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That \u201cdance influencer<\/a>\u201d is now a viable career path reflects a remarkable transformation within the dance industry. Dancers who have accumulated large online followings \u2014 especially commercial dancers, who typically appear in the background of music videos and TV shows \u2014 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\u2019s downsides.<\/p>\n 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 Beyonc\u00e9 reposted a video of her dancing<\/a> on Instagram. \u201cI think after that moment, I realized that social media was really going to pave the way for me and other dancers,\u201d Glass said. She now has more than two million followers across TikTok<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe money on the content creation side is just drastically different from what you get paid as a dancer,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n Glass could be a full-time dance content creator if she chose. But she doesn\u2019t. The pressure to churn out videos, she said, can be exhausting. \u201cI find myself in a funk sometimes, where posting feels like an obligation \u2014 like, OK, robot, 9 a.m., time to post,\u201d 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<\/a> and the Academy Awards<\/a> this year.)<\/p>\n \u201cBeing able to physically hear everyone cheering, and you\u2019re with a group of dancers who also are feeling the same thing, and you can have everyone\u2019s energy around you \u2014 it\u2019s hard to even describe that joy and adrenaline,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n 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 r\u00e9sum\u00e9s 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 \u2014 a new phase of social media dance culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n