It’s exciting to see so many students passionate about dance! As you prepare for the ART audition, we like to share a few tips & tricks to help your dancer be most successful.
Tip # 1: Arrive On Time in Ballet Dress Code.
Students receive a score for dress code so be dressed appropriately. To receive all of your points, students should have leotard, skirt, pink tights (no holes), ballet shoes, and hair in a proper ballet bun.
Tip # 2: Stay Quiet When Waiting to Dance.
Students receive a score for behavior. We deduct points if we see students talking on the side.
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. We give 1 score for picking up the choreography and the rest are based on skills. For example in jazz, we score leaps, turns, extension etc. If you can’t get all the steps in order, just show us the skills so we can score you appropriately.
Which leads up to . . .
MYTH # 1: Your audition score doesn’t matter.
Your audition score actually DOES matter. We tediously score each student in multiple categories, total all points, and then rank them by overall score. The score ultimately determines your placement – truly. Take it seriously.
If we feel that your score does not reflect your abilities, then we ask you to return and audition again.
Tip # 4: Prepare your dancer ahead of time.
Working towards ART 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 ART. Speak with your dancer about the process of an audition. They might not make it and they need to be prepared for that. If the potential 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.
MYTH # 2: ART 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 levels, we take into account their technique, maturity, and resilience.
Tip #5: Know that you can still perform and study dance at ADC even if you are not in ART.
Our Core program performs 2Xs per year in four styles. It’s a great preparation or even substitute for ART. ART is not the only option for you if you love dance.
MYTH # 3: 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.