is 34, this age depends mainly on the type of dance. Ballet dancers may be able to dance until they are 40, but acrobatics dancers may only be able to dance professionally until they are in their mid-twenties or mid-thirties.
For professional dancing, the average age of retirement also has to do with the ability to get jobs and roles as a dancer. As dancers get older, they may age out of what a casting director or a studio owner wants for their dancers. While some may last past 34, other will retire in their early thirties or perhaps even in their late twenties is they are unable to keep up with younger dancers.
What is the most common reason dancers retire?
The most common that dancers retire is due to injury. Dance has a high injury risk due to increased strain on the joints and legs. Many dancers experience serious injuries that force them to retire before they would have without an injury.
The most common injuries associated with dancers are joint injuries. The knees, hips, and ankles are all vulnerable and experience intense wear-and-tear during a dance. The ankles, in particular, are at risk of chronic ankle sprains, resulting in permanent damage to the joint over time. Another issue that occurs in the ankle is Achilles Tendonitis. Achilles Tendonitis is inflammation that occurs in the tendon in the back of the heel. Over time this issue can inhibit a dancer’s ability to perform.
Another common injury that can force a dancer to retire is knee injuries. Several different knee injuries are common in dance. One is ACL injuries; the tearing of an ACL or other tendons within the knee can result in the need for reconstructive surgery.
Although many dancers are able to perform well after knee surgery, reoccurring issues with a knee post-surgery can lead to cartilage damage and arthritis over time. Another common knee injury is “Jumper’s Knee,” which happens when a dancer’s knee cap does not track correctly due to tight or weakened muscles. “Jumper’s Knee” can cause significant pain and damage to the surrounding bones and tissue.
There are a number of other injuries that can end a dancer’s career.
Injuries to the hips, toes, and arches can also be deeply problematic for a professional dancer. While many dancers are forced to retire due to injury, many others experience normal wear-and-tear of joint as well as the age that causes them to need to retire. Injuries can be prevented with proper stretching and injury prevention, such as cross-training, but the higher intensity dancing and the longer a dancer has a dance career, the higher the risk of injury.
What is a good career option for a retired dancer?
Many retired professional dancers stay in the world of dance. This happens for two different reasons. The first is that dancers enjoy dance and still want to get paid to be a part of it somehow. The second reason is that many dancing careers begin when other adults are just starting their careers, going to college, or putting in time and effort into career development. Professional dancers often miss out on these critical life steps and therefore do not have the career skills to work in other industries.
After a dancer retires, a typical career path is the become a dance teacher. There are many opportunities to teach dance for someone who has had a professional career. If you have had years of training, you will have no problem becoming a teacher in whatever skill set you trained in. Many dancers are hired by the company whom they danced for to become a teacher after they retire.
Another option for retired dancers is to become a choreographer. A choreographer creates new dances and helps to teach them to groups of dancers. Choreography is an essential part of all dancer areas, and frequently, dance companies, competition groups, or shows will hire choreographers to teach their dancers a particular set of dance compositions or dance steps for a specific performance. Another standard option for retired dancers is to open their own dance company. All of the most prestigious dance companies in the world are owned and operated by former dancers.
While dance careers often do not last past the onset of one’s thirties, dancers can stay in the world of dance by finding a more permanent career as a dance teacher, choreographer, or perhaps the owner of a dance studio or company. The most common reason for dancers to retire is an injury, so it is critical for young dancers to consider their options for after their professional dancing career.