The 10 best side-hustles for dancers and dance teachers

Very few dancers and dance teachers make the big bucks, so here's a list of side-hustles that you can do for an extra income boost.

1) Online teaching:

This one may seem obvious, but it's an excellent way of either supplementing your dance income, or increasing your reach alongside your studio classes.

You can either post on social media to advertise your online classes, then arrange a class on Zoom (which is free for the basic subscription) with them directly, or sign up to any of the fantastic online class platforms out there.

For already established teachers, why not livestream your regular classes to earn twice the income for the same amount of work?

Estimated income: £5 (low end)£50 (high end) per student (this varies a lot depending on the length of the class and if it is a private or group lesson. Make sure you have public liability insurance that covers online classes).

Tips: Encourage students to leave reviews to help build up your authority

Check out:

• MoveGb

• Harkalive

• Zoom

2) Photo shoots

Dancers are often sought after by photographers as we're trained to create beautiful shapes and captivate our audience. If you're starting out, find a reputable photographer in your area who is happy to do TFP (Time For Photo: your time in exchange for a copy of the photos taken. This is essentially a collaboration where neither party pays for the other's skills, but you share the work that's produced). However, safety first! Please only meet up with a photographer who you know you can trust, preferably through recommendations of friends or other dancers you know, and choose a central, safe location to meet. If you are based in London and would like recommendations, drop me a message and I will gladly assist the best I can!

Once you have a small portfolio of your best shots, you can start connecting with professional photographers who are looking to do a dance photo shoot and negotiate an hourly/ daily rate.

Estimated income: £20/hr (low end)- £80/hr(high end) for a non-commercial photo shoot.

Tips: to charge a higher rate, it helps to be more experienced, organised and to offer extras like providing outfits/props, doing your own hair/make-up etc. Commercial shoots offer a much higher rate, so always check with the photographer beforehand if the photos will be used commercially and be prepared to sign a model release.

3) Create your own video content or course.

In 2023, the e-learning market is more than a 300 billion dollar industry, forecasted to reach 400 billion in the coming months. So, if you want a slice of that pie, consider the platforms below.

Youtube:

This one is not a get-rich-quick scheme! You need over 1000 subscribers AND over 4000 hours of watch time or 10 million Shorts views (among other requirements) before you can start making money. However, many dancers and dance teachers have found success on Youtube. Not only is it a great way to build an audience, but you can also trial which videos work and which flop. As an added bonus, it teams up well with the following platforms since you can use your Youtube channel to promote your content from other websites too.

Pros: Potential to reach a broader audience and monetise your channel, without investing a penny.

Cons: Not all creators build up a large following or a monetised channel, but for those who do, a lot of work is usually required over many months, even years.

Estimated earnings: The average experienced Youtuber in 2023 with a monetised channel can hope to earn around $55000 in the USA and around £32000 in the UK, according to Glassdoor. Keep in mind that a lot of Youtubers make a large portion of their earnings through sponsorships and most monetised channels have been running for a while, so these figures are not a guideline for beginners.

Tips: As a new Youtuber, focus on using your channel to build an engaged audience and drive traffic to other platforms (social media, your chosen online marketplace, elearning platforms, affiliate links etc), rather than to just make money though Adsense.

Udemy:

"Udemy is an online learning and teaching marketplace with over 204000 courses and 54 million students."

This is a free platform for tutors that allows you to upload your video course(s) and then advertises it for you to its millions of students on the website. Tutors are paid between 37% and 97% of the net amount depending on whether the sale was through a referral link or not. The website allows you to see how much income other tutors in your category are making and you can choose the price of your video from Udemy's price scale.

Pros: Free to join, easy to use and a lot of instructors find huge success.

Cons: Sales are not guaranteed and the site prioritises content by top-performing tutors, making it harder for new teachers to build momentum.

