Application, application, application

The endless process

 

Between rehearsals and pub work, I seem to spend most of my time searching for, applying to and waiting for replies from various dance companies, agencies and funding bodies. Even whilst writing this I have just heard back from one application and I am putting off starting another.

The search is generally a simple task (thanks to the good old internet) involving clicking on a link in an e-bulletin, scrolling through online audition boards or finding an opportunities page on a company website. The application process can be much more taxing with long application guidelines to read, decisions to be made on which CV version, photos or show reel to attach, other supporting video evidence to edit, upload and embed, not to mention the composing of your cover letter, proposal or personal statement/blatant self-promotional essay to get absolutely perfect.

It all gets rather monotonous and I begin to lose track of which opportunities I’ve applied for (I try to keep lists, I try). Depending on my mood I can spend hours or even days querying whether or not I should apply based on how likely I might be to succeed, how the proposed rehearsals will fit into my schedule or whether it’s something I would even enjoy being a part of. After all this contemplation it would be much more efficient to simply apply and question the details at a later stage, if of course I am fortunate enough to be granted a later stage in that particular application process.

However, it is the waiting for/lack of/content within a response to an application that can be most aggravating. I do appreciate the odd confirmation of receipt of application which I occasionally receive although a further email indicating whether my application has been successful would be wonderful too, I really don’t like to be kept in the dark. Some well-organized companies give dates on which you will hear back or if there has been an audition date published you can use that as a final deadline for correspondence. The infrequent emails marked RE: application that do land in my inbox cause a momentary flutter of excitement before the rejection message is opened, skim read and psychologically swept under the rug for safe keeping until I have a sufficient collection and am in a suitable environment to despair over them. Is a definite rejection more helpful than mystifying silence? Of course, reading that ‘you have not been selected this time’ is heartbreaking and the customary explanation that ‘the position attracted a large number of high-quality applicants’ is not particularly constructive for my future applications. However, being completely ignored implies that your application, which you may have spent considerable time on, was not worthy of casting director, choreographer or administrator’s time to add you as a recipient to a mass reply email.

 

But you mustn't start to believe that is true, you must carry on writing about all the skills and experience one has until someone gives you the opportunity to actually demonstrate it. And if it doesn't work out just remember:

 

“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.”
― George E. Woodberry

The Mad Month of May

Roll up, roll up, get your tickets here!

 

It’s all go this month – alongside the usual classes, applications, auditions and rehearsals, I have premier showings of three different projects, that I’ve been working on for varying amounts of time. Hence why, I have to be honest with you, this is less of a blog post and more of a shameless plug for these upcoming performances, with some behind-the-scenes commentary thrown in. As they are all independent projects by up and coming choreographers my advertising is essential in the hope of conjuring up a nice big audience to create some buzz at each event. And so I begin…

 

The first and last of the performances this month will be with Experiential, a new dance company set up by friend and colleague Rachel Johnson. We will be showing our experience based work ‘Bridging the Void’ in two different contexts; at Dance Springs this Saturday, as part of a mixed bill of dance and technology stage works, and then in a less formal, immersive, singular presentation, as part of the Brighton Fringe. These events have definitely had the longest build up, having developed and rehearsed the piece over a period of 4 months, far longer than most mainstream performances have to come together. The process has involved four trips to Primrose Hill at unmentionably early hours of the morning to be inspired by, capture and dance in front of the beautiful/wondrous/occasionally disappointing moment of sunrise. As the absolute opposite of a morning person I was not looking forward to these trips but in the end I have managed to appreciate the everyday phenomenon of sunrise which proves that it is the simplest things in life that can be the most rewarding. I’m sure my choreographer won’t mind me saying that the rest of the rehearsal period hasn’t always been so magnificent – dancing in a tiny windowless room with a dirty concrete floor, being kicked out of the more pleasant studios we tried to sneak into and having devised, tweaked and then completely scrapped movement material – we have certainly earned our place in the performance. After a full day dress rehearsal yesterday, and high praise from Anna, our breath producer and the latest addition to the piece, I can safely say that the end product is an at-first intriguing and by the finish breath-taking sensory experience.

To get tickets:

http://www.experientialdance.com/buy-tickets/

 

 

The second performance of the month is possibly the exact opposite of the first, a rushed job, a solo and much less beautiful. ‘Photographic Memory’ is a work of my own creation, well, it will be of my creation when I’ve finished it. I shall be performing this quirky little collage of ideas surrounding the framing, capturing and revisiting of moments from life, that photographic technology has facilitated, on 22^nd May as part of ‘Clear Cut’ – a newly curated night of visual and performance art at The Duke. The idea for the piece stems from my previous work for my MA last year examining the spectaclization of self in everyday life so although the idea has had time to develop it’s realization has been to the last-minute by my control freak standards. I have managed to acquire my old baby-photo book, a wooden picture frame and a Polaroid camera for the production but as yet have not been able to find adequate rehearsal time/space or cheap enough Polaroid film to complete the making process. Watch this space for the final thoughts on the works development and come along to the event to see it in action. It is destined to be a diverse and hilarious night of thought-provoking works if I know my co-artists like I think I do.

Flyers have arrived!

 

And finally, the penultimate show in May is the highly anticipated new work by another MA graduate and successful Resolutions! Choreographer Chloe Aliyanni. I was extremely excited to begin this project having narrowly missed out on being a dancer in her final project piece ‘Meteora’, and after the first few weeks of rehearsals I am still very enthusiastic about the performance, confident that ‘Intersection’ will be both interesting and perfectly formed. Developed through Chloe’s thorough research into the significance of numbers in both mathematics and world religions, the piece will be performed on 31^st May at Heath Street Baptist Church, Hampstead. The seven company dancers are a diverse lot from all over Europe, some I have danced with before during my time at Laban, others I am connecting with for the first time. My partner, for a duet based on the polarity and conflict that the number two represents, Neus, has been great to work with as she is not afraid to tell me what I need to change or what ideas she has, her forthright nature allows for efficient creation and rehearsal. The reintroduction to contact choreography this project has offered, after my past few solo projects, has been a breath of fresh air. As we move together in a contemporary dance caterpillar I feel a satisfying identity as part of a creative ensemble that supports and develops one another.

Invitation coming soon!

So if you fancy a sense of sunrise, some spiritual sums or a trip down memory lane then pop along to the theatre, cinema, church or pub to catch one of these interesting events. Have a peek into my weird and wonderful world that is contemporary dance, you never know what you might find.