The DO’s and DONT’s of Auditions

By Laura Di Orio

Auditions. They’re like swallowing your vitamins. All they take is a little practice and some mental reassurance, and then you can come out stronger and, in this case, maybe with a job. Dance Informa spoke with leading working dancers and choreographers across the US to get their tips and audition do’s and don’ts.

Where to Look
Nowadays, audition listings, like most other information, can be found over the Internet. Dance Informa provides nationwide audition listings (click here to view the current listings) and even facebook offers dancers news on upcoming auditions and gigs. There’s also good old paper: most dance studios have a bulletin board with audition listings and job offerings. For some dancers, word of mouth and/or recommendations are also good audition hunting tools. And for those interested in company work, attending workshops or classes by prospective companies can be valuable. They often have company mailing lists, which inform recipients of upcoming auditions.

Audition Prep for the Mind and Body
It’s important to get enough sleep prior to an audition in order to stock up on ample energy and concentration levels. If nerves or other factors prevent you from getting the zzz’s, then help yourself with an energy drink, suggests choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. You need to be “on top of your game because you have to show in no time what you’ve got,” she says.

Nothing is worse than feeling unprepared. “If you can, research the project or company choreography,” says Clymene Baugher, a company member of Elisa Monte Dance in New York City. “Wake up early and give yourself time to orientate yourself to the day, not only preparing your body physically but also giving yourself time to mentally prepare.”

Mentally, it’s crucial that as an auditioning dancer you exude confidence. “Believe you are worth watching and that you have something to offer the company,” Lopez Ochoa says.

“Think of auditions as dress rehearsals, the more relaxed you are the better,” Baugher adds.

Christine Cox rehearsing with members of Ballet X

Show it Off!
Wear dancewear in which you feel good, something clean and neat and in a bright color. Unless it fits with the style, Lopez Ochoa says to avoid baggy clothes, “too sexy” looks and leg warmers. “A dancer should reveal his/her body because if you hide it in baggy clothes, the choreographer tends to be suspicious,” she says. “It’s all about honesty.”

Courtesy Goes a Long Way
During an audition, you’re being tested on more than just dance skills. How do you behave toward the director or choreographer and your fellow auditionees? “Being courteous to other dancers and the casting people is incredibly important,” says Drumlin Brooke, currently a trainee with First State Ballet Theatre in Delaware. “A lot of directors are looking for people who will mesh well with their company.”

How you behave in an audition also gives directors an idea of how you would work in the studio. “Listen very well to what a director or choreographer is asking you to do,” Lopez Ochoa advises. “Usually he/she does not expect you to be perfect, but he/she is just testing if you listen well and react to what he/she is saying.

“Don’t constantly look at the director to check if he/she’s watching you,” she adds. “That can be utterly annoying.”

Stay in your Comfort Zone?
There’s debate about whether or not to audition for something out of a dancer’s skill level or comfort zone. Lopez Ochoa says to avoid such auditions. “You’d be wasting the time of the choreographer,” she says. “It’s already hard enough for a choreographer to perceive all the qualities of the dancers in such a short time and in such big crowds.”

On the other hand, Christine Cox, co-founder of Philadelphia’s Ballet X, says go for it. “I think it’s important to know how to audition, and the more experience you can gain from it the better,” she says. “Who knows, you may get the job. If it starts to make you feel depressed and insecure, then stick to what you know and keep your confidence building.”

Likewise, Brooke says, “If you go you might get the job. If you don’t audition you definitely won’t.”

The Must-Haves 
Depending on the style of the company or specifics of the gig, choreographers and directors look for different qualities in dancers. Lopez Ochoa looks for generosity, a strong technique, versatility and, most of all, musicality when she’s auditioning a dancer.

For Cox, attributes like musicality, good work ethic and amazing technique make dancers stand out. “You can’t fake being a good dancer,” she says. “You either are or you aren’t.”

Bracing Rejection
“There’s no band-aid for rejection,” Lopez Ochoa says. “It’s always hard and disappointing when you’re not chosen.”

The key, then, is to trust that there’s a place out there that would be happy to have you as a dancer. “If a director does not hire you, it doesn’t mean that you’re a bad dancer,” says Lopez Ochoa. “It usually means that you don’t fit the style of the company.”

Most importantly, when faced with rejection, don’t give up. “Being a dancer is one of the hardest professions, and rejection hurts,” Baugher says. “If you want it bad enough, then you have to push on and continue to attend auditions and put yourself out there.”

