Your Experience Shared
Here is the place where you can share your experiences by writing them down in the comment box at the bottom of this page. You can share anything you like about an audition you have done or perhaps you want to write about a recent workshop or class you have attended.
Make sure you start the comment with:
What:
With Who:
Where:
You can post leaving your name or anonymously.
http://www.danceuk.org/events/event/9847/
ReplyDeleteThis is the injury talk.
Angela Towler (Rambert), Kate Prince (ZooNation) and Dr Emma Redding (Laban) are speaking there.
Monday 29th November, 6.30pm
Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, W1G 0AE
...more for helen post above, the whole of the dance injury talk thing is now on youtube in three parts, if people are interested!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAztwgtMbP0&feature=related (part1)
No one in my year has left a comment yet so I thought I would leave one to hopefully get the ball rolling.
ReplyDeleteThis is a recent experience:
I was auditioning for a Job, it was my first audition and I had heard of it by chance. After I sent off my application I was successful and got an audition. I was so happy that I got it I didn't read my email properly. It said that I had to confirm by a date that I had missed. A got a phone call from a guy that I knew that was holding the audition to confirm that I was definitely coming, if I didn't know him I would have missed my chance and wouldn't have got my first job.
So the morale of this story is
CHECK YOUR EMAILS PROPERLY
hope my experience is useful to someone.
Courtney.x
I went to the Jasmin Vardimon open audition which was held at The Place a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteIt was the first audition i had done for a professional company and in my experience felt i was the best first audition i could have done. It was so relaxed and really felt i could perform my best it the environment.
Information about the audition- The audition was about 40 minutes to an hour long and consisted of three parts. we did a bit of a improvised warm up, learned some repertoire from "yesterday", speaking to others that were in other groups it seemed that the first group learned a lot less than following groups, then we did three types of improvisation of our choice.
Through this audition i found that i should have got there about half an hour to an hour earlier than the registration time because then you will be the first group to go in and there are more places and may have a better chance of getting through. They took more people from the first group then they did the following groups.
Rosie
I have been to a few auditions now and I have realised that you need to bring a pen with you!! I had an audition on Friday and on Saturday. Both auditions asked me to fill out forms when I got there and both times I didn't have a pen. Nobody wants to lend you a pen because you are competition and you are going for the same job. And it's very embarrassing when you have to go and ask the organiser who has lots of things to sort out anyway if they can give you a pen (as I found out the hard way). It just make you look really unprofessional when you are the only one who doesn't have one.
ReplyDeleteHi guys, I just thought I'd share a little bit of my experience. Myself and others, recently did company class with Rambert Dance Company. I found that little things such as asking where it is ok to go on the barre and being open and appreciative to any feedback given to you, goes a long way in making a positive impression for yourself!!
ReplyDeleteHi All,
ReplyDeleteHope your all well! Just a quick tip about company class. From my own experiences and now being able to have the opportunity to watch people come and take class, I would strongly advise you to try and do more then one class.. I would say 3days of company class being the min and around 2weeks being the max!(consecutively if poss.) It may sound like a lot but 1. This gives you a good opportunity to show all areas of your ability 2. The people you are trying to impress(ie. Rehs Directors & A.D) may not even be there to watch you! &3. It shows greater interest in the company and they will recognise your face!
Also don't be afraid to ask if your able to stay and watch rehearsals, this way you can get to know the dancers better..chat & make contacts! (the worst that could happen is they say no.)
Good luck!
(& Don't forget to tell me if your heading up Phoenix way,I'll fill you in on the best days and gossip)
Ness x
I did 4 days of Company Class with Phoenix recently, and agreement with Ness..do not be afraid to ask questions!
ReplyDeleteThe Company were touring to Huddersfield the week I was there. So on that day I was not due to take class. I was planning on just going to see the performance that night anyway. Vanessa, Helen and Ryu told me I should ask if I could come along to the theatre earlier and watch rehearsals. I doubted whether I should ask, but I managed to pluck up the courage! Sharon (director)said that I could come and also that she would be taking there pre performance class on the stage and said if I wanted to I could do take the class to!
