Career Opportunities

A career in dance demands not only exceptional training, but also the rare combination of discipline, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to the art form. At UC Irvine, we prepare dancers to meet these challenges with both technical mastery and intellectual curiosity, empowering them to excel in a wide spectrum of professional paths.

While many of our graduates pursue the more visible avenues of professional performance, choreography, or teaching, the B.A. or B.F.A. in Dance also opens doors to specialized careers in dance history, dance science, reconstruction, criticism, and filmmaking. Our program’s blend of rigorous studio training and scholarly study also serves as an ideal foundation for graduate school in the arts or related fields.

The versatility of a dance degree extends well beyond the stage. Alumni have found fulfilling careers in arts administration, arts-related law, therapy, design and production, and music. Students drawn to physical therapy or dance medicine discover that pairing a dance major with coursework in chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics provides outstanding preparation for advanced study in those areas.

UCI Dance graduates are known for their professional excellence and adaptability. They perform with leading ballet companies such as the San Francisco Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, and Stuttgart Ballet; with celebrated modern dance companies including Bella Lewitzky, Lar Lubovitch, and Bat-Dor; and in major musicals from Jerome Robbins’ Broadway to the original cast of A Chorus Line. Their artistry extends to film, television, and theater stages worldwide. Others shape the field through careers in education, anthropology, medicine, law, psychology, and beyond—demonstrating the transformative reach of a dance education at UCI.

Pictured: "Swan Lake Fusion Project" choreographed by Tong Wang and Diane Diefenderfer, photo by One Zero Digital Media.