You'll need a high level of dance training and experience. You could do a foundation degree, degree or postgraduate award to develop your skills.

Relevant subjects include:

• professional dance
• musical theatre
• dance and choreography

These are offered by dance schools and universities.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
• a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
• to pass an audition

You could start out as a professional dancer and combine this with an assistant choreographer role.

With further training and experience you could work your way up to become a choreographer.

You may find it useful to get work experience with an established choreographer.

You could also develop your skills by volunteering to choreograph amateur dance club performances.

You may be able to apply for work if you're an experienced professional dancer or dance teacher.

You'll need:

• knowledge of the fine arts
• persistence and determination
• the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
• leadership skills
• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• the ability to use your initiative
• physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
• ambition and a desire to succeed
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

As a choreographer, you could:

• come up with creative ideas and turn them into dance routines
• work with producers, costume designers and musical directors
  
• choose music, costume styles and props 
• audition and teach dancers
• record dance steps using a notation system

If you're self employed or run your own dance company, you'll also:

• promote yourself or your company
• deal with your own tax and money
• hire and manage staff
• apply for funding

You could work in a creative studio, in a theatre, at a film studio or at a TV studio.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding, you'll travel often and you may spend nights away from home.