Pay

• Ballet dancers are paid a set rate per week instead of a salary when working for a company on a specific production. One of the highest-paying employers, the New York City Ballet, pays its dancers a minimum of $1,550 per week during productions --- lead roles receive more --- but "USA Today" states that the average dancer can only expect pay 26 weeks out of the year.
  
  

Hourly

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that dancers overall made an average $16.55 an hour in 2010; the bureau uses per-hour rates instead of weekly rates to compare across industries. Dancers with established performing-arts companies such as the New York City Ballet made slightly higher rates of $19 an hour, but performing-arts companies accounted for only 4.5 percent of the industry's employment.
  
  

Annual

• PayScale reports that ballet dancers experience huge variations in annual pay from dancing. Experienced dancers in leading roles can bring in up to $65,000 a year through a combination of regular employment and higher-than-average rates. However, ballet dancers fielding bit pieces can find themselves in a hard place, making $10,000 --- right around the poverty line in 2011.
  
  

Location

• Ballet dancers in different parts of the country make considerably different rates. New York City tops the chart, with one of the highest concentrations of dancers and hourly rates averaging around $24. Las Vegas also employs a large number of dancers, with an average rate of $19 an hour. Los Angeles and San Francisco both have respectable ballet companies that employ dancers, but the average rate is a mere $14 per hour.