Estimated income: Aaround $45000 year for an experienced Udemy instructor, according to Glassdoor, but new teachers can expect closer to $20000 a year. Personally, I would say this is a very generous estimate, but as it's difficult to get clear data on average earnings, the best way of finding out how much you could make is to give it a try for yourself!

Skillshare:

Similar to Udemy, but pays its tutors in a different way. Instead of being paid per purchase, the tutor is paid depending on the platform's total revenue that month and what percentage of views your content received in relation to the other courses available. It also differs from Udemy in that the content tends to be more creative rather than technological and some topics (like fitness of medicine) are banned. However, there is nothing stopping you from signing up to both, just make sure you read the guidelines thoroughly as content strikes can be given out for breaking the rules and 3 content strikes within 6 months will get you banned from the platform!

Pros: Free to join, easy to use and a great way to build an online community of students.

Cons: Strict guideline rules than can get you banned from the platform if not followed. Not all topics are allowed and content can be removed if showing low student engagement after 12 months.

Estimated income: Around $200 a month for beginners. Most instructors can expect to earn a similar amount to Udemy, unless your niche or subject is excluded from Skillshare's permitted categories. As of February 2023 Udemy have changed their payment system to benefit teachers with a higher engagement rate.

Uscreen:

Similarly, Uscreen is a video monetisation platform, but instead of advertising your videos to their own students, Uscreen allows you to build your own website with a huge storage allowance (and for the higher plans, even your own app) to showcase your work. The downside is that you have to attract your own members, but on the plus side you keep a much, much higher percentage of the revenue from sales. Uscreen charges only 50 cents per student a month, and the payment options (Stripe or Paypal) take around 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction.You can also send your own emails to members, create a community and study the analytics of the website, among many other useful features.

Pros: Potential to make a much higher income compared to platforms like Skillshare and Udemy. Huge storage allowance, friendly and fast customer service. Easy-to-use platform.

Cons: Expensive, requires a lot of work to build a large following, limited design options.

Estimated income: Hundreds-Thousands $ This one is extremely hard to estimate as there is very little data on revenue earned by Uscreen creators. The company claims that some users make $12000 a month (note "some" not "most"), but as a Uscreen customer myself, I can honestly say my income is nothing like that! The best we can do is look at SVoD (video streaming) data and statistics. Statista claims that in 2023 the average revenue per user ("subscriber" in our case) is around $73.55, so multiply that by the number of subscribers on your platform and you'll get a rough idea of your yearly income. As it will be up to you to drive traffic to your website, you will either need a large following on social media or a large budget for advertising (or, even better, both!). Then subtract the cost of your Uscreen membership, domain fees, Stripe/Paypal commission, plus any other production costs and you'll get your profit!

Tips: Using a video streaming service as your domain host is for those who want to take this side-hustle very seriously, perhaps even as a future full-time job. If you are consistent and work hard towards improving your content during your first year, most can expect their income to double in its second year. For faster results, promote your work through paid ads or through self-promotion on social media.

4) Affiliate marketing

This one links well with social media, blog posts, your own website and Youtube. The idea is that you recommend a brand/product/service and encourage viewers to click a link you provide. If the viewer then makes a purchase, you get a percentage of the payment received by the company.

Estimated income for a beginner: $5(low end)-$1000(high end) per month This is based Glassdoor's 2023 statistics of 22k being the most likely yearly income for an experienced affiliate marketer. Of course this depends on the size of your audience, the quantity and quality of affiliate programmes you sign up to and how frequently you promote the content.

Tips: If you're just starting out, have a look at Amazon Affiliates here

5) Podcast

Starting your own podcast, like many other forms of passive income, can take a while to become profitable. This option is best suited (but not limited) to dancers who already have a large following on social media, or who already run a blog. Podcast usually generate income through sponsorships, but if you also sell your own digital product, then a podcast can be a great place to promote it. Teaming up with other podcasters can be a great way to boost visibility.

Pros: Potential to reach a wide audience without investing a penny, great addition for dancers with an established presence on social media or with digital products to promote.