It was an amazing experience, I got to know more about the company. I got the chance to have a class with Sharon and I showed how interested I was in the company by just being there! But none of that would have been possible if i hadnt have asked!
SO ASK QUESTIONS AND BE CONFIDENT!
xxx
Just a wee tip for you Aussies and other non EU's trying to find work: make sure you are organized when it comes to visas! They are long-winded processes and if you're lucky your employer will help you out. If you don't have it already get copies of your birth certificate, passport and current visas if you have one. Get a list of websites and contact numbers that may come in handy like the federal police (you often need to provide a background check), translation services that sort of thing. Also do a bit of research on schengen visas. They are the standard three month working visa for Europe. Often the process of acquiring a visa isn't so much hard as it is long and keep in mind that documents take time to process and go back and forth from your country of origen to the country of employment! But if you plan your time and stay on top of it you won't have a problem :)
ReplyDeleteHey guys soon the main audition season begins and I know most of you will be mainly auditioning in the U.K, but I have to say after living in Germany the U.K dance scene is very limited, of course you have all you major companies Rambert Dance Company, Phoenix, Mathew Bourne etc...... but the competition is so high that it might also be wise to spread the net further and go abroad. That’s where I think Germany is an amazing place to look. Here is a link all of the companies in Germany...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tanznetz.de/en/forum.phtml?page=showarea&aid=49
and I tell you there are over 100, so the chance of gaining a first job gets slightly easier. Lots of money is pumped into the arts over here in Germany so in every major city there is a main theatre, but also in every small town as well. So if you have not thought about Germany then it might be a good idea to do some research. ☺
Hey guys I just wanted to tell you about the speech improvisation workshop I did with Sten Rudstrom this weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty interesting experience. He was very intimidating expected everyone to "already know what they were doing" and everyone was either an actor or a physical theatre person. Seke was there and I was even partners with him at one point! we explored sounds of words and the sensation that the sound has in our mouth and how that leads to movement in the body. we did exercises using sounds and moving our body according to that sound. then we did the same thing with words. We worked on how to improvise words by association and by their sounds.
Sten was an amazing performer. He was so articulate and everything he said was completely in sync with how he was moving. It was pretty incrdible.
At the end of the workshop I had to improvise a monologue which was pretty scary...especially since everyone knew what they were doing a lot more than I did!
We also had some philosophical discussions on performance, art, and language which were interesting.
If you want to check out sten here is his website
http://www.stenrudstrom.com/
Hello everyone hope you all well i thought i will share some of my experiences. so here i go.
ReplyDeletewhat: Scapino stage(apprentice) audition
with who: with people from 3 different dance schools in holland and Ed Wubbe and Bonnie Doets watching the audition.
where: at the scapino building in rotterdam.
this was actually one of the first auditions i actually have done for a real company but prior to the audition and the scapino building Bonnie Doets she danced for many years at Scapino came to our school to make a pre selection. and luckly i got picked but it was a close call cause she was doubting about me cause i went to her after the audition to ask things to improve on and she told me to really enjoy the class and show her some of myself how i am. i think i wasn't really doing that cause i was way to focussed on the technique and doing things well. So keeping in mind what bonnie said i went a week later to scapino building to do the audition.
and what i really tried to do and helped me alot was to really enjoy the class in this case a ballet class cause it makes you more relaxed and if you than not get it you at least had a nice class and it also makes your face more relaxed i look around me sometimes and a lot of people with really tensed faces and i realized that i normally do that as well. trying to be really yourself and enjoy the class is also good cause it makes you less nervous and gives a more positive mind set and makes you not afraid of the panel. also allot of people where wearing all black try maybe wear a bit of a color to stand out of the group cause when there so many people that can draw people there attention.
so we did a ballet class and than a bit of rep from there newest piece Kathleen. and than we had to do a solo of one minute i found out about that only a few days before the audition so didn't had time to make much if it would have been 2,5 minutes i would have so my advise is also not to only have 1 solo but have maybe a couple or one that you can easily adapt to different lengths.
