That “dance influencer” is now a viable career path reflects a remarkable transformation within the dance industry. Dancers who have accumulated large online followings — especially commercial dancers, who typically appear in the background of music videos and TV shows — have won real victories, both symbolically and financially: No longer anonymous faces vying for a handful of low-paying jobs, they are minor celebrities, pulling in significant income from brand deals and partnerships. But even flourishing dance influencers are susceptible to social media’s downsides.
Charlize Glass, 23, a dancer and content creator, has seen nearly all of her professional life unfold on, around and because of social media. At 12, she got a big break when Beyoncé reposted a video of her dancing on Instagram. “I think after that moment, I realized that social media was really going to pave the way for me and other dancers,” Glass said. She now has more than two million followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
“The money on the content creation side is just drastically different from what you get paid as a dancer,” Glass said. Many commercial dance jobs pay just a few hundred dollars for a full day of work; a high-level dance influencer can earn thousands of dollars for a single post.
Glass could be a full-time dance content creator if she chose. But she doesn’t. The pressure to churn out videos, she said, can be exhausting. “I find myself in a funk sometimes, where posting feels like an obligation — like, OK, robot, 9 a.m., time to post,” she said. The irreplaceable satisfaction she gets from in-person dance jobs, however anonymous and ill-paid, helps her recharge. (She was a face in the dance crowd at both the Super Bowl halftime show and the Academy Awards this year.)
“Being able to physically hear everyone cheering, and you’re with a group of dancers who also are feeling the same thing, and you can have everyone’s energy around you — it’s hard to even describe that joy and adrenaline,” she said.
Glass said that leaving social media would be a career-hobbling move. Social platforms have become thoroughly baked into the professional dance world. Instagram and TikTok accounts may not help dance companies sell more tickets, but they still function as résumés for dancers or choreographers seeking work, and as scouting grounds for choreographers and directors seeking dance artists. Most dancers who remain invested in social content creation today, Harlig said, use it as a product, or as a route to in-person jobs — a new phase of social media dance culture.