#1 Do’s and Don’ts
According to these working dancers and choreographers, here are their number one do’s and don’ts:

Lopez Ochoa’s #1 DO: “Show that you love dancing. You’re not at an audition to get a job, you’re there to show how much you love your art. It’s a slightly different state of mind that makes a huge difference in how and what you radiate.”

Lopez Ochoa’s #1 DON’T: “Don’t stand in front if you don’t know the combination.”

Brooke’s #1 DO: “Pay attention! Nobody wants confused dancers who aren’t listening.”

Brooke’s #1 DON’T: “Don’t be late. Being early is both respectful and smart, and you want to be able to take your time to prepare.”

Cox’s #1 DO: “Show who you are as an artist in the audition. Be expressive and daring.”

Cox’s #1 DON’T: “Don’t show attitude.”

Baugher’s #1 DO: “Enjoy! Being a dancer is not easy. Think of auditions as miniature journeys.”

Baugher’s #1 DON’T: “Do not beat yourself up. Not getting the job often means absolutely nothing about you as a dancer, but most especially does not reflect your worth as a person.”

 Try to enjoy the audition experience and the journey, and work hard. Your persistence could someday soon pay off.

Top photo: Clymene Baugher, company member of Elisa Monte Dance. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

By Emily Yewell Volin.

You know it when you see it. Some call it star power, others say it’s an innate quality of the soul. Stage Presence. What is it, how important is it, and can it be trained?

To answer this question Dance Informa spoke with six leading professionals whose careers have spanned performance, choreography and direction in a variety of dance genres.

What is stage presence?

Homer Bryant, Founder & Director of Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center, The School of Homer Hans Bryant
www.cmdcschool.com
Stage presence is dancing in a relaxed manner from your heart. You can be dramatic, comedic, whatever. It’s when you transform yourself and the audience says, ‘wow, that’s amazing’.

Rhee Gold, Publisher Dance Studio Life
www.dancestudiolife.com
I think most people would believe that it is a smile or a personality on a stage, but to me, stage presence is being able to express an emotion that is felt by the audience; it’s more from the gut. I hear teachers say, ‘give me a smile’. Even if the students smile, it’s not necessarily stage presence.

Matt Kent, Associate Artistic Director Pilobolus
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB_N0qHKOD0
It’s about displacement; the amount of water you spill out of the bathtub. There’s not an ‘x’ factor that you can read about in a book and get.

Thomas Lund, Principal Dancer Royal Danish Theatre Ballet
http://kglteater.dk/OmKunstarterne
I find from my experience that some people have star quality; they get on stage and people look at them. But I find that people who do not have that strength can work through the quality of the movement, how to sustain moments, and can actually look more interesting. I don’t always buy ‘she/he hasn’t got it’.

Susan Quinn (Williams), Associate Professor at University of Arizona School of Dance, Master Teacher & Choreographer
www.susanssight.com
Stage presence to me is when the whole body, head to toe, is at its highest point. It’s when everything comes together.

Pattie Obey, Master Teacher/Choreographer
www.pattieobey.com
It’s the ability to perform to an audience.

Thomas Lund in 'Swan Lake'. Royal Danish Ballet. Photo by David Amzallag

Why is stage presence important?

Matt Kent
It’s what makes people follow you where you are going to lead them. All the other things you have may be for naught if there’s no presence about. Dance always starts with imitation but you have to get beyond it.

Thomas Lund
If you don’t have stage presence, people won’t think there’s anything to watch. There won’t be anything special about your performance. Whatever you do, you have to make something.

Susan Quinn
You have to tell me a story. I can’t stand it when a choreographer/dancer dances the movement and then starts to walk. Why are you walking there? If you’re walking for no reason, I’m going to get popcorn. You must tell me a story. I want you to tell me what you are feeling.

Pattie Obey
It’s important because the audience wants to be entertained. It’s important because you learn to show why you dance. Open your heart, spread the love around. If you can’t live, eat, and drink dance, then don’t do it. It’s not 100% commitment, it’s a 200% commitment.

Is stage presence just something you are born with or do you develop it?

Homer Bryant
There are some people who are just born with it, it’s part of their DNA. Many others train. Dancers get better with time.

Rhee Gold
I think it is a case of overcoming inhibitions and the ability to let it go and not be intimidated to share who and what you are with the audience. I’ve seen many teen dancers who don’t ‘get it’ but then they pursue dance at the university level of performance and they learn.

Thomas Lund
Some are born with special abilities. And then, there are people you don’t notice in the studio who then get into the stage lights and there it is…it’s in the face. It’s not about being photogenic, it’s something to do with performance.

Susan Quinn
Yes; some people have natural stage presence. I’ll tell you, though, I’ve been teaching over 30 years and maybe ten or so people I know have natural stage presence. Stage presence must be taught.