to sum it up
- really enjoy class and show them how YOU are than at least you had a good class
- wear something that makes you stand out so its easier for them to see you and remember you
- have different lengths of solo's prepared.
i hope i helped someone with this and have fun auditioning.
xx
wessel
What: Forsyth Improvisation Workshop
ReplyDeleteWith Who: The wonderful Tamas Moricz
Where: Eden*****Studios in Berlin
Go ahead and do it if you have a chance. Tamas is a wonderful guy, the studios great. Lots of individual attention. I found a place to stay on AirBNB and last minute cheap tickets via skyscanner. Don't forget pens and a note book as lots of info will be coming your way.
For more info: http://www.tamasmoricz.com/
just going to share my experience about travelling for an audition! :P
ReplyDeletei went to bielefeld(germany) for an audition. got there by easy jet and a train and was going to get back to london the same way... train then easy jet plane...
going there was fine ... no problems... but coming back there was an issue...
as my audition was on a sunday i had to try and get back to school the next day ASAP! there werent any night flights so i booked to get the first flight back on monday morning! (: after my audition, i had to take my train to a different city(dusseldorf) to catch the plane...
i reached dusseldorf at 10 PM and asked people at the info desk how do i get to the airport!... wanting to stay the night at the airport as i had to check in at 5AM ... might as well save money from lodging and wait 7 hours at the airport(find a bench to sleep)...
to my horror... THE AIRPORT WAS CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT! and i didnt have any where to sleep or rest!! BUT the lady directed my to a 24hr mcdonalds by the train station and i ended up sitting in Mcdonalds with a mcnugget meal for 6 and a half hours before catching the first bus to the airport!
it was QUITE an experience! SO LESSON LEARNT!
If you ever want to stay over night at a airport to wait for and catch the first flight out... ALWAYS check that the airport is OPEN for the night.. do not assume all airports are 24HRS! (:
hope this is helpful! (:
xx joy(:
Really nice sports massage! The woman is a friendly ex-Rambert student and does a decent job, £20 per half hour, £30 per hour and just behind tesco in St. Margarets. Contact Nicola on 07739160538.
ReplyDeletep.s Im inquiring about using pete's room to do massage! £5 per half hour... Contact Alex on 07531216963.
MR STANDARD
if there was a like button... i would like it.
DeleteIf an audition post says 'looking for experienced dancers' or similiar, and there is a formular you have to fill out, with a field saying age.It is worth considering to say that you are older then you are. Because I have experienced not to get invited to an audition, due to my age, I think. So if you have to write your age, keep in mind to write an older age.
ReplyDeleteThey ask for age for a reason....I don't think that lying is a great way to start a relationship: the truth will come out in the end...Age restrictions may have to do with funding, a producers preference. I think you should respect that; I for one would not be impressed and would see it as a waste of my time.
DeleteIf anything you could send them a message saying something like:
I am aware of the age restrictions however I feel that I etc.etc. explaining yourself
most companies/ projects seldom advertise for the age limit... only a few projects do that..
Deletei have a feeling some companies look at age to see how much years of experience one would have... and because they have a big amount of applicants they would just cut the "young" ones...
But good point G! i can see where you are coming from ! (: note taken!! (:
I think that if an audition say specific a person over 40 then I would respect it, but when an audition says minimum 25 or, as they often do, people with minimum of three years of experience. Then if they ask for a date of birth, a little older date of birth would increase then chances of getting the audition, and maybe in the audition they would think that 'that person is exactly the one we are looking for'. I just think it is important to get judged on the dancing and personality and not a number. About the lying, a person could always just say, if they ever get asked, that they really wanted the audition and they know that often young people does not get invited.