Cons: Often requires a lot of work and commitment for a generally low income. High quality recording equipment or editing software can be expensive.

Estimated income for a beginner: $0-$40/year

This estimate is based on the fact that (according to BuzzSprout) 50% of podcasters can expect 29 downloads within the first 7 days. You can charge around $20 per 1000 downloads and to be honest, most podcasters starting out won't achieve this in their first year. But with a larger social media following, or promotion from friends and family you could hope to get a few thousand downloads in your first year.

Tips: Combine with other audience-based platforms to increase your reach

6) Beauty services

I know a lot of dancers and performers who are either skilled at doing hair/ make-up/ nails/ giving massages etc and then offer their colleagues these services at a discounted price during rehearsal breaks or before shows. Everyone benefits as your colleagues will be saving money on a service they normally pay a lot more for and you will be earning a nice little income on the side.

Estimated income: $10-$60 (depending on the service and your experience level)

Pros: Easy side-hustle during breaks or days off, little promotion needed, flexibility.

Cons: limited selection of potential customers, discounted prices for friends and colleagues mean you'll earn less per hour/service than normal, you may have to carry around or store your kit.

7) Etsy

Get creative! Whether you're good at sewing, knitting, painting or crafting, make it during your breaks and put it on Etsy. In 2023 it boasts around 96.3 million active buyers and 7.5 million active sellers, making it the first choice for many creatives to sell their work.

Pros: It's free to open a shop and you can get your first 40 products listed with zero listing fees by using this link here. More and more people are looking to support small and sustainable businesses and personalised items can be sold for a much higher value.

Cons: Not very flexible as you will need to be able to ship a product within a couple of days of receiving an order (unless you sell a digital product).Consider how long it will take and how much it will cost you to create, package and post your item, as selling on Etsy can be time-consuming and profit margins can be small.

Estimated income for a new seller: $5-$500 profit per month

Of course this will depend on what you sell, how much you sell it for, seasonality, how well your page does with Etsy's algorithm and how much materials cost etc. Click here from more data and stats.

Tip: Interested in selling a product with zero production costs? Consider selling digital products.

8) Offer your own performances for private and corporate events

You would be amazed by how many corporate companies look for performers to hire for their annual parties and dinners. May will go through an agency (which you could look into joining), but more and more are cutting out the middle man and using freelancers on platforms such as Fiverr more info here . Present your performance as a package deal (you could even get a friend to join you) with costumes, music and a set choreography. Take inspiration from other dancers on the site and browse a few of the current packages on offer.

Estimated income: £50-£300 per performance

Pros: Flexibility and potential for high earnings

Cons: Requires planning, travelling and Fiverr takes a small commission per service bought.

Tips: Prioritise getting as many positive reviews as possible and the algorithm will place your ad favourably.

9) Blogging

Again, this one is a slow-burner (speaking from first-hand experience!) and it's important to only start blogging if you A) have lots of well-informed things to say on your chosen niche and B) care about providing value in your content. The added bonus is that over time as your blog gains popularity you might accrue a small income from advertising.

Estimated income after 1 year: £50 (low end)-£3000 (high end) per month (again, this will depend massively on how much time and effort you put into your blog, how much traffic your blog receives and what kind of advertising you use to generate income.

Tips: for small blogs with under 10000 views per month, check out Ezoic.

10) Translation

I have always been so impressed by how multilingual dancers often are! In a typical ballet company in Europe you will probably have at least 4 or 5 different languages floating around the studios.

If you are one of these dancers who speaks a second, third or even forth language, there are many easy ways to profit from it.

Check out:

• Superprof: teach students looking to learn a new language

Estimated earnings: $20-$50/hour

• Fiverr: Offer translation services to suit your skills and schedule

Estimated earnings: $5-$100/hr depending on the service and how quickly you work

• Transcribeme! Do you speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese or Korean? Transcribe audio files for an hourly fee. The more languages you speak, the greater chance you have of earning more.

Estimated earnings: $15-$22/hr

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