Pattie Obey has presence! Photo: Andrea Hausmann

What can you do to improve your stage presence?

Homer Bryant
My school offers musical theatre and acting classes/coaching in addition to dance technique classes. I’ve found that these classes really help develop stage presence. Another way we are teaching stage presence is by having the students of every age perform for their peers during class time. They critique each other, without being harsh, and grade each classmate’s performance. As a teacher I ask the students how they feel about particular movements to help them make human and mental connections to what they are doing.

Rhee Gold
I think it comes with performing. It’s about explaining to your dancer what the story is about, what they are supposed to portray; really giving them the information they need to express the story. Sometimes dancers do not know what the choreographer is trying to express. The dancer needs to be fully aware of the choreographer’s intention.

Matt Kent
I’m a guy with no dance training who is working in the field because I brought something else. Part of the dancer’s job is to let the magnetism out; to displace the energy in the room into more and more circumstances. You first have to learn how to bring out what you have and then let that ooze and infect the rest of the world of movement and drama. And, it’s a practice. It’s not in your head. I come from a martial arts background so I see stage presence as an action thing. Get onto stage more. And, if you’re a student ‘fake it ‘til you make it’. It’s going to be difficult to develop stage presence if you are afraid to take a risk. Trust what you’re good at, trust your technique and then go out there, take a risk, and let it all hang out.

Susan Quinn
I think we tend to leave it up to the students and that does not work. Stage presence must be taught right when you teach the first demi plié. It has to do with épaulement, écarté, looking croisé; the body positions. You have to teach style and performance quality at the same time you teach technique. I also bring in commercial choreographers for mock auditions. They tell the dancers, ‘I don’t care if you can turn 50 times or how high your leg is in the air. If you are not selling the product I will not watch you’.

Pattie Obey
Watch other dancers – go to see professional productions and see how other people perform. Why are those dancers in that great company?

Would you rather hire a dancer with tremendous technique and average stage presence or a dancer with tremendous stage presence and average technique?

Homer Bryant
I have seen some beautiful but dry dancers whose performances didn’t cross the footlights. Dancers must invest in both stage presence and technique.

Rhee Gold
I’d definitely go with a medium level dancer with stage presence rather than a technician. My responsibility is to entertain and move the audience. Give me a dancer with energy, life, and passion. I think stage presence is the key to success as a performer, as a teacher and as a choreographer. Stage presence is present whether you are on the stage or not.

Matt Kent
Especially with the work I do, I have zero interest in a perfect technician who does not have anything to say or a voice of their own. I’m not interested in imitation.

Thomas Lund
It certainly depends on the field you are in. Classical ballet people must look at the instrument, the feet, the lines and turn out. But then you would also look at how they project and how they take the room. If I see two dancers and they are equally technically strong but one looks more interesting and more expressive, I’d probably choose that one. Dancers have a tendency to fall in love with their technique and what can be done with the body, but somebody in the front line must also have a personality. That’s one very strong part of the history of the Royal Danish Ballet. We’ve had ballerinas and males with great technique and quite a range of personality.

Pattie Obey
I would hire the dancer with tremendous stage presence and work on the technique. If I am the director of a dance company I need to get butts on the seats. I have to build an audience and sell tickets to more than just a dance audience. Leave the arabesque at 90 degrees but perform your heart out. It’s sometimes easier to improve upon technique than stage presence. I think as a performer you need to capture the audience. It’s a relationship you build from the moment you walk on the stage.

Readers, enter today to win tickets to two amazing dance shows, or the prestigious Australian Dance Awards!

Win a DOUBLE PASS to Ballet Revolucion
Melbourne or Brisbane
Click here to hear about Cuba’s Ballet Revolucion and the company’s Australian tour.

Win a DOUBLE PASS to Side To One in Adelaide.
Click here to find out more about this new contemporary dance work presented at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

Win a DOUBLE PASS to the 2011 Australian Dance Awards in Brisbane
Click here to find out more about the dance industry’s night of nights!

To Enter
Email Dance Informa at info@danceinforma.com  with:
Your Name, Date of Birth, Full Address, Phone Number and ‘Why you love Dance Informa’.

Good luck!

NSW Permit Number : LTPM/10/00971CLASS: Type B
Competition opens on July 2 2011. Competition closes on July 16. Winners will be selected at random on July 16 at 5:00pm EST and notified by email. All entrants must provide an email address, a postal address, full name and date of birth. All entrants who are not a subscriber to Dance Informa will be given a free subscription. All subscribers can unsubscribe at any time by visiting danceinforma.com/unsubscribe. Minimum entry age is 13 years of age. Prizes will be drawn in Highbury SA. Winners will be published at www.danceinforma.com after they are announced. If not all prizes are claimed, a Second Chance Draw will be held. This competition is held by Dance Informa Pty Ltd of SA. Phone 1300 783 120.

