You’ve been working really hard all term. You’ve gone to every class and you’ve learnt your routines. You’re desperate to make the dance team or get a great part in your end of year show. What could possibly go wrong on audition day? Quite frankly everything!
First, you’re so worried you don’t sleep properly, then you can’t eat well that morning. You leave the house tired and hungry and reaching for the nearest chocolate bar.
Did we mention you didn’t sleep? So now you’re tired and you’re drinking coffee to stay awake and now you’ve got the shakes. Is that the caffeine or your nerves? Who knows!
Let’s take a step back and look at how we can minimise the trauma of audition day.
1) Preparation. Fail to prepare then prepare to fail. Get to know everything there is about the team you are trying out for, or the part you are auditioning for. If it’s not within your own dance school or company find out as much about the artistic team as possible – what do they normally look for in their dancers, how to they operate, what’s the culture like. Check in advance what the audition day schedule is. Know what techniques you are required to demonstrate, and what has to be in your master piece.
2) Be early. Show up early. Give yourself time to get lost, for your bus to be late, plan to be there 2 hours before required. 2 hours you say? Yes, 2 hours to the location BUT don’t go in. Take a walk around the block, find the nearest park and sit on a bench to relax. Take your favourite book, music and sit for 30 mins, meditate if you can.
3) Warmup. Next, take a 30 min warmup in the park. Really? In the park? Yes, if you can start your own warmup in the park. Move through all your crucial warmup exercises and get your body relaxed. Warming up in an audition hall with others might not give you exactly what your body needs. Sometimes warmups are too hurried. Getting your warmup exactly right for you, that’s what’s needed
4) Yoga. Walk into the audition hall around 45 mins before you’re needed. Find a place to have some further gentle warm ups, focus on your stretching and your breathing. Finally, take on some Yoga salutations and focus your mind
5) 5 mins to go. You already arrived 2 hours early, you’ve done your own warm up, you’ve relaxed, stretched and meditated. You’re so chilled out you nearly forgot it was audition time. So now get in there and give it your best shot. Dance your routine, smile, do the best you possibly can, if you make a mistake, carry out, ride it out, smile it out, act professional.
If you don’t succeed this time, there’s always next time. Sometimes we need the experience of auditioning several times to make us feel more relaxed with this process.
Your time will come.
Don’t forget, eat well, sleep well and re-hydrate properly. Stay off the caffeine within the 3 hrs before the audition, you don’t want the shakes when you’re trying to hold a difficult position!!
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