Delete:)
A thing which I have not tried yet, but thought of is, if you do not get invited to an audition, you can always try to apply again. Maybe change a little on your cv or other stuff and you might get invited.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine who I work with on Carnival has previously auditioned for a jazz company, lots of people, big pineapple cattlecall. As one of the first dancers to perform the simple routine she got cut straight away, probably just to cut numbers and wasn't noticed. Anyway, she saw that other dancers who she thought were not as good as her get through to further stages so she joined the back of the line, got a new number, changed her top and hair, and ended up getting all the way and being offered a contract. So it just goes to show sometimes you just don't get noticed, and its not always your dancing.
DeleteThought this was kind of similar and also a helpful story. x
Cool, nice one. :)
Deletehey, here's my experience of Leeds last week:
ReplyDeleteSo I was given the opportunity to partner Jed and work with Dougie Thorpe, 'Mad Dogs' for a week, working on his new double bill 'Dogs Land' (although Dougie and his dancers made me feel welcome to stay longer - would have loved to!) Dougie didn't provide any warm up/cool down classes so it was up to us to get in early enough to do so ourselves. The day was 10.30 - 5.30, rehearsals. As I arrived a week later than everyone else i had to really concentrate on picking up the material quick. There were only 2 leads, Ruth Janssen and Lee Clayden (who play a gangster man and his wife who cheated on him) and 2 apprentices/understudies, plus Jed and me so it was a small enough group to get great advice and feedback :) my hardwork paid off that day as Ruth noticed that i had picked up most of the material and she gave me some help and things to work on which was fab! also missing part of lunch to practice meant that Dougie had the chance to see and correct me and jed.
Dougies material was very intense which i felt prepared for however, i'm not gona lie that there was a point in the middle of the week that i felt just down and abused!! Bearing in mind that the material consisted of the man constantly holding onto, manipulating or manoeuvring the woman via neck and crotch!, while she tries to escape. iv come across this feeling with a choreography iv been in before and so i had to remind myself to leave my character in the studio.
Lastly i must mention that a huge part of this work was theatre based which i loved!! we worked with a professional actor, Cliff who is not only in the performance but is also the assistant director for this production. it was fascinating to see how he introduced the text into the dance. Ruth and Lee did hours of experimenting; adding dialect to some of the dance material that Dougie had created or bringing the intense atmosphere down by simply speaking the text while sitting on the floor. (for most of this process i was able to sit and watch) At one point we all sat down and discussed our views which was great as me and Jed were treated not as guest students but part of the team. Dougie even asked our opinions and tried out, and kept one of Jeds suggestions! i loved this part and learned that as dancers we must be able to think, analyse and speak our minds as well as dance (i think Amanda touched on that in critical studies today).
Anyway as you can tell i had a fab time! it was really refreshing to get out of school for a short while and experience working professionally.
hope some of this helps,
seeeerah ;) xx
Hey Guys!
ReplyDeleteHope your all well, i have just done a week with Retina dance company in Leicester and would like to share what i learnt with you, the main thing i'd really like to stress is this company in particular (can't say for all contemporary companies) want to see you have basic technique but really aren't bothered whether you point your feet or not but want to know you can MOVE AND TRAVEL, and have quality and flow in your movement and also they are a close knit company so what to know you are easy to work and get a long with i guess what i'm saying is the finest Ballet technique is over rated for these type of companies, so don't swear it tooo much if your not perfect at ballet!!! lots of love and God Bless
Rose xx
Hey everyone!! Feel like i need to share some more wise words from Gina, which has kept me going for a while now.
ReplyDeleteKEEP FILLING YOUR BASKET!!!
Dance is not the only thing that defines you, you are a human being with many other talents, do not forget this!! Make sure you keep putting all these little things in that basket, like singing, acting, fashion, teaching, guitarist, pianist whatever! shove it all in! even if you think its completely non-related, people are always interested in what other talents you have and sometimes you can be more likely to get certain jobs because of this. im also saying this because if (by very unfortunate circumstances) you are not able to dance (due to injury or simply its not right for you) its good to have a plan B! i was injured just before i graduated and i am currently still recovering! never thought it would take this long, but luckily i kept filling my little basket which has come in handy until i get back on my feet :D THANKS GINA G! wagwan ;) Rachael x x