Auditions! Love ’em or hate ’em, they are a necessity in the dance world if a dancer wants to increase their opportunities and advance in the industry. But what can a dancer do to improve their audition experience? In this audition series, we will give you some tips to work on at your next audition whether it be a convention, college or professional audition! These are tried and true methods and they WORK!
When learning the combo, practice your performance.
This means a dancer should start performing when they are learning and running the dance combination from the moment they walk in the room. Even when a dancer is marking the steps, the performance should still come through. Don’t wait to perform when your name is called. Dancers need to practice the PERFORMANCE just as much as they practice the order of the steps. The performance doesn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere when your name is called and you are asked to dance in front of Katy Perry. What does appear are the NERVES. So practice BEFORE your name is called so when you get out to the floor, you are polished and ready to be hired. Also, if you are the only dancer “performing” during the practice, the audition panel will notice you and keep their eye on you when it is your turn.
Be excited when your name is called.
During the audition process, when a dancer’s name is called, they slowly, reluctantly, saunter out to the dance floor. This is probably because they are nervous. However, to the panel, this behavior looks like the dancer is bored or doesn’t care. A dancer must “fake it until you make it”. So even if you are nervous, run out to the floor with purpose and a pep in your step. A smile says “I’m excited to be here” and “I want this” and “I will work hard for you”. A smile goes a long way.
Take us on an emotional journey!
Many times, the people on the audition panel (other than choreographer) don’t know anything about dance. They may be casting directors, producers, corporate representatives. They don’t know the difference between a foutte and a pirouette. However, they do understand emotion. So it’s the dancers job to add the emotional storyline to any piece of choreography. If the choreographer doesn’t give you any information about the story, it’s your job as the artist, to figure it out. Decide how you feel about the dance. If could be as simple as “I feel joyful” and then dance from that place of joy. If you feel joy, the panel will feel joy, and they will connect with you!
