Alexandra Light (née Farber) was one of the millions of Americans to make a career change during the Great Resignation. Light is looking to transition from a full-time dancer to a full-time choreographer. Right now, she does both jobs — dancing full-time while taking up choreography jobs on the side for the experience. Yet even working both jobs, it’s hard to make ends meet. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for dancers is a little less than $19 an hour, which can be hard to live on in bigger cities like Los Angeles or New York.

Even worse, the dance season for most companies isn’t year-round, as most ballet seasons last around 42 weeks. This means that some dancers either pick up a second job or have to go on unemployment benefits to survive for almost 10-12 weeks of the year. 

“Even the highest paid dancer [is] making $40,000 or less in my area,” Light said. “So, you know, if you have two dancers in a family trying to support kids, it’s nearly impossible.”

It’s going to take a change in mindset to increase the pay for the dance industry, Light said. Specifically, she wants to change the idea of the “starving artist.”

“There’s the idea of a starving artist and just because you love doing something means that you shouldn’t get paid to do it,” she said. “I’m not saying that dancers need to get paid necessarily like eye doctors, but I do think that the arts are important and people are kind of coming around to that.”