<p>A comment someone made here on CC a few days ago got me wondering about this . . .</p>
<p>We have a friend who was on/off Broadway and did Broadway tours for many, many years. One thing she told my D is that she better work on her dancing because the if you didn’t make it past the dance call, then you wouldn’t get to show your acting/singing chops. Keep in mind that our friend was in the ensemble most of her career (except for Annie tour where she was Miss Hannigan + a few other principal roles). </p>
<p>I am interested to hear what folks with some first-hand knowledge of this think about that statement. Would you say that this is true today as well? It seems logical for young artists starting out, but would love to have your input. </p>
<p>kksmom
(Who really needs something else to think these next few weeks while schools make up their minds!)</p>
<p>I think it depends…my D has had 2 “real world” auditions in NYC, and the first one asked her to sing first, then read. Dance happened if you were called back (we were not). Second one she was cut in the typing (she did not have the look they were going for), so she didn’t even get to sing. But other girls who made the typing sang first … and only sang. I’m sure if there were a dance heavy show, they may do dance first, but our limited experience it has not been the case.</p>
<p>Depends on the show and, in some cases, on the role within the show. Auditions for A Chorus Line, for example—definitely a LONG dance call; then singing and reading.</p>
<p>If going to an open call for ensemble/chorus, there are usually two kinds of calls…one is for singers who dance and one is for dancers who sing. At the singers one, the audition is purely singing and then if making it to a callback, then one may have to dance. Vice versa for those attending a dance open call and their callback will be singing. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, if attending an open call audition for a part, such as an Equity Principal Audition, it is almost always just singing, and possibly some sides (scene). No dance at the initial audition (that is why singing is important to have as a strength because if you can’t get past that hurdle, you don’t even show them dance, not to mention that many roles don’t even involve dance). </p>
<p>My daughter, who is working professionally, rarely attends open calls. She is Equity but just doesn’t have the time or inclination to do open calls. When she auditions, she goes in for an appointment that her agent has lined up. At an agent submitted audition, you get your own time slot (no all day waiting in lines to be seen) and it is always singing, and sometimes also sides. Never dance. Dance may happen at a callback if the role requires dance. </p>
<p>So, again, dance is the first thing only at an open call for Dancers who Sing. My daughter never attends those.</p>
<p>I would think in general, if you plan on doing musical theatre, you will have to a dance call at some point, as well as dance in a show. It’s a good idea to have some of the basics under your belt.</p>
<p>I’ve only attended one “real world” dance callback, and that was after a singing/acting audition. They asked me, “On a scale of 1-10, where would you place your dance skills?” I said 4 and that I considered myself to be more of an actor that moves. At the time I had zero dance experience. I was not surprised to get cut at the dance callback.</p>
<p>A few weeks back, the actor playing Gaston in the national tour of Beauty and the Beast came to talk to my class about his experiences. He said that dance is something he wished he had focused on more when he was younger. I’ve also heard that dance calls tend to be slightly easier than what will be done in the show. The people behind the table just want to see who can make the steps look pretty, and the people who can do that will stand out over those who are stumbling to catch up.</p>
<p>It really depends on the show, so I don’t think dance calls will always come first, but it’s always good to have some dance experience so you’re prepared!</p>
<p>I agree with earlier posts. In the real world you will attend the dancers who sing or the singers who dance auditions initially. You do not get to read for anything unless you pass these initial hurdles. Regarding EPAs, as Soozievt points out, singing is very large here - as churchmusicmom points out, it depends on the show. If the EPA is for a show with heavy doses of dance (even for the leads) you will likely be put through some dance paces as well as sing. Dancing and Singing at EPAs are, again, prelims to your reading from the script. If you want to be in MT, you have to sing, dance, and act. This is especially true for young performers entering the field - most of you will not be going to EPAs when your career is beginning - you will be in the long lines of singers who dance or dancers who sing.</p>
<p>MTDog, agree with much of what you wrote. I don’t necessarily agree, however, that at EPAs dancing and singing are prelims to reading from the script. Or maybe I am thinking of agent submitted auditions (which my D tends to do rather than open call EPAs) but in those, singing and sides from the script come prior to dancing. Dancing is more at a callback if at all (depends on the show/role).</p>
<p>If you browse the jobs listings on Playbill, which is free, you can easily see if the auditions that interest you most call for dance first, and then sing, or the reverse.</p>
<p>Soozievt - we still agree! What you are referring to are agent submissions. If your agent has submitted you for Sarah in GUYS & DOLLS - you will likely sing and read - if they like you you might then get a quick look with the choreographer. Also, if you are a known quantity, sometimes some of these steps are skipped. Established stars sometimes come in for a “work session” which is more like a rehearsal than an audition. Here, on these boards, I think we are talking about the young, unknown, and often unrepresented folks - they, mostly go to the singers who dance or dancers who sing calls.</p>
<p>Another point about all this is this … it seems as though we are speaking mostly of Broadway, Off-Broadway, LORT, and some LOA’s - primarily Equity rules and such. There can certainly be many variations on these parameters - especially when hitting the non-eq or otherwise smaller professional venues.</p>
<p>MTDog, right, I agree and in an earlier post did mention that open calls tend to be either Singers who Dance or Dancers who Sing. These tend to be chorus type calls (there are the non-Equity kind and the ECC…Equity Chorus Call kind). My D is an unknown and very young (23) but she doesn’t attend open calls, hardly ever, even the Equity (ECC or EPA) ones (she is Equity). I was just saying that for an EPA (Equity Principal Audition) or an agent submitted audition, it usually involves singing and maybe sides (acting), but never dance first. Dance may be at a callback. This is what I have observed anyway. I think singing and acting come before dance in auditioning for roles in EPAs and via agent submissions. The only time I have seen Dance be FIRST is at an open call for chorus for dancers (who sing).</p>
<p>Just to make your head swim - and I know this was not NYC, but – my daughter auditioned for an opera company that is putting on a musical as part of their summer season. Believe it or not – they had the dance audition first! Then they held individual singing auditions and then they danced again!</p>
<p>I think one should expect the unexpected when it comes to auditions.</p>
<p>Unless I’m misremembering, I believe the initial audition for the ensemble of last summer’s Shakespeare In The Park (NYC) shows was a dance audition - historical dance, of course. So even for straight plays, you sometimes have to dance 1st!</p>
<p>I was thinking back to my daughter’s professional agent-appt auditions. The only one that dance came before singing was Billy Elliott, and that makes sense as a dance show. Everything else had dance at callbacks. Of course, this was for children’s roles, and no really heavy dancing shows (except BE). It does make sense that unless the call is for dancers, the first screening would be singing. We usually didn’t get sides until callbacks.</p>