The Average Salary of a Choreographer in a Ballet Company
Moreover, it’s a short-lived career that often stops by the performer’s late thirties due to its physical strenuousness. Moreover, choreographers usually receive low pay to start due to intermittent employment, notes the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, pay depends on the prestige of the choreographer. Working for a ballet company provides a little more stability, as salaries are negotiated by a union contract.
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Median Salary
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As of May 2008, salaried choreographers made $38,520 a year, indicates the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest 10 percent made as much as $67,160, and the lowest 10 percent earned as little as $17,880 a year. For hourly rates as of 2010, choreographers working in junior colleges generally earn the highest rate at $36.20 an hour. Independent choreographers get a little less at $24.28 per hour. Choreographers who work in amusement parks or arcades get paid at least $22.71 hourly.
Ballet Company Salary
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' earnings report, choreographers working for a ballet company or other large companies have salaries determined by union contracts. Unions make agreements with the companies to set a minimum salary rate, plus benefits. Depending on the prestige of the choreographer, the company may give the choreographer much more than the union’s minimum. One of the best-known unions for ballet choreographers is the American Guild of Musical Artists.
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Best Paying States
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New Jersey pays the highest hourly rate of any state for a choreographer, at $34.51 an hour. Coming in second for a near-tie is Minnesota, at $34.35. New York might be considered the top, though they come in at third with $32.83 an hour. Washington State is the lowest, at $27.28 an hour.
Best Paying Metropolitan Areas
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A choreographer should consider working in the Edison and New Brunswick, New Jersey area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists this as the best-paying metropolitan area for choreographers at $37.60 an hour. Coming in second is New York. However, it’s the New York-White Plains-Wayne, New Jersey metropolitan area specifically, which pays $34.42 per hour. An exception to these east coast high earnings is the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California metropolitan area, coming in at fifth place. There, a choreographer can make an hourly rate of $31.05.
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