By Grace Edwards.

Many local ballet students dream of becoming a nominee for the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award. For 22-year-old New Zealand-born corps de ballet member Karen Nanasca the dream has come true. “The announcement was made after our daily class one morning back in February. I was sitting on the floor at the back of the studio amongst my fellow dancers wondering who the last nominee was going to be. I couldn’t believe it when my name was called!”

Karen, who joined the Australian Ballet in 2009 upon graduating from the Australian Ballet School, will compete alongside colleagues Rudy Hawkes, Robyn Hendricks, Luke Marchant, Brett Chynoweth and Chengwu Guo for a cash prize of $20,000. The winner is to be chosen by an industry judging panel, who will assess the dancers on the quality of their dancing, personal development and potential for the future. Australian Ballet fans will also get their say, deciding by popular vote the winner of the equally coveted $5,000 People’s Choice Award.

TBDA nominees Luke Marchant, Robyn Hendricks, Rudy Hawkes, Brett Chynoweth, Karen Nanasca & Chengwu Guo. Photo: C. L'Estrange

In addition, Karen and the other contestants will also have to submit a written piece to convince the judges why they should win. The process culminates in September when she and the other contestants will be interviewed by the judging panel. The winner will be announced in December. Last year the contest ended in an unprecedented tie, with winners Ty King-Wall and Dana Stephensen receiving $20,000 each.

Having made the transition to company life quite recently compared to the other nominees, Karen is more than ready for the journey. “There were only seven girls in my final year at The Australian Ballet School, and there are 35 girls in The Australian Ballet,” she recalls. “It was quite a change to work with a much larger group of dancers and subsequently receive less individual attention from ballet staff than I was used to at the school. But I’ve learnt now to work more independently and how to navigate my way around in such a big ballet class.”

Already she has had to cope with one of the art form’s biggest downsides. “I had a stress fracture in my second metatarsal going into my first year at The Australian Ballet School, and I re-fractured the bone after my initial recovery a few months later into that year,” says Karen. “Any dancer who has had an injury knows how frustrating it can be when you can’t dance. It was tough for me for all the months I was off. But I came out of it a stronger and smarter dancer. I think it’s important to stay positive, have family and friends around to support you, and always have a goal to work towards. The injury really put into perspective how important our bodies are for dance, and how important it is to look after them properly!”

Karen Nanasca. Photo: James Braund

Whilst it might be easy to focus on such potential pitfalls, Karen insists that the joy of dancing is worth the pain. She is quite clear about her favourite aspect of dancing with the Australian Ballet: “getting to do what I love everyday – and getting paid for it! I love the feeling of being on stage, the adrenaline rush and the emotion of it all. It’s also rewarding to hear the positive response from the audience.” This is fortunate, as the company’s hectic schedule doesn’t leave much time or energy for other interests. “After a performance and once I’m home, I usually have something to eat and watch TV or read until I start to get sleepy. This doesn’t normally take very long…”

A few fun facts about Karen

When I am not dancing I am…sleeping!
I have a personal weakness for…Chanel nail polish.
One day I’d like to…win the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award!
My idol is..Tamara Rojo, principal, the Royal Ballet.
A memorable stage moment…Last year I danced in Principal Artist Daniel Gaudiello’s South of Eden, as part of the Bodytorque.a.la.mode season. In the piece there was one lift where John-Paul Idaszak, the tallest male dancer in the company, lifted and tossed me over his head, and I was caught on the other side by dancer Matthew Donnelly. It felt like I was flying!

Vote for Karen or any of the other talented dancers in the TBDA People’s Choice Award by visiting
www.beinvolved.com.au

Top photo: Karen Nanasca and Jacob Sofer by Jeff Busby

What it Takes to Be a Dance Company’s Artistic Director

By Laura Di Orio.

When an audience sees a performance, it notices the dancers, costumes, lighting, sets and music. But the driving force behind it all, is the artistic director. In a dance company, the artistic director’s role is to fuse all the business and artistic elements of the company and its productions to ensure they coalesce to portray the group’s vision. Dance Informa speaks with artistic directors from three established companies to find out what’s involved in being at the helm.

What qualities does it takes to be an artistic director of a dance company?

