Finding Housing

With over half of NYC renters spending more than half their income on housing, finding secure and affordable housing is a challenge for most NYC residents.¹

As you approach the housing market:

• Understand the laws around rent stabilized and rent controlled units and your rights as a tenant in NYC
• Understand the basic procedures around apartment hunting in NYC
• Visit community boards for open housing options
• Apply for subsidized artist housing programs and other affordable housing lotteries

Planning Your Finances as a Freelancer

According to Dance/NYC’s State of NYC Dance 2023 Report, 64% of dance workers in NYC work outside of typical business, funding, and employment structures. All of this comes with additional responsibilities for personal administration.

If you’re beginning your career in NYC as a freelancer consider:

• Developing a personal budget as a baseline to design your fees 
• Understanding your rights and tools for getting paid on time as a freelancer in NYC
• Examining templates for contracts and healthy work agreements between dancers and choreographers, whether you are accepting or creating contracts as a dance worker
• Planning ahead for filing your taxes
• Learning the health insurance and retirement options available to you as a freelancer

Explore more freelancing and financial management resources in our DWR Resource Library.

Supporting Yourself with Supplemental Income

Many NYC dance workers earn part of their income outside of their artistic work, with 54% working as dance educators, and many working in other fields like health care and wellness (23%) and leisure and hospitality (19%).²

When looking for supplemental income, consider: 

• The schedule, flexibility, and pay rate you need to make time for your artistic priorities
• The physical, mental, and emotional demands
• Your skill sets, experiences, and interests
• Whether a job offers resources and/or connections relevant to your artistic priorities 

You can also check out Dance/NYC’s listings for jobs and internships related to the dance field.

Continued Dance Training

For many dance artists new to NYC, continued training is a way to explore and find their place in the city’s dance community; however, training costs can be a barrier. Dance Rising’s recent poll on training found that while 73% of professional dancers would prefer to take class at least three times a week if affordability were not an issue, only 12.5% do. 

As you approach the range of dance training and cross-training options available:

• Consider building a consistent dance training practice that:
  • Serves your technical or artistic growth
  • Connects you with a community of artists you are interested in working with—including the instructor and fellow students
  • Is sustainable for your budget
    • Consider work-study programs, professional discount programs, or peer-run class collective programs as options to take class more affordably
• Consider building a cross-training practice that compliments the physical demands of your artistic work
  • Explore free and discounted injury prevention services for dancers to guide your training

Find available classes, workshops and more on Dance/NYC’s community calendar. 

Auditioning

While there are many pathways to finding jobs as a performer—including class, referrals, and online presence—auditions remain a frequent part of the process.  

In order to approach auditions effectively:

• Regularly check audition listings for work you’re interested in (Find listings on Dance/NYC, Backstage, Playbill)
• Understand the audition structure and protocols of the type(s) of work you are interested in
  • If you’re auditioning for musical theater jobs, review the procedures around joining the Actor’s Equity Association or auditioning as a non-equity performer
  • If you’re auditioning for jobs in film and television, review protocols around joining SAG-AFTRA or auditioning as a non-union performer
  • If you’re auditioning for commercial dance jobs consider seeking agency representation
• Develop your process for recording video submissions, which are increasingly a part of audition processes 
• Understand auditions as a way to show your craft, build relationships, and evaluate potential employers

Showing and Funding Your Work

NYC offers many options for choreographers to show work of any length or stage of development. These include in-progress showings, showcases, and festivals, any of which might be curated or uncurated. Choreographers developing full-length work may seek to be produced by a venue or may choose to self-produce. 

Whether these opportunities are paid, unpaid, or charge participants, most choreographers must find additional funding to create their work. According to the State of NYC Dance 2023 Report, 64% of dance entities are self-financing or funding their work from their own sources and pockets.³ (State of NYC Dance 2023).

As you’re looking to create and present your work in NYC:

• Regularly check listings for presenting and funding opportunities (Dance/NYC, Fractured Atlas, The Field)
• Refine your application materials including your artist statement and accessible work samples
• Develop a project budget and fundraising strategy
• Consider crowdfunding as an option to finance your first project
• If you’re interested in choreographing for commercial projects, consider options for agency representation as a choreographer 

Explore more funding and fundraising resources on the DWR Resource Library.

Attending Dance Performances

Attending dance performances is another way to familiarize yourself with the diverse landscape of NYC dance–both within and beyond the areas you aim to work in.

As you explore NYC dance as an audience member:

• Make an effort to explore the full breadth of the dance ecosystem, including a variety of dance genres and work outside of large venues
• Check venues’ policies for subsidized programs that offer discount tickets to artists or young people (e.g. JoycePass and City Center Access Club)
• Check citywide listings for discounted or free performances (TDF Discount Ticket Programs, TodayTix discounts, Playbill Discounts, NYC for Free Event Listings)

Check out Dance/NYC’s community calendar for upcoming shows and performances.