It’s exciting to see so many students passionate about dance! As you prepare for the ODF Company audition, we like to share a few tips & tricks to help your dancer be most successful.

Tip # 1: Arrive On Time Dressed to Impress.

Showing up to your audition with a clean and put together look helps the choreographers see your body lines and highlights your stregths of your overall technique!

Tip # 2: Stay Quiet When Waiting to Dance.

As a general rule of thumb, staying quiet helps the dancer stay present in the audition and supports their peers to focus on the task at hand.

Tip # 3: Show us what you can do.

Sometimes the choreography is difficult to pick-up and you just can’t get it. Rather than freezing, show us what you CAN do. Showing your choreographers that you can perservier through a tough combitionation with grace and confidence is key.

Tip # 4: Prepare your dancer ahead of time.

Working towards the ODF Performance Company is a long-term goal. If your dancer just decided to audition within the last few months, they may need to study in our program more before they are ready for the time commitment that ODF Company brings. Speak with your dancer about the process of an audition. We work very hard to make sure each dancer has a moment of leadership and a moment of challenge when they are placed in their pieces.  It could be possible that they might not agree with where they have been placed and they need to be prepared for that. If the potential feeling of rejection is too much for your dancer at this time, then it’s best to wait to audition until they are prepared and emotionally ready to handle it.

Which leads up to . . .

MYTH # 1: ODF dancers stay in a level for 2 years and then move up.

Every dancer is different and follows their own path. There is no standard of time for each level. When we place dancers into their dances, we take into account their technique, maturity, and resilience.

Tip #5: Know that you can still perform and study dance at ODF even if you are not in Company.

Many of our dancers are not in Company but still take as many classes as our Company members.  Our staff works very hard to ensure we are giving the same instruction to every dancer that walks through our doors.

MYTH # 2: We already know the audition results. The audition is a formality.

Again, not true. There are so many factors (including how many dancers attend the audition) so we do not know ahead of time where your dancer will be placed. We can make predictions but the audition score determines the definite answer. Often, we are surprised at the audition and our predictions are wrong. We hold an audition to give all the dancers an opportunity to show us their best so we can make a fair assessment.