A study of the general working conditions, financial status, performance opportunities, funding, and work practices of choreographers in New York City, Chicago (Illinois), San Francisco (California), and Washington, D.C. was conducted in order to develop benchmark statistics. These statistics focus on the national choreographer population and document the difficulties under which these artists work. Completed mail questionnaires from more than 500 choreographers and telephone interviews with over 200 more provided the primary data. Study findings revealed a disparity between choreographers' high educational attainments and their low income levels. The survey also found that choreographers' income was 34 percent below the median for women professionals in 1989 (about 73 percent of respondents were women). Average income from choreography for men was twice that for women: the gender differential was 48 percent. Other findings included the following: (1) 81 percent turned to choreography from careers as dancers; (2) 55 percent described their work as experimental/modern; (3) about 1,800 works had been composed by 479 respondents of which 28 percent were solos; (4) 397 reported problems finding rehearsal space; and (5) respondents identified 4 major problems: documentation of work, finding dancers, management, and personal and career advancement issues. Appendixes contain information on participants and authors and a copy of the survey. (JB)