Dance Australia – June-July 2017

NL:What are the challenges of auditioning

overseas, in comparison to auditions in

one'shomecountry?

JG:Sometimes the language barrier can be a

challenge,butmoreoftenthannotanopen

audition will be conducted in English as the

commonlanguage.Therecanbesome

cultural differences in the studio, but generally

if you are polite and respectful you shouldn’t

have any difficulties.

NL:Given Australia’s distance from... well,

therestoftheworld,manydancerstake

an audition tour, heading to Europe or

America for an extended period of time to

do multiple auditions. As a dancer who

hastakenthreeEuropeantours,whatdo

youthinkarethebenefitsandchallenges

of an overseas audition tour?

JG:As an Australian planning to audition in

Europe,anauditiontourisanecessaryhurdle.It’s

alongway,flightscanbeexpensive,andyouwant

tomakethetripasworthwhileaspossiblebytrying

tofitineverythinginonego.Thesituationisabit

differentifyouhaveaEuropeanpassport–then

youhaveanoptionofmovingoverthereand

workingwhileyougotoauditions.Anadvantage

ofgoingonanauditiontouristhatyoudon’thave

anyotherdemandsonyourtimewhileyou’reon

tour, so you can concentrate on auditions.

Itisaverydifficultoptionthough.Youare

constantlytravellingandthistakesatollon

yourbody.It’sexpensiveandtimeconsuming

• the money spent on food and
  accommodation can add up very quickly.

JUNE / JULY 2017 | WWW.DANCEAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

52 /AUDITION SPECIAL

Finding somewhere to do class every day

canbeastruggledependingon travel

times and the size of the city.”

It’salsodifficulttoeatwellwhileyou’reaway,

astherearenotmanyopportunitiestocookyour

ownfood,andthehealthieroptionisoften

moreexpensivewhenyouareeatingout.

Itcanalsobedifficulttostayinshapeover

an extended period. Finding somewhere to do

classeverydaycanbeastruggledependingon

traveltimesandthesizeofthecity.

It’s definitely an advantage to know your way

aroundEuropebeforeyouheadoffonabig

tour,ortogowithsomeonewhodoes.Ifoundit

mucheasieronmytourthisyearforanumber

ofdifferentreasons;Iknewthepublictransport

system very well, I had friends in different

countrieswhoIknewIcouldstaywith(andtake

companyclasswith),Icouldspeakareasonable

amount of German and I knew which

companiesIwasactuallyinterestedin.This

meantthatIcouldorganiseamuchmore

focused calendar, rather than trying to go

everywhere possible and wearing myself out.

NL:Whatdidyoulearnorgainfromdoing

overseas auditions?

JG:Ithinkyoualwaysgainsomethingfroman

audition(evenifit’sjustaslightlythickerskin!)

In the beginning it’s worth going to as many as

possible just for the experience. I think I’m

muchmoreconfidentinmyabilitiesafter

spendingtimeoverseasandIhaveamuch

better understanding of the international

dancesceneandwhereIfitintoit.

NL:Tell me some audition stories...

JG: I went to one audition that was held on a

Jessica’s tips for

auditioning overseas

• Plan ahead, but make sure your calendar
  is flexible enough so that you can add in
  an audition at late notice – sometimes
  companies will only reply a week out
  from the audition date.


• Bepreparedwithyourapplicationmaterials
  (putting together audition footage and a
  goodCVtakestime!)andstartsendingoff
  emails months in advance.


• Make sure you do thorough research
  –thiscansaveyoutimelater,making
  your trip more concise and economical.
  It’sawasteofeverybody’stimeifyou
  turn up to an audition that you are not
  interested in or suited for.


• Reach out to dance friends overseas,
  follow companies you admire on social
  media,andjustlearnasmuchaspossible
  aboutasmanycompaniesaspossible
  (this is not just the repertoire, but also the
  dancers and management – if there are
  no non-local dancers there’s a good
  chanceforeignworkvisasaretoodifficult
  or expensive for the company to
  organise). Someone who is well informed
  aboutthedancescenecanmakemuch
  better choices in their planning and be
  more selective with their auditions.


• IntermsoftransportinEurope,Ifounda
  Eurail pass to be really worthwhile. It
  seems expensive, but it pays for itself
  very quickly, plus it gives you extra
  flexibility (you can catch trains in most
  European countries without booking
  anythingbeforehand,soifsomething
  changes last minute there are no issues).
  Traintravelisagreatwaytoseethemore
  of the countryside and it will get you right
  into the city centre. There are also some
  very cheap buses available, but you have
  to weigh up the travel time and cost.


• Most major cities have dance studios but
  ifyouarestayingforacoupleofdaysI
  recommendaskingtotakecompany
  class with the ballet company based in
  thatcity–thiswayit’sfreeandyou
  make more contacts and get to know
  another company.

A side benefit of an audition tour is sight-seeing.

PHOTOS: JESSICA GARSIDE