David McAllister, Artistic Director, Australian Ballet
I think that an artistic director needs to be a good communicator but an equally good listener. I believe that your motivation should be to facilitate the company to be the best it can be, rather than trying to big-note yourself. I love the fact that the company is the star and I am there to keep that flame burning as brightly as possible. You have to care about the people you work with and have a big ambition for the company you run. Both competing forces somehow need to be balanced.

Peter Boal, Artistic Director, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle
Patience and perseverance. Clear vision helps, too.

Nan Giordano, Artistic Director, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago
Your skills need to be very extensive and cover anything from finding the choreographers or being in rehearsal to working with the board – you have to wear a lot of hats. You have to be efficient and organized. You need to be an inspirational leader. That’s part of what I do – inspire. How I live is how I operate our company – good energy, high energy.

David McAllister and Karen Nanasca, The Australian Ballet. Photo by Jeff Busby

What do you look for in dancers for your company? Is it more than just dance ability? Is character a part of your decision?

Peter Boal
There are a few common denominators I look for in dancers, but what inspires me is the individuality of each dancer. Versatility and an ability to connect with the audience are also key.

Nan Giordano
Of course they have to be a wonderful dancer, but we look for a very specific type of person and the energy they exude during the audition process. We look at the whole picture.

How do you choose your season repertoire?

Nan Giordano
We want to be the trendsetters, to be ahead of the pulse. I like working with new cutting edge choreographers who are just being discovered. We try to do three new works a year. Then I look back at the rep we have and see how it’s all going to tie together. For the dancers, it’s important to keep them challenged and interested, and it’s important to me that they like the rep they’re doing. The more they like it, the more successful the piece will be.

Peter Boal
I look for a balance of respecting the traditions that PNB was built on and adding to the repertory by building collections of works by relevant choreographers – both world premieres and/or new works to PNB.

David McAllister
In an organisation where around 70 percent of our budget comes from box office, the audience needs to be front of mind, but I believe that context is always the way to take an audience on a journey. If you only mount works that are proven to be popular, then the audience never has an opportunity to be surprised and sometimes enlightened by something they may not have seen otherwise.

How do you keep inspired?

David McAllister
By surrounding yourself with wonderful people who challenge and motivate you to be better. The best piece of advice I got from someone when I became Artistic Director was to always employ people who are cleverer than you and could do your job. It is a great way in which to work as you can workshop solutions to problems that on your own seem insurmountable.

Peter Boal
I travel as often as possible to see new choreography and to see other ballet companies. Included in these travels is always a trip to the art museum of whatever city I’m in. It helps keep me inspired.

How do you keep your dancers motivated?

Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Photo by Cheryl Mann

David McAllister
That is the million-dollar question! I would say to try to provide a respectful, creative and supportive environment in which to work and a repertoire that inspires and is artistically diverse. It is integral to keep the flow of communication as open and transparent as possible and to be honest and timely with your feedback to the dancers individually and as a group.

Nan Giordano
We have a lot of fun together. They’re more than just employees. It’s a supportive environment. I feed them energy, they feed me energy.

Peter Boal
I think the repertory is a great motivator for the dancers. I also make a concerted effort to bring in coaches, stagers and choreographers who I know the dancers will benefit from working with.

What else should people know about being an artistic director?

Nan Giordano
You want to create a good arena so that you can create something great together. Our world really needs beauty, whether it’s on stage or in the classroom, so you need to focus on the positive.

David McAllister
Being an artistic director is the best job in the world. Each day is filled with unseen challenges and joys. To sit in an auditorium and see a dancer outperform their own expectations or to witness the premiere of a work that started with a conversation with the artists involved is a pleasure that has no price.

Top photo: Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal with principal dancer Carla Körbes in a rehearsal for Boal’s new staging of Giselle. Photo by Angela Sterling

Ausdance in association with QPAC presents the AUSTRALIAN DANCE AWARDS 

Spend the evening with Australia’s best dance artists!

Dance lovers take note and mark your diaries now!
For the first time Queensland is to host the annual Australian Dance Awards recognising and honouring outstanding contributions to dance on Sunday 24 July at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC).

Celebrate the amazing achievements in Australian dance in 2010/2011 with the presentation of 12 awards, handed out by well-known personalities. The awards are presented alongside a performance program featuring some of the country’s leading dance artists and companies.

Executive Director of Ausdance Queensland, the state’s peak body for dance, Ann McLean, said she is delighted that the Awards will be held in Queensland for the first time and encourages dance lovers to join the celebrations at QPAC.

“The Australian Dance Awards is the one night of the year when dance creators, performers, educators and enthusiasts gather to acknowledge and honour their peers. It is also a not-to-be-missed opportunity for dance lovers to sample some of the best works of the past twelve months. The Awards are a wonderful opportunity to showcase the diversity and richness of dance in Australia today,” said McLean.

