About the Workshop:
Auditions: a necessary evil and blessing in disguise:
Auditions: a necessary evil and blessing in disguise Auditions are mysterious processes and can be challenging for everyone involved. How to prepare for this, and bring out the best in you, without losing yourself in the process? How to get selected for an audition in the first place? The process of auditioning can also be an inspiring one, and bring new insights and new friends.
Artistic director and choreographer Anouk van Dijk has run many auditions throughout her career, and in this workshop will offer tips, tricks and useful insights from behind the scenes. This two-day workshop will guide you through the process of preparing, practicing audition situations, and building confidence.
Anouk has encountered all her long-standing company members and close collaborators through auditions, and she truly values this process of discovery, despite the tremendous amount of effort it brings for everyone involved. Anouk views auditioning as a reciprocal process, where not only the artist or company recruits new dancers, but the dancer is also proactively involved, engaging in a process of exchange to find out whether they are the right fit for the job.
During the workshop, we will look at formulating personal goals, the application process and how to prepare for a specific audition. We will work on identifying your strengths, practice situations and look at potential challenges. After the workshop, you will have gathered lots of insights that will support you go through the audition process with confidence.
Saturday 15 October
10:00-11:30: Warm up and Practical Tools with Anouk van Dijk
12:00-16:00: Workshop (incl. 30 min break)
Sunday 16 October
10:00-11:30: Countertechnique class with Anouk van Dijk
12:00-16:00: Workshop (incl. 30 min break)
The workshop will look into the following topics:
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What dance jobs do you aspire for? What are your personal goals, and the steps to get there?
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How to choose the right artist or company you would like to work for?
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How to apply for an audition, what makes you stand out in your motivation letter and resume? What material do you select for your show-reel?
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What else is good to know before you apply: company culture and general working conditions, how long to be available for? Where and when to find out about this?
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Once selected, how to prepare for the audition? What can you expect to do physically, theatrically and creatively? What is the audition panel looking for? How do you find out?
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Know your strengths and weaknesses: what are you good at and make you feel confident? Tackle challenges, which might be: how to pick up material fast, and when not succeeded fully, how to handle the situation? How to deal with (undefined) improvisation tasks, what to choose as solo moments? What else do you need to be prepared for, like text, singing, etc.?
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The day of the audition: what do you do when you arrive, how to connect? What do you choose to wear, how to position yourself in the room, how to deal with long waiting times and staying warm, when and how to ask questions?
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Practical tips and tricks to go through the audition process with confidence.
Anouk van Dijk
Anouk van Dijk (NL) – is a Dutch choreographer, director and the Founder of Countertechnique. She has been the Artistic Director of Australian contemporary dance company Chunky Move from 2012 – 2019. Before moving to Australia in 2012, Anouk van Dijk had an extensive career as a choreographer and dancer in Europe. Van Dijk formed her own dance company anoukvandijk dc in 1999 in Amsterdam, producing twenty full-length works that toured the globe. In 2012 Van Dijk was awarded the Golden Swan (Gouden Zwaan) – the Netherlands’ most prestigious dance accolade – in recognition of her outstanding artistic and academic contribution to dance in her home country. During her tenure as Artistic Director of Chunky Move, Anouk van Dijk has created main stage and large site-specific works, which have toured internationally extensively. Anouk works currently as a free-lance choreographer, director and educator, and is the Artistic Director of Countertechnique. In recent years she has created works for Staatsballet Berlin, the Münchner Kammerspiele, and recently a large commission for Skanes Dance Theater in coproduction with Malmö Opera.
Anouk van Dijk has developed Countertechnique throughout her career as a dancer, choreographer and educator. Over the last twenty years, the knowledge and experience she gained – in constant dialogue with her dancers – was gradually transformed into a detailed theoretical system and a teaching method, which now forms Countertechnique. Van Dijk has trained all 43 other Countertechnique teachers to date. Together with Prof. Dr. Gerald Siegmund, she described the theoretical principles and practical application of the technique in the publication Dance Techniques 2010.
When?
Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 October
10:00-16:00
Where?
Studio ITE
Eerste Helmersstraat 102 ½, tegenover 147
Price:
€90,-
Springplank
This masterclass is part of the Springplank program but open to all prof-level dancers. Participants of Springplank may join this masterclass for free. The program is open to last-year students and alumni (up to 3 years) from dance academies (HBO/MBO) in the city of Amsterdam. Want to join Springplank? Send us an email at springplank@hjs.amsterdam with your cv, diploma, and motivational letter and we’ll get in touch with you! More info: https://hjs.amsterdam/springplank/
