Jessica Cobb went through professional schools and danced as a trainee but it wasn’t until she worked through The Dancer’s Best Body Program that she knew she deserved to be in a paid contract.

By working through the program she totally shifted the perspective she brought into auditions. Instead of feeling like she was in a place of wishing and hoping, she was confident that she had unique gifts and talents to offer.

After completing the program she had an incredibly successful audition season and landed her first paying job. Even if you’re in the place of auditioning now, this program can change the way you audition.

If you’re considering The Dancer’s Best Body Program, or even if you’re just in a place of questioning  your path in dance, watch this video. Jessica’s transformation will surely inspire you to seek support and continue to move forward.

The program is open for enrollment through Sunday, February 4 and then not again until the Fall of 2018. If you are considering joining but have questions, email me jess@thewholedancer.com I’d love to hear from you!

The post A Video Chat : The Dancer’ Best Body Program Experience appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

When I danced for BalletFleming, I did a lot of admin work including screening the audition emails before I sent them to the Artistic Director. You would be AMAZED the number of people who could not write a clear, concise email to request an audition.

I was very lucky to learn the importance of a well-written email early on in high school. The only way to communicate with teachers in cyber school was via email. Our onsite academic director taught us how to email the teachers: be clear with what we were asking, and be respectful even if you were super mad they had not graded a paper you handed in a month ago. We also had career workshops where we learned how to write resumes, cover letters, make audition reels, search for auditions, and apply to colleges.

Everyone should know how to construct a well-written cover letter or e-mail so here are a few tips:

1. Have a header that you can put on all of your audition materials. It’s like fancy stationary, but for all of your online audition materials. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy or elaborate. Though make sure it’s in a font that can be easily read. Make sure the header includes your name, email address, phone number, and physical address.

2. Check each company’s website to see who you should be addressing the letter to. It takes five minutes to check the name of the Artistic Director. No one likes receiving emails that say To Whom It May Concern.

3. Start the letter by stating you would like to audition for the company, what position you’re auditioning for, and how you would like to audition. Also include why you want to dance for this company. This is your opportunity to show you’ve done your research.

4. Talk about yourself! In the next paragraph, brag about yourself. Do a short summary of who you are as a dancer: where you’ve trained, what companies and choreographers you’ve worked with, etc.

5. Include a list of items that are attached to the email or in the package if you mail your materials. This way the artistic staff knows what you’re sending them. In this paragraph include any Youtube or website links you would like the artistic staff to view.

6. For the final paragraph, have a respectful sign off. Thank the artistic staff for reviewing your materials and you look forward to hearing from them.

7. This doesn’t have to be a long letter. Companies get bombarded with audition materials. Keep your letter short and to the point, one page maximum.

8. SPELLCHECK! This should be a given, but triple check a million times. Have a few friends or family read your letter and other audition materials over to check for mistakes. Mistakes can make your overall work ethic look sloppy.

Keep these tips in mind while writing your audition cover letter/email.  May the odds ever be in your favor for your upcoming auditions.

LOOKING FOR SUPPORT ON YOUR AUDITION JOURNEY?

Photo on Visualhunt

The post 8 – Tips for a better ballet audition cover letter appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Sleepless nights. Breakdowns in class.

But here’s the good news :

“Proper preparation prevents poor performance.”

You’ve already seen this to be true. You dance better on stage when you’re well rehearsed. You dance more freely in class when you’re confident in your abilities.

I want to help you nail your next audition. Sign up for an Audition Success Session! These in depth 90 – minute coaching sessions will take place November 2017 thru January 2018 but you need to reserve your spot by the end of October.

You’ll learn how to :

• Create your audition game plan.
• Tackle the feeling that it’s all going wrong.
• Categorize your dance company prospects to maximize your chances of getting hired.
• Prepare your audition materials in a professional and efficient way.
• Cope with the rejection and circumstances outside of your control.
• Deal with injury during audition season.

CLICK HERE for full details and to reserve your spot!

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Now, I’m not going to disagree with Nureyev but I think when it comes to auditions – especially for professional company positions – you’ve got to remember that it’s about a lot more than technique.

Personally, I was a late starter. I was 12 when I started taking dance in a more professional setting and really it wasn’t at full professional caliber (outside of some awesome summer programs) until I went to Butler University.

I did not catch up technically until much later. Admittedly I just didn’t wrap my head around muscular turnout control and technical execution until my 20’s – (gasp, shock…I know).

So how did I get any kind of professional company attention?

Two things worked in my favor :

1.  I have bendy feet and hyperextension. I just lucked out there – if you weren’t born that way I guarantee you’ve got other innate gifts to bring to the table. Acknowledge that for yourself and use what you’ve got!

2.  I can only tell you this in retrospect – Any time I was asked to stay through to the end, received a scholarship or got an offer I was having one of those (rare at the time) days when I felt really good about myself.

This is a key component to acing an audition. You’ve got to show up and do your thing. You can’t stress about the dancers around you – even the ones who have “prettier” feet and legs.

You’ve gotta project your talents – let the things that make you exactly who YOU are shine.

It’s not about trying to dance more like your idol or your best friend or the girl next to you who was kept through to the end of the last audition the two of you both attended (I know what it’s like to do a bunch of auditions in one city and see all the same people there!).

Project your confidence and your personality.

Don’t run out of inspiration. Most of the time  you’re only there for 90 minutes. Turn. It. Up.

Visualize the job offer. Visualize yourself dancing with the company. Visualize the outcome you want.

Remember that you cannot read the minds or know the plans of Artistic Staff. You can’t know exactly what they’re looking for and for all you know you could be it!

Finally, trust that your technique will stay with you the whole time and that what you’ve got is good enough – see I pretty much agree with Nureyev

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