The Awards cover nine categories including “Outstanding Service to Dance” and ”Outstanding Achievement by a Company” as well as “Lifetime Achievement” and “Hall of Fame” awards.  

From its humble beginnings in 1986 as a Dancer’s Picnic organised by Keith Bain, the Australian Dance Awards is now celebrating its 14 ^th year and has grown to become the major event on the national dance calendar, bringing prestige to nominees and winners alike.

Don’t miss this fabulous event showcasing and celebrating the best in the nation’s dance in QPAC’s Playhouse on Sunday 24 July from 7.00pm.
To book your tickets and for more information go to www.qpac.com.au or call 136 246.
Visit australiandanceawards.net.au for more info.

The Nominees for the 2011 Australian Dance Awards will be announced soon so look out for the news in an upcoming edition of Dance Informa.
Dance Informa is a proud sponsor of the event.

The 2011 Australian Dance Awards are supported by Arts Queensland and QPAC.

“What a night of nights! This year’s Awards was a celebration of all things dance by a growing and excited Australian dance industry.”
Dance Informa

“We have won other awards before but these are very prestigious, it’s great for the company.”
Stephen Page, Artistic Director Bangarra Dance Theatre

Image: Photographer/Dancer, Marisa Cuzzolaro

By Jessica Innes

It is said “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life” and with tenacity and the right approach, the dream of dancing for a living can become a reality. We all dream of being a Broadway musical star or dancing in a Justin Timberlake video clip, however the sifting process in the performing arts allows only tiny portions of talent to make it through the brutal mill of the industry. So after hours of gruelling training and perfecting of your craft, what options do you have to utilize your hard work? It’s all about making yourself a versatile performer and finding your own niche to flourish in.

TEACHING: This is reliable and fulfilling work that will allow you to develop valuable choreography skills. Approach local dance schools and share your passion with the next generation of dancers. If you have no teaching qualifications look into taking the The Ausdance Skill Set for Teaching Dance as a start. It is a short course that provides experienced dancers and existing dance teachers with the skills and teaching strategies needed to successfully teach dance in community, recreational and social settings (including schools). A University Degree in Dance Education will open even more doors and allow you to teach HSC Dance.

INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTS: Many countries draw from Australia’s talent pool to fill positions on cruise ships, in theme parks, for Bollywood and casinos all over the world. You need to ensure you have a valid passport and are willing to commit to a contract of at least 6 months. Experience other cultures as you dance all over the world!

MUSICAL THEATRE: Triple Threat’s have a huge advantage in this area so develop your singing and acting techniques to increase your versatility. You often need an agent to be put forward for auditions so finding representation is a good first step.

MODELING AND COMMERCIAL: Dancers have the advantage of maintaining a good level of fitness due to regular training and have an increased awareness of their bodies. Many dancers will find they are suitable for modeling and extra work for film or television. Photographers are always looking for amateur models so start putting together a portfolio. Online casting sites such as AT2, Showcast and even StarNow have some great opportunities. Dance Informa also lists opportunities in our AUDITIONS section.

STAGEHAND WORK: Surround yourself with inspiring performances by working backstage or as an usher at a theatre. You’ll save money on buying tickets and you’ll gain valuable contacts that can guide you to the spotlight. TAFE Australia offers many different courses in Lighting, Set Design and Audio Engineering and any additional qualification is an asset to your future.

CREATE YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES: You are the master of your own destiny, so if you want to dance and don’t have an outlet, do something about it! Form a crew, collaborate with other artists and put on a community show or make a dance film. Every experience is going to add to your credibility and wealth of knowledge as a performer, so be proactive and put your best foot forward.

We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavours and a successful and fulfilling dance career!

The Emotional Aftershock…

By Elizabeth Ashley.

Wim Wender’s latest documentary Pina is a personal ode to an artist he considers a contemporary visionary.  Those expecting the sunny upbeat style of Wender’s Buena Vista Social Club will find Pina a stark and demanding contrast.

After 20 years as an abstract idea it wasn’t until U2 3D was previewed at the 2007 Cannes film festival that Wenders realised he had finally found the appropriate medium through which to capture the work of Pina Bausch – dancer, choreographer and friend.

Pina’s sudden death on 30 June 2009, just after filming had begun, lends the tone of a requiem to the film even as it attempts to celebrate her work and its artistic impact.

Who is Pina Bausch and what is her legacy to the dance world? Pina the film, is Wender’s attempt to answer this question.

