1) Preliminary Audition Preparation
The very first steps in getting prepared for audition season should occur months in advance, if not a full year for some things. Ensuring that you have developed a written resume, taken both basic requested audition photographs to accompany your resume as well as additional portrait and candid shots to accompany things like your social media resume are all things to be done on an on-going basis throughout your career as a student and even well into when you have reached professional levels. If this is not something you have done, visit my previous blogs here to get tips on how to get these things accomplished quickly.
Next, depending on your age and level and what you're looking at auditioning for by way of Summer Intensive Programs (SIPs) and/ or if ready, professional contract positions, you will want to have variations prepared. If you are an older student (between 12-17) you should have started (if younger) and/ or have a wide, varied (if older) repertoire of different variations. Each year (and I recommend at least 6 months to a year in advance of audition season) you'll want to have chosen a few various variations and contemporary pieces to showcase your skills and perform at auditions or to make part of your digital portfolio (in the case where you might submit videos for audition application long distance vs. coming to a physical location to audition.)
In most cases, with repertoire work, you will want to seek out private coaching but for those that can do so financially, it is also always a good idea to get some pre-audition coaching for your classwork. One-on-one coaching for basic technique and classwork will, under most circumstances, increase your chances for a successful audition season.
2) Funds
Audition season, as with most things related to dance on a more serious level, can run into some money. Whether it's the basic expense of audition fees (which can range anywhere from *$10-$65 per audition class) to getting resume coaches, repertoire coaching, costumes and even in some cases, travel expenses (gas, hotel, airfare, depending on how far you plan to travel for a given audition). Whether you decide to do just a few auditions or many (and depending on what all they require), in addition to coaching, photography, repertoire prep, costumes, etc., you'll want to map all of that out with your primary goals (as discussed further below) and figure a projected cost and in some cases you may need to work with your parents on a budget plan for audition season.
3) Make a Schedule/ Plan
I always advise students and pre-professionals to do as many auditions as possible throughout the season for three reasons: 1) you never know what company or SIP will give you acceptance and/ or in some cases, things like scholarships, or other financial aid if they want your attendance. So cast the net as far as possible to see what you catch, don't limit yourself to just a few (if you can afford it) and go to as many as possible. 2) Auditions, especially while you are a student, are a great way to gain exposure. We now have social media that gives more exposure than ever before to aspiring dancers but prior to that, auditions were all there was, and in some cases, still the best because it's face-to-face contact. Don't limit yourself to two auditions if you in fact have an opportunity to attend 20+. 3) The more auditions you do, the better at them you become. A first audition can be a very nerve-racking and even scary situation, you may be so nervous that you make more mistakes than you normally do, or the instructor's style is extremely different from what you're used to dancing and you struggle with the exercises. But as you become more experienced at participating in auditions, the process becomes more familiar, and you're able to pick up on nuances, and even if your nerves never completely go away, you learn how to dance well through them.
So, with the aim of attending as many auditions as possible, it becomes necessary to make a schedule for your upcoming audition season. Most auditioners coming to an area will all go to the same 1-4 top studios, places for auditions, and therefore it's easier to schedule auditions that don't overlap. However, especially in bigger cities with many visiting auditioners in the case of SIPs, there can be overlap. And you'll want to spot these ahead of time and decide which one(s) fall within your targets (discussed below). There are several ways to find out who is coming where within your area (or close to your area) for auditions:
For SIPs:
1) Dance magazines - in these periodicals, companies and schools will start advertising now (or sometimes even as early as November) when they will be visiting different cities for auditions.
2) Check with the top five studios/ companies in your area, and/ or in the largest city close to you, and have them send you information about visiting auditioners to their location for the season.
3) Most auditioners (and locations) will post on their websites where they will be holding auditions and which auditioners are coming to their location.
For contract positions:
Most often, companies select auditionees from SIPs and/ their own schools, but they also post when they are looking for contract dancers. Again this can sometimes be found in dance magazines, but these days it's usually more available on-line, at the company's website. Many have an audition period in which they either hold specific auditions, or accept digital portfolio submissions for application. This again, is simply a matter of doing the research for where you want to work, and seeing what the options are to submit for application. In some cases it may require a phone call or visit to the office manager (don't let them rattle you if they're not very friendly about it) to find out what the protocol is for auditioning.
Map out your plan with the projected expenses involved and what you need to be prepared at the audition (i.e. resume, filled out application, photos, videos, repertoire, etc) and make a calendar and (in some cases) a to do list, and this will help you to be organized and prepared for audition season.
4) Have A, B & C Targets
Although we want to cast that wide net and hit as many auditions as possible, you do want
to make a Plan A, B and C for your goals, whether that be a preferred SIP you want to attend or the desired company to dance with for contract. Most every dancer knows their ideal (Plan A) but you'll want to always have back up plans should that not work out for whatever reason. Maybe you're not accepted, maybe the timing is bad, maybe the money is an issue (either to attend an SIP or the contract offered is not enough to live on, etc.) Whatever the case, make specific targets and back ups to those targets. And even if your most desired SIP or company is a long shot for whatever reason, never let that detour you from auditioning. Again if nothing else but for exposure, and let them see you and find out who you are and let them know you want nothing more than to dance with them, even if it's down the road sometime.
5) Prep Audition & Focus Audition
Back when I did auditions, and I had my various targets laid out, I would also sometimes (if the cost was within my budget) use an audition for an SIP I didn't necessarily care about to prepare for the one I did care about and wanted to attend. This is also a common practice with interviewing for jobs in business. You use an interview you don't necessarily care if you get or not, as a practice, or rather dress rehearsal, to work out the kinks of your nerves, presentation and performance. And whether it's in business or in dance, I think this is a valid practice and a good thing; again if it is within your budget to do so.
6) Long Distance/ Not Present Auditioning
For some us, we may live in smaller cities or more rural areas, in which case long distance auditioning is our best friend. Sometimes, it may be a timing or scheduling issue that lends itself to the option of long distance auditioning. In either case, you'll want to always be sure to follow whatever specific guidelines the auditioner has given in order to submit a digital portfolio as an audition. I have also seen it happen many times, that dancers I've given resume and social media coaching to, get offered positions at companies and/ or SIPs because someone came across their social media and on-line postings of their dancing, technique and digital portfolio without it being necessarily through normal audition or submission protocols. Therefore, always be sure that you are working and keeping your social media up to date with your projects, repertoire ambitions, recent photography, etc. as well as be sure to carefully follow long distance submission guidelines.
*Many top level companies and Summer Intensive Programs consider their audition to be a Master Class, so be sure to treat it as such and include prestigious instructors as part of your resume to make that investment worth the entire fee
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