[2] Dance studied the piano under Theodore Aylward the elder (1730–1801) and the violin under Charles Frederick Baumgarten.
[1] He was lead violinist at the Haymarket Theatre during the summer seasons (1784–90) and at the Handel commemoration in Westminster Abbey in 1790.
Dance was not regarded as a soloist on the violin, however William Thomas Parke praised his "great taste and execution" on the piano.
[1] Around 1812 he noticed Michael Faraday, then a bright but unknown young assistant at a Southwark bookshop who was interested in self-improvement and science.
Dance mentored him by providing tickets for him to attend lectures at the Royal Institution.