Born in 1940 in Solingen, Germany, Philippine Bausch’s life revolved around the café run by her father where at an impressionable age she witnessed the impact of war on those around her. These confronting memories later come to life as Café Müller, Bausch’s masterpiece.

Her dance training under Kurt Jooss, a leader in the German movement to synthesize classical and modern dance, gave Pina a sense of the freedom to be found in dance whilst building a classical foundation. Importantly during this time was the proximity to opera, music, drama and other arts taught at the school. She earned a study grant to the Julliard School in New York training with Antony Tudor and dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company before returning to the Tanztheater Wuppertal in 1973 as director and choreographer.

Pina sensed that the world had irretrievably changed and she determined to reinvent the language of dance to release it from traditional confines. Pina Bausch brought dance, theatre and German expressionism together – a blend of raw emotionalism, stark movement, earthly pathos and humour. As Wenders comments ‘it is there to shock you.’

Pina wanted to confront audiences with the teutonic ‘Sturm und Drang’ (storm and stress) of everyday life through her work. The German critic Manual Brug explains her philosophy as “the interpretation of the soul and the battle of the sexes.”

To demonstrate this philosophy in his film, Wenders chose excerpts from four of her 40 works – Café Müller (1978), Rite of Spring (1975), Kontaktof (1978) and Vollmond (2006) within which Pina uncovers a raw humanity fighting for its survival, highlighting the emotionality of the dancing body. As the pieces explore fragile and fraught human relationships we experience moments of unexpected beauty contrasted with our inescapable connection to the earth, symbolised with recurrent themes of falling and slamming up against an indifferent world.

Pina demanded from her dancers an open and authentic response to her vision and ideas, whether that be through dance, song, mime, spoken words or other. Dance technique and young bodies were not prerequisites for this revolutionized language of dance. Some of the Tanztheater dancers have been with the company for 35 years. As Pina said, “I’m not concerned with the way my dancers move, but what moves my dancers.”

Bausch changed dance fundamentally by removing the smiling ethereal ballerina attempting to float above us, replacing her with a fusion of radical interactive theatre, surreal imagery and ‘danced body language’. In contemporary dance today the influence of Bausch is seen in its rawness, relative freedom and willingness to explore a variety of forms so as to expose an internal world. Her influence is also seen in the way choreographers work with their dancers – a 2-pronged process where through improvisation ‘tasks’ the choreographer allows the soul of the dancer to enter the process.

Belgian choreographer Alain Platel was particularly influenced by Bausch; work-shopping ideas in the studio, asking dancers to improvise and drawing on dancers’ personal experiences. “Everyone in contemporary theatre is working the same way…there’s a long, wild period of improv…trying many different things. I was very shaken by the work of Pina.”

Meryl Tankard, Australian choreographer and former Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), was a soloist with Danztheater Wuppertal for 6 years. The influence of Bausch is seen through her bringing together dynamic movement, singing, acting and music with a strong emotional content. Works such as Inuk 2 bring to mind Bausch-type themes with dancer/audience interaction, the use of water on stage, dancers crying out and a lack of narrative.

Pina Bausch’s vision for dance was essentially one without borders, adopting theatrical innovations where dancers move amongst the audience, musicians play on stage and multi-media is used. Theatre sets sometimes included piles of earth, rock formations and flowing water.  Her influence and collaboration included such filmmakers as Wenders and Almodovar whose movie Hable con ella (Talk to Her) opens with segments from Café Müller.

Wender’s film Pina is more than a tribute to an artist who was central to his own work.  He has crafted one of the few truly dance-centred films in recent years, seriously taking the challenge of dance to connect with an audience and covey life; in this case a singular life interpreted solely through dance.

For anyone interested in dance this film provides an insight into an artist who demanded authenticity and creativity with single-minded zeal.  While the loss of Pina is strongly felt in the film and throughout the contemporary dance community, her life and artistic vision still continue to inspire artists in various forms.

The film Pina was presented on the final night of the 2011 German Film Festival on 11 April 2011 at the Sydney Opera House. Wim Wenders was in attendance and gave an interview after the screening.

23 August – 4 September 2011

2011 will mark the third year of Sydney Opera House’s Spring Dance – Australia’s only international, contemporary dance festival. Curated by Wendy Martin, highlights of the festival will include a world premiere from Lloyd Newson’s UK-based company DV8, the first ever Sydney performance by Alain Platel’s acclaimed les ballets C de la B from Belgium and Spain’s avant-garde flamenco artist Israel Galvan who will perform in Australia for the first time.

