Holding Effective Dance Auditions For School and Amateur Theatre Productions

Dance auditions can be thought of much in the same way as soccer tryouts. Yes, its very important that they have the right skills, but it is even more important that you see them in action. I have seen many, many dancers who look great in auditions because of their flexibility, turnout, and perfect posture, but do poorly in front of an audience because of inhibitions, shyness or just plain lack of personality. The following will help you find dancers that will not only get the steps but be entertaining as well.

Warm Them Up

Never audition cold dancers. If you don't have the time to run a warm up (or just don't want to) then make sure you let them know in advance that they should come with their limbs already limber. A cold dancer is a stiff dancer.

Know the Context

Every show has a unique feel and style for its dance component. Make sure that you know what look you're going for -- crazy, snobby, pretty, sharp, ect -- before you hold your auditions. Let the dancers know what this is. That way, there is no excuse for anyone who doesn't show you what you want to see. It will make your job much easier.

By far the best way to make sure that you get the right kind of dancers for the show you are doing is to actually choreograph a piece from the show before the auditions, and use that piece as your audition material. It's much easier to choose which dancers you want when you see them in a dance that is actually part of the show.

Be Fair

Make sure you give every dancer an equal shot at showing off. Rotate the lines (front line moves to back, middle to front, back to middle) periodically. Make sure that the room you hold the auditions in is big enough to accomodate all dancers, or divide them into more comfortable sized groups. They can't do their best if they're worried about kicking the person in front of them.

Be Routine Ready

Learning the routine and performing it all within the space of an hour or two is what separates future cast members from mere auditioners. Make sure that the routine you prepare matches the context of the show (see above), but don't make it any more difficult that it has to be. You want to see your dancers performing, not stumbling over double stag jumps and triple piroettes.

Divide and Conquer

Don't try to pick your dancers out of a group of fifty. Remember that you're in charge, and whatever makes things easiest for you will ultimately be easier on the dancers too. Separate them into groups, keep what you like, dismiss what you don't -- not "Thanks, but you suck", but more like "Thank you, I've seen all I need." Sort dancers who are at around the same level in the same groups, so that weaker dancers aren't intimidated (dancing with those at your own level encourages you to do your best) and also so that it is easier for you to make comparisons.

When I hold dance auditions, once I have taught a short routine I just keep switching kids around in groups until I have the best dancers all in one group. If I'm looking for 8 dancers, I weed them out until there are 8 dancers in the top group. I look at them as a group, not just individually, to see how they look together. When I'm happy with my sorting, those are my chosen dancers.