Where Dance Graduates Work
Dance graduates have built careers and continued their education with organizations including:
- Celebrity Cruise Lines
- The Salvation Army
- Charlotte Hornets
- Drexel University
- A school dance program in Brooklyn
- Dance studios and dance company administration
Dance Salary and Job Outlook
Across all majors, 99% of High Point University’s Class of 2025 was employed or continuing their education within 180 days of graduation, measured by National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) standards.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a $26.59 median hourly wage for choreographers and $24.80 for dancers in May 2025, and projects about 2,200 openings for dancers and choreographers each year through 2035.
Salary and employment opportunities vary by occupation, industry, location, experience and other factors.
Job Titles Dance Graduates Hold
Career paths represented among HPU Dance graduates include:
- Professional Dancer, Celebrity Cruise Lines
- Founder of a School Dance Program
- Assistant Divisional Music and Art Director
- Inside Sales Consultant
- Dance Studio Teacher
- Graduate Student in Dance Movement Therapy
Roles Dance Graduates Can Pursue
A Dance degree can also prepare students for roles such as choreographer, dance educator, arts administrator, company manager, dance and movement therapist, fitness and wellness instructor, and production or stage management roles in theater and dance.
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2027 edition ranked High Point University #1 of 152 Regional Universities in the South for Earnings by Major, a new factor that measures what graduates earn four years after leaving campus.
Dance Student Organizations
The student-run HPU Dance Company teaches weekly classes across genres that are open to the whole campus, led by students, faculty and guest artists. It organizes the fundraisers and donation drives attached to both dance concerts and has raised more than $5,000 for nonprofits in recent years.
Dance students who meet its standards join the HPU chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. Across the school, students also join Alpha Psi Omega, Charcoal Pony Improv, Art Club and the Graphic Design Club.
Festivals and Conferences
HPU dancers present their work and research at the American College Dance Association and the Southeastern Theatre Conference.
Students are regularly selected to perform new faculty work at DUMBO in Brooklyn, the Greensboro Fringe Festival and the NC Dance Festival, and they choreograph the Spring Dance concert themselves.
What Dance Students Say
Catherine Gallagher
Research Coordinator, McLean Hospital
“HPU’s Research Rookies program through Undergraduate Research and Creative Works (URCW) and my amazing research advisors and faculty have been critical to my success in undergrad.”
Elizabeth Schroeder
Inside Sales Consultant, Charlotte Hornets
“HPU provided me with professional opportunities and taught me skills that helped me gain confidence in the business world.”
Caitlin Black
Project Management Office Intern, Old Dominion Freight Line
“High Point University, even as a prospective student, made an effort to teach life skills that have helped me become a more well-rounded individual, student and worker.”
Dance Graduate Outcomes
HPU Dance graduates are performing and creating work around the country. One built a dance program at a school in Brooklyn, one dances for Celebrity Cruise Lines, and one rose to assistant divisional music and art director for the Salvation Army.
Mary Gomez graduated with a B.A. in Dance and a B.S. in Psychology and is pursuing an M.A. in Dance Movement Therapy and Counseling at Drexel University. As a student, Gomez attended the American College Dance Association conference and presented work at Still Inspired: Future Artist in Chicago.
Dance Alongside a Second Major
More than half of HPU dance majors carry a second major. Elizabeth Schroeder, a dance and sport management double major, joined the Charlotte Hornets as an inside sales consultant. Catherine Gallagher, who graduated summa cum laude in psychology and dance, is a research coordinator at McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Caitlin Black, a computer science and dance double major, interned in the project management office at Old Dominion Freight Line.
Every dance major works on every production and can pitch original productions each semester, so graduates leave with performance credits, choreography and production experience on the same résumé.
Explore Dance at High Point University
Dance at High Point University prepares students for careers in performance, teaching and beyond.
Accreditation & Awards Curriculum & Research
Questions about the program? Email Lindsey Howie, director of the dance program, at [email protected].