This year Spring Dance will be dedicated to the legacy of Pina Bausch, one of the most influential and innovative choreographers of the twentieth century. Martin said, ‘By showcasing the work of choreographers Lloyd Newson and Alain Platel, we will bring together two artists who cite the enormous influence Bausch has had on their work. This seems like the perfect springboard to explore the influence this iconic dance maker has had on the landscape of contemporary Australian dance.’ A series of films and discussions will look at the singular vision of Pina Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal.

Artwork - Ros Warby, Monumental, photo: L. Tomasetti; les ballets C de la B, Out of Context – for Pina, photo: C. Van Der Burght

In 2011 Spring Dance will take over the Western Foyers with performances in the Drama Theatre, Studio and Playhouse and a series of talks, masterclasses and exhibitions in the Western Foyer and precinct.

Sydney Opera House will host the world premiere of DV8’s, Can we talk about this? choreographed and devised by Artistic Director Lloyd Newson. Like his recent productions that have combined dance with verbatim theatre to tackle social and political issues head-on, Can we talk about this? will explore ideas around freedom of speech.

Alain Platel’s company, les ballets C de la B, will present the award-winning production Out of Context: For Pina. For its first Sydney season, it will include a ‘Pina Intervention’ by acclaimed Australian choreographer Meryl Tankard who was a star of Pina Bausch’s company in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

Israel Galvan, the daringly innovative Flamenco artist from Seville will come to Sydney Opera House with the Australian premiere of his award-winning production Le Edad de Oro which uses the techniques and artistry of Flamenco while building on tradition to create a new, pared-back aesthetic for the genre.

Chunky Move returns to Spring Dance with I Like This – a witty and irreverent take on the making of a dance piece, created by two of Australia’s finest contemporary dancers and emerging choreographers, Byron Perry and Antony Hamilton.

The work of Melbourne-based dancer and choreographer Ros Warby has been acclaimed by critics around the world. She will return to Sydney to perform the award-winning Monumental at Spring Dance, in which she explores ideas around two iconic symbols of classical ballet: the swan and the soldier.

And for younger audiences, Sydney Opera House will present The Forest by the UK-based performance company Fevered Sleep. The Forest will reflect their interest in creating design-focused productions that develop theatrical environments to envelop their audience and draw them into a world of fantasy, intrigue, movement and storytelling.

This year’s Spring Dance festival will offer the rare opportunity to be taught by some of the world’s great dancers and choreographers with 6 master classes on offer. There will be a series of panel discussions, hosted by Caroline Baum, with prominent dancers and choreographers looking at Pina Bausch and her legacy. They will be accompanied by a program of film screenings.

Top photo:  Ros Warby – Monumental, Photo: Lisa Tommasetti

A New Baby for Broadway

Broadhurst Theatre, New York City
April 2011

By Deborah Searle.

Still in previews, Baby It’s You is a new show for Broadway with a similar script to the stage and screen hit Dreamgirls. The strength of the show is its infectious sound track of popular 50s and 60s music that has the audience dancing in their seats. With a score of famous tracks like “He’s So Fine,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “It’s My Party,” “Shout,” and “Rockin’ Robin”, this show is set to be a huge success!

Inspired by the life of Florence Greenberg, the woman who in the late 1950′s took the male-dominated music industry by storm, Baby It’s You tells the story of a woman trying to change her life and the music industry. Along the way she pushes social boundaries, falls out of and in love and changes the lives of four young African American singing hopefuls. On a trailblazing journey from New Jersey housewife to record mogul, Greenberg launched the careers of some of the biggest recording stars of the 50s including one of the greatest girl groups of all time; ‘The Shirelles’, and Baby It’s You is a tribute to her success.

The show starts with a bang, immediately engaging us with an energetic song and dance number and we know straight away that we’re in for an entertaining night. This energy doesn’t falter and after the interval the show starts off again in fine form with an explosive song that draws us straight back into the story.

Tony Award winner Beth Leavel plays Florence Greenberg and is perfect for the role. She is believable, passionate and a consummate performer.  Leavel is backed by a brilliant cast that brings the story to life with impressive acting and piercing vocals. There isn’t much dancing in the show, but Kyra Da Costa as one of the Shirelles, is the strongest dancer of the cast, outshining the other performers with her obvious training and technique, and is a joy to watch.

Although the second act was a little drawn out, overall Baby It’s You is thoroughly entertaining and empowering. It’s the popular music that will drive the audience in, but it’s the convincing acting, interesting storyline and even the backdrop (complete with ever changing imagery across large screens) that will keep audiences strong.

Baby It’s You had me entertained, educated about the 50s/60s music scene, and literally dancing in my seat. Although I didn’t grow up in the story’s era, I enjoyed the show immensely proving that Baby It’s You is a great show for both young adults and Baby Boomers.