Faculty dance auditions typically require college students to current a brief solo. Whereas this solo will be a super approach for aggressive dancers to point out their expertise, a school audition room isn’t the identical atmosphere as a contest stage. How can dancers repurpose competitors solos successfully?
It begins by figuring out your viewers. “It’s a must to analysis this system you’re auditioning for,” says Lindsey Klein, an affiliate professor of dance at Boston Conservatory at Berklee who additionally teaches at Patti Eisenhauer Dance Heart in Franklin, Massachusetts. “The fabric you predespatched must align with the coaching on the college.” Think about what method kinds the division provides, in addition to the place school members have danced—after which get to work adapting your solo to match.
Selecting a Piece
Jenny Hogan, director of Brava Dance Heart, which has places in Rye and Port Chester, New York, says her college students usually select a contest solo from their junior yr for school auditions. “That makes it a chunk they’re very snug with,” she explains. An exception to that rule could be if a dancer’s senior-year solo highlights one thing notably particular, or in the event that they’ve grown dramatically because the earlier piece was choreographed.
Whether or not you go for tried-and-true or one thing new, the solo must be one which makes you are feeling your greatest. “You need to signify your strengths as a performer, mover, and artist,” says Amanda Kay White, an assistant professor of dance at Chapman College in Orange, California. “We are able to inform which college students really feel a way of possession over their motion. It’s participating to witness that management and confidence.”
Making It Match
Most faculties ask college students to carry out a 60- to 90-second solo. In the meantime, many competitors solos are at the least two and a half minutes lengthy. As a substitute of merely chopping off the start or finish of the piece, “attempt to create a condensed model of the entire,” says Klein. “Eliminate repetition and variations. Shave down transitions. Typically we’ll see lots of in-between steps, however not sufficient meat and potatoes. In 90 seconds, you don’t have the luxurious of a sluggish construct.”
As you trim the choreography, you’ll probably must trim the music to match. Hold these edits as clear as potential. One high quality school dance applications search for in an applicant is musicality, and if the music flows, the motion can too. Should you can’t reduce the music cleanly—or in case you fear that the present track may result in the solo being taken much less critically—it would make extra sense to decide on a completely totally different rating.
Enhancing What’s There
Repurposing a solo isn’t solely a matter of chopping. You might also need to add materials. Take into consideration whether or not the piece exhibits your full vary of expertise—however keep away from the temptation to insert each trick you understand. Your method will probably be on show throughout the class portion of the audition. The solo provides an opportunity to point out your artistry, versatility, and individuality.
Attempt to exhibit dynamic vary. “A whole lot of aggressive solos dwelling in on one motion vocabulary and do it rather well,” says White. “Is there a spot the place you may add the alternative vitality? As an example, in case you’ve received a fluid up to date solo, are you able to insert some tight, fast, certain motion, as a distinction?” White additionally recommends contemplating the way you make the most of the area. “Competitors solos will be very performative, which might translate to frontal and downstage,” she says. “With the ability to use each quadrant of the room lets us know that you simply’re interested by area otherwise.”
In Hogan’s expertise, it hardly ever takes various further one-on-one rehearsals to arrange and polish the brand new model of the piece. Strive to not get hung up on excellent execution. As a substitute, work along with your lecturers on making the motion your individual. “What’s most necessary is to point out who you’re as a dancer,” Hogan says. “Everybody who’s making use of to those applications is gifted. What else do you convey to the desk?”
“Enter the room as a novel mover, fairly than making an attempt to suit a sure mildew,” White says. “Present us the kind of artist you’re—and the kind you need to be.” Should you accomplish that, the audition solo can have finished its job.
Video Submissions
If a college accepts auditions by video, comply with the directions to the letter. Verify for necessities about apparel, background, and digital camera angles, in addition to cut-off dates and what must be proven. In sure circumstances, resembling a pre-screening earlier than an invited in-person audition, you could possibly submit a recording from an precise competitors—however earlier than you press “Ship,” take a second to evaluate whether or not that video presents you as you need to be seen. “The glitz and glamour of a contest solo won’t work for whoever is reviewing these movies,” Lindsey Klein says. “That’s why it’s important to do your homework.”