Sources Of Job Information.
Since graduating in summer 2010 I have attended many auditions and dance lessons, however, I have found that finding out about auditions can be challenging especially without the help of an agent. Agents usually provide opportunities that are not known to the general public. Open auditions can be challenging and extremely hard both physically and emotionally. In my opinion I have found some open auditions hard; I found it unexpected that it would be the emotionally side that I found harder than the physical side. It is frustrating have such a short time to ‘sell’ yourself to a panel of strangers and the thought of having ‘one shot’ can be daunting and hard to accept afterwards if things did not go as I expected. Having experienced many highs and lows in audition situations it has been a journey that has enabled me to become stronger not only as a person but as a dancer too. Looking back over the past few auditions I have attended, I feel I am better equipped to deal with the audition process. I also decided to put together a list of ways in which to look for job information and auditions. I did this in order to reflect on stages that I have completed and the ones I am yet to achieve
A source of information I have found surprisingly beneficial is:
· Word of mouth- I have found that people within the industry and who are in the same profession are incredibly useful. A large amount of jobs are not advertised (or information regarding semi-private auditions are hard to come by) and so being in contact with people who have private information is extremely important. Whilst at college I found that throughout my time there I began to understand the importance of word of mouth and communication amongst friends and work colleagues. We all shared information we had and usually attended the same auditions. In my opinion whilst sharing information is a great way of finding out about information, within the claustrophobic environment of collage it allowed individuals to become secretive and in occasional incidents it caused riffs between a tight group. It is important to know and trust the people who you share information with in my opinion as the potential for jealousy/disagreements is great. Since leaving collage I have found that making friends with people at auditions and dance lessons is a great way to share information with people with similar interests as you. It is also a less competitive/ intense environment compared to collage where you spend everyday with the same people.
· The Internet:
I have found that a large amount of information I get about auditions and jobs is from the internet. A website I have found beneficial has been ‘The Stage’. Although I had to pay to become a member I think it was well worth it. Not only can you get information about jobs there are also articles and useful tips and advice. A great advantage I found from this site is the fact they email you updates and auditions that match your criteria. The Stage is also a newspaper, ( available every Thursday and can be delivered) however I find the website more convenient and also some jobs are advertised on here and not in the newspaper. Below I have put together a list of websites that I find useful.
· Dancers pro- a website that offers auditions to their members. It has a variety of auditions and people you can email, (www.dancerspro.com)
· Dance direct – this website is primarily for dance wear yet they have a section on auditions, I have used this website a great amount of time. I have found that this website offers audition for jobs abroad and more ballet auditions than other websites. (www.dancedirect.co.uk)
· Juice- a section on the Place’s website offers information on up and coming auditions, primarily contemporary. (www.theplace.org.uk)
· Dance Europe- this site again also offers a list of jobs and auditions coming up (www. www.danceeurope.net/site/jobs.)
· www.jobsearch.about.com – gives a list of auditions, I have only used this website on a few occasions as I feel the stage and dance direct websites are more useful to me.
· Star now- is a website that advertised dance jobs alongside acting and promotional work, they will contact you if you are a member. In my opinion this site is less aimed at professional dancers. Many people have mixed opinions about this site as some of the jobs advertised appear to be ‘scams’(http://www.starnow.co.uk/). I have only used this website a few times and the times I have used the site is for acting/extra work.
· www.answers4dancers.com – there is a section for jobs and auditions alongside other useful things on the site.
The sites above are all specific and related to dance and the performing industry, however I have found that Facebook (admittedly it is primarily a social networking site) has been very useful. I have joined various different groups on Facebook which post paid jobs and auditions and it allows me to keep in contact with piers dancing in different parts of the world. It is also a place to get to know other dancers and choreographers.
· Notice boards: I have found that notice boards at various dance studios have been helpful to me. They provide a section of jobs and auditions that are happening in the near future and there are sometimes auditions that are not advertised on other sites. This can be because a place needs to be filled quickly and efficiently. There are dance boards at Dance Attic, Dance Works and Pineapple Dance studios.
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