Bell Curve

Bell Curve

1
5%

Diner-Dancer. Salary: $24,300 

No dance companies will hire you. But hey, at least the diners at Frankie's Family Fun Restaurant, where you're working, appreciate you...for your waitressing skills, not your ballet dancing ones.

2
25%

Tallahassee Twirler. Salary: $32,650 

You finally found a job. It's not the New York City Ballet, but the Tallahassee Twirlers do have a pretty good benefits package: free Red Vines left over after shows.

3
50%

Stuck in the Background. Salary: $42,000 

Six years of steady work in the corps de ballet, and you're still getting passed over for principal spots. Corps de ballet? More like corps de ball-ugh.

4
75%

Ballet-ing Blind. Salary: $135,000 

At last: your big night as Cinderella...in Cinderella. All the spotlights in your eyes are starting to blind you—and it's never felt so good.

5
95%

Prima Ballerina. Salary: $300,000+ 

You're a prima ballerina, drawing thousands of reverent fans a night. And, bonus, not one of your body parts aches yet (at least not this week). Someday they will, but who cares when you're earning $30,000 in one performance?